Lucy Dabbs, Chinese paper cutting
Posted by on

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

Each classroom holds a new set of students, and a whole new set of people to meet from multiple different countries. Throughout the day I learn numerous traditional Chinese Art and technical skills while laughing and getting to know the people in my class. Trying new things together is a great way to make friends.

After lunch I do paper cutting and Chinese ink painting. Patience is not my strongest suit so I don’t end up creating exquisite masterpieces, but I learn some cool techniques.

Soon it’s dinnertime, and I meet back with our group to hear about the different classes they took. When I finish eating, I head out to the...

Category: Student Blog
Taipei 101, Taiwan
Posted by on

By: Peter Mate, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver Campus, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship and a member of the BC Study Abroad Writer in Residence Team.

Plane tires touch down on worn tarmac. The jolt of the wheels shocks you into consciousness. Wiping the cake surrounding your eyes, you realize it’s noon. You’re under slept and underfed. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to pack last minute – perhaps it was unwise to spend all night studying. It doesn’t matter anymore – you’ve come for a conference already underway. Eventually, the plane taxis into the terminal, and you’ve managed to pass customs. Apprehension builds as you realize that you’ll have to carry conversation after being awake for 24 hours. Situations similar to my predicament in Taiwan ar...

Category: Writers In Residence
Cheryl Olvera at Bat Out of Hell The Musical
Posted by on

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...

Category: Student Blog
Lucy Dabbs
Posted by on

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...

Category: Student Blog

Pages