SPORTS SPORTS SPORTS!!!!

Love sports?

     You came to the right school. We have over 27 different intramural sports to choose from and guess what...THEY ARE ALL FREE! Amazing right? York's intramural program offers a wide variety of leagues, tournaments and special events throughout the year to suit everyone. The program offers 18 coed sports, 10 men's sports,10 women's sports, 3 open events. The sports include: Badminton, Ball Hockey, Basketball, Broomball, European Handball, Flag Football, 3 on 3 Hockey, Hockey, Indoor Soccer, Innertube Water Polo, Outdoor Soccer, Slo-Pitch, Squash, Swimming, Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, and Volleyball. There are two different tiers, tier one is competitive for those that play to win and tier two is not competitive at all for those that play just for fun. I highly recommend getting involved in sports. You will meet a lot of new friends, stay physically fit, and a have a blast! 

     When I was a student leader last year, I didn't have a lot of time to play sports so I decided to play the greatest sport ever which is broomball. You play on a skating rink without skates so you need to run around with shoes on. They give you a helmet for safety and a weird stick with a hard rubber end to whack a ball and score on the opposing team. Everyone slips and slides all over the place and has a great time. 

     If you'd like to know more about sports, talk to your College's Sport and Recreation Council or Representative and they will keep you informed. 

http://recreation.yorku.ca/

intramural/sports

- Mike 

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So You Need To Buy Books?

So whats the best way to buy books for your courses?

Step 1: Get the list of books

There are three ways to find out what books you need: 

1. The first way is to go online and check the book store website at http://bookstore.yorku.ca/. Then click "textbooks" and then click "Online textbook purchase". Scroll down the page and add the classes you have in the search bar. This list will provide you with the books needed for the class however, sometimes professors put books on the list that they dont expect you to read. Be careful not to buy books you dont need because sometimes you cant return them.  

2. Email your professors and ask them directly what books to buy. Go to http://mocha.yorku.ca/atlas/servlet/atlas and put in the profs name and locate their email. An issue with this is that sometimes the profs dont always respond so it doesn't work. 

3. Attend the first day of class and your prof will tell you what books you need. The only issue with this is that you might have to wait a long time in line for the bookstore or the books might be sold out. 

Step 2: Buy your books

1. You could buy your books at the YorkU Book Store. I would recommend this for inexpensive books or course kits.

2. You could buy used books online at websites such as Amazon.ca. Watch out for buying books that aren't the correct edition or that will take very long to deliver. If delivery will take long, you could pay for express delivery and still save more money than bookstores. 

3. You can go on Facebook and join groups that trade, exchange, or sell books. Again, make sure you get the correct edition and make sure you do the exchange in a public place during the day so its safe. I've done this a few times without any problems.  

Take my advice, you could save a few dollars. 

- Mike

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Amsterdam, Here I Come!!!!!

"Were you ever thinking of going abroad for an internship or exchange?"

I've heard that line a few times throughout my university career, especially during class talks. Some upper year student would be standing at the front of the class and would start preaching about studying abroad in countries like Australia, England, Germany, Costa Rica, China, etc. I used to brush their words aside without even seriously considering it was an option. Although it was something that I always wanted to do, I never thought it would be possible. I didnt think I had the time or money to ever be able to do it. 

When I got into 5th year, I heard about all the people doing amazing exchanges around the world and their stories blew my mind so I thought I would look into it. I went to an info session and a few months later I'm heading to the University of Amsterdam. It was a very easy process to apply and I didn't need a ridiculous GPA either. Only a B average! York International wants students to go abroad and they make the process as simple as possible. They were also really helpful at answering my questions and proving me with the resources that I needed.

Your probably asking how does it work?

Well you apply through York International and they let you pick your top three countries to live in. You can go for one semester or two and you even have the option to do two exchanges in one semester. Afterward, they will let you know which country you get accepted to and most students get accepted to at least one exchange. You pay York fees but you take the classes abroad so you get to avoid expensive international fees. York International often tries to subsidize your costs with a bursary or grant so you have less financial concerns while you away. You have the best time of your life and your credits might count towards your York degree.

I recently bought my plane ticket and found out that I'm going to be living beside a canal. SO AWESOME! They also have a social orientation which looked amazing online! I'm so excited for my exchange. I'm planning on traveling to as many countries as possible once I'm there. I could do breakfast in Amsterdam, maybe lunch in Belgium and dinner in France or Germany. What do you think?

So next time your in class and someone asks if you want to do an international exchange or internship. You might want to pay attention! =)

- Mike 

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