Canada
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Mitacs: Summer Research at UBC, Canada
by Kevin Shi This summer, I had the privilege of interning at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan (UBCO) under the mentorship of Dr. Sumi Siddiqua through the fully funded MITACS program while following PhD candidate Shayan Narani. My research focused on understanding the influence of water content and superplasticizer on geopolymers made from blast furnace slag and wood fly ash—sustainable alternatives to traditional cement that help reduce the carbon footprint of the construction industry. The project’s goal was to optimize the mechanical properties and workability of these geopolymers by adjusting water content and superplasticizer dosage. Water is a critical factor in the strength and durability of geopolymers, as too…
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Reflecting on my Year Abroad
By Rhiann Singh, University of Ottawa Canada As I’m writing this I’m in my last 6 weeks into my final year here at UOM. It is crazy to think how fast my year abroad in Ottawa went and I can whole heartedly say that I do not regret a single thing.
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Chicago
By Andrew Mortimer, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada Having never been to the USA before, I was glad when my friend suggested that we visit Chicago in mid-March, as at that point our exams wouldn’t have begun yet. After a bit of itinerary planning, admin, and an extremely empty and early 90-minute plane ride, we arrived (very tired) on the Friday morning. After leaving our stuff at the hostel, we headed downtown to a diner for a great lunch before wandering around ‘the Loop’ and checking out the Chicago River, which had been dyed green for St Patrick’s Day the week before, an iconic tradition there. Once we explored the…
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Family Visit
By Andrew Mortimer, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada Having not gone home at Christmas, or at any other time, it was exciting to have my family visit in early March. None of my mum, dad, brother or sister had been to Canada before, and as they were only staying for 4 days, we had to make a busy itinerary. This could only begin on the Saturday once they had attempted to sleep having arrived on Friday night, though, by going up the CN Tower. As I had had dinner up there months before, I suggested we have lunch for different views and a different menu. Standing on the glass panels…
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Winter at UTM
By Andrew Mortimer, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada As nice as it would be to skip them, whilst doing a year abroad, you still have to take and pass your exams. At UofT this can be pretty challenging, because the standards of the other students are very high, and their near-total focus on academics and maintaining a high GPA has the obvious benefits and drawbacks. Building up to those then, I was spending more time in the various libraries, but I still managed to enjoy the lectures and all the extra activities outside of university. For example, I was lucky enough to have a fancy meal at the top of…
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What I Packed for Studying Abroad in Canada (And What I Wish I Hadn’t)
By Rhiann Singh, University of Ottawa, Canada Packing your whole life into a suitcase (or two in my case) is an extremely stressful thing to do. As a chronic over-packer I found this really difficult. Hopefully these tips should help you plan on what to take.
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Montreal & Quebec City
By Andrew Mortimer, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada Having only been at UTM for a handful of weeks, I and a few other exchange students realised that if we wanted to explore our new surroundings, a great time to do so would be during the reading week, which was coming up in early October. Even though we hadn’t known each other long at all, 6 of us decided to book a week away in the province of Quebec—firstly Montreal and then Quebec City. This was a great decision, as we all really enjoyed the trip, especially experiencing the unique culture there. 2 days before we left, I was also lucky…
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Toronto & UTM Arrival
By Andrew Mortimer, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada After I had landed, and tried poutine in the airport, my first challenge was getting successfully picked up by one of my new housemates and his girlfriend. Although they only lived 20 minutes away, in neighbouring Brampton, it had been a tricky journey for them due to her faulty car. Despite breaking down three times driving back, I was fortunately unsuperstitious and pleased to get the opportunity to speak to them more (primarily by the sides of various roads), having had to rush out of the rammed terminal queue. They were great and generous company, as well as stereotypically polite Canadians. Luckily…
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Reflecting On My Exchange Year: Why Studying Abroad Is Worth It
By Zarina Patel, University of Toronto, Canada I could go on FOREVER about why studying abroad is worth it. From making friends across the world to accessing learning opportunities you might not have had the chance to have otherwise. For the sake of this blog, I will break down some broad reasons as to why I believe studying abroad is simply too incredible of an opportunity to not take up. Disclaimer. There are sacrifices which have to be made when doing a year abroad. You will inevitably graduate a year after some of your first and second year course or housemates. You might spend a Christmas away from home. But…
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Goodbye Toronto – a reflection on my exchange
By Hannah-Safiyya Awan, York University, Toronto, Canada Taking down the Toronto postcards I had pinned to my wall, packing little tokens from my desk that I’d picked up here and there from my travels into a bag and tying up the fairy lights I’d set up when my exchange began, I turned back, leaving my room the way it looked when I first got there, just a bed and a desk. Locking my room for the last time before handing in the key.
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Spring in Toronto
By Hannah-Safiyya Awan, York University, Toronto, Canada After braving a long Canadian winter, seeing the sun felt like a reward. Welcoming springtime meant watching the city come back to life as the chill faded, and the transformation was hard to miss. The city became so much more alive and energetic as parks were decorated with cherry blossoms, outdoor sports returned, and people filled the streets. Seeing how vibrant and beautiful the city became during this time made this one of my favourite seasons in Toronto. High Park is the best place to go to see the cherry blossoms, and I highly recommend it; the whole park is transformed by all…
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Travelling around America
By Hannah-Safiyya Awan, York University, Toronto, Canada Spending a year on exchange in Canada had been an unforgettable experience, and what better way to wrap it up than by exploring some of America – including Banff, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and back to Toronto!
