Capilano University Students Blogging Abroad

Living on my own in a foreign country has surpassed all of my expectations. I’ve only been here a month and a half and its crazy how much I’ve already learnt about myself. I’ve had to exercise patience and understanding, especially living in a house full of people from different cultures who have different communication styles. I am thankful for this experience because patience is something that I really need to work on. I find it so interesting how we automatically click with people from similar cultures, who have similar communication styles. I’ve grown really close with the other North Americans here already and I see other close relationships forming between the other exchange students who come from the same culture. I get along really well with the other exchange students as well but moving forward I want to make much more of an effort to really get to know them on a personal level. I think doing this will make my experience even more life changing than it already has been. ...

Arriving back in Innsbruck I am filled with feelings of excitment, terror of the unknown and the realization of how far from home I really am. When we first arrived in Innsbruck over a month ago, I did not get a real idea of the city, as we set off for our adventure all I could think was "what did I get myself into, I am so screwed".  I picked up Stanley at the train station and we headed off to get the keys to our dorms and move in. The city of Innsbruck is beautiful, and we knew that we were not located near the city centre and that was okay. But as we put the address into the GPS we realized we were not going to be staying in the picturesque core of the city and rather located in Innsbruck's version of East Van, or the ghetto.  The dorm is old and grungy but for some reason I love it. What used to be a hotel has been converted into a dorm with 20 or so rooms per floor, a kitchen for each floor and common room fi...

After a day of travel by plane and train I find myself staring at a concrete monastery… This is where I will be spending the next six months of my life, Franziskushaus, and I could not be happier. I arrived with Harleen and Alicia five days before orientation. It was not raining like in Vancouver but we did find snow and minus degree weather. Instantly thought, I did not pack for snow but at least my spring cloths will be clean when it warms up.   We were able to get situated and learn our way around town. This was not too hard because the other students were very helpful and Dullekin/ Olten is not that big. Surprisingly, I did not get too home sick. I am guessing it is because the first weekend I was off to Zurich to watch hockey, which made me feel right at home. Orientation was on the 18 th and was followed by two weeks of trial classes… take note Canada. This let us see what we were getting into and let us cater a schedule that fit our personal needs aka travel!!!   ...

1.       Almost everything is closed on Sundays 2.       Leave yourself extra time to get places because all your travel is by bus, train and walking. 3.       Meat is expensive but it is free range. 4.       Raclette looks and smells terrible but is quite tasty. 5.       Eggs area not refrigerated. 6.       The service industry in no way compares to Canada and there is nothing you can do about it. 7.       The travel and sights are out of this world. 8.       The Swiss students are friendly, helpful and very welcoming.

   Before leaving for my semester abroad in England, I was sure that there would be a seamless transition. I didn’t really think about the challenges or difficulties I may face in a new place, despite having read all about them. I understood culture shock, I knew what signs to look for, and I was convinced it wouldn’t happen to me! After all, I’ve done plenty of travelling and been to new places on my own. Surely life in England wouldn’t be that different. However, arriving in the middle of winter and battling illness made adjustments a little bit more difficult. I felt underwhelmed by the small size of the town of Hatfield, compared to my home in bustling downtown Vancouver. I found solace in frequent day trips to London, soaking in the excitement of being in one of the world’s greatest cities. Classes were (and still are!) tough, with a very different structure than my tourism courses back at Capilano. However, I made an effort to meet with my professors and get involve...