Daniel M., Bachelor of Human Movement and Exercise Science
University of British Columbia, Canada (Semester 2, 2016)
On August 24th 2016, I said goodbye to my family and friends at Brisbane International airport for what I thought would just be a short 4-month overseas exchange in Canada. However, this short exchange eventuated into a year of life changing experiences and incredible memories.
I was lucky enough to spend 2 weeks before the beginning of classes exploring British Columbia with fellow exchange students from around the world attending the Vancouver campus whom I had met through a UBC Facebook page. This was just a small taste of what was to come for me in the next 11 months.
My host institution was The University of British Columbia Okanagan campus, located in the small city of Kelowna approximately 4 hours east of Vancouver. Move in day was a surreal feeling as I had never lived in a college dorm environment before and I was excited to meet the housemates that would have to put up with me over the next 13 weeks. Thankfully, we all got along immediately and we made our way to our building’s orientation where I met two other Australians also on exchange. Over the first two weeks we attended every university event, making the most of our time, meeting new people every day and becoming part of the Canadian culture.
Thankfully, I found the academic portion of my exchange considerably easier than QUT permitting me to complete assignments and study ahead of time. This allowed me to focus more on explore the beautiful country that is Canada. One of my favourite trips that I participated in was to Banff with a few other exchange students that I had met. We were lucky enough to visit Lake Louise around the first snowfall and it was a simply breathtaking experience. Towards the end of November, the local ski mountain, Big White, opened. Having purchased our season passes within the 2nd week of classes this had been an experience we had all been looking forward to. We spent almost every day of our last month (class permitting) making the 2-hour round trip up the mountain to enjoy the amazing winter playground.
Finals had unfortunately crept up at a saddening speed. With the end of my exchange around the corner I made the call to my family back home to say I was going to extend my once in a lifetime trip. With the lifelong friends that I had made at UBCO, we secured post-semester accommodation for 2 months living on the ski mountain. Yet this still this was not enough and come March, I was granted a working visa to continue on into the summer exploring, living every day to the fullest, and continuing to fall in love with Canada.
I am lucky enough to say that thanks to my outbound exchange program, I have had the best year of my life. I had the opportunity to meet new friends, network with some of the best professors in my field and visibly grow as a person. The best decision of my life.
