Author: christeviengoma

Ending the year abroad in California!

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By Christevie Ngoma, University of Toronto, Canada

Pre Holiday

In January, me and my best friend (Danielle) from London (who did an exchange at McGill in Montreal) decided we needed one more holiday after New York to celebrate the end of our exchange! So we picked California, I have a close uncle in San Diego and my best friend has a close Aunt in Los Angeles. This meant we had free accommodation so we were saving over £1,000 not paying for a hotel.

My flight from Toronto to San Diego with a return from LAX costs £374 with Air Canada, me and Danielle planned to meet in Chicago during a stop over! We didn’t have to pay for a ESTA since we got one in December for when we went to New York so that was sorted! All we had to do was plan our trip!

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Harrington Housing Toronto Review

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By Christevie Ngoma, University of Toronto, Canada

Here is an honest review of Harrington Housing in Toronto. Toronto’s housing market in general is scary, so as a student it was definitely tough looking for an affordable place.

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UK vs Canada – Studying & Exams

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By Christevie Ngoma, University of Toronto, Canada

3 exams and 3 assignments later, I’ve officially completed my third year at UofT! After experiencing the Canadian University system for a year, I think I’m qualified to compare it to the UK!

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New York New York!

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By Christevie Ngoma, University of Toronto, Canada

I decided to take advantage of being close to North America and travel to New York! All I needed was a travel buddy! I have a friend in Montreal whose doing an exchange year at McGill University, and she had a visitor from the U.K. so we all decided to be tourists together!

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Homesickness Tips

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By Christevie Ngoma, University of Toronto, Canada

Growing up in London and going to University in Manchester, I honestly thought homesickness was not going to affect me. I spent two years living away from home, and one of them was in a pandemic! So I thought I was an expert on dealing with being distant from family. I thought wrong.

Being a 5 hour drive away from home is one thing, but being an 8 hour plane journey and literally being in a different time zone is another. I did not expect to struggle with missing friends and family to this extent if I am being very honest.

Homesickness looks different for everyone, and can come at different moments. It comes when it’s my friends 21st birthday and everyone is celebrating but I can’t be there. It comes when I see a really good party in Manchester and all my friends have gone without me. It comes when my parents are showing me the new shed that they got in the garden, and I know I can’t see it till summer. Sometimes Homesickness only lasts a day, and then sometimes it can last a week. Particularly for me, I’m not going back home for Christmas, so I know I’m going to feel the brunt of it a lot during this December. At the end of the day, Homesickness is a completely normal feeling when you’re living out the country.

Here are some tips on how I’ve dealt with it!

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6 things you should do in your first month in Toronto

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By Christevie Ngoma, University of Toronto, Canada

After crying on the plane about leaving my friends and family, I felt a wave of excitement because I realised after weeks of planning a personal statement to apply for the IPO, months of waiting for an answer. I finally made it to Toronto.

The past 3 weeks have been so busy, who would’ve thought that moving to a new country would be so eventful? This blog has tips on what to do and where in your first month as an exchange student!

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