Cheryl Olvera at Bat Out of Hell The Musical

Good morning, Vancouver!

Posted by BCSAadmin on 11/27/2017

By Cheryl Olvera, Simon Fraser University, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship.

Ah, Vancouver. What can I say? I love you and I’ve missed you, but I’m so so sad to be back in Canada. My apartment I sublet whilst gone is extremely dirty, my lamps are broken… I just feel lost. Turns out I really settled down in Brighton. I made some great friends, found a community in the local CrossFit gym, and even had a boyfriend.

My time in England was so much more than a study abroad semester—it was a new dimension of life for 6 months. It was really great for my academia to study at a research-based Uni (University of Sussex) with different professors for a semester, but what I really took away from this experience was profound personal growth. When out of my dail...

Tags: Brighton england Study Abroad Stories from Abroad Winner experience Scholarship 2017 BC Study Abroad scholarship
Category: Student Blog
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Lucy Dabbs

Day 4: Virtual glasses, interesting classes part 1

Posted by BCSAadmin on 11/27/2017

By: Lucy Dabbs, Georges P. Vanier Secondary School, participant of the 2017 Beijing International Education Exchange (BIEE) Summer Camp.

At your feet lies a black headset, a thick visor to go across your eyes, and two nunchuck like controllers on each side. You pick up the headset and fit it onto your head like a crown, your eyes fitting into the visor like a pair of snorkelling goggles. Two cylindrical eye holes fill your vision, windows into another reality. A vast plane land, like the sandy terrain of Mars surrounds you. Your hands grope around, using touch and senses to pick up the controllers in the real life you can no longer see. Looking down to where your hands should be and in place there are two white controllers. You have no legs.

This is the virtual real...

Tags: Georges P. Vanier Secondary School Study Abroad BIEE Summer Camp exchange International Student education exchange Beijing BC students
Category: Student Blog
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Lucy Dabbs

Day 3: Fluffy Kitten Cakes Part 5

Posted by BCSAadmin on 11/23/2017

By: Lucy Dabbs, Georges P. Vanier Secondary School, participant of the 2017 Beijing International Education Exchange (BIEE) Summer Camp.

The BC group still sits together at dinner, but this is the first official night, so people are still getting used to the idea of being able to walk up to any group and be talking to people from countries I haven’t even heard of. I could just sit down and have a meal with the people from Bangladesh and have conversations about homemade flutes with a side of dessert. The dessert, by the way, is amazing. They’re these fluffy cakes that are soft like a kitten’s fur and yet taste like vanilla.

The track had become the central unofficial hangout spot, where groups would gather in the evening in circles. This type of societal formation w...

Tags: Georges P. Vanier Secondary School Study Abroad BIEE Summer Camp exchange International Student education exchange Beijing BC students
Category: Student Blog
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Group picture after a sunset bike tour in Paris, France

On the latent benefit of study-abroad friends

Posted by BCSAadmin on 11/21/2017

By Alice Wang, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship and a member of the BC Study Abroad Writer in Residence Team

It probably goes without saying that people are what makes experiences special. One can even argue that they are what make the experience in the first place. We are social creatures and traveling is taxing. Hence why I am so grateful that I have crossed path with such an array of people who, even if at the time they did not strike a chord with me, have all become memorable characters of my journey. For those who have entered transiently into my life, I appreciate their passing influence; they have each held an unique role and played it spectacularly well. For those with whom I have managed to stay in touch...

Tags: Study Aboard Stories from Abroad Kwantlen Polytechnic University Writer in Residence The Louvre Paris France Advice
Category: Writers In Residence
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