Student Blog

By: Pooja Bhatti, British Columbia Institute of Technology, winner of the spring 2019 BC Study Abroad: Stories from Abroad Scholarship

Study Abroad Destination: Italy and Austria

There’s a part of the brain that gets activated when you’re about to enter something fearful: the amygdala.  It’s responsible for the ‘fight or flight’ response. The day I leave to study abroad is getting closer; I find my amygdala to be on overdrive. 

In other words – I’m scared. 

Years ago, I filled out an application for a study abroad program and never submitted it.  But this time, I submitted my application at the earliest date possible. I bought my plane tickets as soon as I could.  Many...

By: Bob Emmanuel Mulamba​, Simon Fraser University, winner of the BC Study Abroad: Stories from Abroad Scholarship

Study Abroad Destination: Tokyo, Japan

A lot has undergone within this past month of living in Japan. I believe that this exchange has offered lots of valuable experiences that will help shape my future professional career and potentially the rest of my life. I began my journey ready to surge forward into this brand-new world sprawling with the unfamiliar. I thought that I would need to change myself to fit in with the new process of life in Japan. However, in trying to fit in, I realized I was sacrificing a part of myself. I would shut off the sides of me which are ambitio...

By: Reede Lowery, Northern Lights College, winner of the BC Study Abroad: Stories from Abroad Scholarship

Study Abroad Destination: Japan

Sometimes as foreign students we can get caught up in a cycle of continuous comparisons between our home country with the country we are studying in. Of course this isn’t always negative (especially as it can help increase understanding of two different cultures) but if you concentrate solely on comparing everything you see or experience you risk losing focus of the present. I have met plenty of other foreign students who seemingly do nothing but compare their lives in their home countries to their current lives in Japan. When I...

By: Aaron Siebenga, Simon Fraser University, winner of the BC Study Abroad: Stories from Abroad Scholarship

Study Abroad Destination: South Korea

In Gyeongju, I got a taste of Korean history by visiting the 9th-century Silla Tombs, the restored Woljeong Bridge and Donggung Palace Complex, and the Gyeongju National Museum. I also met friendly locals through Pokemon Go, who treated me to a nice traditional dinner and showed me Bulguska Temple and Seokguram Grotto.

Muju's a village in the Korean mountains known for their Firefly Festival each September. I went there to experience small-town life in Korea, and although almost no one I met spoke English everyone was very friendly and welcoming. I saw traditional dances, lit sky lanterns, and went...