BECOME AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT
Where I come from and where I'm staying
I am currently an exchange student from France. I came to Canada, BC, in Langley, on the 28th of August.
I was placed in a host family composed of one woman and a dog.
I was with three other exchange students from Italy, Korea and Turkey.
Our host mom was really nice to us, she took us on a lot of trips like hikes, movies, Seattle, etc...
I became really close to my Italian host sister and do everything with her. It helped me a lot to have someone to rely on and who is living the same experience as me.
SCHOOL​
I attend R.E. Mountain Secondary School, in Langley.
Since the first day here I have felt very welcomed. It is a very open-minded high school and is very different from what I was used to in France.
The subjects are useful and interesting, the hours are lightened, the teachers are nice and caring, and the high school is very modern.
Their learning techniques are more based on class participation and engagement, making lessons fun and easy sometimes.
Difficulties and my way to overcome them
This is a big change. Leaving everything you built for 18 years of your life, to rebuild a new one for 5 or 10 months is challenging. Even more when you know you will have to leave everything you created at the end.​
The biggest difficulty is missing family and friends. They are usually always around me, and one day they're not anymore. I can call them but since we are not in the same time zone, it can be complicated sometimes.
I would say that the hardest part is to see that (obviously) life doesn't stop there. They are going out, busy and keeping up with their lives without you. And it's okay to miss them, it's a completely normal feeling. Sometimes, I feel really sad and nostalgic when I am not with them. Another difficulty is that we all have to accept the rules of the school, some programs are very strict and it can be very different of what you were used to in your country.
A last very difficult moment for me here was when my grandma passed away. At that moment I just wanted to be with my family, but I had to go through that alone.
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In these moments, what helps me is to keep myself busy. I will go out with my friends, go to the gym, or even write in my journal. By doing that, my mind is focused on something else which makes it a bit easier to think less about home.
I also realized quickly that my stay here is very short and temporary, I'm not here in Canada forever, and will regret staying in my bed, crying for my family and friends, instead of enjoying every single minute I have here.
Integration and culture shock
At first, it was really challenging to adapt myself and get used to a new culture. The food is different, the city is very large and spread out, the cars are very big and school is more open-minded and easier than it is in France.
Another big challenge is being integrated and making friends. I was lucky to have a girl from Italy in my host family. We became very close and could rely on each other.
But without that, from my experience I am able to see that Canadian students in the school are overall very interested in exchange students and want to know about you and where you come from, however, they already have their group of friends and it is hard to be invited and hangout.
However, after 6 months I got a
boyfriend here and was able to meet his friends, he shows me a lot of new places, takes me to the gym, and invites me everywhere. That's the reason I am perfectly integrated here, have Canadian friends, and am with them most of the time.