Victoria M.
Destination: Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
Duration: 1 semester (fall)
Program: Political Science
High School: Vincent Massey Secondary School
What was the best thing that happened to you while on exchange?
The best part of my exchange are the friends I made! They will be in my life forever and I will
never forget the amazing experiences I had travelling with such amazing, adventurous people!
What was the worst thing that happened to you while on exchange? How did you deal with it?
A couple days after arriving in Manchester, my phone got locked by my new UK sim card and it was unusable for two weeks while I went to a lot of phone fixers until I found someone who could repair it. I survived with my amazing roommates who helped me when google maps couldn’t and woke me up for class when I had no alarm clock.
What is something that you know now, that you wish you knew before you left for exchange?
I now know how easy and wonderful travel can be! It doesn’t need to be expensive, I spent most of my time travelling in hostel beds on the cheapest flights available, and buying snacks from grocery stores. But, I got to see so many beautiful things and meet so many awesome people! I also got to save my money to splurge on the things I really loved, and see so many more places than I ever thought I would.
What was the coolest place that you traveled to while on exchange?
While on my one semester exchange, I visited 13 European countries! It is so difficult to pick a favourite, but one of the ~literally~ cool cities was Budapest! This was my first completely solo trip, and the first snowfall of the year. The Christmas markets are amazing and the Baths are unbelievably beautiful!
If you were to recommend exchange to your best friend, what would you say?
Every reason you can come up with to not go one exchange will seem so trivial once you get there. The experiences you will have are going to be lifelong memories and home will still be here when you return!
How have you included exchange on your resume?
Exchange is a great asset to a resume to show adaptability! It is also a great way to build on your communication skills and sensitivity to other perspectives.
Is there anything else that you would like to share?
Every single person will benefit from an exchange semester!
A sample of the classes taken and credits received:
- War, Violence, and the Democratic State = POLS 3600
- Evolution of Global Security = POLS 2450
- Metaphysics = PHIL 2730