I would like to take this opportunity to share some insight on a place I do not believe any of you have ever visited. It is in a far away land, a land we Hosers call CANADA. Look as far West as possible and you will see an island off the coast of British Columbia named Vancouver Island. Not only is Vancouver Island home to amazing fishing, skiing, surfing, mountain biking, hippies, and the coolest climate in Canada, it is also home to the capital of British Columbia; Victoria. Victoria is at the southern tip of the island and has everything a student can ask for in a city. Just writing this is making me miss the place. It’s amazing.

The University of Victoria is situated 15 minutes from the inner harbour and less than 5 minutes from the beach where every student will gravitate towards on sunny days. Now, for you Europeans, I am sure you are curious about a few things such as workload, what type of activities you can do on weekends, and how much a pint of Canadian beer costs. Since I have never been an exchange student at UVic I decided to ask a friend I made in Victoria who is from UEK and did this exchange to Canada last year. If any of you decide you would like to talk to my friend please send me a message and I can connect the two of you.

The Campus of University of Victoria

Workload:

“It’s a bit difficult to compare UEK and UVic in terms of workload – I’ve personally found Uvic much more of a practical school, where you had to work throughout the whole semester relatively equally, because group projects and case studies were assigned from the very beginning. I think thanks to that you can get more experience and useful knowledge. Moreover, the workload was not overwhelming so it was not that hard to follow and get good grades.” When asked to rank both UEK and UVic on a scale of 1→10 with regards to difficulty (1 being easy and 10 being difficult) my friend ranked UEK higher than exchange at UVic. UEK received an 8 and UVic received a 7.

Activities:

“I loved all of the people and the vibrant atmosphere on campus. I also enjoyed and appreciated the stunning nature and the travel possibilities – the diversity of options can satisfy almost everyone – from hiking and surfing to skiing and mountain biking, both in Canada and the nearby US (Seattle, California, Hawaii etc.). Overall, I LOVE CANADA and I’m pretty sure anyone else coming there from UEK will too! (I’m getting a lot of updates from my friend who is at Uvic right now and she loves it as well!) “ Now if that last description doesn’t excite you then you don’t have a pulse and exchange probably is not for you anyways.

Cost of Living:

Let’s be honest, you will not be able to find a place as inexpensive as Krakow. Victoria is not considered an expensive city in Canada, but it will be a shock when you go to buy a beer. 6 beer will set you back approximately 35 PLN and a beer at the bar (gratuity not included) would be approximately 12-15 PLN. Keep in mind that alcohol is expensive here, however, you can get a full meal at the Uni for the same as a beer at the bar (15-25 PLN).

For all of you considering an exchange outside of Europe, you are half-way there to one of the most amazing decisions you will ever make. Being a business student, what is more valuable than having new connections in North America and meeting friends from all over the world (not just Europe)? Not only will your network become vastly more diverse, you will experience a place that is constantly regarded as one of the most beautiful regions in the world (Vancouver was #1 for 3 years in a row and Victoria was ranked #17 this year). That is all for now, please feel free to contact me if you are considering making Victoria your home for a school term and I can be your first Canadian friend yippppppeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

-Max
Canada

Air Max 95 Flyknit2020 Nike Air Jordan 1 Mid GS „Pink Quartz” 555112-603