Tristan's Exchange to Simon Fraser University | Canada
- My expectations -
I will have to say, I did not have many expectations. I sort of knew it was going to be fun, but I did not have a plan of what to do, not was I fully prepared for the experience. However, I am always like that. I do not usually make a schedule. I just jump straight in. Basically, I got into the plane with my eyes open and I improvised as it went. I knew I was going to be picked up from the airport, but that’s about it. One thing that I did not think about and caught me by surprise was how unprepared I was to start studying. Remember, you are going on exchange to study and not just on holidays. I forgot this when university, with all the work that comes with it, started. You are going to be very busy before you leave, make sure you start early and try to do as much as possible. You don’t want to be doing any more work than the necessary while in your host country. Trust me, with university, socializing and exploring you will have plenty of things to do.
- The experience -
The experience was incredible. I got to Vancouver on the 18th of August. This gave me about two weeks before I had to move in into university accommodation. However, I was privileged as I had family that came to pick me up from the airport and pretty much had an itinerary planned for me. We went on a couple of hikes and a bike ride. My cousin, 2 years older than me, even had a party with some friends. We played beer pong in the back yard for many hours. It was hot and I got to meet some Canadians. One other great advantage of family was that I borrowed things like bedding, plate, bowl, knife, etc. Instead of having to spend a lot of money and then must throw them all away like some of the people I met had to do.
My experience was what it was thanks to the people I met over there. This people become my family pretty much. I lived in the student dorm, where I shared a kitchen with 21 people, coming home and bumping into one of this new friends was great. Pretty much you spend all of your free time with them. Even though I was leaving by myself in a little room, I only felt alone once. There is so much connection at the university dorms, I was always surrounded by friends. Staying at the uni dorms might be more expensive but it is convenient, hassle free, and you can meet a lot of people easily. I recommend it because you want to get the most out of your 6 months.
- What was the best -
There was not a best part, it is just too difficult to choose one. For example, I love skiing, traveling and meeting new people. All of this on their own are great but, together is even better. I had a day at whistler (ski resort) where all these things came together. I met two people at the Alpine Lodge hostel where I was staying in, one Australian and the other one English. We were all strangers to each other but we got along well and decided to go skiing together. Great snow had fallen that night and we decided to go exploring a bit. In conclusion, I was skiing with great people in unknown terrain. It was an amazing day. This combination of everything in a single event happened to me again and again. Another example is when I hiked to Garibaldi lake with some frieds, I extremely recommended it. We stayed the night at the garibaldi camp site situated just by the lake, 9 km from the car park. Take clothes, it does get cold at night. The next morning, we walked up panorama ridge, a 7.5 km hike that continues upwards from the lake. It was beautiful, picture below, we had blue skies and laughed so much together, a few of us even went swimming in the glacier fed lake. This two example are events that explains why exchange is so much fun. If you like this kind of stuff you will like going on exchange. The best thing of being on exchange is that this new experiences happen all the time.
- The worst -
This part is easy, me and my partner tried for a long distance relationship. Maybe I don’t need to explain why, but let me tell you it was hard. We had so many fights at one point, we even broke up. However, it was worth it because we are trying to get back together again. I met a girl over there that was going through the same difficulty. She did not have it easy either. My recommendation is you try to call as much as possible, don’t text, we got into so many arguments because of a misunderstanding on the tone used in a text. i.e. sometimes being honest can be interpreted as sarcasm. I am saying this to help whomever is reading this in this situation. My recommendation is to make sure you talk a lot before and during the experience. It was a part of my life that I think I would have regretted not doing.
- Why was it worth it -
This is easy, there is one life, I will say fill it up with new experiences and exciting people. if you have any doubt, will you prefer to stay at home in your same old couch?
“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.”
~ Forrest Gump
However, this does not mean you do not grab one, right?. Additionally, Legacy Project is a project which purpose was to ask old people about life. This project revealed that, out of the 1200 participants, the most common regret expressed was,
“I wish I hadn’t spent so much of my life worrying.” (Phillemer, 2013)
So, stop worrying about all the bad things that make happen and get it done
- Tristan studied abroad at Simon Fraser University in Canada
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