Arriving in Toronto
Moving to Toronto during the winter was one of the worst decisions I’d made in my life, which later turned out to create the absolute best experiences. The first few months living here were like hell, ironically, as I adjusted to the freezing weather. It was the first time leaving my home country and the decision to study abroad changed my life, literally.
My name is Pius, I’m Nigerian and as some of you might know, the temperature in Nigeria is pretty much always high. Safe to say that all the classes I attended during the early winter months here, I did wearing proper clothing. I always found that very tedious. I remember I would layer up just to get groceries on the next street.
I’d never lived alone before I got here, I wasn’t well traveled and I was used to a more sub-urban lifestyle. I quickly realized that I couldn’t wait for things to adjust to my liking, I had to adjust my own thresholds, beliefs and ultimately condition myself to face the challenges head on.
Merging work and study abroad
It took a very short time before little groups started to form in my classroom. People started to know who they liked and who they found weird. I started to get to know the professors and carefully plan out how to get the best grades out of my courses. Afterall, we were enrolled in a digital marketing course in one of the most affordable universities in Toronto, which is surprising considering it’s one of the best universities, and the bulk of the lessons taught was basically studying and analyzing human groups.
All classes would begin at 8:30am and end at 11:30 am prompt throughout the semester, which I found very convenient both physically and psychologically. I did not mind that routine at all because it meant I could balance work and study comfortably but getting a job to support myself during the winter turned out to be particularly hard. I was new to Toronto, rent wasn't cheap and neither were those winter jackets.
I wasn’t used to as much coffee back home but I quickly blended in after a few months in Toronto. It felt like that was always meant to be as I started thinking about coffee even before I got to the coffee shop. On my way to class every morning, I would get a medium or large coffee depending on the amount of sleep I had the night before as working as an international student is no easy feat.
On arriving to class, obviously there were some professors I looked forward to seeing more than others, depending on how grumpy I was. Although I would say that York University definitely has a pretty good line-up of professors. I just had different personal reasons for liking each one that I did, as everyone does.
The York University Treatment
The classrooms at York University aesthetically promote learning. They are gorgeously spaced and allow for smooth interaction between students and professors during classes. The School of Continuing Studies main building is a staggering six-story building on the edge of campus that holds 50 of those kinds of classes. It was the first building that caught my eye on the day of orientation.
It sure felt like a warm welcome to me that day. I remember we were served a meal first and then shortly after that, we learned various parts and functions of the great York University. What the school stands for, what plans it had for us and how they planned to execute them.
I got to meet the program coordinator, Mr. Todd or Todd for short. I also met several heads of departments within the school, most of their names I forget now actually. I particularly remember the young handsome fella from IT. I listened attentively as he spoke because I knew I would need him at one point during my time here, which I did.
I wasn’t much involved in extracurricular activities. At Least not the ones prescribed by the school but from time to time, my friends and I would go on trips to different locations after classes or on weekends. I remember watching a Toronto FC soccer match live at BMO stadium, downtown. We even had some spontaneous trips turn out to be the most unforgettable moves we ever made.
Sometimes I would just walk around the surrounding areas of campus, taking pictures as I strolled along. Not looking for anything in particular, just trekking with good vibes with my ears plugged.
Cultural and Behavioral Differences
Meeting new people and learning about their culture feels so natural in Toronto. It’s one of the most multicultural cities as far as I’ve seen. It makes me feel genuinely good when I meet ‘absolutely’ new people, which I do in a lot of different ways too.
My best friends now were first members on my team for a class group project where we had to think of a new business and map out a plan, in detail, on how to get it on its feet. After we turned the assignment in, the group remained intact and we established a new dynamic amongst ourselves.
Going through all these experiences with people from different parts of the world has made me appreciate the friends that I have, new and old. It has also made me realize just how similar humans are everywhere, and even though we may do things in different ways, we complement one another in many different ways also.
Learning Outcomes From York University of Continuing Studies
I definitely feel more confident going into the digital marketing world as I wrap up my last semester here. I’ve completed a lot of personal and professional projects during the course, including creating my own website using tactics I’ve learnt throughout the course, and these aspects of my life have definitely seen a boost as a result of that.
As I learned about the digital world of marketing, I also learned about the physical world around me. The culture and activities that make Toronto what it is. The night life, the subway culture, interacting with people that grew up literally 10 thousand miles away from where I did.
I remember the first time I was at the laundry. I guess that was about a month after I got here and I couldn’t figure out the machine on my own yet . Just very different systems, for example, how it only took coins and how I hadn’t touched a coin in almost ten years before I got to Toronto. That, combined with how it only took loonies(one dollar coins) and quarters(25 cents), and didn’t take toonies(two dollar coins), all of which were just ‘coins’ to me at the time. So I thought to ask an older man for help.
He came over and helped me with everything I needed in the kindest manner. He even gave me some detergent after and told me to keep the rest. That was one of my first interactions with anyone here so it really gave me some hope and served as a model for how I approached people from thereon. Of course, not every single conversation after that would be nice but that was okay too. It just made me appreciate the nicer ones more.
I didn’t make it my mission to meet all the people or go to all the locations but I made sure that everywhere that I went around the city, I had a great time. If someone was moving to this city for whatever purpose, and they asked for my advice, that’s what I would tell them. Don’t try to do it all, just enjoy what you do in the moment. Work or study.
As I look forward to graduating and moving on to the next chapter of my life, I look back at how my early days were full of challenges I never even thought were possible. How I overcame them and came out the other side feeling totally better about how much I’ve accomplished within that short time. I’ll never forget the memories created during my time at York university, both good and bad, as these past few months have been pivotal in my life. I remember writing my personal statement saying ‘York University is the school I need to guide and nurture my curiosity’. Not in those words verbatim but the school has definitely done just that.
It has provided me with the extra foundation I need and it is now left to me to build something of myself off of that.
I can’t wait for the future. Starting it right now.
