The End of Canada

 

Right so, that was Canada. It was many things that I didn’t expect or think of beforehand such as the 4 month spell of cold weather, I expected like 2 months but sure it was grand. The distances to go from one place to another was definitely a culture shock. Money is definitely something to be considered, as in seriously save a lot it’ll be needed and more. It was definitely a much different time in comparison to my time in Denmark. Going from 70+ hour working weeks in a city you can cycle around everywhere and the atmosphere is bright and clean. To a massive metropolitan city where it takes an hour to go for a coffee, doing 4 hours of college work a week and it's dark for a solid 2 months. Two polar opposites but both gave me a lot of experience and lessons learned.  

The Humber College experience was definitely something very different, to be honest.  Our classes in WIT seem to be somewhat busier but both classes get the same level of content across, with regards to their information, pace and so on. LeeAnn, Sam and myself were always the first finished in every class, and to be honest found it maybe a touch easier than our WIT classes. The food was moreso Italian or Asian in cuisine when I had expected maybe some more Canadian food, given the massive multicultural way f life however, it made sense. As a word of advice, perhaps I would’ve lived off campus so to cook for myself and others as in residence you couldn’t. This could definitely allow you to progress yourself just by making home cooked dishes from produce from the likes of St. Lawrences Market, a must see by the way!

On a positive note we made some great friends over there and had good nights out, seen some cool things and enjoyed the social side of college life. There are some great foodie places in Toronto, none of which are very cheap but all delicious. From this angle an being exposed to such a varying culture of foods, it’s amazing to see what’s possible for us back in Ireland. The 3 personal favourites of mine were Rol San, 416 Snack Bar and also Bar Raval. Rol San is based in Chinatown and in my opinion was the best Asian Food we had over there, although not so cheap, the portions are massive and well worth the price, even for chicken feet. Next was 416, the chef Dustin actually was a guest chef in one of our classes and his food is definitely a reflection of him, big in flavours, delicate little plates and overall great vibes. And my all time favourite from Canada was Bar Raval, super authentic Spanish Tapas Bar serving great food, beer and wine, for a reasonable price surprisingly. All these foodie places make up for the college experience so I would definitely recommend exploring and educating yourself, just as mentioned before, don’t forget to save up for it. Also seeing some NBA and Baseball games is a must they’re unreal craic!

Canada was a big experience and one that I'm dead happy I did, in fairness to all the lads I met and knew before it wouldn't have been nearly as good without them, and on that note God Bless and enjoy Erasmus! (Here's Sam with his stick)

And lastly, the year is really what you make of it, so always say yes and don't leave with regrets!