Ciske Drissen, derdejaarsstudente lerarenopleiding Engels

Hello everyone,

My name is Ciske and I am a third year student who wants to become an English teacher. For my minor abroad, I got the opportunity to study at an amazing university in Canada called Saint Francis Xavier University. The university is located in Nova Scotia in a small town called Antigonish, better known among students as Antigonowhere. In this blog I will give you some useful information and my own thoughts about my exchange abroad in Canada.

If you decide to go to Canada, please keep in mind the cold weather. Snow boots are a must and do not forget to pack your fluffy gloves and hats because you will need them! Especially in Nova Scotia there will be days when the wind is just freezing cold. Be prepared for a big bunch of snow and cold weather. However, snowy Canada also has its positive side. You can go snowshoeing or snowboarding. How about a snow fight with some friends after school? If you pack some warm clothes you will be able to face the snow head-on!

Let me tell you a little bit about the university and the town. Antigonish is about a two to three hour drive from Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia and most likely the biggest city in the whole of Nova Scotia. The town consits of a very strong community, filled with lots of loving people from all around the world. Both the university and the community have strong bonds with one another and so they form one big happy place in Antigonish. Basic necessities such as grocery stores and pharmacies are all located in this little town so there is no need to worry. There are even several pubs around town so you will never get bored! The university is a great place to level up your academic skills, but it is also a very social place where you can meet lots of new students from all around the world. Frankly, the university has been nominated as the number 1 party university in all of Canada! However, if you are not a party animal like me there are lots of other great activities you can attend. The university hosts lots of events which are available for most, if not, all students. On campus you can choose a residence of your own preference. Would you like to share your bedroom with a friend or do you prefer privacy? It is all possible at StFX. Besides residences there is a meal hall where you can have breakfast, lunch and dinner every day if you have a meal plan. You can choose many different meal plans. Do you want 14 meals a week at meal hall or only 5 meals? Meal hall is the main building to have all three courses, but there are many different cafeterias where you can purchase other food items. Lastly, the university has all the basic necessities so you can fully enjoy your StFX experience. There is gym with a swimming pool and ice rink, a theatre and even a pub.

For my exchange, I followed four courses at the faculty of education and I did a practicum for 5.5 weeks. I was not able to pick my courses, but I already knew beforehand that my courses would be all education-related. The faculty of education consists of great teachers who are all experts in their fields and who want to make you feel welcomed and included in the tight community they have in the faculty. The students are also very friendly and invited me to many different parties and other fun activities. For my practicum, I got placed at the local library in Antigonish at an organisation called ACALA where I taught English to emigrants who just moved to Canada. All these emigrants were adults who had troubles with the English language. It was a really useful internship for me because I got to work with adults for the first time, but I could still apply my knowledge of learning English as a foreign language. If they have a spot available next year, I would definitely recommend you to take it for your practicum because I had a lot of fun working at ACALA.

Lastly, let me tell you about some of my own experiences in Canada. When I first came to Canada I felt extremely nervous and anxious and my low self-esteem was not helping me at all. Luckily, the students and teachers at StFX made me feel included and comfortable in no time. Soon, I was having so much fun at StFX that once I had to say goodbye, things got a little bit emotional. Many exchange students visit StFX every year so you are not alone and they would love to get to know you. Once I left StFX, I could not believe how much I had grown, both as a person and as a teacher. I really wish I could go back someday. I would like to recommend you one last thing before I am done with my speech and that is that if you get the chance to see a little bit more of Canada than just Antigonish or Nova Scotia, go for it! After my adventures at StFX, I travelled across Canada for almost one month, going from the east to the west. It is a beautiful, safe and very social country so its perfect for backpacking. If you ever get the chance to go to Toronto or Vancouver etc. I could hook you up with some good recommendations.

I hope I have given you enough information about my exchange abroad. If you would like to know more about the university or the town or even more about Canada, please let me you. I would love to answer your questions. You can send me an email anytime and I will try to respond as soon as possible. (ciskedrissen@hotmail.com). You can also find more information about my crazy Canadian adventure on my blog: https://antigonowhereblog.wordpress.com/