by Joshua Griffiths

When I left New Zealand for Canada, I was excited to be going to a new country, with that excitement continuing as I spent about a week in Vancouver and Victoria with my parents, who came with me to help me settle down in Canada, giving me a small holiday with them before they left and I was on my own.

I landed in Canada in the early afternoon, so I had a chance to get somewhat used to the time zone difference, however, the first full day I had in Canada was hectic as I hadn’t adjusted to the time zone, losing about half the day to sleep, but by the time I arrived in Victoria, where I would be staying for the duration of my exchange, I had gotten used to it.

Having my parents with me made it a bit easier to deal with homesickness, as I got to explore Vancouver and Victoria with them, as well as having their help in getting everything I would need for my on-campus accommodation and moving into my temporary residence before they left. After they left Victoria, I still had things to distract myself with, having to move over to my permanent on-campus residence after attending the International Students Orientation at UVic.

Having now spent over 2 weeks living on my own, I’ve started to miss my family, friends and pets who are back in New Zealand, but I’m still enjoying myself, having met the others living on my floor and hanging out with them by going to events organized by UVic, watching movies and playing cards with them in our common room.