It’s funny to think that my time in Canada has come to an end. The months felt so slow, but went by so fast at the same time. Especially the final month.
UBC holds final exams in mid-to-late December, lasting pretty much up until Christmas (my last exam was on the 22nd). The university both felt quiet and frantic simultaneously. I guess final exams will do that to a community. And I guess I felt that same way. It was difficult to balance studying alongside exploring the city, especially since North America goes full-out with its Christmas celebrations. Residential buildings were covered in Christmas lights, light displays were set up in numerous parks, Christmas markets were held every weekend, and the University itself held lots of winter-themed events, including cookie decorating, hot chocolate nights, white elephant secret Santa, and more. It was hard to keep up at times.
Christmas itself was not spent in Vancouver, but in Banff: the winter wonderland of Canada. It was incredible spending a winter’s day outside in snow, bundled up in multiple layers before coming inside to warm up in front of the fire with a hot drink. The best part was that my family flew up to join me. It was such a nice feeling to see them again after five months away.
Overall, I’m glad I went on exchange – it was an amazing experience. I was able to meet people from all over the world, learn about First Nations and Canadian culture, travel across Canada and to a couple of US States, and take part in North American traditions like Thanksgiving and college football. I achieved my goal of saying “yes” to as much as possible, and believe that this should be the mantra of anyone going on exchange. You’ll have no regrets.