Capilano University Students Blogging Abroad

One of the many pluses to studying abroad is that on school breaks, you have the exciting opportunity to explore entirely knew places near by. On my mid semester break in Auckland New Zealand, my travel plans were pushed back so I made an impromptu decision to visit the city of Wellington alone. I would call myself a semi-loner so it’s surprising I had never actually done a trip all by myself where I knew I would most likely be alone he entire time. But I did… and I loved it. The best thing about traveling alone is that you can do whatever you want. No need to compromise on sights or attractions with a group. I found this to be infinitely rewarding in a city full of museums and galleries, things that i love to do but unfortunately don’t in most cities I visit. I spent two hours in a film archive without boring a friend or family member. I was able to spend long amounts of time on photos, getting the perfect shot. Being in a foreign city all alone taught me a lot about myself t...

During my experiences overseas I have grown to better understand myself as an independent individual. An experience like this challenges you to become comfortable with solace and leaves you to look deep inside yourself to figure out who you really are and what you stand for. Although you are never alone (thanks to the amazing people you’ll meet) you will need to depend on yourself for the strength and support to take this opportunity for all its worth. When we are in our comfort zones we have created the safety blanket that is the perception of the self. But It’s when we step outside of our comfort zones, that’s we truly learn, grow and get to test our capabilities.   While on a trip to Budapest I went on a caving adventure beneath Buda hill. It was on this trip that I realized that I am far more capable of overcoming obstacles and conquering my fears than I had never imagined I was. Prior to stepping into the cave, I was riddled with anxiety and uncertainty of whether ...

Wow, time flies! It’s hard to believe it has been just over a month since I flew across the pond and settled down in Hatfield. I’m not going to lie; Hatfield lacks the typical charm of a small English town, but everyone here seems to know that, so I’m not the only one complaining. However, being just 25 minutes from London is a fair trade!   Settling in here has been weird. Half the time I forget I am actually in England. I wake up in the morning and it doesn’t look like my bedroom from home, and then I remember of yeah I’m halfway across the world and everyone outside my door has a funny accent.   I do have it pretty easy being in England since there is no technical language barrier, although most of the time I find my self smiling and nodding because I can’t understand half the things they say and I should because we all speak English! It is quite amusing being imitated by the British; at home its fun to put on a British accent, we sound so regal. Her...

A major learning experience and place of personal growth while I have been in Vienna thus far comes from living by myself. Yes I have roommates but one is from Turkey and doesn’t speak any English and the other is from Hong Kong and her and I rarely cross paths with our busy schedules. It is the first and probably only time I will ever live fully on my own (I do like living with people). I am grateful for the experience of studying abroad for so many reasons, but this is a major one that stands out to me.   Living on your own is something everyone should do, I think you learn a lot about yourself and what your capable of; I sure have. There are quiet mornings where I won’t have spoken a word to anyone, and before this trip that would have terrified me. But I have learned how to be with myself and have done really well living solo.   There is also sense of extra freedom when you live alone; no one telling me to do anything or expecting anything, not even a roommate wa...

Before we go away on our semester’s abroad friends, family, co-workers, and strangers are all really quick to give us advice. We listen, maybe write it down, but don’t really take it in or give it another thought. We think we know everything and we can do it all ourselves. However, I learned very quickly that I should have listened a little better. These are the top 10 things people told me before I arrived that I didn’t really fully understand until I experienced them first hand.   1.        Save and Budget Before I came here I knew that I needed to save money and budget. However, when I first arrived I got totally caught up in the idea of being abroad. I was shopping, travelling, and eating out like I was working full-time. I was really surprised one day when I looked at my bank account. I am not saying to not shop, eat, or travel, that is all part of the experience, but just do so in moderation and have a budget for it all.   ...

1.        German is not mandatory Berlin is a big city with people from all over the world.  The common language spoken is English, so if you’re German language skills are not tip-top, no worries.  I don’t regret attempting to learn the language before I arrived, but I can’t say it really has done me any real good (no harm either.) Everyone speaks better English than my German.  At least I tried. 2.        Beer (But the wine’s good too) I somehow thought that by moving to Germany I would be drinking beer exclusively.  I lasted about two weeks.  As someone who doesn't typically enjoy beer I thought that by not drinking a lot of beer I wouldn't be experience Germany to the fullest.  Who knew that Germany is a  wine producing country?  I recommend a Dornfelder. 3.        Night Owl If you turn into a pumpkin at midnight, Berlin might not be the c...

I had the opportunity to travel to Lagos, Portugal for a week of yoga and surfing during Easter break. I had never really wanted to try surfing, but it looked like a lot of fun, and the pictures that I had seen of Lagos looked amazing. So off we went! Not only did we get to stay in a totally rad surf house, learn to surf on picture perfect beaches, and unwind at yoga class every night, we met some really amazing people. Everyone was so kind, helpful, and positive in helping us learn to surf.   By no means did I think surfing would be easy, but I really did not expect it to be as difficult as it was. After the first few days I felt like I had been hit by a truck. But every morning we got up and got back out there. Even though my whole body hurt, I had cuts and bruises, I was tired, and I was not always successful in the surfing department, I still felt so accomplished. I felt very humbled by the ocean. There is something amazing about giving up control and letting the wave...

  During my time abroad, I have met a lot of people from all around the world and it’s been really interesting learning about other cultures first hand.   It makes you realize that every culture is different and that it’s ok that not everyone is the same.   For example, the topic of how many continents there are has been brought up multiple times.   People from different countries have been taught differently; some people think there’s four or five, while we’re taught in Canada that there are seven.   This demonstrates that everyone views the world in different ways.   Truth be told, does it even matter how many continents there are?   What matters is that people understand that not everyone thinks the same as them or is taught the same things and can accept that.     It’s important to understand how other cultures work, especially when working with people who are from other places around the world.   I did run into some c...

Well we’re already halfway through the semester, and time is only moving faster and faster everyday. There’s so much I still have to see in Switzerland before I can leave this beautiful country. I’ve been lucky enough to visit Zurich, Bern, Basel and Lucerne and that doesn’t even include the cities farther South from Olten that I still have to visit. My favorite trip so far within Switzerland has been visiting the Matterhorn and the town of Zermatt. I’ve heard so much about the ginormous mountain but it still was unbelievable seeing it in person. I also won’t forget how cold it was at the top! For some reason I made the smart decision to wear a skirt to journey to the top, lesson learned. The weather has been unreal, 20 degrees in April and I’m already wearing shorts. Spending our lunch breaks sitting by the river is a nice break from the long days in class. It’s been awesome living with all the exchange students. There’s always someone to hang out with or someone whose i...

  I continue to be astounded by the amount of amazing opportunities that I’ve been able to have while studying abroad here in Vienna, Austria. The last month has been filled with amazing trips and memories, and I know it’s only going to get better from here. So far, I have been to Bratislava, Salzburg, Prague, Innsbruck, and Verona. Next up, Amsterdam, Scotland, Croatia, and hopefully a day trip to Hallstatt. The summer months are approaching and I can already tell that spending the summer in Vienna is going to be gorgeous. I feel so extremely blessed to be having this experience and sometimes, must stop and remind myself of how amazing a single moment can be. This experience has definitely opened my eyes to what this wonderful world has to offer and everything that we have to be grateful for.   I’ve gained a greater appreciation for time, different cultures, friends, family, and much more. Although I often think of Vancouver and how I would love to be back in my bea...

Walt Disney once quoted “If you can dream it, you can do it”. This quote has been my words to live by since I started the application process for the Disney International Program in October 2012. Here we are two years later, and I still find that quote inspirational in everything I do.  Working for the Walt Disney Company is an experience like no other. I love watching the behind the scenes work that make magic happen everyday. I’ve been working in Outdoor Foods in the Magic Kingdom. This job wasn’t my first choice, but it has been a learning experience. I’ve learned to find the positive aspects with a job I really didn’t enjoy at first. Now I love going to work, I’ve made friends at work and I love creating magic, and watching magic being created!  I’ve made friends from all over the world. At first I was intimidated to come to Disney not knowing anyone, but I created a family here. I don’t know what I would do without my friends here, they keep m...

Allow me to start my second blog by saying that I just returned from picking fresh mangos. Not at a farm, but from the trees that are right outside my dorm. How cool is that? I have grown a lot over the past few months, a whole inch and a half. Not in height, but girth. I think it is from all the affordable beer. Fun fact! TsingTao beer imports their barley from Canada! Cheers. I might be drinking one right now…   I want to write about the American Dream. I feel we share this with our neighbors to the south. We have everything on the West Coast of Canada. The ocean. The mountains. Snow in the winter. Beach weather in the summer. We have career opportunities. We have a government that fears its people and not a society that fears its government. We have education that is available to every single one of us if we want it.   We have craft breweries that make killer IPAs (shout out to Jason, Kevin, and Gary at Driftwood Brewery.) And that is where the dream part comes in...

Hey there Capilano, Megan here checking in from Vienna! Trying to sum up my study abroad so far seems nearly impossible as so much has happened, I will try my best to give you a rough overview though. The experience thus far has been amazing, fun, scary, life changing, thrilling, and the list goes on and on. I believe that studying abroad is one of the best opportunities you can take in your lifetime, so for any of you who are on the fence, hop off the fence and make it happen, you won’t regret it! Living in Vienna has been a very eye opening experience for many reasons, the people and customs are very different here then at home. An example which seams silly but is actually super hard to get used to is there store hours; they are very short and don’t exist on Sundays. The idea of being able to pick up anything you need at any time is not the case here. Adapting to their way of life is kind of fun though, I realized that there’s nothing wrong with a lazy Sunday every o...