An exchange program is a great opportunity for everyone to explore new countries and cultures. This is a life-changing experience where you will make new friends and participate in some interesting events. However, to make your learning and personal experience successful during the exchange, the choice of the country is essential. As for me, I went to Canada and I was not disappointed. This was my first time flying over the ocean and visiting this beautiful country. I was extremely nervous but excited to enter a new environment.
Toronto is a very energetic and unique city, where you would find so many unusual but talented individuals. In this city, you feel so alive, wherever you go you will find packed bars or coffee shops where people are spending some quality time with their friends and family over a cup of coffee or a pint of beer. Speaking of the top places for socializing, honestly, I have never seen such a huge variety of restaurants and coffee places. You can literally find a cuisine of every single country, which tastes so delicious, so you would have to come back. Luckily for us – students – the prices in the majority of the restaurants are very affordable, which allowed me to try some Japanese, Mexican and Canadian food for the very first time. Exploring the city of your new university is an important and fun part of your exchange, but that is not the only activity you are able to do while studying abroad.
The beauty of this program is that you have a privilege to travel around the entire country and even visit close by ones. Canada is a large country, so ideally having a driving licence would be a great advantage and cheap way of seeing this beautiful country, but if you don’t know how to drive like me, do not worry. You can always travel by bus (low-cost), train or even plane. While living in Toronto, I was able to visit Montreal and Quebec City, snowboard in an amazing resort Mont Tremblant and see Niagara Falls during summer and winter time. Moreover, this exchange allowed one of my dreams to come true, I went to New York City. This was unfortunately a short trip since it is very expensive to stay in NYC but it was totally worth it. This city is definitely something very special and I am absolutely coming back.
Living away from home and my friends for 5 months is a difficult part of the exchange but it gets easier once you meet your classmates and other international (exchange) students, who are going through the same ‘difficulties & struggles’ as you are. I believe, there is nothing in our life that we cannot handle and if you really want to experience and test yourself in a new environment, I would passionately recommend not missing out on such an opportunity to get the most out of it.
Kseniia Frolova, International Business Management
