First blog finally!

Hello, everyone:

Finally I got time to write this blog. Sorry for all of you since it’s a little bit late. This week is the Add/drop period, and I was busy enrolling/ changing the courses.

Well, something about myself first. My name is Zhuoying, I’m a 3^rd year IBA student, and I’m now on an exchange in Queens’ University in Canada. I’ve stayed here for about 3 weeks now, and I love it!

Background Info: I arrived in Toronto on 30^th August in the afternoon. Then I took a coach directly to Kingston (where the university is located). Here I have to say, Canada is indeed a country with vast land areas that it took me 4 hours on the way and it’s already 11pm when I got there. I stayed in one of the campus residence hall for the night and on the next day, I met my host for the coming 3 nights, Kristiana Clemens, a music producer in Queens’ Campus Broadcasting Station, who is so kind that she offered me a temporary accommodation for free. Of course, during those 3 days, I have to find another place to stay for the rest of my time here.

Accommodation: I have to admit that it’s really really really hard to find a short-term rental here in Kingston. It’s a quiet small city with students consisting of a large population. Landlords here are more willingly to rent on an 8-month basis, so there are few rental options for 4-month. Lots of exchange students gathered in the International Centre during the first 2 weeks, trying to find places together. BUT… I’m super lucky among them. I managed to find a place in 2 days and the place is awesome! It is a bit far from the main campus, 10min by bus then another 5min by walk, but the rent is fairly cheap, it’s right next to Kingston Inner Harbour, it’s one of Canada’s cultural heritage spot, scenery around is thus just great! Apart from all these, I live with a Canadian lady, around her 70s, a retired teacher, she is so knowledgeable and so willingly to share things with me, we have a talk during dinner everyday, any subjects, it’s not only a great chance to improve my English, but also I learn a lot from her. She also takes me to some social events and meet local people.

Stop here for a while. Talk something about school first.

Queens’ University, school of business, one of the most prestigious business school in Canada. If anyone here asks you what you study in Queens, as long as you said commerce, almost all of them will be surprised

at first, and then say, “oh commerce?! That’s a really great business school and best in Queens!” Campus is quite big, around 30 to 40 campus buildings, 6 or 7 libraries, a couple of places for food& drinks, 2 football fields I guess, plus a 6-floor fitness center! It has everything, a standard basketball court with spectator accommodations, approximately 12 squash courts, swimming pool etc. Anything you want is there. And more importantly, with your student card, you are free to use any equipment there. (It’s also free to use public transportation, this helps save quite a lot of money and every exchange student loves this!)

Attached is a pic of Goodes Hall, where most of commerce course takes place.

Courses& lectures: I chose 5 courses, 3 commerce (service management, doing business in the asia-pacific rim, marketing ethics), 1 economics (population and economic change) and one Spanish, plus my 2 mandatory long-distance courses. Though it’s quite a bit study load for me, I love my professors, specifically their way of teaching. Class size ranges from 20 to 30 (max.), that’s why professors know almost everyone of his/her students. You’re called by your first name and expected to contribute as an individual. Workload is indeed high here, we are expected to finish lots of required readings prior to the lecture so that we can discuss in class. Unlike in Tilburg, you REALLY do have to prepare all the cases, finish all the readings. Not only because there’s around 15% of your final mark depends on your class participation, but your fellow classmates all actively involved in discussing, and you will feel like a total outsider if you just sit there and listen. Another one is attendance! Attendance is mandatory in most of the courses and being away reduces activity component of the grade. Already get used to the dutch way of teaching, not really like this point though:( Although not now, starting from next week, we will start to have countless in-class quizzes, group assignments etc, classes only starts for 2 weeks but it’s getting busier and busier.

There are lots of social activities organized by the university for the past 2 weeks too, which I will save for the next blogJ So this is almost all for the first blog, and since it’s already 3am here in Kingston, i have to go to bed:(

At last attach a pic of Kingston City Hall and its market;) more photos will be uploaded in my following posts!

Hope you enjoy reading this long long blog.

Good night to me and good morning to you allJ