A Year Full of New Lifelong Friendships & Unforgettable Memories as an Exchange Student at FSA ULava

Hi, my name is Yên, a former exchange student from Belgium, studying Business Engineering at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. One year ago, in September 2022, I began my journey at Université Laval’s Faculté des sciences de l'administration (FSA ULaval), hands down the best experience in my life.

It has been a few months now since my exchange in Québec ended, and I still have so many beautiful things to say about this once-in-a-lifetime adventure, yet I cannot seem to find the words to express how I feel about my time there.

Without a doubt felt FSA ULaval's warm welcome!

I think just like every other new international student, I was very nervous about my exchange, meeting people, getting used to a new environment - let alone a new country - especially those first few days. Luckily, FSA ULaval organized welcome days on August 31st and September 1st to welcome its international students. Two whole days filled with fun games and activities to get to know our faculty and fellow students. The first day started off with a little breakfast and a welcome ceremony where we got to meet the people behind FSA ULaval and Globe FSA, the teams who organized this important event. Then, we got a tour of the huge FSA ULaval building, the Pavillon Palasis-Prince. After a quick lunch break, we were invited to participate in an ice skating activity and to play hockey in the PEPS. I really liked it, and even came back a few times during the year. The first day ended with a nice drink while getting to know fellow students a bit better during the happy hour in the Pub Universitaire in the Desjardins Building. I genuinely loved the calm and warm vibe during this activity, which was the perfect way to wrap up the first introduction day.

The second day began with a guided tour of Old Québec by bus. Later on, I got to try my first poutine ever, which I really liked. I would kill to eat a good Canadian poutine now, but sadly, those in Europe are far from that good, haha! In the afternoon, Québecois French was on the schedule. We learned some typical Québecois slang and expressions, which became very useful during my stay. My favorite Québecois expression is without a doubt “c’est correct"! Even after coming back to Belgium, I still say it quite often, resulting in some getting a bit confused lol! The welcome days ended with a fun session of zumba and beach volleyball.

I am incredibly thankful for this initiative, because it gave international students, like myself, the chance to get familiar with this new environment, to get and ask for all the necessary information and to make friends, which made the integration process so much easier!

Later on, I heard from fellow ULaval students that their faculty did not organize such welcome days. They would have loved to also have similar welcome days like we did, because the lack of that - which I can only imagine - made it more difficult for them to make friends and to quickly feel at home.

A New Chosen Family

It was during these welcome days that I was so lucky to meet tons of people from all around the world! I got to know people from Taiwan, Mexico, France, Colombia, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Morocco, Spain, Australia, Peru, Germany, Senegal, The Netherlands, and the list goes on and on! I got the privilege to meet these people and their beautiful cultures and values. With some of them I got the unique opportunity to develop deep and meaningful friendships that I will cherish and maintain for the rest of my life. It genuinely feels as if I have known these people my whole life. We experienced so many things together and shared loads of beautiful moments and memories.

Throughout the whole year, we spent a lot - but far from enough - time together. We participated in many activities organized by the Bureau de la vie étudiante, such as apple picking on the Île d’Orléans, curling, ice fishing… Although every activity was different and fun in its own way, one of my faves was cabane à sucre (sugar shack) in the winter, a true Canadian experience! The list of activities we participated in seems never-ending, and I truly enjoyed all of them so much, leaving me with countless amazing memories.

My friends and I, ourselves, have also planned lots of fun activities together. We went skiing, admired a few impressive waterfalls - especially when it’s all frozen, organized movie nights, visited museums... We had also been on hikes in the National Park of Jacques Cartier and enjoyed an unforgettable karaoke night.

Of course, I cannot forget to talk about all the city trips we have been on. They were all so special and unique, each with their own stories and anecdotes. From Toronto and Montréal to Saguenay and New York, and - of course - Québec.

To be honest, what I loved the most was my friends’ company, the “where” didn’t really matter. Eating together, doing groceries, cooking for each other, talking for hours, playing games… These were very simple and normal activities, but one of my favorite and most valuable memories. The nights - but of course days as well - out in Vieux-Québec are moments that I will never forget either. Whether or not there was a snowstorm going on, it never stopped us from going out, haha!!

We have done so many things in such a short period of time, that it all feels so surreal, just like a dream. One that - still - has been difficult to wake up from. To be quite honest, it has been pretty hard to realize that this beautiful journey really has come to an end, even after months of being back in Belgium.

Proud to have been part of FSA ULaval!

Going on exchange requires a lot of preparation and paperwork. Luckily, FSA ULaval’s international office and website were very structured, clear and helpful, which made it so much easier to find all the necessary information. I was able to contact FSA ULaval from thousands of kilometers away, before my arrival, about all my questions and worries. The team has thus always been there for internationals from the very beginning. During the academic year too, their office was always open, ready to help us with literally anything. Numerous activities, events and initiatives were also organized for FSA ULaval students. These activities were, in my opinion, very nice and fun, especially to keep in touch with other fellow FSA ULaval internationals. I really appreciated all the effort FSA ULaval put into these events and it really showed that they actually cared about us, wanting us to have the best possible experience, which we truly did.

FSA ULaval offered a very broad and varied library of courses that we were allowed to take. The list of available courses was quite long, making it possible to choose classes, from Accounting and IT, to International Marketing and Organizational Behaviour. The courses were all super interesting and have each taught me a lot.

There are a few differences between the Canadian and the Belgian education system. It was honestly refreshing, educational and cool to experience school in a new way. Courses are taught in smaller classes, for example. There is also a lot more interaction during classes and students are really expected to actively participate. This also means that teachers and professors have much closer and genuine bonds with their students. The way students are being evaluated is also different. At Université Laval, we were constantly evaluated throughout the entire semester via assignments, group projects and presentations. Besides that, there were also midterms, something I have never had at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. At my home university, we usually have one final exam about the entire semester’s content that determines a huge part of the final score. Now that I have experienced both the Canadian pedagogical approach and the Belgian one, I think I prefer the first one! In my opinion, Université Laval’s school approach might be better, stimulating and motivating students to keep up with their courses, in order to be able to participate during class.

There are three spots - besides the classrooms - in the FSA ULaval-building, Palasis-Price, that I have been missing. I really loved the big hall next to the cafeteria where students can study, eat or simply hang out. Secondly, the rooms of Business Administration’s Associations where free Guru’s are offered to all FSA ULaval students (nothing but love for - the blue - Guru's!!). Last, but definitely not least, is the iconic view of all the flags of FSA ULaval’s partners. There really isn’t anything to not like about FSA ULaval!

I genuinely feel that I have gained so many new experiences and knowledge through these FSA ULaval's classes, both academically and personally, which I maybe might not have without this exchange.

I’m good, yeah I’m feeling alright. Baby, Imma have the best fricking time of my life!

I am incredibly (!!) thankful and grateful to FSA ULaval and Université Laval for making my stay there for one year so warm (despite the -30°C winter), amazing and unforgettable. There will never be enough words to thank you, FSA ULaval and ULaval, for playing such a huge part in realizing my dream of going on exchange in Québec. As mentioned way too many times already, I have experienced loooads of new and different things in such a short amount of time. I got the chance to visit soo many new places, create endless beautiful memories, and most importantly, make tons of new friends from everywhere who spoil me with their cultures, stories and life-long friendships. I could never have wished for a better exchange. Somehow, it was not really what I had in mind, but it literally could not have been more perfect.

It has been over six months since I got back to Belgium. The nine months that I spent in Québec still all feel so unreal, too good to be true. I still have difficulties wrapping my head around all the incredible things I got to do there. I also still have a hard time putting all my thoughts in order, let alone finding the right words to express them. I don’t think I will ever find the words to tell how happy, grateful, and literally speechless - regardless of the thousands of stories I have about my exchange - I am about this once-in-a-lifetime experience. I feel genuinely lucky and privileged that I had the chance to experience all this.

This has honestly been the best experience in my 22 years and it will be difficult for future experiences to beat this one. It goes without saying that I 1000% will remember my exchange at Université Laval in Québec, Canada for the rest of my life.

Québec and FSA ULaval have truly become my home. Although, home is not about geographics, but about the people. The people - who come from every corner of the world - that I have met in Québec, in such a short amount of time, have become my home as well. I cannot wait to see them all again soon and to essentially go home.

Veeery cheesy, but if I had the chance to do it all over again, I would… in a heartbeat.

Tabarnak, Québec, tu me manques <3