Leaving home isn’t always easy: but how about moving 3000 miles away? Katya Conrad, a first-year at McGill, challenged herself to do just that, moving from rainy London to frosty Montreal – and experiencing a little culture shock in the process.
Lauren Ballard for Her Campus McGill (HC McGill): What made you want to go to university all the way in Canada?
Katya Conrad (KC): I wanted to go to university overseas because I thought it would be something different and a good way to challenge myself by just throwing myself into a completely new situation. It was also a really good way for me to pursue what I actually wanted to study because I’m interested in so many different subjects. I found the programs in England to be too limiting because when doing joint honours you don’t really have much freedom to pursue either subject because there’s no time to fit everything in – and it’s certainly a lot of work.
What appealed to me about the North American systems especially was that you can take classes in so many different subjects during your degree that you really get a wider range of education. Montreal just seemed like a cool place to study, family friends raved about McGill and it was obviously much cheaper than America.
HC McGill: Did you experience any culture shock?
KC: I think the culture shock really hit me during the whole experience of move-in and Frosh. Everyone was so keen to get to know each other and everyone here is generally so friendly that people will start talking to you on the street or in the lift (elevator) which is not done at all in England. At home, you just mind your own business and kind of ignore everyone else, but here people were genuinely keen to get to know you and to make sure that you felt welcomed. The general enthusiasm of everyone during all these events was kind of crazy and that relentless energy really surprised me.
HC McGill: Do you ever get homesick?
KC: At first, I didn’t really get homesick. I was kind of glad to get out of London – especially because of all the terror attacks that were going on. I felt more uneasy and wary of the city that I lived in which is a terrible feeling. Being in Montreal and living on a campus is really refreshing in the sense that I often feel safer.
I definitely do miss my little town and the things I used to do with my friends, like going to the certain coffee shops or even just popping to someone’s house to hang out. I’ve found also that you can see people being less keen to keep in touch because they feel like the distance puts them off, so there’s that aspect which you kind of miss but then it just means you really put effort into keeping in contact with people. The distance really helps you realise who is worth keeping in your life because the people that make the effort to call you or even ask how you’re doing or keep a conversation are the ones that I really appreciate.
HC McGill: How do you deal with it?
KC: I’ve actually found that watching British TV kind of helps with homesickness. I don’t know why – you’d think it would make it worse, but the distance makes everything extra funny because you can more clearly see the differences in humour which is interesting.
It’s also great fun to encounter another British person every now and then – I’ve found that when I hear an accent or they hear mine there’s this mutual excitement and we get to chat.
HC McGill: Do you ever get peculiar reactions to your accent?
KC: It’s funny because your accent becomes more of a statement. Here, as soon as you talk to someone new you just expect them to ask where you’re from or pick up on your accent which is a new feeling.
A lot of the time people think I’m Australian or I’m from London, Ontario which is odd. People also find everything I say quite posh – which is also funny, but people are generally really nice and excited by it.
Images obtained from:
Cover image from interviewee