Destination: University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica
Duration: 1 Semester (Winter)
Program: History
Highschool: Kelvin High School (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
One word to describe your exchange? Rewarding.
What was the best thing that happened to you while on exchange?
The best thing that happened to me on exchange was establishing new friendships with people throughout the English Caribbean.
How did you finance your exchange?
To finance my exchange, I saved my earnings from work and scholarships over the Summer and Autumn.
What languages do you speak?
I speak English, but learned how-to pick-up Patois while on exchange.
What was the coolest place that you traveled to while on exchange?
The coolest place that I traveled to while on exchange was Blue Mountain Peak, the tallest mountain on the island of Jamaica, with an elevation of over 2250 meters and a clear view of the Caribbean Sea.
What is something that you know now, that you wish you knew before you left for exchange?
Before going on exchange, I wish I knew how to cook well, as I would have attempted to cook local recipes that I had never made before. This would have allowed me to better immersed in the culture and to try new foods along the way.
Who was the hardest person to leave that you met while on exchange? How did you manage that?
The hardest person to leave that I met while on exchange was my friend Chevaughn, a Jamaican who I met at the start of my exchange through our mutual connection to the University of Windsor. To manage this separation, I continued to stay in contact with Chevaughn and plan to see him again in Jamaica in the future.
If you were to recommend an exchange to your best friend, what would you say? In recommending exchange to a friend, I would tell them to travel to other parts of their host country as much as possible to see the wider world and to enhance their experience as an exchange student.
A sample of the classes taken and credits received:
- Freedom, Decolonization, and Independence in the Caribbean (got credit for HIST 2970)
- Developing" to "Developed": North America, 1815-1980 (got credit for HIST 3970)
- A Century of Politics in Free Jamaica, 1838-1938 (got credit for HIST 2970)