EF Stories: Gabriela from Mexico at EF Vancouver

I lived my EF experience in Vancouver, Canada for 8 weeks, and I can only say it was the best experience of my life.

My journey began the day I enrolled. From the nerves before leaving, preparing every step, getting the ETA (which is the permit to enter Canada), booking flights, and starting to use My EF to get to know my fellow students. I was lucky to travel with two of my best friends on this course, which can be of great help because I was never alone in my nerves or excitement.

The day of the trip arrived. When we landed, we wondered what our family, roommates, and everything would be like. I was placed with an Asian family. The lady was a homemaker, loved gardening, and was very kind. The gentleman was into music and enjoyed playing the piano in the evenings. When I arrived at the house, they took us to buy a compass card, which is a card for paying for buses (you can purchase this card at any London Drugs store).

My first day at school was fantastic. They make you choose between two tours, one on foot and the other by bus. I recommend taking the bus tour, as the walking tour only covers the city center, while the other takes you to the most iconic parts of the city, helping you get oriented more quickly.

Within the school, everything was magnificent, from my classes to my classmates. The classes were the best; the teachers were really cool, and everything went smoothly. My classmates were the best; I made friends I never thought I'd meet from Germany, Spain, France, Colombia, Japan, Korea, China, Thailand, among many other places. And I'm still fortunate to stay in touch with them.

My biggest piece of advice would be: don't isolate yourself and only hang out with people from your own country. Talk to as many people as you can because you learn from everyone, practice the language (in my case, it was English), and, most importantly, you make friends who shared this adventure with you.

Another tip, try to explore the whole city, enjoy each day as if you were returning home the next day. When you're there, the days fly by, and before you know it, you'll be in your last week.

These courses are the best gift you can give to yourself because material things come and go, but the adventures, friends, and moments you experienced there no one can take away from you. That's why you have to make the most of them.