Worth Living Again

By Viviana Rodriguez

It is never easy to say good bye to great experiences. I remember when my family and I moved from our first house. I was six years old and as my dad drove away from our first home, my tears ran down my face, and all the memories you can possibly have at the age of six were flashing in my mind.

About twelve years later I was, again, saying good bye to another important and remarkable part of my life, my high school life. Melancholy and excitement filled my heart at that time. School has been the best time in my life, thus every single memory from my school life makes me smile and sigh. Nevertheless, I understand those moments have to finish in order to allow new experiences to come.

The year and 3 months I spent in Fort St. John will also be recorded in my mind as one of those experiences that have added spice to my life. My classes at the college, the weather, and, of course, the people I met and the friends I made are unforgettable.

When I first arrived at Northern Lights College (Fort St. John Campus) I felt scared and anxious. It was a whole new world to me. People spoke a different language, the weather was definitely different than the one I was used to, and I was by myself.
The college offers a variety of programs, and English as a Second Language (ESL) is one of them, in my opinion the best ESL program in the world. The ESL classes are incredible; it’s like going to meet with friends every day, and have fun, rather than going to boring lectures and sleeping through them. The classes are interactive and you actually feel as an essential part of them. The fact that the classes are small in number of students makes it easier to give your opinions, to ask and clarify questions, and to get more personalized attention and help. I think these are, without a doubt, a fundamental advantage when learning another language.

These, of course, would not have been possible, and as fun as it was if the teachers and the staff who work at the college would not have been as wonderful and dedicated people as they are. They are creative, patient, responsible, comprehensive, and always helpful. While I was there I could feel they do love to teach and care about the students, thus they do it in a high quality manner. Everything I learned at the college I learned because I had people who cared about me and motivated me to improve day by day.

Besides having the experience of having classes in a different language, during that year and three months I also experienced having classes in winter. This is normal for Canadians or people who live in countries that get all the seasons, but for me it was a complete new experience. I remember the day when I first saw snow. It was November 11, 2008. That morning I woke up and when I looked through the window I was shocked as I saw everything was white. I cannot describe the way my heart jumped and shrank when I saw the backyard of the dorms. I remember wanting to take pictures the whole day, as if the snow was going to disappear that night (of course it didn’t; in fact, it stayed until the beginning of May 2009). During the winter time I experienced what the word "cold" really means. It feels like if the heat of your body is being sucked by, pretty much, everything that is around you (while being outside).

Winter is the season that starts a new year and the one that lasts the most in Fort St John. Besides winter I also experienced the incomparable smells of the spring, which filled me with new energy and fed my senses with beautiful colors, odors and sounds. Most of these features stayed through the summer, yet the summer has its own sparkle. The colors are brighter and the sun, finally, seems to work. With the end of summer, the fall arrives and it becomes the perfect ending for such a lively season that summer is. Fall is the season that turns the summer lights down, the colours are a little darker and brownish, but still unforgettable. During the fall I used to go for a walk in the forests that were around the college and feel the peaceful agony of the bright summer. I am so thankful and happy that I had the opportunity to enjoy all the four seasons, for first time in my life.

One of the best things of studying abroad is the chances you have to meet people. For the most part, while I was at Northern Lights College I meet Canadians and people from different parts of the Asian continent. Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China, and Nepal were some of the countries from where my classmates came from. I also met a Hungarian, Turkish, Austrian, French, Nigerian, Ethiopian, Swedish, and Spanish speakers. Having met all of them was my favorite part of being at the college.

Canadians are very welcoming people and surely excellent hosts. They are very helpful, generous, and, up to now, they are the best pastry cooks for me; no wonder why people like to come to Canada! Besides Canadians, the other big group of people I shared with were the Chinese people. I have to admit I did not know too much about their culture, and it was a pleasure to get to know them. In particular I met a big group of guys from Macau, a former Portuguese colony in China. I learned that it is something like "Las Vegas" of China. It sounds like a very interesting place to visit. They were also very friendly and kind. They care about their friends and they are very helpful.

Nowadays I am in Ottawa, another stunning place in Canada. I am studying at the University of Ottawa and one day I will become a translator and interpreter. I would like to thank everybody who helped me while I was in Fort St. John, and particularly everybody from Northern Lights College. I own them everything I learned during that year and three months, not only my English – which allowed me to be here at this University pursuing my goal - but also for all the priceless lessons that helped me to become a better person.