Canada is one of the top-ranked destinations for international students for many reasons. If you’re thinking of coming to Canada for your degree, here are some valuable lessons to help prepare you for life in the Great White North.
A Country Of Four Seasons
Living in Canada, you’ll truly get to experience all four seasons in a way you might never have before. With school beginning in September, you’re quickly exposed to Canadian autumn. Canada is known to have gorgeous fall colours with most trees, like the Canadian maple, changing colours before the leaves fall off as the temperatures cool. Fall is a beloved time by many for beautiful hikes, pumpkin-spiced lattes, and comfortably cool weather around 10-15°C.
Canadian winter is something you’ll really need to make sure you’re prepared for physically and mentally. A good winter coat and accompanying outerwear, like hats, mittens, and winter boots, are absolutely necessary with snowy winter days averaging around -10°C. Once you’re properly dressed, the cold really isn’t that bad! In fact, winter activities like skiing, snowboarding, skating, snowshoeing, and tubing are incredibly fun weekend activities! There’s also nothing better than an impromptu snowball fight with friends after a big snowfall.
As the spring semester comes to an end, you’ll see spring blooming in Canada. Equally as beautiful as autumn, but for its own reasons, spring brings back warm weather and usually a bit of rainfall.
After exams, or if you stay to work during the summer months, you’ll experience the glorious days of Canadian summer. Contrary to popular belief, Canada can become wickedly hot in the summer with average temperatures close to 30°C and heatwaves bringing it into the 40s. Canada in the summer has long days full of sunshine and people outdoors playing sports, having picnics, and hanging out by the many lakes across the country.
The Rumours Are True
You may have heard that Canadians are very polite and friendly. While it’s impossible for an entire population to be polite or to be friendly at all hours of the day, in general, these stereotypes tend to be true. So, be prepared to have doors held open for you and to hear ‘sorry’ a lot in conversations. That being said, this politeness is expected to be reciprocal. So, you’ll also probably find yourself assimilating to some of these polite customs, whether it’s adding a lot of ‘sorry’s’ to your vocabulary or returning the favour and holding the door open for someone even though they're still a few steps away.
You’ve also likely heard that hockey is a big deal in Canada. This is also largely true. The professional NHL games are almost always sold out or at least have expensive and difficult to find tickets. The hockey culture is really fun to partake in! Once you’re the legal age, you’ll find pubs are vibrantly packed on game nights with rowdy fans sporting their favourite player’s jersey.
As a student, you’ll also find that the famous Canadian coffee chain Tim Horton’s powers a lot of days on campus, especially during exams. If you ever want to brighten someone’s day, your friends will always be grateful for a box of Timbits to share!
A Beautiful Country
As the second-largest country in the world, Canada has an enormous amount of land which helps it to be considered one of the most beautiful countries in the world. While it can be expensive to travel across Canada, each region has its own unique sense of beauty.
The west has the peaceful beaches and surfers’ paradise in Tofino and breath-taking Rocky Mountains; the prairies have endless idyllic plains; Niagara Falls a natural wonder of the world is only an hour from Toronto; Quebec is home to stunning national and provincial parks; the Maritimes have charming coastal landscapes; and the Northern Lights can be seen from the north of Canada.
While you may not have the time to travel all of Canada as a student, wherever you choose you’ll be able to find beautiful pockets of nature and greenery and friendly people welcoming you to the country.
