What I have learnt:

This exchange program certainly taught me independence. Sure, in army, I learnt to be independent too, but I could always fall back on my parents when we booked out on weekends. Over in Canada, I was all by myself. Thank God I was living with 3 other NUS Business School students as they were my pillars of support. We were there for each other whenever anyone was down or feeling troubled. I feel it is important to have someone you can really talk and relate to when you are away; otherwise you will definitely feel homesick easily.

One of the main reasons why people go on exchange is also to travel, and travel did we! Montreal had some very nice parks and open spaces where we had fun hanging around in the warmer months. Even in Winter, we were able to participate in their Winter carnival. And during Spring break (late February), we travelled to neighbouring cities like Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara Falls and Quebec City. The company we had while travelling around was unforgettable and the memories of the road trip will definitely remain. After the semester, I embarked on a month long holiday with a few other friends and travelled round the United States and the Canadian Rockies. It was just an exhilarating experience to visit the many different sights and take in the marvelous landscape that we can only see in pictures or movies back home in Singapore. I like planning for overseas trips, and for these spring breaks and end of semester trips, I did majority of the planning. It was certainly no easy feat, but I am glad that my friends and I enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

Tips and advice:

Clothing

You don’t really need long johns and thermal wear, especially if you are going during the summer semester, as the peak winter period is in January and February only. Initially, I wore long johns for the first couple of weeks, but gradually got acclimatized to the weather. Started to wear lesser layers out too! Just invest in a good, windproof down jacket. That should do the trick! Scarves are nice accessories to experiment with and gloves and earmuffs are a must to help you survive the biting cold wind.

Books

It would be good if you could purchase the textbooks in Singapore in advance. Don’t worry if the books you require are the US version; the international version sold in Singapore will be just as good, albeit with more chapters. You get to save at least 2-3 times if you buy your books in Singapore as the textbooks there are priced at CAD$100 and upwards!

Food

If you miss Singapore food, which I am sure you do, you don’t really have to bring those Prima Taste packets over as the Chinatown in Montreal sells similar flavor packets at a reasonable price. Trust me, you will be buying lots of that, especially if you don’t really know how to cook! My favourite place around school for lunch is at the food court along St. Catherine just next to Second Cup. It’s where the Dollarama is. There is a Thai stall called ‘Bangkok’ which attracts long queues during meal times as the food there is delicious and value for money. Note that food court prices start from CAD$6 for a basic plate of noodles or rice.

Tim Hortons has got be a favourite place to grab a snack or a drink among Singaporeans and locals alike. The drinks are cheap and most importantly, taste good! Much more worth your money compared to Starbucks or Second Cup. Tip: the French Vanilla and Iced Cappuccino is to die for! Oh, not to forget the Timbits! One can easily finish 10 of the delightful mini donut munchkins!

Other Tips:

Don’t forget to get an official document that states your current Canadian address (can be a letter of admission from the school, a bank letter) before applying for the OPUS student card (monthly transport pass cost CAD38.50 for unlimited use of metro and bus. This will definitely prove to be handy). This document is compulsory; the transport officials will refuse your application otherwise.

Open a bank account and get a credit or debit card! This will definitely prove useful when travelling around the US and/or Canada.

Get a small luggage weigher before you leave Singapore. It will come in handy when you need to weigh your two pieces of luggage when you return back to Singapore. Trust me, you will definitely have to throw some stuff away if you do not want to ship things back. Otherwise, it costs about CAD 17 to purchase one in Montreal.

Don’t bother bringing foolscap paper, files or punchers. The paper they use here is letter size (not A4) so the files and punchers won’t work. Plus, the foolscap size is different too. Anyway, you can get all your stationery items from Dollarama. Bring along pens and refills and highlighters though, in case you can’t find your favourite brands in Canada.

Don’t forget to visit the tourist attractions during the earlier part of the semester when you are not so busy with projects and school. Some of us kept delaying outings to visit the tourist attractions, resulting in them not seeing the famous sights around Montreal! Must sees include: Mont Royal Park, Olympic Stadium, Botanic Gardens, Notre Dame Cathedral, St. Joseph’s Oratory and a walk around the Old Port. After all, time really does pass by rather quickly, and before you know it, you are on your way back home!