Capilano University Students Blogging Abroad

I am really enjoying myself here in Vienna, Austria. I’ve enjoyed all my classes and I’ve enjoyed making new friends from all over the globe. My classes are very interesting, especially my German language class. It is definitely my most challenging class. I have a rough understanding of the language now and I see that as a huge advantage in my future.   Since coming to Europe in January I’ve travelled to seven different countries and have experienced and learnt so much. I am so excited to share my experiences with my friends and family. I am NOT looking forward to coming home. I love Vienna so much. I wish I had the opportunity to stay for a year and work or go to school. Vienna is amazing and I am definitely going to recommend this host institution to all of my friends.  Me and my roommate at the beer stein market in front of the Parliament Building in Vienna, Austria.  Me in front of the Eiffel Tower In Paris, France.    New Friends doing a bar craw

Wow! I can’t believe how fast the semester went by, and all the memories I have experienced. This time a couple weeks ago, I thought I would be heading home soon, but looks like I’m staying till the end of July! I guess I should catch myself up on everything that has happened since my last blog. I was constantly at Café Nerro working on coursework, hoping to get ahead of the game before my upcoming travel plans. Café Nerro is an Italian Café on Union Street that become my second home during coursework period. Starting early paid off, I was never extremely stressed to get things done. April 1 st came around and Erica and I flew off to Vienna. I was very spoilt in Vienna, thanks to Erica’s uncle. He provided us with a place to stay, gave us food money, and paid for our entrance to multiple attractions. I will be forever grateful for the hospitality he showed me. Erica and I had a grand time in Vienna, it’s a beautiful city. My favorite part was probably the palace tour. I found th

The biggest thing that has helped me so far while in Japan is making the effort to use my Japanese whenever possible.   When I find myself with free time at school, I will walk around and ask random people what they are doing.   I have made some really good friends already by doing this, and my time in Japan is so much more enjoyable now that I have some awesome friends to hang out with and help me learn the language.   All of my favourite experiences so far are with these friends! We went strawberry picking, went on road trips to quiet island villages, ate at some 1 table restaurants, and have more exciting things planned for the near future like going to a concert, and even a smash bros. Tournament in a neighbouring city! If you are a shy type of person, try and follow this advice:   Pretend that everyone you meet is your best friend, and just talk to them as you would normally!   Put yourself in as many situations where making friends can be possible, and your experiences

I think a strength of mine is I really try to be friendly to everyone I meet, and this helps with meeting new people. In terms of weaknesses, I would say sometimes I am afraid to push myself outside of my comfort zone to do things without my usual friends or ways. In the beginning of the exchange, I didn’t make a huge effort to push myself outside my comfort zone. After about a month I knew I had to change this, which I did. Now I have met new amazing people and done things I wouldn’t have normally done on my own. The overall experience here has gone from good to great with that one simple change. Saying yes to invitations that I was uncertain about and making an effort to make plans with different people really helps. I think I have learnt to be more relaxed in my thinking and have improved my patience. It is easy to get worked up about small things when something goes wrong. With a bit of a bumpy start living in Vienna, it taught me how important it is to brush things off.

I have currently been in Japan for three weeks now and slowly started to notice subtle differences between Japan and Canada.   This list will be the top five differences that I have noticed. Number 1: There is very little grass found in main cities.   The majority of the houses do not have a front or back yard with grass and a garden which is so prevalent in Vancouver.   Many houses take up the entirety of their land leaving no room for greenery. When they do have a larger plot of land and a smaller house the extra space is often covered by either cement or pebbles.   These areas are often used to park cars or bikes. This seems to bring on a whole new meaning to concrete jungle; however, that said, greenery has not been taken away all together.   A large variety of potted plants have been placed in front of houses, on patios, and in front of stores.   There is also a large variety of flowers and greenery found in parks, temples and shrines. There are often many festivals dedica