Capilano University Students Blogging Abroad

Studying in London has been nothing short of amazing so far and it just keeps getting better as I make more friends. However, last month me and my friend Cody decided to ditch London and head to the International Auto Show that was being held in Geneva. We are both avid petrol heads and this is the event where auto manufacturers go to introduce their upcoming models. As soon as it was announced that Ferrari and Lamborghini were both going to reveal their latest projects, there was no way we were going to miss it.   Geneva is the French speaking part of Switzerland and neither Cody or myself could speak a great deal of French. However, we didn’t really think twice and booked our flights such that we only had to spend one night at a hotel and save some money. We caught a cheap Easy Jet flight into the main airport and literally walking distance outside of the airport was the Geneva Palexpo. We simply just followed signs that had a picture of a car and said “L’auto” on it. W

Contemplating studying abroad? The reasons to go embark on this journey are endless! I will touch on a few of the reasons that were most prominent for me.     #1: You will learn and grow! You will learn through studies, through creating friendships, through travelling, and through so many different situations and events that could be amazing or could be terrifying. You will come back home with unique stories and experiences. You will come back to Canada and feel “ahead of the game”. No matter what happens – you will learn and grow.   #2: This is a cost effective opportunity that you must partake in – you pay the same tuition to complete education in another country! There are many international students that have to pay sky high tuition to study in another part of the world. But at Capilano, the study abroad exchange program makes it more affordable and helps you fully prepare for the experience. The only other expenses are flights, cost of living, and cost of t

My first role at Disney was working at Strollers in The Magic Kingdom. At first it was not at all what I expected when I received a Merchandise role. I thought I would be working in shops selling plush Disney characters and key chains. Instead I was stacking strollers and renting out ECVs (electric scooters), wheelchairs, and lockers. I also needed to know how to move and operate the ECVs and know all the shortcuts through the park in case there was a breakdown and I had to deliver another as soon as possible. For the first month I was scheduled six days a week, working 40-55 hours and I did not like it at all, I just wanted to make a child’s day by selling them a plush Mickey and instead I was working like a dog moving wheelchairs and strollers.               Soon enough, the park was becoming less busy and I finally had my two-day weekends and I was getting to know people at work. After working at Strollers and hearing about all my friends other jobs, I realized tha

Having travelled before, lived in foreign countries before and travelled quite a lot, none of this ever prepared me for what this experience would give me. Living in a student dorm that was not only MCI students but also the two other Innsbruck Universities allowed for me to meet people from other schools, other families and have a different experience from staff housing. I met the most amazing people from around the world. These people not only became my friends but they became my family. We made Sunday family dinners, went to bars together and had study days. We travelled throughout Europe and got lost in cities together. If you are thinking that you can’t do it, it is not for you. Think again. You may have to go into debt, beg your parents, apply for every scholarship, bursary and loan possible but it will never be regretted. If you have never travelled outside of Canada, or North America it is not a problem. There are opportunities to travel to English speaking countr

After spending almost 6 months studying and travelling abroad in Europe many of my friends, family and colleagues have asked me what they think was one of the most valuable lessons or pieces of advise I took away from my trip.   This was not an easy question for me to answer, so I took some time to think long and hard about one piece of advice or lesson I could share with someone about to embark on a similar journey to my own.   But then it dawned on me one day while I was busy checking out a facebook chat with one of my girlfriends while I was at lunch with my mom, who was sitting directly across from me.   She was clearly trying to have a real conversation with me while I was rudely being distracted by a conversation with a friend of mine on my phone.   At that moment I embarrassingly knew I had allowed myself to fall back into my old routine of being overly consumed by smartphone and I realized that for my entire time abroad I did not have an my “precious beloved can’t live withou

Here is the most amazing experience that I had while abroad after my studies. In scuba diving, a hard drop is a technique used when a water entry demands a quick descent below the waves to a desired depth. It involves entering the water with negative buoyancy, thus plummeting a diver into the blue with haste. The requirement is often needed when strong water currents may carry you away from your desired dive area. The Komodo National Park off the coast of the island of Lombok in equatorial Indonesia was where I had a chance to perform this unique skill. Our dive site was a vertical rock wall three kilometers long, with an underwater current running parallel to the wall travelling at 2 knots: or so we thought.   The drop went well.   Everyone descended to 18 metres with no problems with equipment or equalizing pressure in his or her ears. However, immediately I noticed that the current was much more powerful than originally expected: cruising like a bird along the reef wall

Moving to a new country, into a new home, and settling into a new job sounds crazy, but in reality it isn't all that bad. The   real   challenge is learning how to balance work, school,   and   a social life altogether (and more often than not, the social life takes the biggest hit). For example, this week has been a 40 hour work week, which left little time on the side to do much else. And while school assignments have been easy, they require time to complete, a precious commodity we do not have much of.  As of late, I have also set a personal goal to enter a rock climbing competition (woo hoo!). But that adds another level of responsibility to my list, including making time to work out and creating a healthy and clean diet plan. Thankfully I get two days off each week...that is if I don't spend one whole afternoon at Walmart buying groceries.  With all those mashed up together, it may seem impossible to have your cake and eat it too, but with a little creativity, tim

I arrived at YVR August 6 and I know this is almost two months late. However, I have not been the same since arriving home. I feel like I am walking in a fog, living in a dream, a shell of a man. Food does not taste as good, air does not smell as sweet, and culture does not feel as rich. Am I happy to be home? Yes. Do I wish I was still traveling through Europe living culture, learning history, and experiencing new and unforgettable memories? Definitely.       Since I have been home everybody that I see has said the same thing, OMG you are home. Followed by the same question, how was trip? The first thing I say is life changing. What else can I say? Then I start down the list of things I did while I was away. School Tuesday to Thursday then it was time to travel. During the semester my new friends and I traveled to Germany, Belgium, Northern Ireland, Italy twice, Monte Carlo, and throughout Switzerland. Everything from pub-crawls to ice hockey games to snowboarding in th

As of right now I have two and a half months left here in Florida.   There are days that pass that seem to take forever, while there are days that fly by.   As I look back on these past three and a half months it feels like a blur.   How could I have been fortunate enough to experience so much in such a short amount of time?   I have gained incredible friendships, seen some of my favorite country musicians in concert, became a more independent person, got to immerse myself in a completely different culture, got the opportunity to be work for a huge global company, Disneyworld, and the list just continues.   During my first few months of working, I spent them at Casey’s Corner in Magic Kingdom.   I was fortunate enough that this is, in my opinion, the best park to work at.   Magic Kingdom is filled with the most Disney magic, and Casey’s Corner is directly across from Cinderella’s castle. Working at Casey’s Corner was crazy.   It had many good factors (the great group of friends

Once I learned a quote from Dr. Seuss: “ The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places, you will go.” I did not understand what this old man was talking about. The only thing I know about him was his amazing story and artwork in The Cat in the Hat .   Study abroad has given me this opportunity to explore what Dr. Seuss’s message was trying to deliver. I have sat in classrooms and spend numerous hours on textbooks and homework to advance my knowledge. I also have the occasion to do some travelling between semesters. However, this study abroad experience was very different from the travelling I previously did.   I have met so many wonderful people all over the world from the study abroad experience. I have also visited many historical, breathtaking, and surreal attractions and cities. All the pictures I have seen in my textbooks, I finally had the opportunity to stand there and enjoyed the surroundings and ambiance th

Ashley Strain has just returned from a semester abroad, studying Business Adminstration at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, UK.  She shares her top 25 reasons for why YOU should study abroad:   1.     It will be the best time of your life 2.     You will meet so many amazing people that live all around the world 3.     You will make life-long friends that you will keep in touch with forever 4.     You can travel and see parts of the world you never thought possible 5.     You will learn to become more independent and self sufficient 6.     Your communication skills will develop 7.     You will create amazing memories that you will have forever 8.     You will learn to take risks 9.     You will learn about other cultures 10.   You get to experience A LOT of delicious food 11.   Being from a different country makes you interesting to others 12.   You will become more confident 13.   You grow up and realiz