Capilano University Students Blogging Abroad

  Since I was very young, I’ve had the opportunity to travel all around the world. I’ve been to countless cities in multiple countries and have experienced many different cultures. Safely, I can say that traveling is in my genes; however, the thought of studying abroad seemed to be an invasion of an unfamiliar concept. I have travelled all my life, even so far as to participate in various exchanges for weeks at a time, but living away from home for 6 months… Now that is scary. In many ways, I would easily make the cut as one of the most paranoid people that you would ever meet. When I was accepted into an exchange program to go to the University of Hertfordshire in the UK, there was no shortage of freaking out. Doubts raced through my mind, including if I had enough money or if I was mature enough to take on this experience, but all these concerns seemed to have diminished once I had landed into LHR as I quickly realized that it was apart of th...

Ever since I started traveling around Europe with my sister back when I was about 16, aside from England, we didn’t speak the language of the countries we were visiting. We admired the architecture, fashion, and culture, but we were always outsiders, peering into another world that we could not possibly understand without the knowledge of the language. This is why, for as long as I can remember, I have always regarded European countries as somewhat “other-worldly” and there was always a subconscious but distinct divide between Europe and North America in my mind. I’ll admit, I could have made much more effort towards learning French during this semester in Amiens. I could have hung out exclusively with French students and spoke French to them, sat in cafes day in and day out listening to conversations, and watched French TV every day at home. I didn’t do these things (as much as I could have); however, I did take a French class throughout the semester and practiced my French...

1. You won’t make friends sitting in your room. This was the hardest lesson I had to learn. I spent a lot of time crying in my room over the fact that I didn’t have any friends. You have to step out of your comfort zone, when people send out an invite that says, “Everyone is welcome” they really mean everyone is welcome. Friendships take time, but they will happen. Just smile and be open for anything.   2. Grocery shopping in another language is hard.   Walking into the grocery store and seeing everything is in German was scary…something’s were easy: Milch=Milk…but sometimes you think you bought cheese and you ended up buying yogurt.   3. Things like toilet paper and toothpaste don’t just appear. When you are on your own you can’t just go into the cupboard and find the stash of necessities your mother bought months ago at Costco...you have to buy them yourself.   4. Primark is everything . They have dresses for €5. This is a philosophy that Vanc...

I have learned so much from this experience already, but I know that there is even more I can get out of it. I’ve learned how easy it is to make a new friend. Because I got to know so many people from all over the world at the International Student Orientation, I have learned a lot about different cultures as well. In terms of the school work, I’ve learned so much about the different expectations that other schools have for their students. Additionally, the course content has been really interesting because it focuses on tourism from a European perspective. In terms of self-realization, I have learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses. I have also learned that I take for granted some of the things at home, while at the same time I appreciate some things that I believe are done a lot better over here. I’ve realized that the best way to get over my feeling homesick, or culture shock, is to take a trip somewhere outside of Hatfield.   I think because I had started t...