Creating Your International Family While Studying In Canada

By Jennifer Cabell and Danique Williams, Centennial College

Make friends from different cultures.

Danique's story

When in a new environment your first instinct is to seek out people who are familiar. While this is a quick and easy way to feel at home in a new country, challenge yourself to make friends with people from different cultures. I recently sat down to make a list of all the friends I’ve made since moving to Canada from Jamaica. It was humbling to see how many people, from different cultures, I’ve met along the way. I carry their stories with me every day and they help me to feel more at home in the world and more confident in every multicultural interaction.

Get involved in new activities.

Jennifer's story

When I first moved from Canada to live in Beijing, China I couldn’t even say hello in Mandarin. In order to learn the language and culture, I took the time to try some new activities. For example, I went out to KTV and sang songs in Chinese. I visited my new friend's home and learned how to cook dumplings (Jiao Zi). These experiences stick out in my mind as the most memorable when I look back on the years I spent abroad.

As a new international student one of the first opportunities you will have to interact with students from all over the world will be during Orientation. “Orientation gave me the opportunity to meet students, who already finished my courses in the college and they became my real friends. Their experience is very valuable for me because I`m trying to do what they already did," says Dmytro Malovichko, international student at Centennial College in the Financial Planning Certificate Program.

Students at Centennial also have the opportunity to participate in a large variety of activities with students from over 90 cultures. As you develop and foster new relationships you may begin to realize you have created your own International Family. Who will be part of your International Family? At Centennial, new students have access to a large support system, including international staff and returning students, who help make Canada their home away from home. Your International Family could comprise of people from every continent from around the world, people who you will learn from and who can also learn from you.