Student’s Name: Allison Conefrey
UL Course: Ba Irish Music and Dance
Academic Year: 2016 / 2017
Semester: Autumn X
Spring
Full Year
Name of Host University: Cape Breton University
Exchange Report
I am writing this report to highlight my personal experience of my semester abroad in Cape
Breton University, Canada. I will start by discussing my own experience of starting a
semester in a new university, problems I encountered as I was settling in and facilities and
support systems provided by the university that aided me as I settled in.
I will then move on and discuss the facilities provided by the university, such as greeting on
arrival from the airport, accommodation, events organized for “Frosh week”, orientation for
both first years and international students and departments within the university that
helped me organize my modules and fix problems I had with insurance organized by the
university for all the international students.
Finally, I will discuss the cultural differences I encountered as an international student from
Ireland in a different country, the difference in attitude, method of problem solving and
useful tips I learned from there alternative way of thinking.
For this exchange I attended Cape Breton University on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
Canada. This university is open for exchange with the Irish world academy due to the
traditional music present in cape Breton. This style of music is one of the main reasons for
attending CBU, I was not disappointed when I arrived in cape Breton as there is very much a
very vibrant and open culture of music on the island.
Getting to Canada was rather trying as I did not receive my acceptance letter to CBU until
late June of 2016, this left les time then I would have liked to organize everything that
needed to be arranged. When I finally did receive my letter I went about applying for
accommodation and booking flights.
Booking accommodation was a simple process, I also found the online application assuring
as they included questions on personal preferences on the type of accommodation you
would prefer and characteristics of housemates you would prefer to be matched with. There
was also an application for a pick up from Sydney airport to the university which was very
helpful.
I arrived at the university very late at night our rooms were very bare but we had the option
to borrow sheets and a blanket for our first three days. The accommodation I booked was
apartment style similar to the type of accommodation common in Ireland. When we arrived
however we found there was nothing in the kitchen, kitchen utensils, cutlery, plates, glasses
and mugs were not provided at all, this did not pose much of a problem however after our
other two housemates arrived.
There was no immediate orientation however I was provided with a list of events that were
taking place for frosh week to help the new students to settle into the new environment
and get to know the other students in the residence and off campus. These events were
optional but were very helpful for meeting new people, getting to know the campus and
were also a lot of fun, I would advise anyone going to attend CBU to participate by all events
organized by the university as they are very helpful and sometimes very informative.
International orientation took place a few days after I arrived. At the orientation the we
were introduced to all the members of the CBU writing center, international office and
some lectures we would have for certain classes such as native studies and music. This
introduction to the lecturers was very helpful as we got a quick introduction to the classes
available and what material the classes would be covering. After the orientation the music
professors performed some Cape Breton style music and answered questions I had in
relation the course and the music available in the local area. They informed of local
performers who would be good for us to meet and informed us on traditional music
sessions that we could attend in the local area that would be good for us to hear and learn
some popular tunes. They then informed us about Celtic Colours the islands biggest
traditional music festival. They gave us a website to look and informed us of the best evens
to attend. They also showed us around the building and showed us their offices and the
music rooms we would be using for classes, practicing and recording.
The next orientation was the first year orientation, this was helpful as we meet more of the
lecturers and was shown around the whole building. We were also provided with a map of
the building and a list of the course that would be made available to us. They also showed
us the registration office was in case we had any problems with our module and wished to
change it was also the place for paying fees.
After this registration went smoothly. Classes were longer then classes in UL making it a
little more difficult for me to adjust to as keeping concentration for such long periods of
time was sometimes difficult. After a period of adjustment, I got used to it, there was also a
lot more frequent assignments, usually short. They were useful as they provided a constant
communication line between me and the tutor. These assignments were helpful as they
showed me ways to improve my writing skill and how to use different referencing style
appropriate to the style of writing I am using. The assignments were also useful as they also
showed me the importance of archives, how they work and different procedure you must
go through to look at different material. This open communication with my lecturers was
extremely helpful as I could ask them about local history, music traditions and areas where I
could find events such as concerts and dances.
This also meant that I was invited to events such as Christmas performances and events
during Celtic Colours. I also gained a lot of experience from these events as I was invited as a
performer, these event provided a good opportunity to perform the tunes I had just learned
in public giving more confidences in my performing.
Outside of the college campus there was not very much, nothing was in walking distance I
had to take the bus everywhere which was inconvenient, as the bus only came twenty past
every hour. This made it difficult to get in and out of town and the shopping center.
This also made it more difficult to get around Celtic colours as I had to ask for lifts off of
people I knew would be going. This made me quite resourceful when finding ways around
town and when coming to and from college.
From this experience I have learned many thing and have gained a lot of experience relevant
to my course such as the performance experience and problem solving. I also learned many
things about living almost completely on your own away from home. This gave me more
independence and thought me how useful it is to be aware of your local area and facilities
available that you can depend if anything goes wrong and simply talk with if you feel
anything is wrong. I also gained a lot of experience talking to people professionally, as I had
some difficulty with the Co-op office in UL regarding my placement that has since been
corrected, however, at the time it was a source of great stress, I learned the importance of
clear and frequent communication. Finally, I learned the importance of good organizational
skills, the ability to juggle assignments, events that would be beneficial for my course,
learning tunes for both class and performances I was asked to take part in and seeing as
much of Canada as I could. All of these skills were developed and strengthened though this
exchange opportunity.
Lastly, I would advise anyone going to CBU to attend all event organized by the university. I
would also tell them to keep good communication with the professors as they are always
willing to help students who ask. It would also be a good idea to become friends with
someone who can drive as carrying lots of groceries on the bus can be awkward and very
time consuming. My final advice would be to get out as much as possible as Cape Breton
and Canada has lots of interesting music and festivals that are very relevant to the BA of
Irish music and dance.