Study Abroad Report Montreal, Canada Winter semester 2018
1 1. Your study program or your internship program
The study program I followed abroad was at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. The courses I followed were an addition to my History bachelor, and also function as the exchange abroad minor within my Economics and Business Economics bachelor. The courses that I took abroad consisted of history and economics courses at the Faculty of Arts and Science, and were the following: The Irish in Canada, Economic History after the Industrial
Revolution, Canadian Policy and Institutions, Monetary Theory and Labour Economics. The program lasted from January 8, 2018 until May 1, 2018. The courses added up to a total amount of 18 Canadian study credits, which can be converted to 30 ECTS. The most courses consisted of presentations, papers, homework assignments, midterms and finals. The level of the courses was very doable; however, the workload was sometimes a bit intense. This is because contrary to my programs at the RUG, Concordia has deadlines almost every week. All mandatory assignments had a little weight for the final grade. The midterms and finals were easier compared to the RUG.
2. Language
Canada has two official languages: English and French. Montreal is located in the province Quebec, which has French as the primary language, so the road signs and public transport and restaurants were mainly in French. Nevertheless, Concordia University used English for their programs and in the city many people were bilingual and could easily switch from one language to the other. Therefore you could easily get around using only English as well. 3. Finance and other conditions
The stay abroad was financed by Marco Polo (4 month € 280), GUF (€ 400), earnings from my jobs at home and DUO. The costs in the first month were in my opinion pretty high: mandatory health insurance from Concordia (ca. € 250), a public transport card for 4 months (ca. € 140), books (ca. € 200 euro). The rest of the semester I had to pay of course rent, hydro, groceries and fun activities. The monthly expenses were probably around 1200 CAD, which is 800 euros. Groceries were about the same price as in the Netherlands, only in restaurants you were always expected to tip at least 15%.
4. Preparation and contacts with the faculty before, during and after your stay
The contacts with both faculties (FEB and Arts) at home was quite easy and quick. Before I had contact about the approval of the Learning Agreements and especially with the Canadian Studies on enrollment at Concordia. All organizations at home were very helpful and flexible. During my stay the Learning Agreement had to be changed twice, but both faculties
responded quickly and without any problems I could change my courses. After the stay it was for me a bit unclear who to contact for handing in all the documents (since the transcript of grades was delayed), as the Mobility Office and Canadian Studies proposed different things and the International Office had to be informed as well. Yet still I feel everyone is helpful. 5. Housing
Housing in Montreal is largely off-campus, which is why I started looking for a room very early online. I found my room around the end of October, beginning of November, on Facebook. The girl I sub rented from went on exchange as well, and we had a Skype
conversation to discuss everything. However, nothing was really official as I did not want to pay anything in advance and I did not know with certainty if the room actually existed, etc.
2 Luckily when I arrived in Montreal everything was fine and I could move into the room immediately. The rent was 400 CAD, which was very cheap for Montreal. The hydro
depended on the weather outside. So in the beginning we paid a lot for heating as it was really cold (around 70 CAD per person), yet in the end we paid nothing anymore. I lived with 3 other students (from the US and Italy), all studying at another university in Montreal, and we shared a kitchen, bathroom and living room. The apartment was located in a very cool neighborhood and next to the Mont-Royal, which is a hill with a nice park and good views over the city. I really enjoyed staying with these people at the nicely located apartment. 6. Culture
The culture in Montreal is very American and comparable to western Europe. It was American in the sense of a lot of advertisements in public transport, shiny billboards and a strong emphasis on (unhealthy) food. There were a lot of food festivals like croissant day or poutine day (which is a typical Quebecois dish) and in almost every street a restaurant, bar and/or café could be found. It is also much more common to go out for eating, whether it is brunch or dinner or just a coffee.
The people were very friendly and helpful, they say sorry for almost everything (it is like an expletive for them). Moreover, they try to make the best out of everything. Since they experience a harsh winter for 6 months a year, they organize festivals in the snow and do a lot of cross-country skiing and ice skating. In summer (even though I only saw the very beginning) they enjoy life even more and everyone is out in the streets and the patios and flowers come out and the people are even more friendly.
7. Free time
I had quite some free time, as I had only around 10 hours of class every week. Moreover, I was always free on Fridays, so I went on some city trips then or did ice skating or skiing. During the week I either went to cafes to study and chat with friends or did sports. The International Student Office and Concordia Student Exchange Association also organized some activities in which I participated, such as a sugar shack trip, watching ice hockey games and going to pubs.
8. Travelling
In the weekends and during Spring Break I tried to travel as much as I could. In the weekends I went to Quebec, Ottawa, Chicago and Vermont and during Spring Break I went to Toronto. Since the semester ended quite early, already at the end of April, I decided to travel for two months afterwards as well. I went to New York, Washington D.C. and made a road trip from Edmonton to Vancouver in Canada.
9. Other
The Exchange program at Concordia was a great way to meet new people and discover new places. For me it was very magical to see this huge amount of snow for so long. What is more, I could follow subjects that are not offered at the RUG and which made my decision for a future Master much easier. To stay abroad for half a year gives you so many new chances and friends, and it also helps you discover your own character and interests even better. Therefore I would recommend it to anyone studying at the RUG.
