‘“Take every chance you get in life, because some things only happen once.”

In January 2019, I took a leap of faith to start my exchange at the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia (UBC). UBC is an internationally well-known university. I was delighted to be exposed to different teaching methods and different learning environments where questions and discussions are intriguing and free-flowing. In addition, spoon-feeding of content is not advocated in UBC, much of the learning involved further self-reading with professors providing clarifications of the concepts.

Though my friends always tease me for choosing Vancouver (apparently it is one of the most popular retirement destinations), Vancouver is indeed a nice place to live in. It is like a second home away from home as people are very friendly and approachable. What is more is that, there are a great variety of food available. You will never starve in Vancouver but be spoilt for choice. It is also safe in Vancouver and public transport pretty much takes you everywhere in the city. 

Living on campus provided me with lots of opportunities to mingle with people. We shared our own stories, whipped up different dishes unique to our respective countries, travelled and explored different places around the North America: Toronto, Seattle, New York, San Francisco, Chicago - just to name a few. Although we came from different parts of the world and had very diverse backgrounds, it was such an honoured to meet these people that has enlightened my exchange a lot.

I am so thankful to what I have experienced and whom I have met in this exchange. All these unforgettable memories add up to make Vancouver a special city deep in my heart.’