We would like to thank everyone who entered the 2017 BC Study Abroad Contest. We received some AMAZING photos this year from a wide cross-section of students and alumni.
Thank you again, Study and Go Abroad, for sponsoring our grand prize of a GoPro Camera!
Winner of the 2017 BC Study Abroad Annual Contest
Michael Duong, University of the Fraser Valley,
My name is Michael Duong, I studied abroad in Chuo University in Tokyo, Japan from September 2016 to August 2017. My persona...
By: Lucy Dabbs, Georges P. Vanier Secondary School, participant of the 2017 Beijing International Education Exchange (BIEE) Summer Camp.
Each classroom holds a new set of students, and a whole new set of people to meet from multiple different countries. Throughout the day I learn numerous traditional Chinese Art and technical skills while laughing and getting to know the people in my class. Trying new things together is a great way to make friends.
After lunch I do paper cutting and Chinese ink painting. Patience is not my strongest suit so I don’t end up creating exquisite masterpieces, but I learn some cool techniques.
Soon it’s dinnertime, and I meet back with our group to hear about the different classes they took. When I finish eating, I head out to the...
By: Peter Mate, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver Campus, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship and a member of the BC Study Abroad Writer in Residence Team.
Plane tires touch down on worn tarmac. The jolt of the wheels shocks you into consciousness. Wiping the cake surrounding your eyes, you realize it’s noon. You’re under slept and underfed. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to pack last minute – perhaps it was unwise to spend all night studying. It doesn’t matter anymore – you’ve come for a conference already underway. Eventually, the plane taxis into the terminal, and you’ve managed to pass customs. Apprehension builds as you realize that you’ll have to carry conversation after being awake for 24 hours. Situations similar to my predicament in Taiwan ar...
By Cheryl Olvera, Simon Fraser University, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship.
Ah, Vancouver. What can I say? I love you and I’ve missed you, but I’m so so sad to be back in Canada. My apartment I sublet whilst gone is extremely dirty, my lamps are broken… I just feel lost. Turns out I really settled down in Brighton. I made some great friends, found a community in the local CrossFit gym, and even had a boyfriend.
My time in England was so much more than a study abroad semester—it was a new dimension of life for 6 months. It was really great for my academia to study at a research-based Uni (University of Sussex) with different professors for a semester, but what I really took away from this experience was profound personal growth. When out of my dail...