“Discover a way to make a difference. And in turn, discover yourself.”
So says UBC’s flagship video, the one you find first on our university’s YouTube profile. The words are set against a dramatic background of students wandering some desert that is definitely not the Vancouver or Kelowna campus.
Scottish Highlands near Stirling, Scotland. (PC: K. Lowman)
I’m 100% Vancouverite. Well, I was born in Toronto, but I’ve grown up in this fine city in the same house since the age of three. Currently, I’m in the senior years of pursuing a double major in English Literature and Creative Writing. I consider myself a shy and introverted person—in other words, I like my comfort zone. I like small and familiar social circles and a city I can navigate in without thinking too much because I’ve lived here for nearly two decades. But last autumn, I went for a short stint abroad at the University of East Anglia, which is in the small, charmingly medieval town of Norwich in England. It was three short months of incredible experiences stuffed full to the brim. I saw a lot, from memorably hilarious shenanigans that happen whilst living in a dorm situation for the first time, to spontaneous train trips to towns built on Roman ruins, and 5:00 am hikes up Arthur’s Seat to watch the Scottish sunrise.
Post-sunrise on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland.
That isn’t to say I experienced things that I would classify as “finding myself”. I did take risks I wouldn’t have imagined myself taking in my own country. On a more mundane note, I taught myself how to plan travel, budget finances, share spaces with roommates, and make memorable stories. Consequently, I became less of a shy and introverted person, and I can now proudly boast that I have friends on opposite corners of the world. Still, I don’t think “finding yourself” is the point of exchange. As good as self-improvement and self-discovery is, sometimes I think we overdo it at our age and forget about what’s outside the house on the other side of the window.
Elm Hill, Norwich, England.
Studying abroad is about finding other things. Things you didn’t know existed, wonders you can’t imagine, characters and places and stories so beautifully bizarre that you really have to see them for yourself to believe. Studying abroad is about experiences that surprise you, thereby challenging your beliefs, your values, and your perspective. Afterwards, you either emerge with these things transformed or these things held stronger.
St. Botolph’s Priory, Colchester, England.
You might think another Western, English-speaking country is not much different from yours, but the devil’s really in the details—cultural differences can be nuanced and those nuances can mean more than you previously believed. Even hanging around Americans—the cultural group I found myself around most because we were all English-speaking Anglophile North Americans, and eager to travel—brings to attention cultural differences you didn’t think existed. Such as debates over pronunciation, usage of different words to describe the same thing (don’t say “pants” in England, say “trousers,” because “pants” mean underpants!), traffic patterns, etiquette, and social norms.
Baliol College, Oxford, England. (PC: C. Bender)
Of course, in finding other things, you find hidden parts of yourself as well. Were you always this willing to take on new experiences? Has this part of you always existed beneath the surface, or is it merely the new environment affecting you? Studying abroad is not about finding answers, like “am I like this or like that?” or, “is this place like this or that?” It’s about asking even more questions. Discovering questions. And you can’t really imagine these questions until you step out of your world to another one where these questions lurk.
Chic ladies in SoHo, London, England.
To read more about Charmaine’s adventures in England, including more about this topic, visit her personal blog Breakfast with Words.