Student Blog

By: Katlyn Bieber, Thompson Rivers University, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship.

Wow does time ever fly! I have officially been in Austria for almost 2 months! The first month was a whirl-wind! My flight over was a bit hectic as my plane from Kelowna was delayed resulting in me missing my connecting flight in Calgary so I arrived in Graz a day later than was expected. Luckily, I had signed up for the buddy program because my Austrian buddy picked me up at the airport and let me stay overnight at her house until I was able to move into my dormitory the next day. She was a lifesaver as I knew absolutely no German and would have been otherwise lost. She took me to the mandatory orientation the next day, drove me to pick up my key for my dormitory and took me...

By Mariam Ali, Simon Fraser University, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship.

As I’ve said, making friends was a bit of a challenge for me, but as time passed I created close friendships that I hope will stand the test of time and distance. It's often easiest to make friends with fellow exchange students since they're experiencing the same culture shock as you. In my experience, most exchange students are open-minded, warm and curious about the world. They’ll probably be curious about you, as you will be curious about them. Exchange students will also want to create new connections and experiences in a foreign country, just like you. A lot of them have fascinating stories about themselves, their cultures, their countries, or whatever else might interest you....

By: Alice (Ruo Ran) Wang, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship.

I am sitting on the train heading to a small town in Germany called Kassel. The quinquennial contemporary art festival—documenta—is taking place there and as a budding art historian, it is imperative that I visit it during my artistic pilgrimage. After two weeks in Paris, I am looking forward to being in a smaller city. Big cities have their glamour and dynamics, but it is in the countryside that we find the space and air to breath.

Writing the draft of this entry on the train is a particular treat. Not only am I delighted to be composing it with a fountain pen that I had recently purchased in Paris, I have always considered the process of writing to a kind...

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

Routine. That is what I had in Vancouver. I had my uni classes (‘uni’ is now how I refer to university, just as the British do, which makes me think of unicorns every time I say it so now I just use the unicorn emoji to refer to school via text), my part-time personal trainer job, my CrossFit gym, my amazing friends, my fav coffee shops. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE me some routine. It’s actually quite useful when you’re in uni too, because you can just focus on your assignments instead of trying to reorganize and sort out your life every second day. But routine really gets you on autopilot, and before you know it, you’ve lost sight of your path, your purpose, or lost your inquisit...