Everyday Life
- Karen
- 23. Okt. 2016
- 3 Min. Lesezeit
The everyday life isn’t that different from my everyday life in Germany, only much better! ;-)
Going to classes, studying in the library or at home, doing sports at the awesome gym, going for a walk or run in the Arboretum, meeting friends for lunch or dinner, watching movies and of course the US presidential debates, visiting the Farmer’s market on Saturdays aaaand of course going on as many trips as possible! --> Toronto, Washington, Florida, Algonquin National Park, Niagara Falls and soon Kingston, Ottawa, Montréal, Quebec City, Thousand Islands and maybe Bruce Peninsula National Park.
Studying
Undergraduate students normally take 4 to 5 undergraduate classes (each 0.5 points, i. e. 6 ECTS points)); graduate students 2 to 3 graduate classes.
Graduate exchange students like me also often take undergraduate classes they haven’t taken during their undergraduate studies back home. There is a huge difference concerning the number of students in undergrad and grad classes. In many undergrad classes there are about 200 to 300 students (well, usually only 50 to 100 hundred show up regularly, the rest you only see when there is an exam ;-); in grad classes there often are only 15 to 20 students. The regular workload for graduate exchange students is e. g. 1-2 graduate plus 1-3 undergraduate classes.
I have one undergraduate class in Human Resources and Organizational Behaviour: Managing People in Organizations. It is a double workload class, so it is the same as two classes. Normally that’s a very low workload, but as I want to work intensively on my master’s thesis it is good for me.
For university you have to read a lot and the textbooks are much more expensive than in Germany (C$ 80 – C$ 100 average). On the one hand, the Canadian students seem to be more ambitious than back home. Especially during the midterm-exams they are freaking out, the library is opened until 2 am and a friend of mine saw a girl sleeping on the floor. But on the other hand, I’ve got the impression that the students only learn on a superficial level. They have so much to do – 20- or more hours working week to be able to afford the university fees, volunteering which here is much more requested by employers (so that in the end it isn’t actually volunteering anymore), many assignments, essays and quizzes throughout the semester - that they don’t do any in-depth learning. So the outcome, I guess, is better at German universities.
Leisure time
A very nice spot you should visit when you are in Guelph is the Boat House half way down between university and downtown. You can rent kayaks and canoes there and they have delicious ice cream, pastries and cakes!
Downtown I really like a store called “coriander” (it’s the one with the Matt & Nat handbags) as well as a first- and second-hand store called “The Patch”. In the “Old Quebec Street Mall” there also is a nice socks-store with funny moose-, squirrel-, santa- or whatever socks. At the moment “Play with Clay” is quite popular, a place where you can build your own clay dishes and paint your pottery.
For going out at night, there are several pubs and clubs you can go to. One of the most popular places is “Frank & Steins” which is a pub with a dance floor and live music being played. “Distrct”, “Van Goghs Ear”, “Albion Hotel”, “Bobby O’Briens”, … For a town with only 120.000 residents, Guelph has plenty to offer.
Sports
The UofG just built a new gym during summer which has everything one can wish for. As a UofG student you have free access to the swimming pool and to the badminton and squash courts. For only C$ 45 per semester, you can add unlimited access to the fitness center and a huge variety of fitness classes each day of the week.
Holidays
On October, 10th, there was the Canadian Thanksgiving. Yes, the Canadians have their own Thanksgiving date which is different from the US American one. We celebrated it with an international podluck dinner (no turkey for us :'-().
Animals
As I mentioned in another blogpost, Guelph is inhabited by a huge number of squirrels. The moment you leave the house, you see squirrels running around, climbing onto the trees, hiding nuts for the winter eagerly. They are so cute that you will immediately be in a better mood whenever you see them. In general, you will see more animals here than in Germany; e. g. we saw a groundhog and a skunk on our way from campus to the residence.
Advertising Bremen
Last week, the “Study Abroad Fair” for Guelph students, who are interested in going out for a semester abroad, took place. Actually some of them were really interested in going to Germany. They are fascinated by the old city centers with the multifaceted architectural designs and by the short distances to the neighbouring countries.
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