As I had mentioned in a previous blog post, I'm participating in something called the Intercultural Learning Program (ILP) this year. Apart from the introductory workshop which I talked about in that post, I was definitely looking forward to the experiential outings part of…
Developing Those Intercultural Skills: An Introduction
I’d like to think of myself as pretty “internationally-minded” (whatever that means) and I suspect a lot of Torontonians would too, seeing as we live in such a diverse and multicultural city. Apart from that, I lived in a few countries growing up and am still sometimes in conflict with my own cultural identity and what or how I choose to identify myself to others. For me, the question of “Where are you from?” can evoke different responses depending on the situation (and how interested I think the other person is in hearing my entire life story).
Since I chose not to pursue a major that deals directly with issues of multiculturalism I’m always looking for ways to learn about intercultural topics in more formal settings, especially as I’m equally fascinated by the theory part of all this as well.
A student’s experience studying abroad in Hong Kong
The University of Toronto provides students with a plethora of unique and interesting learning opportunities, many of which can quite literally be considered 'once in a lifetime.' One learning opportunity I unfortunately never pursued during my time as an undergraduate…
Should I Stay or Should I Go? [Part 2: Staying]
To the delight of my friends here, and detriment, I'm sure, of my family at home, I've made the decision to stay in Toronto. To be fair, it had always been in the cards for me to stay here —…
Should I Stay or Should I Go? [Part 1 – The Question]
I started this post almost two months ago. I am certain that this effectively sums up how difficult it is for me to answer that question and I'm sure equally so for many international students, as they come to the…
It’s your turn to learn
If you're an international student, whether you're a thousand miles away from home or ten, Toronto is probably a big change of scenery for you. And now that you've been here for a few months (or years depending on which…
How I got a semester’s worth of credits and didn’t set foot on campus for eight months
I need to let you all in on a little secret. I’m a travelaholic. At any given moment, my desk has more guidebooks than textbooks. I dream in maps and mountains and UNESCO world heritage sites. Dropping Introduction to Archaeology…