Dina's
Story My name is Dina and I am a 23 year-old Master’s
student at the
Department of Mathematics and Statistics. I am entering my
second year of the
program I am enrolled in. I am working on my thesis in the field
of Statistics,
in particular, Longitudinal Data in Biostatistics. I majored in
Mathematics and
Statistics in my home country (Serbia), and I have been living
in Ottawa since
September 2016. I would be happy to share my modest experience
and help other
incoming students.
I am a Canadian citizen who had lived in her
home country prior to
arriving in Canada, so I am more of an international student
rather than
domestic. As a Canadian citizen, I am enjoying many benefits
that local
students have, but since I spent most of my life abroad, I
sometimes face
difficulties that international students might have in a new
country. However,
I believe that moving abroad and getting out of the comfort zone
is a great
idea, therefore I support anyone who makes the decision to
pursue their studies
abroad, far away from home.
I wasn’t lucky to have enough time to prepare
for my journey to
Canada since I graduated quite late, but I somehow managed to
get ready for
this long trip. The first thing I had to figure out is
accommodation – I
believe this is very important, since you need a comfortable and
safe place to
live. I found my place on Kijiji (https://www.kijiji.ca/) – an
amazing website where not you
only you can find a place to stay, but you can also buy/sell
products or find a
tutor. It is free and creating an account is easy. When looking
for
accommodation, you can use the filter to specify your
preferences. I found a
place in Glebe, which is a really nice neighbourhood near
downtown, for a
decent price. I suggest having a video call with the owner of
the property
before making any decision, since they will most likely ask for
a deposit, so
you want to make sure you are dealing with a reliable person. I
am extremely
satisfied with the accommodation that I found, as well as my
colleagues who
used the same website.
As I previously mentioned, I didn’t have enough
time to prepare
myself for my arrival, so the first 15 days here in Ottawa were
a bit
problematic. I was always in rush and my life was quite
uncomfortable. However,
being persistent pays off! I was introduced to extremely nice
people at the
Department whose help was invaluable. The people in the office
where I work are
amazing and always very helpful and polite. I also truly
appreciate the people
from the Secretariat – Diane, Janick, Carolynne, and Mayada –
they are always
willing to give you a piece of advice. Our professors are
fantastic and
helpful, they are brilliant minds and excellent lecturers.
Be prepared for a long and brutally cold winter
– please bring warm clothes!
You can buy high quality boots and a warm coat in numerous
shopping malls,
which may cost a lot, so please consider this expense. If you’re
coming from a
country who has a mild winter, your coat/boots won’t be good
enough for our
merciless winter. I bought my boots and coat in mid December in
Bayshore
shopping mall, so no rush with this task!
Depending on where you are coming from,
studying at our Department
might be more or less difficult than in your home country. I
find it slightly
easier and more flexible to study here compared to my home
country, but,
however, I do take my studies seriously since there are many
tasks I need to
complete, as well as deadlines I have to respect. Having a good
work ethic is
extremely important. I am working and studying at the same time,
which is often
challenging and sometimes frustrating, but that’s a part of the
experience! You
will quickly get used to the local system of education and work,
and strengthen
your personality through hard work and being focused on your
studies. Within
only a few months, I felt amazing because of my accomplishments
and successes,
and I realized it was a good idea to put myself in the growth
zone and keep on
improving myself.
I am working as a Teaching Assistant at our
Department, and I am
truly enjoying my job. It is really interesting, challenging,
non-stressful,
and working with students makes me feel happy. A few weeks prior
to the start
of the term, the job postings will be posted on the website of
the Faculty, so
if you wish to apply for them, don’t be late! You can choose to
do either DGDs
(discussion groups) or marking, or even both. I prefer doing
DGDs since they
are more demanding and challenging, and they help me improve my
public speaking
skills; however, if you feel more comfortable with marking, go
for it!
An important aspect of a student life in Ottawa
are finances – I
would like to say a few words about this and share my
experience. I am
receiving financial support from the Department, which I truly
appreciate –
otherwise I wouldn’t be able to finance my studies here. No
matter what is the
amount you are receiving – it will be helpful – not so many
graduate programs
are funded in North America. However, having some money on your
own is an
asset. I have multiple part-time jobs which allow me to support
myself here.
Some of my colleagues receive support from their parents,
through external
scholarships, or student loans. It is up to you to decide about
it, but it is
important to be careful with your finances in a foreign country.
Being wise
with money is an important lesson I learned!
Speaking decent English and/or French is very
important and
appreciated in Canada. I have been learning these languages my
entire life so I
didn’t struggle too much with communication at the very
beginning. However,
there are always new words and phrases to learn, so it is
important to
constantly work on your language skills. I enjoy hanging out
with people who
are native English/French speakers because that is the best way
to learn these
languages quickly and efficiently. I rarely speak my mother
tongue
Serbo-Croatian here in Canada, since it is not a widely spoken
languge, hence
my English improved significantly within only a few months. I am
not very
focused on learning French since I study and work with English
only, but I
highly suggest learning French if you have any spare time –
especially if you
intend to look for a job in public sector in Ottawa or in the
province of
Quebec.
The city of Ottawa is
lovely and adorable, clean, safe, well located
– major cities such as Montreal and Toronto are not that far.
Ottawa offers a
lot – many students choose to study here due to many reasons.
Even though
Canada is an expensive country, Ottawa is still affordable for a
student life.
If you are coming from a demographically homogenous country like
me, you will
find it interesting to constantly meet people from all over the
world - Canada
is home to many nationalities! Living in such a diverse place is
truly amazing
and unique; our department is consisted of professors and
students from all
over the world, which makes this experience even better.
However, we all speak
the same language – the language of math – that’s why we
perfectly understand
each other, even if there is a cultural or language barrier.