• There will be language barriers

After I’d turned in my application to study in Seville, Spain during the spring of my sophomore year, I became less and less sure that I wanted to go. I lived in the Language House that fall and coming home to my roommates at the end of a long day almost felt like coming home to family. I wondered how I’d gotten so lucky with the rooming assignment. Our neighbors would drop by our apartment unannounced sometimes and we could do the same and it was never weird. I’d also finally gotten used to working at my school's newspaper and had started to make friends on staff.

I'm a French woman who's been living in Toronto since January 2020 with a WHV.

I'm a French woman who's been living in Toronto since January 2020 with a WHV.

Throughout my life, I was always conscious about third world countries and knew that life for the people living in them was very hard. Despite my knowledge, actually being amongst the lifestyles lived in Kenya was nothing like what I imagined.

In 2017, our lives changed forever. We both signed up for something that we really weren't sure of; a student exchange. We were still young, 13 years old for that matter, when we signed up to go and live with another family in another country in another continent for 2 months. It's crazy because at that age, nobody is thinking about that kind of stuff. Leaving your parents for that long of a time, travelling alone on a plane, going to school in a country where a completely different language is spoken and living with practical strangers for a month.... sounds like the ultimate recipe for disaster! It's something so many people have the opportunity to do but one that only a few actually take. The experience itself is intimidating, amazing, scary, fulfilling, frustrating, satisfying all at the same time. There are no words to describe it but there's also no guarantee that the whole experience will be a good one. That slim possibility is what scares everyone off.

Man, 9th grade. What a crazy year that was for me. If someone were to ask me what was my top 3 years in school were, 7th grade would be my top because it was my favorite and maybe 10th or 11th grade would be my third favorites while 9th grade would be my second favorite.

Marine Biology or Sports Management two extremely interesting choices but both of them had very little scope in India. After a few unexpected wake up calls it was decided Sports Management it is, but challenges awaited me. Being an international student has its pros and cons, the first few months you are excited to wander around places go to downtown and be amazed at every street you turn at, college or university starts you make amazing friends you get to know them and vice versa, soon reality hits you now your worrying about your budget for the coming months how much are you going to spread? Do i really need to buy this? Should i look for something cheaper and there are tons of questions going off in your brain next thing you know you are hit with a wave of assignments and tests, you might take a little sigh of relief but you are aware of the midterms breathing down your neck for a better GPA. Now is the time you get more comfortable managing yourself with your finances and grades you are getting accustomed to a whole different culture ,a whole different country you make new friends with whom you make great memories but now is also the time you get homesick you miss family, friends, pets and everyone else more than you ever did. You can wait to get home and sleep in your bed again but before you know there is a global pandemic and all travel is restricted but you are lucky enough to find a summer job at an amusement park. In 8 months of living in a different country without family and people you can depend upon was certainly a strange feeling for me. Did i mention i was stuck at Hong Kong airport because of the protest going around that time thankfully my flight was the last one to depart, but the journey i was talking about is how I grew a person not only me I would every international student grows in stature as a person, you become a completely different person at least I did. Life changes drastically you become independent you manage your finances, you start doing the dishes, you might even start working part time, you might volunteer for Ice hockey team, in short everything becomes unpredictable i am supposed to finishing up my assignment instead here i am writing this down.

Student years can be some of the most beautiful but also some of the most challenging moments in someone's life. Like most, I moved from Eastern Europe to the UK in search for better opportunities, an improved quality of life and for better education. What better time to move than at 19 year old to start university? For those of you who don't know, at many universities in the UK you have guaranteed university accommodation in your first year but due to limited availability you have to rent privately from the second year onward.

Experience is what a person’s been through, encounters, or lives through (Albarracin, Johnson, Zanna, & Kumkale, 2005) and consists of not only sensory cognition's, but also processes of interaction with people from different cultures (Rogoff, 2003).

Spring is the farewell to freezing cold and a season to thaw life back to its blooming glory. On an academic calendar, spring means a break for ten whole days (weekends included) which translates into an excuse for partying before the last sessions of classes and exams could continue for next academic year. It is a time to relax, unwind, and get ready for the next round of grueling tests and term papers so planning a getaway makes all the sense in the world.