Merci Montreal

By Katie Dolan, McGill University, Canada

After facing every challenge that comes with moving 3,000 miles away from home for almost a year by yourself, it truly is saying goodbye that is the toughest part of going on an exchange.

I always thought going on an exchange would be a great experience, but I never could have imagined just how great it would be.

After being home for a couple months now, I have had some time to reflect on my year in Montreal and all my favourite areas of the city, classes that I took, and trips that I went on. I feel so lucky to have lived in and loved such a beautiful city. As I walked through Montreal during my final days there, I truly felt that I had a memory from every corner of the city.

I feel so lucky to have experienced Montreal through all its seasons. I have realised that living in a place opens your eyes and heart to it in a way that simply visiting it cannot. It is easy to like Montreal when the sun is shining, Mont Royal is green, and there’s live music on every street, but as the seasons changed, I continued to fall in love with the city even when the trees lost their leaves, and it was genuinely painful to stand outside in the cold for more than 5 minutes!

As I said my goodbyes to Montreal, I was surprised at how sad I was to say goodbye to McGill. I realised that the buildings I got so used to walking into every day would no longer be part of my daily routine, and the grading systems that took a while to adjust had become the new norm. I realised how much I had integrated into the McGill lifestyle and truly became a McGill student in a way I never could have imagined. I didn’t feel like ‘an exchange student’, I felt part of the McGill community.

However, as enjoyable as my time at McGill was, and as much as I love what a beautiful and vibrant city Montreal is, it truly is the people that I met and the lifelong friends that I made that have made it so hard to say goodbye. I knew I would meet people and make friends on exchange, but I never thought I would be so lucky to have made such deep friendships with people that I now can’t imagine my life without.

Now don’t get me wrong, it is easy to romanticise a year abroad and forget about the tough parts like homesickness, exam stress, cold days, or missing out on birthday’s at home but I cannot emphasise enough how worth it an exchange is. It really is an indescribable feeling saying goodbye to your exchange city. I have loved every single second of my time in Montreal, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat if I could.

As I say goodbye to Montreal and end this chapter of life, it really is such a bittersweet feeling, but as Winnie the Pooh said, “how lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard”.

❤️