Kia ora and bonjour again! Summer is over, and the leaves are starting to turn red and yellow. It has been a great past 2 months living in Montréal. It is bittersweet, though, as I am halfway through my exchange. In this blog, I will talk more about my classes, the university, and what I’ve been up to!
I take a total of 12 credits or an equivalent of 60 points. Two courses are worth three credits, while my intensive language class is worth six credits. The following are the classes I am taking:
- ARTH 323 Realism & Impressionism
- ENGL 290 Postcolonial and World Literatures in English
- FRSL 105 Intensive Beginners French
The academic structure is quite different from Auckland. For example, the word count for my essays is lower; however, there are more quizzes and assignments to balance it out. I am enjoying learning from a diverse group of people, both lecturers and students. The student body is truly diverse, and almost a third are international students. It has been great meeting people from different corners of the world, all with different perspectives and passions.
There are so many clubs and events at uni, and I try to attend as many as possible. I have joined the McGill Outdoors Club, which hosts trips around Montréal and outside of Québec. I also line up for free lunches every Thursday, courtesy of Midnight Kitchen, which provides free vegan food to students at McGill. Outside of university, Montréal has been a great and exciting city to live in! During the weekends, I go to pop-ups, vintage flea markets, and different neighbourhoods. I specifically love walking around the Plateau and Mile End, searching for new cafés and admiring the architecture. I also recently had a week-long reading break, during which I travelled to New York and San Francisco.
It is getting colder here, with some provinces and areas already experiencing snow. Although I am excited to see the first snowfall, I am thoroughly enjoying the leaves changing colours and the fall atmosphere. Ka kite anō and bonne journée! 🤍