Unpacking the Bags: Making the biggest step possible

Columns October 10, 2018

Many people ask me what led me to leave my country, my family, and my culture behind to come and live in Canada. The truth is that every international student has a different answer to why they made that decision; in my case, I left my country in search of better opportunities in the labour market. For me, because the curriculum is better, getting a diploma or certificate abroad is a better choice than getting it at home, regardless of if I’m returning to my home country or staying in Canada after I finish school.

Unpacking the Bags is a column giving advice for international students appearing in every issue of Nexus.

For most students, living in another country represents a possible change in their professional career. Therefore, it’s quite common to see people who come in search of courses that are completely different from ones they did in their country of origin. This might even have cultural influences. For example, in Brazil, a career change is not always seen positively. On the other hand, if this change is made in another country, this shows the determination and courage of the professional. Therefore, an education abroad can be extremely beneficial. While also aiming for a career improvement, other students seek in a new country the opportunity to learn a new language and live with a new culture.

Another quite common response to justify living abroad is “because I want to explore the world.”

Many students want to see with their own eyes the countries they studied in high school, meet people from different cultures, and broaden the worldview they have. This can bring many professional and personal benefits.

Finally, I’ve also seen many students who are fathers or mothers of families and risk everything to offer their children better living conditions that could not be offered in their home country.

I say that every international student brings with them a whole world.

No matter your motivation, leaving everything behind will always be difficult because it’s basically getting as far out of your comfort zone as possible.

But we face all the challenges because we hit our new country with a determination to fight for something better, and we are confident that this step will bring positive results.