This week HCX were lucky enough to catch up with University of Exeter student, Jessica Doyle. A HCX writer, Jess is currently spending a year abroad in snowy Canada and has the rare, but much coveted status of being a BNOC on two campuses. From across the pond we were able to get to talk to Jess and find out more about her Canadian escapades and what she’s missing about good old Exeter.
Hey Jess, thanks for talking to us all the way from Canada! We are so jealous of your year abroad, we bet it’s amazing. First of all though we want to know what inspired you to go on a year abroad?
My decision to do a year abroad felt pretty spontaneous. I didn’t apply for my degree with a year abroad in mind, I didn’t even know it was an option till second year. Basically I just wanted to take a leap and do something that I thought might be a little scary and challenging. I think Canada being an option is what sold it for me – I’d always wanted to go there. I wanted to experience new things and meet new people, I didn’t know when I might next get this opportunity. Plus putting off final year seemed like a good deal!
We couldn’t agree more! Anything to put off that looming dissertation! What is the best thing about Canada for you?
The fact that everyone loves my British accent haha. It has also been really exciting to experience a proper Canadian winter, Ottawa even got a record breaking snow storm last month! Which was crazy. And there is still more snow than England could ever handle. Oh and poutine. Poutine is the best thing ever. I am going to miss that as my go to drunk food.
Wait what’s poutine? We’re curious now!
Poutine is chips, gravy and cheese curds. They go mental for it over here. They have festivals for it where you can put loads of jazzy toppings on it.
Oh wow! To be fair we could definitely go for that – anything with cheese and chips and we are good to go. So what do you do for fun in Canada? We heard you’re learning to ice-skate!
Yeah ice skating has been really fun, but I’m definitely not a natural haha! But it has been cool to learn! In the winter the canal in Ottawa completely freezes over to become the biggest ice rink in the world, which is pretty cool! To be honest, it’s just fun to explore new places, like Toronto and Niagra falls. Going to sports games are also super fun, it’s a really different atmosphere to going to a match in England. The nightlife is a lot broader though similar to Exeter in that everything closes ridiculously early, which can be a pain!
We hear you! We always want more time on the dancefloor! What about Exeter though, do you miss it?
Yeah I really do sometimes, I especially did during the run up to Christmas because I love the Exeter Christmas market. And I really miss Arena haha, an embarrassing amount. I refuse to call it Unit 1. But yeah, it will be lovely to be back next year but it’s hard to imagine right now.
No shame in a bit of Arena love – we’re all guilty of it. Besides Arena (yes we still call it Arena too), what do you miss the most about Exeter?
I guess I sometimes miss the pretty campus, and being able to buy alcohol on campus is so ideal. It can be quite inconvenient having to go off campus to buy alcohol for pres! I miss my friends, firehouse cider and the cathedral green when it’s a rare sunny day. I don’t miss how much it rains though.
Awwww we do love Exeter, but we agree the rain is defintely a bit of a downer at times! Finally we just want to know if you have any advice for anyone considering doing a year abroad, is it something you would recommend?
I definitely would! It’s a cliché but it really is the best decision I ever made. It is quite a scary change to make, but you meet people so quickly, and experiencing things you never would have otherwise been able to do makes it so worth it. If nothing else, my year abroad has helped me to semi-get over my fear of flying.