Reported by Wang Xin
Last fall, I was lucky to attend the exchange program at Queen's University in Canada. This incredible experience was so meaningful and impressive that even after I came back for more than two months, I still dreamt of my life there sometimes. For me, it is not only a journey of study, but also a journey of growth.
Life
The first challenge I met was to rent a room. It’s not easy because many local students could sign longer lease than me. After sending so many emails and messages, I finally found a place. Although the landlord was quite strange, my three housemates were all nice guys. With the help of my housemate, a Canadian boy who was born in China, I began to learn how to cook. Thanks to him, my cooking skills improved a lot during the four months.
In my free time, I explored food in downtown and travelled to some other cities in Canada, like Ottawa and Toronto. By travelling, I had a deeper understanding of Canadian culture and met many new friends from all over the world.
(At Parliament Hill, Ottawa)
(At the top of CN Tower, Toronto)
Study
I chose four courses this semester and three of them were in economics department. Two courses were a little bit hard for me since I was not from economics. One was Emergence of Modern Industry Economy; the other was Economic Aspects of Social Issues. There were no PPT in these courses and students had to take lots of notes. It took me some time to keep up, but I quickly adapted myself to the new pace of learning.
Another course called Managing across Cultures was in Smith School of Business. This one was a small-sized class just like STU, but more than half of the students in this class were exchange students from different countries. The exchanges and collisions of different cultures in class were quite interesting. The professor also encouraged us to share our own ideas upon cultures.
The different thing was that before we came to each class, we had to finish many preview tasks online, such as watching webinars and reading. The completion of that homework would be part of our final grades.
The most interesting assignment in this class was culture dinner, which meant that each group would choose a country interested, go to try the local food of this country (cook by ourselves or go to a restaurant) and take a picture. I had never come across such a creative assignment. It no longer stuck to keep students in the classroom, but encouraged us to go out, which helped me understand the difference of eastern and western education.
(My group in a German restaurant)
Activities
I participated in the NEWTS orientation week. There were traditional activities at Queen’s like painting wars and taming ceremony, and also some activities that helped us to integrate into local life like pubs night and road trip.
(Painting wars)
(With my NEWTS group members after taming ceremony)
I also joined the Queen’s Dance Club and performed on the stage at the end of the semester. I had no dancing experience before, but I’d like to try and enjoy the fun of it.
(Tap dance performance at the end of the term)
Kingston, where Queen’s University is located, is a quiet and small city. It is not as prosperous as Toronto, but it has its own charm and beauty. The four months of living and studying here will be an unforgettable memory of my whole life. Last but not least, thanks to Shantou University and Business School for providing me with such a precious opportunity to experience a different and wonderful life.
