International
students
find
Canada's
social
climate
frosty
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The
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Especially
with
with
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multinational
Want
to
be
a
WaitTCTS.'
By
Liliana
Gaete,
gator
(Malaspina
University-College)
NANAIMO
(CUP)
-
Intemational
student
Karen
Garcia
invested
three
years
of
her
life
working
and
saving
the
money
she
would
use
to
go
to
study
abroad.
Her
interest
in
traveling
and
learning
about
different
cultures
sparked
when
she
studied
English
in
London
for
more
than
a
year
in
2002
and
met
a
lot
of
people.
But
when
she
found
herself
at
Vancouver
Island
University
in
Nanaimo,
B.C.,
a
very
different
reality
was
awaiting
her.
Garcia
speaks
of
experiencing
a
big
culture
shock
after
arriving
in
April
2007.
She
says
she
felt
isolated
with
no
friends
at
all.
"Canadian
people
have
not
showed
any
interest
in
knowing
me,"
she
says.
VlUhas
1,000
international
students
from
more
than
50
countries.
Sometimes,
these
students
struggle
to
adapt
to
a
new
environment
that
offers
them
benefits,
but
also
hardships.
They
leave
their
countries
without
knowing
what
they
will
find,
and
sometimes
it's
not
as
easy
and
pleasant
as
they
hoped
it
would
be.
Often,
they
remain
isolated
and
anonymous,
hardly
noticed
by
their
Canadian
classmates.
This
forces
them
to
remain
together
in
groups
of
international
students
instead
of
having
an
intercultural
exchange
with
Canadian
students.
Garcia,
28,
comes
from
Santa
Marta,
a
city
located
on
the
north
coast
of
Colombia.
She
has
a
degree
in
electronic
engineering
from
the
Pontifica
Universidad
Javeriana
in
Bogota,
Colombia.
After
her
experience
in
London,
she
decided
she
wanted
to
study
abroad
again.
"In
Colombia,
people
believe
that
education
abroad
gives
you
more
status.
It
helps
you
to
get
a
better
9
College
of
New
Caledonia
-
Ion
companies,"
she
says.
Also,
she
wanted
to
know
how
people
from
North
America
do
business.
"I
wanted
to
know
Canadian
culture,"
she
says.
Before
coming
to
Canada,
Garcia
researched
several
universities
and
the
only
one
that
offered
the
exact
program
she
was
looking
for
was
in
VIU.
Her
post-degree
diploma
in
business
with
emphasis
on
management
and
leadership
is
two
semesters
long.
But,
Garcia
did
not
expect
to
be
completely
alone
for
weeks
after
arriving
in
Nanaimo.
To
improve
her
English
skills
for
her
post-degree,
she
attended
an
English
program
that
turned
out
to
be
full
of
Asian
students.
"I
didn't
feel
in
Canada;
I
felt
like
in
Asia,"
she
says.
"At
that
time
I
thought:
when
I
finish
my
studies,
I'll
leave
right
away.
Now
I've
changed
my
mind."
In
September,
Garcia
started
to
attend
her
post-degree
program,
but
things
barely
changed:
her
Canadian
classmates
hardly
noticed
her
and
didn't
talk
to
her.
Garcia
misses
her
country
and
her
family.
"In
my
country,
you
find
affection
even
in
strangers,"
she
says.
"People
here
are
as
cold
as
the
weather."
However,
Garcia
did
not
think
of
quitting.
She
knew
she
needed
to
finish
what
she
came
for.
"It
was
worth
it,
because
I've
proven
myself
in
this
new
environment
and
I
survived."
Today,
Garcia
has
a
group
of
international
friends
who
support
to
one
another.
These
friends
come
Mexico,
Brazil,
Guatemala,
and
Ecuador.
When
she
finishes
her
program
she
would
like
to
find
a
job
in
Canada.
"I
don't
want
to
stay
forever,
but
I'd
like
to
gain
work
experience,"
she
says.
"I
want
to
use
my
brain.
I
don't
Some
international
students,
though,
have
had
better
experiences.
Kitzia
Payes,
originally
from
Mexico,
has
been
living
in
Nanaimo
since
August
and
says
she
enjoys
it.
Payes,
26,
comes
from
the
city
of
Merida
in
Yucatan,
a
state
in
Mexico.
There,
she
studied
business
administration
for
four-and-a-half
years.
"Before
I
finished
my
degree,
I
was
already
planning
to
go
abroad.
In
Mexico
they
value
abroad
experience,"
she
says.
Payes
is
taking
a
post-degree
diploma
in
business
in
financial
services
at
VIU.
She
decided
to
study
in
B.C.
because
she
liked
the
VIU
after
a
previous
visit
in
May.
But,
just
like
Garcia,
she
expected
things
to
be
different.
At
the
beginning,
she
was
not
really
happy
because
people
were
not
as
friendly
as
she
expected.
She
thought
she
would
meet
more
Canadian
people,
but
that
didn't
happen.
"In
class,
no
one
talks
to
me.
Everybody
is
on
their
own.
It's
harder
to
meet
people
in
that
way,"
she
says.
Like
most
of
the
international
students
today,
Payes
has
a
group
of
international
friends.
"I
feel
integrated
with
my
friends,"
she
says.
"We
do
a
lot
of
different
things.
We're
traveling
and
I
love
to
travel.
It's
really
fun."
Payes
misses
her
family,
her
friends,
and
Mexico's
warm
weather,
but
she
says
being
here
has
been
worth
it.
"I'm
more
independent
over
here.
The
university
is
great.
I'm
studying
as
I
never
studied
before.
I'm
learning,
which
was
the
point
of
coming
here,
and
I'm
having
fun
too."
Payes
planned
to
stay
in
Nanaimo
for
two
semesters,
but
she
is
open
to
the
opportunities
that
might
come.
"Maybe
if
one
day
I
get
a
job
here,
I
will
meet
more
Canadian
people."
College
of
New
Caledonia
-
Ion
6