The week leading up to my exchange was a whirlwind! Althought very chaotic, as I left most of my packing to the last minute, as well as most of my goodbyes, I was both very excited and nervous for the adventure ahead!
When I arrived in Kingston, it was everything I hoped it would be! Swapping the Kiwi Winter for the Canadian Summer has been a very nice! There have been so many activities to do while it is still warm, with some of my favourites being the summer markets, paddle boarding on Lake Ontario, visiting Wolfe Island, and swimming at the pier. The pier is where all Queen’s students go after a day of classes to cool down. Over the past few weeks, the pier has been swarmed with hundreds of students at a time, and without fault, you will always see an intense game of Spike Ball, countless people jumping into the water, and many plates of poutine.
One of my favourite parts of my experience at Queen’s has been the Orientation Events. Queen’s has the largest student-run orientation programme in all of Canada, and it really shows! To name a few events, there have been ‘Pizza at the Pier’, ‘Paint Party’, ‘Tamming Ceremony’, ‘Salsa in the Square’, and the list goes on! These events have made making friends so much easier, and I have already met some people I know will be life-long friends.
One of the things I was nervous about when coming to Queen’s was finding accommodation. We did not have the option this year to live in residences, so had to find accommodation on our own. This was the most stress-inducing part of the exchange, but I got very lucky and was able to find someone to sublet off while she was on exchange herself. I am living in a house with 3 Canadian girls, who have all made me feel very welcome! The student housing district in Kingston is very close to the campus and the downtown area, with everything you need within a 20-minute walk. As it is completely full of students, it also feels very safe. The best way I found to secure housing at Queen’s was by searching the housing pages on Facebook, as well as emailing the Queen’s International Office to ask if any outgoing students were looking for someone to fill their room.
As Kingston is a smaller town, I have been planning weekend trips to nearby cities such as Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. This past weekend I took the bus with some new friends to Toronto to watch the Toronto Blue Jays vs Boston Red Sox. The atmosphere was nothing like I’ve experienced before, so would definitely recommend it! This trip was very easy to coordinate, with the great transport options on offer from Kingston to these bigger cities.
So far, Kingston and Queen’s University is treating me very well, and I cannot wait for the next few months!