by Valeria Chavira

Here at VGC we have helped thousands of students to reach their English language goals. Our students come from a variety of different countries and have diverse backgrounds. We are excited to share some of their stories on the VGC Blog.

Valeria Chavira is an 18-year-old Mexican student from Chihuahua who loves animals and hopes to open a dog shelter one day. She studied at VGC from August 2017 to February 2018 and wrote a report about her time in Vancouver and how she made friends at VGC.

Coming to Vancouver was one of the biggest steps in my life especially because I was doing it on my own. Since I’m from Mexico, I felt extremely excited when I knew I was going to spend the next six months in a different country. All I could think about was all the places that I was going to visit, how much English I was going to learn, the new friends that I would make, and so on.

When the date of coming here got closer, I started to panic. I wasn’t so sure anymore that making friends would be so easy. Different culture, language, manners!! I started to feel really worried about it. For a moment I thought that I was going to be alone and that I was going to struggle meeting people. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The moment that I set foot in VGC I started talking to people. Everyone was so friendly. Making friends was no longer one of my concerns. My very first friends were from Brazil and Japan. I never imagined myself meeting people from those places. It’s amazing how you can feel close to a country that is incredibly far from you just because of a person. It was so easy to get along with them. I guess it was because they were looking for friends too. I felt such a relief knowing that I didn’t have to worry anymore.

Then the school assigned us our level and for my bad luck my new friends weren’t in my class. I panicked again. Knowing that I was going to a classroom where people already knew each other made me feel at a disadvantage. I thought that I was going to have a hard time fitting in. Again, I was so wrong.

There was another girl from Korea who was also new. I started a conversation with her and that was the start of our long-lasting friendship. We started to socialize with the other guys in the classroom. Everybody was really kind and outgoing. I met people from Brazil, Korea, Japan, Panama, Mexico and so many more countries.

Coming to VGC gave me the opportunity of making friends from all around the world. I made friends that I never thought I would have. It made me realize how big the world is and it also made me more open-minded about different cultures. Not only have I learned English, but I have also learned a few in Korean and Japanese which I find really exciting.

Having met all these people let me experience one of the most amazing groups of friends. We all were from different countries, which helped me improve my English and also learn a lot about their culture and their hometowns. Within my new friends, there was a guy who became really special to me and luckily for me, it turns out that we were from the same city. We had the chance to visit many places together and spend many unforgettable moments.

Coming to Vancouver will always be one of my most cherished memories. Not only do I have many friends and new places around the world to visit, but also great friends that I met here who live in my hometown. I expected a lot from this trip but the experience went far beyond my expectations.

Valeria Chavira