Spain with friends: CSEP W24 Olivia Pauker
The biggest cultural shock I experienced was…
The cultural barrier between some of my classmates and I. A lot of students at my school came from Germany, and while we got along great and I made some really amazing friends I found the general sense of humour to be different than in Montreal! I'm sure it's different anywhere you go, but I did find it hard to connect in some of my classes.
I felt like I made a great decision to go on exchange when…
I was on a train going through northern Italy and talking with my friends about our next trip. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to be studying somewhere that made travel so accessible.
A tip I would give to students applying for exchange is…
Talk to people who have gone there before! I looked up "Netherlands exchange" on TikTok and ended up calling and chatting with a few girls that made my decision super easy for me! My best friend saw a girl she used to go to school with in Barbados and chatted with her about the experience and ended up in Barbados too!
I recommend going on exchange because…
It's unbelievably fun. Almost everyone who wants to go on exchange is looking for adventure and good stories, and theres almost no other experience where you'll get to live in a new country for four months!!
