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.