This is all where it begins

So when I (Cobby) landed at the Vancouver International Airport from Nairobi, Kenya – it suddenly dawned on me that I am in actual sense walking into this very new place – alone – with people I have never met before and one way or another i would have to blend in with the normal life around here. I have to admit that the thought of that made me a little bit nervous but I knew that all was going to be okay with time. The goal was to simply take each day at a time because there is no rush in living life, right?

Well, it has now been three weeks since I arrived in the lovely city of Abbotsford in British Columbia which is where the University of the Fraser Valley is located and you cannot tell that I am the same girl who was nervous about everything at the airport the other day. It’s so funny because so far, I am really loving it here 😊. Abbotsford or “Abby” as many people here call it, is such a beautiful, green and scenic city that lies at the heart of the Fraser River Valley. I mean how cool is that? The city has so much to offer and I cannot wait to explore.

My first week here has been the busiest of them all with lots of running up and down, here and there – setting up my UFV account, creating a bank account, getting a Canadian sim card, going for grocery shopping, getting my Student Card, Student U- Pass and settling in as well. Crazy how I had all these done within the first week but all these wouldn’t have turned out successful without the help of Priyanka, a student at UFV who offered to show me around and helped me with moving around most of the times. A total life saver! She gave me a nice tour of the campus going into each building and also the surrounding area. Not to forget, the Students Union Building which has this beautiful flag display of countries on the ceiling that is meant to act as a welcoming gesture to international students. Fact because as soon as I spotted the Kenyan flag, to some extent I just felt welcome.

Lastly, interesting fun fact about the Student U-Pass that I feel that I should share. The British Columbia Transit, which is a provincial corporation responsible for coordinating and serving public transport to people residing in British Columbia, came up with a transit pass program that allows students at certain public post-secondary institutions low cost access – about $41.40 that reflects on your student fees – to most Central Fraser Valley transit routes, which includes Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Langley and Mission (extremely affordable if you ask me).  The University of the Fraser Valley is therefore one of the public institutions that joined forces with British Columbia Transit in the U-Pass program and that is how students at The University of the Fraser Valley, with a valid U-Pass can use the bus system by easily swiping a card and paying no cash. Definitely looking forward to my experience with public transportation as I already have my Student U-Pass sticker on my Student Card.

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