ATT International Students!! WELCOME TO CANADA!

Harder than it looks!

Coming to university is big adjustment for everyone, but for international students it can be even more difficult. Starting a new chapter in your life, entering a new country, leaving behind the familiar and starting over in a new place with new people can be a little daunting even for the most well adjusted among us. When I first arrived in Canada I was totally at the mercy of my cab driver and his GPS for finding my way to York.

Thankfully things have changed a little since I first came to York! For the last couple of years The City of Toronto has been running a WELCOME Booth for all international students attending Post Secondary Educational Institutions in Toronto. You might be thinking, "What happens at this Welcome Booth?"

Someone's there to welcome
YOU!

Well if you enter Canada through either Terminal 1 or 3 (which are the main terminals for international arrivals at the Pearson International Airport), you'll find that there is a welcome booth. At this booth
you'll be greeted with a warm welcome to Canada and support as soon as you arrive. You'll get:

• A welcome package with some AWESOME stuff!
• A free call home
• Some info and support related to your campus, destination, public transportation and housing/ accommodation and
• Receive a $20.00 SIM Card for your mobile device courtesy of Rogers Communications. 

Does that sound appealing to you?!? I know I would have really appreciated having this service to welcome me to Canada. So the question that I can tell is on the tip of your tongue is "When do these booths open?"

York's President at the Opening
of the 1st Welcome Booth!

Well these booths will be open in Terminal's 1 and 3 in the international arrivals areas from August 15th to September 8th 2013 from 7am to 11pm.

So if you're coming to Canada over the course of those dates and within those times be sure to stop by
and pick up your welcome package and call home...to let them know that you're already making new friends!!

If you want more info about this service check out this link!

Once you're in Canada and you leave the airport, the welcome doesn't stop there. Once you make it York's Campus, the welcome continues at Frosh Week. This week is specifically designed to welcome incoming students to University life and given you a chance to meet people and make friends before your first day of class. Wanna know more about Social Orientation/ Frosh Week/ O-Week? Check out this link!

As if that's not enough of a welcome to Canada and York...there's also our international student office, info.

Orientation...DO IT!!

York International that has their own welcome and orientation events open for all international students, check out their website for more

If you've got questions about the welcome booths, or frosh week, feel free to comment below I'd love to answer any questions you might have!

Don't forget that your support continues on during the school year, so if you ever need any questions answered or directions stop by the Vari Hall Booth and talk to the RED Zone!

As always remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

A Year in Review!

This is the LAST week of the 2012-2013 school year. Can you believe it? It seems as though this school year has just zoomed past us!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say congratulations to everyone for making it through the school year!!

To those that are in their first year... WAY TO GO!! You made it through your first year! I hope that you are proud of yourself! You might have started this year unsure of yourself, unsure of your place here at York. I hope that you were able to settle in, make new friends, new memories and I really hope that you feel like you've become part of the York Community!

For those in second and third year. You're well on your way to graduation, I hope you're proud of yourself for making it thought another year. Hopefully you got to experience new things this year, like joining a club or participating in intramurals. Or maybe you got to learn some amazing new things in your classes, either way I hope you feel a sense of accomplishment for completing another year here at York.

For my fellow graduating Yorkies...YOU MADE IT!! If you're anything like me you might be filled with excitement and maybe a little nostalgia regarding your upcoming convocation. Hopefully you've enjoyed your time here at York, hopefully you've made friends and memories that will last a lifetime. As you enter the real world don't forget about your time here at York, remember to look back so you never forget where you came from, so you always know where your heading!

Since it is the end of the year, I thought it might be the perfect opportunity to look back on my year as a RSA and share some of my highlights! I hope you enjoy!!

First Day With my RED Zone Family!

Having Fun Making Vidoes!!

Frosh Bossing for Stong College!

Then it was MY TIME!! 

And this kid Joined the Family! 

Then Our first Spirit Day!!

SCLD for the WIN!

Then there was my 

Cheap Meal Challenges!

And OF COURSE

THE SNOW DAY!!

And Last be not least that brings us to 

YORK'S BIRTHDAY!

Well that was my year in review! If you want to share some of the highlights from your 2012-2013 school year I encourage you to comment below or tweet myself or @yorksredzone we'd love to hear from you!

As always, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

You'll get by with a little help from your friends...

Worried that you won't make any friends when you get to York? Concerned that you'll be lonely?

Wanna know the secret behind making friends at University? COURAGE!

I know it might seem a little wishy washy, but having courage can make all the difference when it comes to meeting new people and making new friends. At York you'll find yourself surrounded by so many different people that it might be a little overwhelming to take that initial step. You might be wondering what opportunities you'll have to meet people, the VERY first chance you'll get will come in the form of FROSH WEEK!

FROSH WEEK runs from Aug 31st to Sept 9th and it will be your first and BEST chance to meet people and make new friends. EVERYONE at Frosh week will be NEW, no one will know anyone...so right off the bat you already have something in common with everyone at Frosh week.

Insert: COURAGE

No one is going to do it for you...you have to be the one to make the effort to talk. You have no idea how easy it is once you get started. A few conversation starters for the socially awkward among us...

1. Hey what's your major?
2. Did you grow up in Toronto?
3. What do you think of this college system?
4. Did the Frosh bosses scare you too when you first got here?
5. Are you totes excited about going to "blank" event?
6. Are you confused about what's going on as well?
7. Are you living in res or staying in the commuter room?
8. Are you pumped for today?
9.What made you choose York?
10.What classes are you in?

With these conversation starters even the most awkward among us can meet people and make friends. Try these out at Frosh week and let me know how it goes!

Alcohol EDU? What the HECK it that??

They grow up so
QUICKLY!

University is all about new experiences! This is the time in your life where you are officially viewed as an adult...and with that designation comes independence like you've never experienced before. For some university students that translates to experimentation with alcohol. Experimentation is an important part of growing up and learning, however sometimes it can lead to the development of destructive habits.

This is what the site looks like.

In an effort to keep students as healthy and safe as possible, York has adopted a new alcohol education course that all incomming first year students living in residence, first year varsity athletes, orientation leaders, student leaders and residence life staff must complete before attending York in the fall. This educational tool is called "Alcohol EDU."

If you're anything like me the first time you heard about "Alcohol EDU" you thought...WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?

Well Alcohol EDU is an online alcohol abuse prevention program, it provides students with a personalized approach to alcohol education. It is specifically designed for ALL students; whether you're a frequent drinker, light or moderate drinker, or someone who does not drink at all.

The Pumpkin had
a little too much!

Whether you choose to drink or not, we believe that you may be in contact with people who do drink over the four years that you're at York, or in your life at some point (if you haven't already). This tool gives you some great tips on how to help a friend who may have had too much to drink.

Alcohol EDU is a two part education tool. The first part must be completed by AUGUST 31st 2012! Approximately 45 days later the second part will be e-mailed to you for you to complete. Part 1 takes about 90 mins and Part 2 takes only 15 mins.

As a member of Health Education and Promotion, and a Frosh Boss I've had to do Alcohol EDU in the past and I have to do it again this year and I can tell you from my own personal experience that it's really not that bad. I know that having to do an Alcohol Education program might seem a little lame but trust me this tool is actually pretty good. It's super interactive, it has short video clips and games that you play while you learn. I feel that I must mention that it is an American tool so they use A LOT of American terminology, things like "college" instead of "university" and the drinking age as "21" instead of "19". Just ignore all the Americanization, the Alcohol info is universally the same and that's what's most important.

Serving Sizes can be fun!

It was created with students in mind and so it's catered to help you understand your perception and use of Alcohol. I'm not really a drinker but after completing Alcohol EDU I learned that my perceptions of alcohol and people that drink are actually not representative of the realities of how people drink in university. I learned about serving sizes, how the body processes alcohol and a lot of other great info. Trust me you'll use it at some point in your life and it also makes a really great icebreaker convo at a party, "Hey did you know that 1 shot of hard liquor is the same as 1 12oz beer to your body?" Well maybe the convo won't go exactly like that :P !

For Colleges and Universities!

In case you were wondering, York is not the only school that uses the Alcohol EDU tool, other schools like Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and UCLA also use Alcohol EDU. I don't know about you...but that's good company to keep! I was super impressed when I found out that York can be grouped together with these prestigious schools who are also dedicated to keeping their students safe and healthy!

As an incomming student you have to do the program, but trust me you'll learn something that you didn't know before. Look at this program as an opportunity to learn something new about alcohol without having a painful or embarrassing experience attached.

Let me know what you think of Alcohol EDU when you take it!

P.S. If you... or your parents have any questions about Alcohol EDU at all feel free to contact Leah State at lstate@yorku.ca or 416-736-5196.

P.P.S. Check out some of the Alcohol EDU promo videos! They are pretty funny and I'm in a few of them...see if you can find me!

The folks that you meet on campus...are amazing!

I've never thought of myself as SUPER outgoing. Some people think that I'm super confident and totally into talking to random people, but I'm a very private person, and there are times when I'm REALLY SHY!

Me and My Partner in Crime
a.k.a Me and My sister

So when people ask me "How do you know so many people on campus? or Wow you're so friendly!" I'm always a little surprised..."Who? You mean me?" is my typical response.

In high school we all know our place, we know who our friends are and we have settled into our nest. But in university it's a completely different situation. Suddenly we're not the captain of the team, we're not the A.V. geek we're all BRAND new people. We can become anything we want!


This can be overwhelming even for the most outgoing among us.

So how can you meet people or make friends? Excellent question!

My strategy is to just start talking!! Everyone is nervous, everyone wants to meet people, everyone wants to make a friend...ESPECIALLY in first year.

Here's a few conversation starters for those novice conversationalists
-Random Conversations in class:
1. Hey! What's your major/ What are you studying?
2. How do you like the class/ prof/ t.a.
3. How are you finding the readings?
4. Hey do you know the quickest way to (insert building)
5.I really like your scarf...bag...belt...shoes (make sure you do...people can always tell when you're not being genuine! Don't LIE! )

You meet the most amazing, interesting and unique people in a school the size of York. There are students from over 155 countries that attend school here...just look at me for example I'm an international student from The Bahamas, I'm one example of the diversity that surrounds you when you come to York.

"Tell me more" keeps the convo rolling!

People LOVE to talk and they always want a chance to tell their story...I saw an AMAZING speech by Tony Conte who gave the following tip for talking to people that you don't know...
-When you're talking to someone that you don't really know, ask them to TELL YOU MORE about their major, interests, future plans...basically anything that will keep the conversation going.




Honestly I use this tip all the time and it really works. I have met TONS of new people and asking them to TELL ME MORE about their hobbies, religions and interests has made our conversations much more interesting.

The people that I've met while I've been here have been changed my life in the most unexpected ways. I didn't expect to like York as much as I do now. I thought...I'll be done with this place in 4 years and then I can get on with my life. I've been here for going on 6 years and honestly I don't know how I'm going to handle having to leave...I don't even want to think about!

Seriously take the time to talk to the person next to you in class, in line at the book store, in tutorial or even the people standing next to you in the Second Cup line!

You never know where or how you'll meet your new BEST FRIEND! Try out these tips and let me know how they work out for you...or if you have some other tips that you want to share with me feel free to add them in the comments section!

Please TELL ME MORE about your conversation starters!

Nicole