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Surviving (and enjoying) the Canadian winter
From the moment I found out I would be spending a year in Montreal, the horror stories about the crippling Canadian winters began. “Minus 30 degree temperatures every day” they said. “You won’t be able to go outdoors for months” they said. “You’ll need to spend $1000 on a Canada goose jacket and winter boots” they said. I expected and mentally prepared for the worst but soon came to realise that this worry was unnecessary. I mean, Montreal’s snow and regular sunshine versus Manchester’s grey and rainy Winters… I think I know which one I’d rather.
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The end of study abroad
For what seemed like ages, going on study abroad was my next big thing to prepare for and look forward to, but after what seems like a blink of an eye, it’s over. I’m still getting my head round this and will probably not need much prompting at all to talk about my year for the foreseeable future (hopefully not in too much of a gap-yah style).
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Start of Winter Semester: The Blog
I am back for semester two and my blogs are back too. Have a read on if you can control your excitement, it’s probably going to be an update up until now and reflections on McGill. What a cracker.
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My life at McGill until now in a nice blog post
I thought I would update you all on my life at McGill University since the last blog update until now, because I have done a lot and seen a lot and you might like to read about it.
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McGill Orientation Week
McGill Orientation week, also known as ‘Frosh’, has been and gone and what a week it was. It’s carefully crafted to include academic introductions and guidance, nights out, day events all over Montreal and involve everyone. It’s probably the best way to start your McGill experience.
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Canada, Montreal and McGill: first impressions
I came to Canada about 10 days ago now with family, to combine holiday with sorting my life out. We spent a week or so in Montreal, exploring various areas of the island (it is an island), meeting my landlord and dealing with the bank.
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Academic expectations
Harry at McGill in Montréal Academic expectation at McGill. This is the blog that I’ve been putting off the longest and that has been for two reasons. The first is that it would probably be the least engaging to write whilst the second was because I had to find a way to write it so as not to put future prospective exchanges at McGill off. Though I realise in confessing that it somewhat undoes my efforts. There are distinct differences to the academic system they have over here relative to the one the UK has and invariably these differences will be viewed as good or bad differently for every…
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First few weeks
Harry at McGill in Montréal Salut from Montréal! It has been a hectic two months so there will be some task to condense everything into one page of text (with hind sight this didn’t happen). For my regular readers (ha) I’ll update you on the situation as it was presented in the previous blog post. Found a charming flat in the trendy district of the Plateau living with three other exchanges all of whom are from France. Excellent opportunity to learn some French. The only problem that has presented itself thus far was the berating comments received when England shamefully left the rugby world cup so early… The saturation…
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Second Semester
By John Charlton ( McGill University, Canada) A new semester is well underway, and I begin part two of my study abroad period. Physics students usually take a year rather than a semester abroad as matching courses is key to continue studies in fourth year. I felt that last semester my courses matched very well to those back home, and even those topics I had already learnt were shown in a different way. The new semester courses seem to follow on well and I look forward to the topics. The winter here stays at a comfortable -20°, and snow piles on every day. Commuting is no problem as roads and…
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McGill 101
By John Charlton (McGill University, Montreal, Canada) Montreal, to me it is a city with something always going on. Walking the streets one can come across underground art galleries at 11pm, the infamous Tam-Tams weekly festival. There is a fantastic blog about Montreal which informs of events both quirky and mainstream, ranging from foam and body paint parties to cat cafes to pubs centered on board games to socialize. By engaging and immersing with people the opportunity for other possibilities arises, leading on from one another in a progressive story of satisfaction and adventure in a new city. My adventure started with frosh week, another freshers week. It was a…
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Adventures in Canada
By Rachel So (McGill University, Montréal, Canada). The semester in McGill ends very early compared to Manchester. My last exam was on the 29th April. I spent May and June travelling around North America. Having spent four months in Montreal, it was great to explore different parts of Canada. Canada is a very diverse country and each city I visited was very different. Here are some of the places I visited. Toronto Niagara Falls Quebec
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Studying at McGill
By Rachel So (McGill University, Montréal, Canada). I have now finished my semester abroad at McGill. The four months have been both a joy and a challenge. Academically, it has been tough. There are a number of differences between Manchester and McGill: Firstly, there is more regular assessment throughout the semester at McGill. In Manchester, the majority of your mark is based on the final exam. But in McGill, there are may midterms, essays, presentations and quizzes that need to be completed throughout the semester. This means that you have to stay on top of your work. If you slack off, you’ll find that you are very far behind! Secondly,…
A study abroad journal by students, for students.
