Student Blog

By: Sean Paul Veltmeyer, Langara College, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship.

Tonight will be the last night of my study abroad program. After spending one night in Shanghai then two in Hangzhou, two of China's colossal coastal cities, my classmates and I have spent the last two weeks housed on the campus of scenic Kunming's Yunnan Agriculture University. Home to six million people this capital of the southern Yunnan province is hardly a small city itself, but feels entirely different than the mega cities. The entire trip has been unforgettable and I have learned so much from the experience.

The first three days we spent on a guided tour seeing various tourist sites around the cities during the day then enjoying our evenings free to explore the citie...

By Peter Mate, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver Campus, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship.

Vancouver is not the same as I remembered. I romanticized the city during the past year; like everything idealized, it won’t meet your personal standard.

This realization came in Paris. The city was beautiful, but crime ridden. In the 18^th arrondissement, I was followed by boys trying to steal my wallet – at the Sacre Coeur Basilica two men tried to take what little Euro’s I had left. Despite being initially frustrated, I understood that this is part of exploring. You’re in a city unknown to you and some people wish to capitalise upon your confusion.

In this sense, you – the explorer must expect your ideal image of...

By: Matthew Hoogwoud, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship.

Summer in Japan is extremely hot. Normally I’m not a huge fan of the heat, but the last few weeks the temperature has grown on me. When I step out of the dormitory, I feel the blanket of humidity surround me. And at night, the warm air still permeates through the area. I love it. Night time walks are beautiful, and the warm air makes it very comfortable to walk around. In the Sanjo area of Kyoto, there is a long river called Kamo River, and in the day time is always crowded. I walk along the riverbank late at night, simply embracing the sounds of water rushing.

Recently, I went to Nara with a couple of friends. Nara is well known for it’s deer. When I was told...

By: Sean Paul Veltmeyer, Langara College, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship.

Tomorrow myself, thirteen of my classmates and two instructors depart Vancouver on the Langara China Field Studies program. Fourteen hours in the air will bring us to our first stop: Shanghai. This mega city inhabited by more than twenty four million people will be unlike anything I have seen before in my life. More than two thirds the population of Canada living in one urban center. Having grown up in a northern British Columbian town of eight hundred people, to me Vancouver is a busy place. But what I hear from many of the people I know from Asia is that Vancouver is slow; in the cities of Asia everything moves faster. I think this change of pace, along with the clean air, moder...