大三出國、全英語課程 - 國際視野 : 淡江大學大三出國通報及學分採認系統

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2019大三出國輔導通報系統 - 留學心得報告[編輯]

政經 404820481 　俞鴻浩　　留學學校：布蘭登大學(加拿大)

(一)基本資料

Brandon University is located in the city of Brandon, Province of Manitoba, Canada. I went there from late August 2019 until the early of May 2020. The courses I had were Introduction to Rural Canada, Canada to Confederation, World History to 1500, Introduction to Native Studies, Sociology of Disaster, and Politics and Media.(50字)

(二)課程學習

【照片說明：During a lecture, all Canadian classmates took notes actively.】

The first semester I had three courses, which were Canada to Confederation (first-grade course), World History to 1500 (first-grade course), and Introduction to Rural Canada (first-grade course). The second semester I had also three classes, which were Politics and Media (third-grade course), Introduction to Native Studies (first-grade course), and Sociology of Disaster (second-grade course). These courses were all belonged to the Faculty of Arts. My favourite course is Politics and Media. I had a wonderful learning experience in the field of politics and media with Professor Kiran Nazish. Overall, the course is about the role of media in politics, how different media shape political changes in different countries, and the differences between local media and international press companies. In this course, Professor Nazish taught the students step by step, from easy to difficult, so students would not feel unprepared. For example, the perspective is from the local level to the world level, like we visited the Brandon Sun to understand how local media works in the community and local politics, and then the Professor interviewed some of the reporters like CBC journalist and later a journalist reporting far-right issues based on Eastern Europe. We also had deep learning about the PTM human rights movement and how social media like Twitter influences nowadays politics and its relationship to the traditional press. The degree of difficulty is from shallow to deep. The course is full of useful knowledge that it not only taught us how politics and media work in nowadays world but also let students understand how to identify and collect the right and deep information on the press and social media like Twitter. As I introduce this course, I should also mention this special professor, Kiran Nazish. She is one of the world-famous journalists. She went through lots of on the ground experiences in the middle east region and some authoritarian regimes like Pakistan and Turkey. She is now a visiting professor at Brandon University, therefore she will return to New York City afterwards. She is a founder of an international non-governmental organisation called "The Coalition For Women In Journalism" and she is also a reporter in the New York Times.(360字)

(三)生活環境

【照片說明：Late Autumn time of Manitoba.】

In Manitoba (the name of the province), the weather remains the same in the city of Brandon, and other surrounding cities or towns. We went there since late August, the temperature went up to 24°C and it dropped during nights to 14°C. Since early November, we faced the snow until late March/early April, with temperature went between 0°C and -40°C. The school and the dorm have everything you need for academic purposes and you can get daily necessities at Walmart and Real Canadian Superstore. I recommend that one can visit Dollarama first because their daily necessities are very cheap. Overall, you do not need to buy winter jackets, snow boots, long shorts..., etc in advance in Taiwan, these well-known brands here in Canada are convenient to buy with much lower prices and high-quality. Before you come, contact Iris Wang, the agent in the international student's office at Brandon University, will instruct you with any question you may ask. Visit the BU website and you can find her phone number and email. After you arrive at school, visit the Royal Bank of Canada at 18th Street near Brandon University to get your student bank account and bank cards for the year you stay. Fido will be the cheapest and better option among the mobile telecoms, you can apply for a number with 4G connection in Shoppers Mall or Real Canadian Superstore. I recommend that one should stay at Mcmaster Hall for the first semester because it is the most convenient room with bathroom and elevator. If you want to move out of the dormitory, renting a house with friends outside will also be a fun experience and the rate is also cheaper than staying in the dorm room if you rent with others. There are several good Chinese and Asian restaurants around so make sure to explore as soon as possible, and the good thing is that buses are free to take with your student card. You can also rent a car during the holidays at "enterprise rent a car", they have three branches in Brandon. However, if you are a wealthy person and want to go for a ride every day, buy a car will be a good option; sell it to any car store before you leave the country.(382字)

(四)自我成長

【照片說明：My friends and I celebrated the New Year's Eve in Quebec City with beautiful snowfall.】

When it comes to difficulties, there were three points. Firstly, when I attended the first class in September, I thought it would be like in Taiwan like everyone just simply goes to class without a real notebook and pen because the professor should only be outlined the schedule and content of the course. However, I was shocked when I see every Canadain classmates brought their "huge" notebooks, laptops and textbooks, and the professor started to lecture after a ten-minute brief introduction of the course. I felt so embarrassed and the most terrible thing was I could not leave the class because I sit in the middle of the classroom and the professor kept looking at me because I was the only Asian, the only non-Canadian students in the class, I guess. Since then, I did my best to learn from my Canadian classmates and take notes in every lecture. It was quite hard in the beginning because we do not do that in Taiwan. Nevertheless, after the first semester, I started to realise how profound an Arts class could be, though it is a small university, the learning process and learning environment of the whole school, both Canadian students and professors, were fascinating. Secondly, it is hard to make real friends with Canadians because of the differences in language and culture. In the beginning, I could hardly make friends with my neighbours and classmates, therefore I could only hang out with Taiwanese and Chinese friends. The turning point was that due to the class discussions and assignments, I got to work with Canadian classmates. Later, I found out that the only thing I needed was the courage to talk with them. Although the cultural and language barriers were also there and they somewhat blocked the way, I still made friends with some Canadians, included a football school team player, and he's hot! All in all, feel free to chat with Canadians can not only build good friendships with locals but you can also expand your English ability without pressure.(339字)

(五)大三出國建議

The suggestions are various. In short, I think that selecting courses will be the most important thing that one should be concerned about. The first semester I had two history courses and I felt like I was dying. History courses include mandatory "research essays" and each of the research essays needs 2000-2500 words. A research essay is based on books and journal articles, and you need to build up your footnotes and bibliography. It was quite astonishing for me when I first learned how difficult it was to complete a research. Therefore, I recommend that avoid choosing two history classes in the same semester. Moreover, when you select the course, choose the first-year courses so you will not face the challenge and pressures because their courses are really difficult when it compares to Taiwan, and that is why Canadian universities regulate a student to have three to five courses per semester maximum. Now, I will move to daily life suggestions. Firstly, I do not recommend to book your return flight ticket in advance, and most people regret to do so. Secondly, send your application for your student ID card in advance to BU so you can get your ID during the dormitory check-in, that card gives you access to the dorm building and free public transportation. Thirdly, when you apply for BU, you will get a BU email account and you should check it at all times because the school and professors will contact you with important messages. Fourthly, register with RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) and Fido (telecom) when you arrive because they are the most convenient and with Mandarin customer hotline. Lastly, if you meet any difficulties, BU student service office and international student office have all services and resources to help, in both academic and daily needs, for instance, you can get the free flu shot in any clinic to avoid sickness, with health insurance you do not need to pay any fees to hospitals and clinics if you are sick; explore the information on the BU website because it really helps. (345字)

(六)其他

Each semester, they both have a reading week holiday and you can spend some days on renting a car to go for the road trip. Find your dream destination on Google map, for example, we went to several national and provincial parks with fascinating sceneries, and you can visit Sand Hill Casino to take a look. During the winter vacation, we travelled to Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec. You can also see the northern lights in northern Manitoba.(77字)

補充照片

【照片說明：Her Majesty the Queen sits in front of the Manitoban Parliament building.】

【照片說明：We played blackjack and we really enjoyed at Sand Hills Casino.】

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資料更新時間：05月06日 01:33

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