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And how are things in Edmonton?

Cold. I arrived in February, which is in the middle of the Albertan winter. Lucky for me, it was just after the coldest month of January, and the weather has been gradually changing to warmer temperatures and something resembling spring. This is marked by snow melting and actually revealing Edmonton (finally not covered in snow) and the Canadians coming out in t-shirts and shorts, because, you know, it’s above 0 degrees, that’s practically summer, right?

by
photo Lianne Tuin

Something that is very noticeable for a Dutchy like me is that even though it was freezing, there is barely any precipitation, so it is actually quite nice outside when you dress well. And forget the dark days of the Dutch winter. Days are short, but there is enough sun and beautiful blue skies to not be miserable during winter here. As such, I started out my time by exploring the city by just walking around.

Edmonton as seen from the south side of the Saskatchewan river. Photo | Lianne Tuin

I study mechanical engineering, and for my internship I am working on wire arc additive manufacturing at the University of Alberta (UofA). This means I spend most of my time in a lab, printing metal parts or sitting behind my laptop.

However, with all evenings and weekends off, there is plenty of time to explore the city and enjoy other activities as well. I live with two other students, and there is a group of UofA interns that go out and do things together. This is a really nice way to get to know others and do some things that I might not have done otherwise. For instance, we went to an art gallery and of course we had to go ice skating at one of the many ice skating rings, of which there are plenty with hockey (=ice hockey) being the most popular sport here.

Besides this, I joined the UofA water polo club. Although water polo is a less popular sport here, joining a sports club is a great way to meet other people. One of the highlights of living abroad is definitely getting to know a lot of people from all over the world.  My roommates are from Algeria and Bengladesh, I have colleagues from Pakistan and China, and I’ve met students from many other parts of Canada and South America. Actually, I think I don’t know a lot of people that are from Edmonton itself.

Ice skating at Rogers Place. Photo | Oumnia Boudersa

Being in Canada, of course I couldn’t miss out on visiting the Rocky Mountains. This was a bit more of a challenge than I anticipated, as it is at least a 5 hour drive from Edmonton, and connection by public transport is remarkably bad. I decided to make it a weekend trip over Easter and include Calgary as well. I spend many hours in a bus but it was absolutely worth it to visit and I would recommend it to anyone. I have been told it is much easier to simply rent a car to visit, so I will likely do this at some point as well.

The main photo shows me hiking to the top of Tunnel Mountain from Banff.

As with moving abroad to any place, living in Canada certainly has its challenges and takes time getting used to, but so far it has been a great experience and I will enjoy my last weeks here.

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