My Year Abroad in London, Canada

Hey! My name is Jasmine, a third year English Lit and History student, and I’ve just completed my year abroad at Huron University in London, Ontario, in Canada. 

Classes are quite different there compared to my experience as a humanities student in Southampton. I took five classes per semester, each three contact hours a week. The classes were completely discussion-based with participation and attendance equalling percentages of my grades. I also had different and more frequent forms of assessments, such as quizzes, creative projects, different types of essays, oral presentations, and I even taught a 45-minute seminar for one of my classes.

Exploring is a great way to feel settled and make the most of your year abroad. My university luckily did lost of field trips such as visiting Niagara Falls, learning how maple syrup was made, going bowling, and even seeing various plays. I also made the most of my university’s opportunities for students such as attending Canadian football games and ice hockey!

The winter was very rough for me over there, reaching temperatures of -25c… I’ve never seen that much snow before in my life, and my heavy-duty snow coat was a worthwhile investment! Despite my struggles to adapt, the winter there was undeniably beautiful and made my walk to classes colder but definitely more scenic.

Overall, my cliché top-tip is to say yes to everything (just use common sense of course…)! You’ll most likely be pleasantly surprised by things you expected to dislike, such as my shock when I realised I do in fact enjoy participating in classes… All this goes to say, try new things out – what is the point of moving somewhere new if you don’t?! Enjoy yourself, be open to going outside your comfort zone and don’t resist change!