Written by Chris Zdravko
Beatriz talks about her experience as an international student at UofT from Brazil. Beatriz believes that there is little difference when it comes to the treatment of domestic and international students at UofT. She believes finances are the main difference. Beatriz has always planned to study internationally. She went to an international school in Brazil before coming to Canada. Beatriz believes that Canadian education trumps that of Brazil, especially in humanities courses like journalism. Beatriz discusses that the education style in Brazil is narrow and more limited because schools are so selective of their students. She says that medicine and law are the most common areas of study in Brazil. She believes that UofT offers much wider variety when it comes to programs of study. Beatriz believes that she has more mobility in Canada. Back in Brazil, she had to get driven by friends and family to go where she wanted to go. In Canada, transportation is much more accessible.
Beatriz talks about feelings of loneliness and increased stress during online school because of a lack of social interaction with students and performance. Beatriz says the pandemic allowed her to spend more time with her loved ones. Beatriz was worried about pandemic scares in the past few years, she did not want to go back into lockdowns that were there before. She says that Brazil failed to properly protect its people from the pandemic. Beatriz felt like she missed many opportunities when school was online in her first year, but she is happy that she is now able to connect more with her school peers. Beatriz is happy that pandemic restrictions are lifted, but she still has some worries that restrictions might return in the future.