Capilano University Students Blogging Abroad

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...