I arrived at Vancouver International Airport on the 29 August 2006. This was to be in time for the Gala International Orientation which started on the 31 August. Go Global, the international office at UBC, recommended that international students should arrive by the 30 August by the latest to be ready for Gala. I was met at the airport by Go Global Gala reps who were very welcoming and gave me information sheets and maps of the campus. I also made my first friend while waiting to see the Gala reps. Tristan, an Australian, who was on exchange at UBC from Sydney University. A shuttle bus was run from the airport to UBC by Gala. While on the journey the rep driving talk about Vancouver the sights and gave advice on if we got lost. This was to remember that the mountains are always to the north. The bus dropped off people at their respective residences on campus; I was at Place Vanier the last stop so I got a good look at the campus. My first impression of it was that it was massive, like a small city.

When I was dropped off at Place Vanier I was told to go to the front desk in the commons block. The staff at the front desk told me all about the residence and what to do if I had any problems. Term had not actually started yet so I could not use my meal card for meals or the café in the commons block. So I had to go elsewhere and pay for my meals until the 2 September when the residence would officially open. I was given directions my house called Mawdsley.

The Gala orientation started on the 31 August and ran for three days. We were put into Gala groups and officially welcomed in the Chan centre. It was a well run program and it was great for allowing me to meet new people and make new friends from all over the world. The events Gala held for us included a picnic in one of Vancouver’s parks with a beach and they took us all to see a (American) football game - UBC Thunderbirds vs Calgary Dinosaurs (UBC won). The best event however was the boat cruise around the marina downtown Vancouver.

On the 2 September the home students moved into residence and I met my new house mates. I also learned some new thing about residence life at UBC. They have around three Residence Advisors (RAs) in each house who are students usually second years who are there to enforce the residence rules. Such as quiet hours which ran from 21:00 to 7:00 Sunday to Thursday and 1:00 to 7:00 Friday and Saturday. My RA was called Graeme he was a really nice guy and there was no problems on my floor or in Mawdsley (Mawds).

Classes began on 5 September, and I started to settle in. I was now able to use my meal card in the commons block and meet people at social events and parties. I started a bit of exploring as well with my international friends and went to places like Stanley Park where we went cycling and to the Vancouver Aquarium. As the campus was so big, that needed exploring as well. The library was an impressive building, however my favourite landscape on campus was the wonderful Rose Garden. Of course this was in North America so they had a McDonalds in campus as well.

I found school and classes they fairly different, it was like being back at sixth form with textbooks, homework and mid-terms. The work load given there was way more than anything I was used to at Nottingham. The classes I took I really enjoyed, and the new academic environment has benefited my studies more than if I had just stayed in Nottingham. However a problem with the amount of work was that I found it difficult to find time to go out and explore during term.

As the months went on I started hanging around with my house friend more than my Gala friends. I had great times with Mawds with so many events on and a number of parties. I also felt that the accommodation at UBC was far better than the campus residence here at Nottingham. The weather was great during my time over there; it was sunny up until the beginning of November. As Vancouver is coastal the weather is usually mild anyway. It did however snow during one weekend in November - I could not believe the havoc it caused! I thought it would be prepared for such weather seen as Whistler is only an hour a half a way.

In conclusion, I had a fantastic time over at UBC and Vancouver, it was a once in a lifetime experience and I’m glad I had the opportunity to go on exchange with U21. I believe it has be a great benefit to me academically and personally. Especially seen as at the end of my time here in Nottingham I will have to write a CV, I now have something great to put on it. The friend I have made will be friends for life and I have places to stay when I visit again in April.