North America
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Studying Abroad as an Introvert
By Katharine O’Hearn, Concordia University, Canada One thing I didn’t expect about studying abroad was dealing with the pressure to be spending so much time with other people as an introvert. For me, I sometimes felt like if I didn’t have the energy to be doing something every day or constantly making new friends, I was failing. I thought I’d provide some advice here for people in the same boat to ease the pressure a bit and feel a bit more like you’re making the most of studying abroad, even if spending all your time with other people doesn’t come naturally or you prefer to stay home a bit more. Hopefully…
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What a Year Abroad at NC State Taught Me.
By Saskia Perez-Cooke, North Carolina State University, United States I spent my year abroad at NC State University, and it was an unforgettable experience. As with any experience there are highs and lows, but here are a few reflections and bits of advice to anyone considering or preparing for a year abroad in the states (or anywhere really!) Roommates One of my biggest concerns when I was preparing to come to NC State was the sharing a room situation. But if there is one thing I can say about this is that your roommate doesn’t define your study abroad experience! If you don’t click with your roommate immediately I wouldn’t…
- North America, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook University, New York, Stony Brook, The State University of New York, USA
University Traditions: Roth Regatta
By Rosie Atkinson, Stony Brook University, USA The Roth Regatta is an annual tradition at Stony Brook University held in either late April or early May in the Roth Pond on campus. It involves the production of either a Speedster boat or a Yacht boat made entirely out of cardboard, tape and paint. Teams of current students and alumni gather to make and decorate a boat to either compete with 4 rowers (yacht) or 2 rowers (speedster). Every year has a theme and this year for the 36th annual Roth Regatta the theme was Greek mythology. This year the international exchange students came together to make a boat. We nominated…
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How to survive the Canadian winter
By Katharine O’Hearn, Concordia University, Canada
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Vancouver
By Andrew Mortimer, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada I arrived in Vancouver early and very tired on the 16th of May, having taken a 24-hour train ride from Jasper in the Rocky Mountains. I then took a quick bus ride across the city to my hostel (HI Jericho Beach) and met up with my friend, whom I saw a few days previously in Canmore. After dropping our stuff off, we headed to UBC Vancouver, which I knew had a picturesque campus right on the coast. Unfortunately we couldn’t visit their Museum of Anthropology, which has amazing indigenous displays, due to major renovations, but the Japanese Garden we stumbled across was…
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Joining a band at UNC
By Louis Cotterell, UNC Chapel Hill, USA Jeremy Stickler has been going for a few months now, and we have our biggest show yet lined up for this weekend. All the stars seemed to have aligned. The story begins on a random Thursday of last semester. I was walking through the arboretum (a park-type area next to my residence hall) where there was a man (Mason) strumming a guitar and singing. I went over to say hi, and informed him that I lived very close and could come join with my guitar. He, as a music lover, eagerly accepted. We jammed for forty minutes or so before he had to…
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Banff & Jasper
By Andrew Mortimer, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada In order to make the most of being on the other side of the world, and with the enthusiastic recommendation of my housemate from Calgary, I decided to go even further from home by flying out to Western Canada. I decided to go on the 8th of May, a week after my final exams had finished, so that I had great weather and minimal fellow tourists. Although I wouldn’t be back in Toronto until the 21st of May, I was only in Banff and Jasper until the 15th, so I had to make sure I made the most of my time whilst…
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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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The 2024 U.S. Election
By Frances Connoly, University of Maryland, United States One of the first things that I did once the term had started was join the UMD College Democrats. I knew that this election was incredibly important, and that I was in the unique position of being in the states to witness it, so I wanted to get as involved as much as possible. Joining the dems was such a good decision. I’ve experienced so many new things and met lots of passionate people who have given me hope for America’s future!
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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…
