By Lina Maria Phee

Hello! My name is Maria, and in August I’ll be heading to Canada for a semester at the University of Ottawa. I’m currently in my second year of a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Psychology and a minor in French. The University of Ottawa is the world’s largest bilingual (English-French) university, which is part of the reason I decided to head to Ottawa. There’s no language barrier, yet I get to experience French language learning in a large francophone community. I’m a very “go off the vibes” person, and Ottawa called out to me when it came time to choose a destination. Studying abroad in Canada has been a goal of mine for several years now, so it’s very exciting to finally be on my way! I hope to gain some life skills that will prepare me for adult life and expand my worldview.

Travelling is one of my favourite things to do, so before my exchange, I’ll be spending some time in Vancouver and Montréal. I’ve never solo-travelled before, but I travel a lot with my family! For me, the best part about travelling is experiencing local life and learning about the history of the destination. I was born in Penang, Malaysia, so I’m quite comfortable with international travel, but Canada is a long way from New Zealand! I’m nervous but also desperately excited. I’m going to try my best to make a digital scrapbook of my adventures, fingers crossed I’ll be posting lots on my Instagram: (@mar1as.memor1es). Be sure to check it out!