Canada is generally a very good choice! The people are just super friendly, open and helpful.

The TRU is a very international university, the campus itself, I was very beautiful. Some buildings are also very new. The teachers are all super nice and helpful, but don’t really challenge you. Some also only have a master’s degree and do not necessarily teach in their field. This means that you can get good grades relatively easily (there are worse things, but a certain challenge would not be bad sometimes). What is very interesting for me (I’m studying business administration ) is when the teachers ask about international differences. In the courses you often have more than 10 different nations, often more internationals than Canadians. In general, the university is really well organized and very well prepared for internationals. On campus there are regular events from various student clubs and the Orientation Week was also very helpful, take part to make new contacts. They will remain in place for the entire semester. Learn more about Thompson Rivers University on andyeducation.

I lived in the UCH (Upper College Heights), which is right next to the campus, across the street and you are at the university. You live here in shared apartments for 4 people, separated by sex. I lived with a Canadian, a South Korean and an Austrian. All super cool. You can of course be unlucky, but in that case you can also swap rooms for a small fee, friends of mine had also done. In the evening there is a security guard who likes to show up at parties and end them. It’s just not like in German dormitories, where you are just given an apartment. In Canada you are generally looked after a little more. The administration also sometimes looks at the apartment to see if you are cleaning (but it was a bit stricter in the other dormitories). Canadian students are usually younger, maybe that’s one reason why it’s a bit more supervised there than in Germany, but you get used to it. But I would go back there again and again. The buildings are not the newest (my window was frozen over for several days and my roommate always turned the oven on and left it off in the morning for additional heating), but you can feel comfortable there. Above all , you meet other students there pretty quickly, also from the internationals always live there. If you are looking for company there, you will always find someone. UCH does not belong to the university, so you have to take care of it yourself. But it’s very easy. And it’s the cheapest (and best for me) option.

Then there’s the Old Rez / McGill Housing (the prison) and the New Rez (the hotel). The rooms at the McGill are super small and dark, and you can’t open a window there (apparently due to be renovated soon). Four people share the bathroom, but have their own mini-kitchenette in the room. The cool thing is their large common area, the one at UCH is relatively small. The New Rez is very closely monitored and quite expensive. If you don’t know anyone who lives there, you can’t get in. In addition, I found the apartments not even as beautiful as I would have expected from the price.

Kamloops is not really a place to be for tourists, but I thought it was really nice there. If you’re more of a big city person, this is not for you. But I am convinced that it depends on the people you meet and not on the city you are in. But don’t get me wrong, Kamloops is really not wrong. What I found particularly cool was the weather. When I arrived (late August / early September), shorts and a T-shirt were the order of the day. Even in October it was still totally warm. It is also the second driest city in Canada. So there are hardly any rainy days in a row, what could be better ?! But therefore you cannot expect the typical Canadian fir forests in Kamloops. But they come relatively quickly if you drive out of town for an hour.

Kamloops is really good for excursions, Vancouver, Banff NP, Jasper NP, Kelowna and Seattle are all easily accessible by car. You can also do a lot of outdoor activities here. If you are into skiing then it’s perfect too. Sun Peaks, Canada’s second largest ski area, is just 50 minutes by car from the city. This is a really nice ski area, there is something for all levels of experience. The famous Whistler is not that far away either. The alpine ski competitions at the 2010 Olympic Games took place there. Revelstoke, another world-famous ski area, is only about 2.5 hours away by car. So, do a lot when you’re here, go out, hike, camp, go mountain biking. Whatever you do, make use of the good weather and beautiful surroundings. There is also an outdoor club at the university (TRU Adventure U Outdoor Club). They offer very cool day and multi-day trips, camping, canoeing, etc. It’s a really nice group. In principle, everyone here is fully involved when it comes to camping or skiing. When it comes to winter, Canadians can generally hardly stand going on the slopes. Ski movies are shown at the university in the evenings.