I’ve always wanted to know what it would be like to live as an everyday person in another country and not as tourist. It was honestly one of my major motivations for not only choosing UBC but going to university (although I probably would’ve regardless…)
The deadline is January 19 or January 21 for those who are wondering.
I’m stuck.
I can’t decide where to go, I just want to go.
You get to pick your top 3 and rank them and so far I have two stirring in my fantasies. Keio University in Tokyo, Japan and University of Manchester in… well, Manchester, England.
Why Keio? I’ve been studying Japanese since grade 9 and I really want to be put in the environment and see how it goes. Japanese vending machines and convenience stores. Selection of courses I would never get the chance to take here. And to be honest, because I am Asian. I’m all for stepping outside of my comfort zone but compared to going to, for example, Norway, where I don’t speak the language and obviously look like I’m from far away, in an Asian country I would have a nice balance between comfort zone and non-comfort zone. I think.
Why Manchester? They speak English. It’s in Europe, a continent I’ve never been to! I like bands from the UK. More than my love for the Arctic Monkeys, I love European architecture. This is my chance to really experience what it is like as a local because I get to take exactly what the students there would take. (Where at Keio, I would be taking classes made for English speaking international students.)
The main dilemma though:
Going to Keio would be like missing out on term 2 and summer semester. Graduation would definitely be delayed and co-op would be hard to apply for. Going to Manchester would be like not missing anything at all, but I will miss out on the chance to take unique cultural based courses…
I think I need one of those pros/cons charts.
There is also something lingering in my mind that makes me not really want to apply at all:
I don’t want to stay away from my friends and family for too long.
“WEAK SAUCE!” says all the international students. Haha.
Great to read your blog entry! Sounds like you’ve given some good thought to what is often a difficult decision for prospective Go Global students. Your questions are not easy ones to answer. My suggestion is that you come to chat with us at Go Global – that’s what we are here for! The advisors can help you think through your options and your goals.
Goodness, I just spent several minutes going around in circles on the website.
You’ll have to ask the Go Global office if they still do this, but I went on a summer exchange for six weeks to Herstmonceux (Queen’s ISC), located in southern England. It was a really great experience and just right for me because I didn’t want to be gone for a whole term, and I managed to get the extra credits I needed to move into third year status in my second year. Some other UBC friends I met while there told me that you can do up to one winter and one summer exchange — at least, that’s what they’ve done! — so if it’s to your liking and if you can afford it, you can think about that.
Anyhow, it’s just an option I’m throwing out there because I can’t find it on the website and don’t know if you know about it.
Thanks for your post on Go-Global. I’m also going to be checking them out soon to see how they can work with or as an alternative to UBC Science Co-Op.
Did you decide on which universities to check out?