Go out to see the world!
I decided to go abroad because I want to see the big world and to learn more about other countries in terms of development. I went to the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Canada. I have been living in Canada for almost three years; Canada is the most interesting country amongst the countries that I have been. My trip to Canada was so hard because I had to leave my family and to be in Canada myself to further education. Homesick is the hardest thing in the world; being alone is not fun at all. However being far from the family makes me become an independent person and be myself. I have chosen many ways in order to cope my homesickness like go out for photography, and creating blog and post all photos on my blog site. I wrote down my diary every night, and sometimes I sketched any picture I want based on my feeling. Furthermore, I keep myself busy by learning how to design (YouTube).
In Canada, the most surprised aspect to me is the way of people drive (car/vehicles); all drivers seem to respect all pedestrians. I feel like people value each other, which different from traffic travel in my country, Cambodia.
Being Far From Home!
I have learned that I have grown up and take a good care of myself. Most importantly, I have learned how to manage my money every month; financial management is very crucial because everything in Canada is very expensive comparing to everything in my home country, Cambodia. Furthermore, I learned how to take a good care of my health; health is so important, I cannot concentrate on studying if I get sick. Therefore, I became a picky eater, and I avoiding eating spicy food, or I’ll get diarrhea and turn to physically weak. In addition, in terms of communicating with people from different countries, I have to observe the way they talk and especially their gestures; then I try to adapt to them nicely and respectfully. Being flexible is good method in order to get a long with people from different culture and to learn more about them.
People, especially my classmates and friends here have taught me a lot in terms of culture, languages, and what to do and to not do in this country. I have observed the way people interact to each other. I attended several workshops and trainings related to International Development sector, I see mostly young people are so brave and seem to smart to share their ideas and ask questions. This shows about the freedom of expressing opinion and let’s people hear your voice. Furthermore, I have learned that Canadians come from many different racial and religious backgrounds. Consequently, it is not easy to define a typical Canadian family. Although the majority of Canadians are Catholic or Protestant, many belong to other religions. However, most Canadians share some cultural characteristics. I have noticed that smoking is becoming increasingly unpopular and is not permitted (the sign) in most public buildings and Subway stations. Many families do not allow smoking in their homes. If you smoke, please mention it on your application for admission, so that we can match you with hosts who will not mind.
In Canada, it is customary to shake hands when being introduced. It is not usually considered objectionable to lightly touch someone on the shoulder or elbow during a discussion. Furthermore, most Canadians do not often kiss or hug when greeting friends. Canadians enjoy a society that is open and relatively free of class distinctions. Most Canadians take pride in the fact that all people deserve the same rights and respect, regardless of their gender, race, religion, or cultural background. People in Canada usually resent comments that seem disrespectful to anyone from a particular background.
Being in Canada, I have gained a lot in terms of general knowledge specifically about how people treat each other, and the leadership of the country. It’s a huge country, and people from different places in the world can live together in this country; so everyone respects the law of the country. It’s thought that Canada is a safe country, but it doesn’t mean every angle of the country is safe, so if you are the new comer to this country, making friends with strangers should be careful. 911 must be keep in mind and call if needed.
Advice/Suggestion
to Others:
Do not live in the BOX!
Going abroad is not a bad idea, but the important is you know why you want to go there? In which way? And make sure you have a very good plan for yourself. If you will go abroad alone, make sure that you are a good financial management and don’t do anything that would make your family feel always worry about you because you don’t have a clear plan. If you want to go abroad as a tourist, it’s great, then you can learn about people in that country. Taking picture of where you visited and create a blog site (it’s free) and share other people about the beautiful places and challenge you face during your visit. Doing so, you can educate people to learn with you about the world. If you go abroad as a volunteer job, you are becoming a part of hero team in terms of saving the world. You would gain both knowledge and getting to know a new place in the world. You are building up a networking with other people.
Going abroad makes you learn more about people, and you will automatically change yourself in order to adapt with them; it doesn’t mean you are not yourself anymore, it means you know in which way to communicate with people differently. Connecting with people are the most important network which lead you to be able to get a higher position of job in other area in this world.