Valentine’s Day in Victoria

Posted on March 11, 2013 by lisacc

Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14^th of each year and it is and international event. It is celebrated everywhere in the world, just that it change depending on each culture. Valentine’s Day is also called the Day of love and friendship, although in some cultures they see more love than friendship.

Valentine’s Day is a festivity, not a holiday. It is represented with Cupid, which is the god of love. Cupid is represented as an angel that looks like a baby, he has an arrow, which he used surpassingly to match perfect couples on that special day, making all the differences between a couple go away. This international event has taken place thousands of years ago, but it has missed it main point, due to the marketing is being produced from it. It main purpose was to make people notice how lucky they are to have the people they love near to them.

This year the ISC organized a Global conversation in which, students could attend and do Valentine’s Day cards, for your friends, your boyfriend or girlfriend, and talk about immigrations questions and they also had some snacks.

In México Valentine’s Day is not only celebrated between couples, but everywhere it is on the mood of Valentine’s Day, because is also celebrated for friendship, between friends and family too. They sell a huge amount of things with the topic of Valentine’s Day, from balloons and candies to roses and stuffed animals. All schools promote Valentine’s Day, by encouraging students to be in peace and to cherish the friends they have, they make gifts exchange and they have small parties in the classroom to enjoy the day.

While in other countries like China, Vietnam and U.S.A, Valentine’s Day is celebrated more for couples, there is not as much importance of this day, since there are a lot of people with no partners, and they don’t celebrate it with other people which make this day even a sad day for many people.

For me every year I bake some kind of pastry to my friends, this way thanking them for their friendship and their company. I dress with Valentine’s Day colours, which is a range of pink, red and white, it can also be purple, with the purpose of showing love to everyone, making lively colours showing up, instead of the dark winter colours.

This year, due to the big amount of projects that the RRU teacher gives us, killing our social life, I could not do anything special for my friends. I could just buy some gifts for them and telling them how much I appreciate their friendship. Whether in my home country I would go out and have fun that day enjoying having my friends close to me.

Valentine’s Day is a great way of having fun with friends, and is a great opportunity to realize, how lucky we are to have the people we appreciate and love near us, is true that we have to appreciate it every day, but Valentine’s Day makes people think about how happy and lucky they are.

Lunar New Year

Posted on February 19, 2013 by lisacc

What is a Lunar New Year? A Lunar New Year is a celebration that most Asian countries, celebrate with families, and friends, just like a New Year celebration. But what’s make it different?

A Lunar New Year or as most commonly known, Chinese New Year is followed by the lunar calendar, which is quite different from the calendar that most people use. And each year, changes the day in which the New Year is celebrated. Another difference is that this celebration is very big, people throw fireworks, have big dinners and go out and have fun in the streets.

Every year it is represented by an animal of the Chinese Horoscope. This year is the Snake year which in some countries is good luck to be the same year as your horoscope, but in others, it means not bad luck, but to be more careful on what you do.

At home in México, my family is part of a community group for the Chinese people, and for the decedents of Chinese ancestors. In this community every year, they organize a big party, inviting everyone, so that they can celebrate with us and learn more about our culture. They have traditional dances, performed by girls and boys of the community. They also have a performance of the lion dance and the dragon dance too.

A lion and dragon dance means it will bring luck to this New Year and it will bring prosperity. It is believed that while performing the dance people should touch the lion or the dragon, for a year full of good luck.

My family is Chinese, from top to bottom; we follow the traditions and costumes of China. And because of that, we of course celebrate the Lunar New Year. We have big diners and we get together with as much relatives and friends as we can.

Dressed up for Lunar New Year!

This year, I didn’t celebrate it as how I usually do. Instead of celebrating Lunar New Year, I spend the day with my friends out in Vancouver, because of the long weekend we had, due to the BC family day, which was on February 11^th.

But the ISC had organized a celebration in honor of the Lunar New Year at the RRU Quarter Deck, where there were presentations by international students. Not only for the Chinese students, but also for the other Asian students, and also to make conscience on people about what a Lunar Year is about.

This year I celebrated Lunar New Year, with my Vietnamese friends. I had a traditional meal – lunch with them, which made me realize that the Chinese New Year is also the Lunar New Year, and that people from other countries in Asia also celebrate it, and not because China has one of the biggest celebration in the world it means that is only them celebrating it.

Even though I was born in México, and grew up in there, I still keep my family traditions and celebrate it as much similar as possible. So Happy Lunar New Year!!!

Studying abroad: managing the workload and having Fun!

Posted on February 4, 2013 by lisacc

In my second term of my studying abroad, I noticed that there are more assignments, more work and more studying than the last term.

I realized that my first term was kind of an introduction to my program; it was like an orientation of what I will be doing for the next few years. I found it really helpful, as many of my courses developed slowly, in the sense that the assignments were nicely distributed, and that they were very manageable to our schedules, letting us have more free time as well as time to study and prepare for the next assignments.

International students study math together

Thao and Olga study math together

There are a lot of good courses, but some of them have a lot of work to do during the whole term. For example math. In math there is a test every two weeks for each unit. I understand math quite well, since it is a course I like and I’m good at, but some of my friends are having trouble with it. So I offered to help them out, explaining some things they don’t understand, which also helps me review and understand the topic. My recommendation to you is that if you’re good at math, try helping some friends, this will help you get the math faster. But if you are having troubles, try asking some friends to get together and study together, this way everyone can understand it.

Apart from math, there are other courses in which we have to work in teams and make presentations. This group work helps students and encourages them to work in teams, whether you like it or not. Group work helps you develop relationships and abilities for when you are already working. And it will give you the experience on how to treat others, without only thinking by yourself and doing everything alone. Which I believe is one of Royal Roads University goal in their students. Remember 2 (or more) heads think better than one.

Studying together at university in Canada

Lisa and Faisal study math together

Depending on the topic and the assignment or even the course, there are times in which is better to study alone than in groups. Sometimes even if you are willing to get together with friends or classmates to do some work, is better to be alone. Some assignments require your own thinking, your own perspective and also your own words. Being in groups sometimes will make your own ideas confused and it will make you doubt about yourself.

Apart from studying, there are times where we relax and have fun, either watching movies, going out for deserts between classes, going out to eat and chat with friends, etc. Also the ISC office, together with the student activities, tries to organize events, so that students can get together, relax and chat, and get out from the school stress.

Remember even with so much studying, there is always time to relax; clear your mind and be able to continue with a fresh mind – enjoy your time studying abroad!

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure” – General Colin Powell

International Student Orientation at University in Canada

Posted on January 17, 2013 by lisacc

After my trip back home to Mexico, it was time to come back to Victoria and return to my new life, catch up with friends, get use to the weather again and also start classes.

When I first got back from México, I had spent some time catching up with my host family, telling them how my holidays were and what I did with my family and friends. I also caught up on what they did and how they spend it. It was nice to be back doing what I was used to the last four months. I went out with some friends, who spent their holidays in Canada, some in Victoria and some in Vancouver. We went eating and chatting, catching up on everything, and we realised we missed each other a lot.

Both new and returning students get together or a social evening!

I also volunteered at the new student orientation; I was not only available, but I also wanted to help students to start getting used to what their new life will be like. I saw many new students from different countries—mostly China and Saudi Arabia, but there were students from Pakistan, México, Vietnam and Russia. Not all of the students attended, since some of them were still on their way to Canada. We gave a tour to the new students around the campus and we showed them where their classes will be and where will they be spending most of their time. At first it felt weird because I couldn’t believe I was one of those students just four months ago, and I was wondering if I looked the same way they did.

Bowling at Langford Lanes

We had a little social/get to know each other thing in the bowling alley, called Langford Lanes, where we took a school bus at the University, and it took us right to the Bowling Alley. Over there we teamed up into groups of four to five people, and each group had its own lane. I teamed up with the other Mexicans students that just came to Canada. There I saw many of my old classmates, we said hi to each other and we were glad to see each other too, after some time of not seeing each other. I had a great time there, getting to know the new students.

I also started my classes very soon; I have many interesting subjects like math, technology, communication, literature and global studies. All my teachers are really nice; I hope I get along very well with them, which I have a sense will. Many of my friends and classmates didn’t attend to the first week because some of them are still taking flights to come back, since a lot of them went home for the holidays too.

Although I liked going back home, and seeing my family and friends and having a time with them, I missed Canada, the International Study Centre, and my friends I made in here. I am glad to come back and to start a new year in a great place with great people around me.

Returning Home for the Holidays

Posted on January 2, 2013 by lisacc

The Holidays are a special season to enjoy with family and friends; they bring joy and happiness; they bring peace and harmony. Some of the international students go back home or go traveling around this time; some others stay and enjoy the holiday in Victoria or in Vancouver.

Christmas Tree Trimming at Royal Roads

Before going into the holiday break, there were many activities in the Campus made by the ISC and the RRU community. There was a Holiday gathering, a Tree Trimming, and they also promote the multiple activities around Victoria that were held all the month of December.

At first I was going to stay in Victoria for the holiday break. I had also planned all the activities that I will do, while I was in Victoria, but for some reason my parents decided to send me back home for the holidays. I was very happy to know that I was going back and see all my family and friends, but I was also sad because I wouldn’t be able to do all what I planned for the holidays.

When I returned home I was really happy, because I was playing with my siblings and spending time with my mom. I also went shopping with her, something that I don’t do very often.

I met with my friends and we chatted a lot, since we haven’t seen each other for a long time. I surprised some of them because I didn’t tell them I was going to be home; they were very happy to meet me, and I was too. We went for coffee, to the cinema, and also out for dinner. I really missed them, but I realised I also missed my friends back in Victoria.

While I was back in home, my parents were quite busy in the family business and they were also short of people, so I helped them; sometimes I didn’t want to, but it was only for a few days, so I helped them.

Me with my friends and family in Mexico!

Everyone was very surprised to see me back because I wasn’t supposed to back to Mexico until the summer break. I met a lot of people, like aunts, uncles, family friends, and my friends.

On Christmas Eve I was working in the morning, helping my parents on the business, but in the night, all my family and some family friends got together and ate a wonderful dinner, with duck, turkey, and chicken. Since my family is Chinese I didn’t celebrate Christmas as much as everyone else, but I still enjoyed the time with my family.

Going back home for the holidays is very nice, as you get to see everyone you missed while homesick and you get to do things you used to before going to Canada. But when you are back in your home country, you also miss what you do and enjoy in Canada. I miss going to Tim Horton’s which is a coffee shop like Starbucks. I also miss the friends I made in Canada, because I see them every day. Going back home is nice and helps defeating homesickness.

Having Fun in Victoria

Posted on December 10, 2012 by lisacc

After taking all the exams, doing all the assignments, and surviving all the studying, we finally get to have more time to relax and have a lot of fun with friends during the Christmas Holidays. The International Study Centre and the Student Activities department organized some reunions and activities to celebrate the holidays, and to get all the students to get to know each other better because there are so many students from the degree program and the English program, like UBP and ESL.

My friends and I enjoying the gardens around Royal Roads University

In the university there are also nice places to go and relax, like the gardens, including an Italian garden, a Japanese garden, and a Rose garden; all these gardens are so beautiful and in the winter and fall time they look like a movie scenery. There is also the wonderful Hatley Castle, which has a lot of history and is also a museum where you can get tours.

Beside the activities in Royal Roads University and the activities that the ISC help organizing for International Students, there are many places to have fun in Victoria.

Bowling is one of those places, which is pretty fun; in the morning they have normal and casual bowling, but in the night they have the Cosmo bowling, in which they turn off all the lights, and everything in neon glows. They have neon lights going all over the place as well as music and big screens playing different kinds of songs, for the taste of everyone. In the bowling they have food, and drinks, of course for those who are over 19.

Beside the bowling alley, there is a mini golf course. If you haven’t played golf, it is ok; mini golf is for people who just want to hang out with friends and play something different. There is also a recreation center near Royal Roads University, in which you can swim, ice-skate, do exercise, play sports, etc. There are also a lot of places to visit in downtown Victoria like the parliament building, the Empress Hotel, the Royal BC Museum, the Inner Harbour port, China town, and more.

And if you like going to watch movies like me, Cineplex Odeon is the perfect place to watch movies with your friends, because it is cheap, fun and near the school too. They have new movies and sometimes old movies too. They also have a place where you can play videogames, hockey table or air hockey, so you don’t get bored while waiting for your movie to start.

International students at Royal Roads University

My friends and I are from China, Mexico, Vietnam, and Ukraine!

I like going to shopping with my friends, for a relaxing and fun time. There are many shopping malls, like Uptown, which is an outdoor little city, full of shops. There is also Mayfair Mall, where is my favourite place to shop, because they have all kinds of shops, for adults, children and of course teenagers. In downtown Victoria, there is The Bay Centre, where is a shopping mall of four floors, you can find all sort of kinds of shops. The nearest shopping mall to the University is the Westshore Town Centre; it does not a ton of shops, but you can find basic things there.

After all the stress and studying, I get to relax and have fun in my holidays. Finishing my first semester with good friends, nice marks, and getting used to Victoria as my second home, makes me feel good.

International Students celebrate International Education Week

Posted on November 30, 2012 by lisacc

There are many multicultural events all around the world. Some of them are only once a year, but in Royal Roads University and the International Study Centre, it was the second time this year. International Education Week, is a week in which learning and sharing of different cultures is promoted, during the week of November 12^th to November 16^th.

International Education Week at Royal Roads University

Students celebrate their country and others' during Royal Roads' International Education Week

There were many kinds of events. The first event was on a Tuesday and it was a parade where many students of different countries represented their country. Students from Saudi Arabia and India wore their traditional costumes during the parade. While the other students like me, just wore colors of their country. Each person had a flag of their country, and we walked around the school as a group, promoting and sharing the beginning of the International Education Week. After the parade, we all come back to the Quarterdeck in the Grant Building as a group. Everyone settled down and grabbed a seat. There were multiple performances, like hip hop dancing and Indian dancing. All the shows were performed by International Students. After the shows, there was a sharing of cake for everyone who attended this event.

During the week there were also other events. On Wednesday there was a Study/Work/Travel Abroad discussion, where RRU students and alumni shared their experiences of studying and working abroad. There was also a movie, in the library, called Life in a Day. The next day there were African dance classes in the Quarterdeck. And there was also a language class about introducing students to learn Arabic and Mandarin. All this events were very successful, even if I didn’t go, I heard really good things about the events.

The Mexico table at RRU's Student Showcase

The last and major event was an international showcase, where there were different stands, with different countries like China, India, Colombia, Ecuador, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and México. Each of the stands provided food and information about their country. Me and three other Mexicans, represented México; we provided a drink called Jamaica, and we had some fruit with a sauce made from Chamoy, which is a little sour and spicy.

After presenting the countries to the people who attended, there was a show, in which, people danced, sang, explained, and more. A Chinese Girl danced a little of hip-hop; a Russian boy with the Chinese girl sang a little rap; another Chinese boy danced a traditional dance, and another Chinese boy did a presentation about Kung-Fu. Also the Colombians dance a little bit of Salsa, and the Indians performed a traditional dance. The Saudi Arabians did a presentation about their country. Also, two Vietnamese girls sang a traditional song. Me and some other friends improvised a little dance that we knew and presented it.

Royal Roads' students come from all over the world!

Students from all over the world attend Royal Roads and participated in International Education Week

After all the performances, there was a gathering of people dancing traditional Indian Dance and having fun and a lot taking pictures.

This International Education Week, in my opinion, was a lot of work, but it was worth it, because I could learn more about other cultures.

If you would like to watch the presentations in the showcase, go to the next link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxxNRNXuT7M?cid=iewlcc

International Students Celebrate Halloween in Victoria

Posted on November 19, 2012 by lisacc

Halloween is not a holiday in Canada, but it is a celebration at the end of October, to be precisely on October 31^st of every year. On that special day, kids dress up as anything they want, like zombies, ghosts, vampires, etc. Each Halloween, the children go out in their costumes, from door to door, and ask for trick or treat, where is better to get the treat, which normally are candies; the trick is something you’ll want to avoid, because many times, tricks are usually pranks made to your house, like egg bombing, paper towel all over your house, etc.

But this celebration is not only for children. Teenagers and young adults have fun on this day too. People dress up into different kind of costumes, just like the children. But instead of going for trick or treat, they go to Halloween parties, during the weekend before or actually on Halloween day.

Halloween is different in every country, not every culture celebrates it. Like in my culture, in México, some people celebrate Halloween by going to Halloween parties, but the children don’t go out and ask for trick or treat.

Pumpkin carving with the International Study Centre

Pumpkin carving at the International Study Centre at Roayal Roads University

This year I spend my Halloween more relaxed than everyone, although I didn’t went on Halloween parties, or trick or treat, but I had a great time too. My first Halloween activity was carving a pumpkin with my host family, it was quite fun, because it was my first time carving a pumpkin face.

The International Study Centre had many Halloween activities in the week, for all international students. Even I would have liked to attend to everything I couldn’t. The first activity they had as a movie night in the library, I attended to the movie; they played X-Men 2, which was filmed actually in the Hatley Castle in Royal Roads University. They had almost a movie theatre with comfortable chairs, popcorn and candy.

After that ISC had programed a Ghost Tour of the Hatley Castle, which was in the night time, I didn’t attend to this event, but hearing from others, apparently it was really interesting and not scary at all. The next day was an activity of carving a pumpkin. My friends and I went there and carved a pumpkin. Some of them carved one by themselves while two friends and I carved one together, it was funny and messy.

From staff to students -- everyone dressed up for Halloween!

And last but not least, there was a Halloween costume party in the school. Staff, alumni and professors dressed up and had a contest between groups first and then individually; it was interesting seeing people from the school dressing up and having a nice time together. I didn’t wear a costume, due to the time.

Halloween is a very fun celebration, even if in your country they don’t celebrate it, a first time is never late. And also is fun getting dressed up as anything you would like to. Halloween may always seem against religion, but instead is just dressing up in a cool costume, and having fun with friends.

Starting my degree at University in Canada

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Faisal Alrubaya

This is my last post for the Royal Roads University International Study Centre. I have finished English preparation and starting my bachelor’s degree at University in Canada!

On vacation for the summer

I had a long vacation in my country it was for three months. During this period I was able to get a technician certificate in extinguishing and safety, also I had a good time with my family and friends. I also had the ability to travel to Dubai and see how beautiful is the building. I went to Dubai before but it was long time ago, but this time was totally different from the last time.

After that I went to Mexico for Twenty days to visit my friends there, it was great experience for me. It was the first time for me in Mexico and its one of the best places that I have ever been to. I went to five different cities; also I learned a lot of things about the Mexican history and the Mexican culture. Moreover, I tried the Mexican food which is my favorite food now and I learned some words in Spanish. One of my goals is one day I can speak Spanish. A lot of funny things happened to me in Mexico, the funniest thing happened to me that I enter to the ladies washroom by mistake because I couldn’t read Spanish and the picture wasn’t clear for me. I knew it’s the ladies washroom because my friend was inside and she told me that I’m in the wrong place. All the time that I had was funny, exited, and helpful for me to start my degree program at the International Study Center.

After I came back to Canada I started to prepare myself for my classes. In the first day for the school I was helping the new students by showing them the classes and the buildings. This made me to have a lot of new friends from different countries and some of them became my classmates now. I started my classes with a lot of energy and feeling exited which made my get a good marks. I really like my classes and I have five different classes. At first I was confuse because it’s a new information for me and it was a lot of things coming together. However, the teachers are helpful which made me feel comfortable and get a lot of benefits.

Nowadays I’m working as hard as I can to get better marks and pass my classes, which is the most important goal in my life. I worked hard to be at Royal Roads University and I will work harder to finish my International Hotel Management program.

Making Big Decisions

Posted on October 31, 2012 by lisacc

My class in Mexico

While I was still studying my last year of high school, back in my country, Mexico, I realize there are a lot of opportunities out in the world, for getting my degree. At first it was hard to choose what I really wanted to study, and what I would like to be working in the rest of my life. After making some research, about many degrees like finance, accounting, architecture, business administration, etc. And finally I chose International Business.

After giving a lot of thought, I finally chose to study abroad. Making this decision was very hard, of course no one wants to leave home, leave their friends and family, and leave their usual lifestyles; and start all over again in another country far away from your own home town.

I had many options in the world to study. I thought about U.S.A, China and of course Canada. My parents helped me deciding on where I wanted to study. China and U.S.A were really and are still really good places to go and study business, but they weren’t as convincing as Canada for me. Since I had visited Canada twice already, it had given me a really good impression. Canadians are really kind and easy going, more than people in China and the U.S.A.

After choosing Canada, I had to decide where in Canada to study. I had in my mind going to big cities like Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. Montreal, and Toronto are really nice cities, but the opportunities of getting into a good university with the options of studying business were very less for International Students. Vancouver was a great place, and actually UBC is a nice place to study, but hearing from people, it will be harder to learn, because of the big amount of students in classes and is harder to get into.

International students at Royal Roads University

After a long time research I found Royal Roads University, at first it amazed me because of the pictures of the Hatley Castle, and the beautiful gardens they have; I even thought it was for royal people only and thought it was going to be really hard to get into such a beautiful campus. After asking for some information, I realize RRU is a really nice place, and that they had excellent programs for international students.

After I had a deep research on RRU, I decided that I wanted to study in RRU. It took me a while, to get all my papers done for the admission process, but thankfully they had a Study Group agent in Mexico, who helped me in all the process.

When I got to Canada, I was fortunate to get really good host family. I was really thankful that RRU had a great beginning orientation program, for the International Student, it helped me meet some friends and it helped me get used to the big and beautiful campus.

Studying abroad is a hard decision to make, because you’re afraid of leaving friends and afraid of not making new ones. Afraid of missing your family to much, that you won’t be able to do some things, like cooking by yourself. But studying in another country like Canada, gives you experience, and more friends, and of course great opportunities to succeed in life, and a great opportunity to learn about other cultures.