The Final Post About My Year On Exchange

It’s all over now. My year on exchange in Canada has reached its conclusion and I am now back in England. This is (probably) my final post about my year on exchange.

Going to Canada for a full academic year was initially fairly daunting but I am really glad that I did it. There were some really good moments both semesters and overall it was a fantastic experience. The experience I had living and learning in Canada was definitely different from what I am used to in the UK. I did have to confront unfamiliar situations but to be honest I never got really homesick and never experienced culture shock. If anyone reading my blog is considering doing a year abroad I would wholeheartedly recommend that you do one.

Whilst I liked the university where I studied in Ontario, I am looking forward to returning to university back in England this September. I think the place that I miss the most is Toronto. I just had a wonderful time every single time that I went to Toronto. In my mind I am going to go back to Toronto at some point.

So what’s next for me? Well I have a long summer break ahead of me. I already have some plans to keep myself busy, I’m sure I will end up writing multiple blog posts about what I do over this summer holiday.

New Experiences from Studying Abroad

Part of the reason why I wanted to do a year abroad in the first place was to have new experiences in a different culture. I thought living in a different country for a full academic year was going to be a fantastic chance to get to experience things I had never done before. I have definitely got to have some new experiences whilst I have been studying abroad, now as the academic year comes to a close I am thinking back to some of the experiences that have really stood out to me.

 The Pep Rally          

This was just like nothing I had ever experienced before, I doubt back in the UK I will ever experience anything like this ever again. I used to be a massive Glee fan so getting to perform a dance on an American Football field was pretty cool for me!

Toronto

I’ve been to Toronto a lot of times throughout the academic year and I love it, I’ve had a great time every single time. It really is a fantastic city to visit and I have enjoyed my visits there.

Thanksgiving

Being British I have never experienced Thanksgiving before so I didn’t really know what to expect. I had a really good long weekend and got to spend a lot of quality time with the friends I’ve made over here.

Haunt    

Halloween is increasingly becoming more and more of a thing back in England, but for Halloween 2017 I went to a Halloween event at a theme park which was a new experience for me and a lot of fun.

Christmas Party

Every year at university wherever I have been living, we have organised a Christmas party of some sort. This year was no expectation, although I think 2017’s was one of the very best. Everyone pulled together to organise it and we had a lovely evening.

Snow (at first!)

At first it was actually really exciting to experience proper snow. As the winter wore on I became increasingly less keen on snow. But I have not been short of excuses to make Frozen references!

Toronto ComicCon

One of the best things I have done this year was Toronto ComiCon, I just had such a fantastic time. It was an unforgettable geeky experience.

Thinking Back to Wanting to Study Abroad

As I have mentioned before, my year abroad is rapidly approaching its end. It’s sort of funny how something I’ve been thinking about since 2014 is going to be completely over and done within a month.

I was thinking about studying abroad pretty much as soon as I started to seriously look through university prospectuses. I just knew that I wanted to take the chance to go out and study in another country. When else in life do you really get the opportunity to experience another country in the way you can as student studying abroad? In fact part of what sealed the deal for my uni and the degree that I am studying was that I could have a full year abroad instead of the more typical single semester.

Throughout last year I wrote quiet often on my blog about the process of getting ready to go on my Year Abroad. From submitting an application to getting a Study Visa, it was a long process. However it was not a continuous process, sometimes months went by with nothing happening and then I had about twenty different things to sign and submit all at once. The process of getting ready to go out made it feel like it would be a long time until my Year Abroad happened, then before I knew it I was sat in my bedroom with my parents figuring out how to cram everything I needed into a suitcase and a hand luggage bag!

I am really glad that I could have a full year. If I had only had a single semester then I would say the first semester is the better one to go abroad. There’s one major benefit to going out for the first semester and that is everyone else is new, as everyone is sort of in the same boat it’s a lot easier to make friends. I’m also glad that I didn’t chose to do a split year at two different universities as the stress that would have involved would probably have been too much for me.

There have been some trials and tribulations along the way, but ultimately I don’t think I would have done it differently. This year has probably not been what I was anticipating back in 2014 (for instance at one point I was convinced I would be in sunny California not snowy Canada!), however I have enjoyed my study abroad experience.

My Year Abroad is Racing to Its Conclusion

Somehow it’s already the last week of classes, as of Thursday afternoon at 4PM I will have finished classes for third year.

Right now I’m sort of shocked that it can already be at an end. It’s only really within the last week or so that it has actually hit me just how close to the end of the academic year I am. I think part of the reason why I’m disorientated is that in Canada there’s no spring break. Back in England we usually have four week spring break around whenever Easter occurs. This year there’s no spring break which just seems really odd to me. In fact there was only one day off for Easter which was Good Friday, and the way my timetable has worked out this semester meant that Friday is already my free day.

Usually I’m more aware of when the end of the semester is approaching as I am usually working on coursework (or more accurately for me editing and revising coursework) right up to the final few days of the semester. As I mentioned in my last blog post, despite a horrendous amount of deadlines throughout March I was able to stay on top of my coursework load thanks to some forward thinking planning.

Classes conclude at the end of this week, then from Monday onwards Finals Season begins. But once I have done my last exam – which is a take home exam – I am finished for the academic year. I’m somewhere between nervous and confident for finals, I know I still need to do a good amount of revision before the exams start.

Of course as we approach the end of another semester and another academic year I can’t help thinking over what has happened and what I have done this semester. Without a shadow of a doubt the highlight of Second Semester has been Toronto ComiCon.

In the coming weeks there will probably be numerous posts reflecting on how my year abroad is coming to an end, dealing with finals and reflecting on what some of the highlights of the year have been. However I just wanted to do a quick post about how my year abroad is racing to its conclusion.

Life Update – Mid-Terms and Snow

I know I have been a little bit too relaxed with posting regularly on my blog so far this year. To share how things are going at the moment and where I am right now in my life, I thought I would just do a quick Life Update post.

·         As of Monday I am now in the midst of Mid-Terms. This semester I have three mid-terms and I have already done the one that I was most worried about so it’s not too bad.

·         It has been snowing again. I talked more about Canadian winter in January here. To be honest at this point I am just getting a bit bored of winter, the constant cold is just getting tiring.

·         I am a vegetarian at the moment, I talked more about that in this post.

·         Academically things are going well, the classes I am taking this semester are all interesting. I have also been working on my proposal for my dissertation which should be really interesting.

·         To be honest, things have generally been a bit quieter this semester. I am still enjoying being in Canada to Study Abroad but it seems like there is not as much is happening as there was back in September and October.

Finally Finals

Well once more its exam season, and this time I really mean it! Its finals!

I’m actually dealing with the stress pretty well but I just wanted to write a quick blog post to summarise how things have been going for me recently.

I’m keeping on top of my revision but also trying to be creative and intelligent with the ways that I am revising. My focus is on doing revision in amounts that are little and often so as to avoid overwhelming myself with information.

I have three exams, a final project and a take home exam all of which are due within a fortnight (two weeks). It’s new for me to have such an intense amount of work, back in the UK we usually have to write a final essay for a class and deal with what I call Coursework Season but there’s rarely a final exam as well.

In residence it’s actually been strangely enjoyable. Sure everyone is stressed out and working hard but we are still making time to spend with each other. In the past week I’ve watched Planet Earth II and Mulan with my friends on an evening, and on an afternoon I’ve been having coffee and cake with friends. It’s strange to say that exam season is fun but it kind of has been. I’ve mentioned before just how incredibly lucky I have been with the group of people that I am living with, it’s a great group and we get a long really well.

So that’s what’s going on at the moment. Even though everything is centred around exams I am still having a good time here in Canada whilst on my Study Abroad experience.

Little Differences

The 5^th of November, back in the U.K it is Bonfire Night. But here in Canada it’s just the Sunday that the clocks go back.

Generally I have been pretty lucky in that I have not experienced home sickness or culture shock. In the run up to going to study abroad I heard so many things about how ‘you will get home sick’ but honestly I haven’t and this far into my exchange I think that it’s unlikely it ever will hit me. However that doesn’t mean there aren’t some little differences which when I come across make me miss home.

·         As I mentioned at the start of this post, Bonfire Night. I want to go see a firework display tonight but there isn’t one.

·         Halloween, yes I had an awesome Halloween but at the same time I did miss going to the Halloween event that I have been to every year at my UK uni.

·         Tea. I haven’t had a single cup of proper English Breakfast tea since I’ve been here because the ones imported from Britain are too pricey and I don’t like the look of any of the other brands.

·         Instant coffee, you can’t buy decent instant coffee over here. As I need my coffee every morning I had to buy a coffee maker.

·         Halloumi, it’s not available in Walmart.

·         Having a full reading week, we don’t have one in the fall semester but it’s nice to have a break.

·         Money, I’m fine with saying dollars instead of pounds and using notes but the coins keep confusing me. This is awkward if you’re at a till when there’s a queue behind you and you’re faffing around trying to figure out what’s a 10 cent and what’s a 5 cent.

This isn’t a list of all the differences between being a student in the UK and Canada or everything that I miss but it’s just a few things that have stood out to me.

Thanksgiving Weekend

I celebrated my first ever Thanksgiving!

Here in Canada we just had a long weekend (7^th – 10^th of October) to celebrate Thanksgiving. In Canada Thanksgiving takes place in early October instead of in November like it does over in America. The reason why is apparently because Thanksgiving is more about celebrating the Harvest over here in Canada. Going into the long weekend I didn’t really know what to expect because I have never experienced Thanksgiving before. But it turned out that I had a really great time and I really enjoyed myself.

Most people on my floor in my accommodation either went home for the long weekend or went off exploring places. As I’ve mentioned before usually my accommodation is very sociable so it was weird to find it so quiet, though it was kind of a refreshing change! I spent nearly the entire weekend with a couple of friends who live on the same floor as me and were staying for the long weekend. The three of us had a really good time together.

On Saturday we didn’t do too much, though I did go to a local farmers market which was really nice. I spent a lot of Saturday chatting, hanging out and just generally enjoying spending time with my friends.

On Sunday evening we had been invited to go to one of our other friends (she’s also one of my suitemates) home to join her family for Thanksgiving Dinner. It was a really good meal with lots of good food. We just had a really nice evening. Beforehand I know we’d been worried that it might be a little awkward but there wasn’t really any awkwardness. Once more the stereotype about Canadians being friendly welcoming people was proven to be true!

On Monday a lot of places were closed - as it was a public holiday - but we wanted to get out and do something. We found a local farm with a Corn Maze and a Pumpkin Patch was open and so we went there for a little outing. We managed to get lost in the Corn Maze but that’s part of the fun! It was a good harvest themed attraction which was nice to visit over Thanksgiving.

On Tuesday we had pancakes, we hung out some more and we went for a walk. There was also a second Thanksgiving dinner on a smaller scale than the big meal but on by the university. In the evening more or less everyone who had gone home returned, even though we’d all seen each other on Friday it was still good to have a reunion with all the friends I’ve made on this floor!

So that was my first ever Thanksgiving, as you can probably guess, I really enjoyed myself. I kind of want to bring celebrating Thanksgiving with me next year when I am back in the UK.

Niagara Falls and Other New Experiences in Canada

Can it really be over a month already since I arrived in Canada for my Study Abroad adventure? Apparently it is and so following on from ‘The Pep Rally and Other New Experiences in Canada’ I’m going to be sharing some of my more recent new experiences.

At the weekend (the one just gone) I went to Niagara Falls which was incredible. Going to Niagara Falls is one of those things that you just have to do whilst you’re in Ontario and I’m glad I did. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I went but it was just stunning. Seriously, Niagara Falls is amazing. I saw it from the Canadian side of the border which is apparently the better side to view it from (and not just because the Canadian side is in the better country!) Me and the group of friends I went with went on a boat trip where you go right up to the Falls (and get wet) and then we walked along the top to look down at the Falls. It was a great day out.

I’m trying new foods! Specifically Poutine. I had never heard of Poutine until I got here but apparently it’s a Canadian speciality dish. For my readers who don’t know what Poutine is basically it’s fries with cheese on top and gravy. At first I wasn’t sure about it but once I gave it a try I found that I actually liked it. I particularly liked the one I had with pulled pork on top.

Another recent new experience was going to Toronto. I talked about that in more detail in my post ‘I Went To Toronto!’ but it’s worth repeating because it was amazing.

Living in accommodation has been a positive experience. I’m actually making friends which is something I have struggled with in the past. I talked about this more in my post ‘Differences in Accommodation’.

A way from fun days out and new cultural experience I have also been having new experiences in class. I have night classes now which it turns out are not so bad. Work is more intensive other here, I usually have several smaller tasks each week as opposed to one big one at the end of the semester. This definitely has its advantages as it means there’s not the pressure to do one big essay which is worth 100% of the grade.

Also there’s midterm exams. I had my first one on Tuesday. It was kind of weird for me to be taking an exam again given I didn’t have any exams during Second Year. It turned out that it was nowhere near as awful as I’d been anticipating and I’m cautiously optimistic that it went well for me.

Coming up is a very new experience for me, my first ever Thanksgiving! In Canada Thanksgiving takes place in October, apparently this is because October is the time of the Harvest. This year Thanksgiving falls on Monday the 9^th. I’m lucky enough to have been invited to go round to a friend’s house to spend Thanksgiving with her and her family. I’m looking forward to experiencing first-hand what Thanksgiving is all about.

Overall I am definitely having a wonderful time out here in Canada. I actually think it’s better than I had allowed myself to anticipate it would be and I’m certainly trying my best to make the most of all the new experiences that come with being in a new country.

Differences in Accommodation

I’ve talked before about new things in Canada. I even briefly talked about residence in my post on ‘The Pep Rally and Other New Experiences in Canada’ but this time I want to talk in a bit more detail about my experience so far with student accommodation in Canada.

I’m unsure if most of this stuff is specifically Canadian or if it’s just stuff I missed out on back in the UK. My first year accommodation was a very small group and it was university accommodation but it was off campus. There was just four of us for the first semester and five for the second semester. This was great when we were getting along with each other however if we had arguments and when we fell out it quickly became difficult and awkward. In second year I lived in a house with two other students, I did try to get along with them but sometimes people just don’t get along with each other.

And that brings us to this year. If you know me you probably know that I was hoping it would be third time lucky with my accommodation.  Well I think it has been third time lucky.

I live with a group of eight (including me) that’s more people than I’ve ever lived with before but so far I think it is working out well. There’s a fun dynamic starting to develop between us. Even simple stuff like this morning I sat at the table with one of my suitemates whilst having breakfast and we chatted whilst we ate. It feels like we actually interact more than the people I’ve lived with previously. And it’s just good to spend time with my flatmates instead of it feeling like a chore.

Just generally living in student accommodation over here is a lot more of a sociable experience than it ever was for me in England. As I mentioned previously it’s fairly common to just wander into other people’s suites and hang out with each other. I can’t quite decide if that’s because of where I lived, because it’s just the Canadian way or because I have become more confident and now actively seek out opportunities for socialisation.

It’s not just socialising, even the things within the accommodation itself are different…

·         There’s a laundrette to do your washing in. I’ve just lived in places that either have washing machines or we could rent a washing machine for.

·         There’s a store on the ground floor. We have our own little corner shop! It’s kind of expensive but it’s useful to have if you just want to pop out and get something.

·         There’s themed residences. I live in International House which is a mix of international students and Canadian students.

·         Our residence attendant actually interacts with us! In first year I think I saw our residence attendant about twice throughout the whole year, over here we have weekly floor meetings.

·         Weekly floor meetings. That’s another new one, maybe not the most exciting thing but it’s nice to get to see everyone.

So in conclusion, the residence experience in Canada so far is different but I’m enjoying it.

The Start Of Studying Abroad!

Well it’s finally here. I am now in Canada beginning the start of my Study Abroad experience. So far I’m beginning to settle in and get used to things over here. Right now it is currently the start of my second full day in Canada and I thought it was time to just share a few initial thoughts about how it’s going so far.

At the moment it sort of feels like I’m out here for a holiday and not here to study. Speaking to my fellow exchange students I’m not the only one who feels like this! I suppose at the moment it is sort of a holiday, classes don’t begin until Thursday next week and right now I’m partaking in the international students welcome events. Obviously academic work is coming up soon but right now it’s more about being relaxed, getting used to things and having fun.

The weather out here is lovely. Since I landed I’ve enjoyed more sun over the past few days than I did the entire summer back in England! Generally you don’t think of Canada as being a particularly sunny country however from my first-hand experience I can tell you that it definitely is sunny! I know that a long, cold, snowy winter is coming but right now I’m enjoying the sun.

There’s many differences between Canada and England, I probably end up writing many posts about cultural differences. However one of the biggest differences that keeps hitting me is just how big everything is over here. The campus is enormous! At least four times as big as my Uni’s campus back in the UK. I’ve walked across quite a lot of it and still barely scratched the surface of just how far it extends. By the end of the year I will have done so much walking!

So far so good and I’m looking forward to finding out what is going to come next!