Originally posted for Tofu Magazine:

When I first entered university a few years ago, I was still a kid. I was learning to commute on the subways and how to get around Toronto for the first time. Throughout my life, I’ve always lived in the suburbs and was driven throughout my childhood. Today five years later, I do not only know about the culture and art scene throughout Toronto, but also became a travel expert in studying and working abroad. I’ve lived in Singapore and Quebec and currently in France. These experiences have helped me grown tremendously and taught me everything from culture shock to language barrier.

Your one-shop stop would be GoAbroad.com that offers advices from traveling to teaching to studying abroad. But here are my personal experiences and advices:

1. Studying Abroad: The easiest way to study abroad is through a university agreement. When I was in my third year, my program offered me a chance to study in a partnered institution in another country. I went to Singapore and studied there for 5 months while traveling Southeastern Asia on the weekends and on school holidays. You generally pay the same tuition to your local university as you would if you were in the country, but instead, you are going abroad and earning transferrable credits, giving you an opportunity to take exotic courses. There are also other programs such as Education First and The Rotary Exchange that allows you to study and practice languages in another country.
2. Working Abroad: As a Canadian and a native English speaker, you are highly in demand. The easiest way to live and obtain a job abroad is definitely teaching English. However, if you are thinking of just testing the waters in teaching, I recommend volunteering or being a language assistant. Odyssey is a Canadian program that allows you to be an English assistant in Quebec and there are also similar program in France and Spain (google: language assistant). Your main duties are to engage students through discussions, activities and conversations and teach them about your culture and where you come from. Last year, I did Odyssey in a small town of Quebec, 6 hours north of Montreal and this year, I’m in France. It’s a great opportunity to learn and practice French and hopefully become bilingual!

The difference between being a tourist and staying a longer period in a country is that you have time to absorb the information. You get to see and understand local people, participate and immerse in their culture as well as learn and practice a new custom or language. You learn to become more independent and adaptable in different environments and share a larger worldview with others.

I highly recommend it!

Everyone has a story.

This is mine.