Postcards from Exchanges

We asked our exchange students to send us a “postcard” with a quick word on their experience to inaugurate a new series, “Postcards from Exchanges”. We share the first two, from Anna McIntosh (Beijing, China) and Pierre-Philippe Turnbull (São Paulo, Brazil).
8 December 2017

By graduation, one in four McGill Law students have gone on an exchange. As we write this article, 54 of them are posted in universities in 17 countries around the world.
We asked our exchange students to send us a “postcard” with a quick word on their experience to inaugurate a new series, “Postcards from Exchanges”. If you are not already following the Faculty on social media, tune in to catch our next international correspondents!

Anna McIntosh is on exchange in Beijing, China.
From: Anna McIntosh
Currently on exchange at: Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

Greetings from Beijing! Since I’m already familiar with China, I’ve mainly been spending my exchange focused on a few courses that I’ve decided to take in Chinese. My first law class did not go very well. I wrote my own name wrong (马安娜) and was corrected in front of everyone by the professor. And when I first opened a Chinese law textbook, I had trouble understanding the content as well as the language, because its “Introduction to Law” was about interpreting law as a product of class society from a socialist perspective (not something we study in Canada). However, things are improving and I’ve even managed to give a few presentations in Chinese! (such as this one).

I’m enjoying my time in Beijing, but also looking forward to being back in Canada in February!

Anna

 

Pierre-Philippe Turnbull is on exchange in São Paulo, Brazil
From: Pierre-Philippe Turnbull
Currently on exchange at: Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV-Direito SP), Brazil

I came to São Paulo in order to experience something different. Whether it was the Brazilian culture, a different language, or “better” weather, I wanted to make sure that my exchange would make me step outside of my comfort zone. Living in such a massive city where very few people communicate in English was challenging at first, but it pushed me to improve my – very basic – Portuguese. While it takes time to get used to the craziness of this sprawling, developing, metropolis, São Paulo has its own charm, an unbeatable nightlife, and is unarguably one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. The fast pace of the city is something I enjoyed thoroughly during my time here – there is always something to do or to discover. Ultimately, as Brazil’s main transportation hub, it has been easy for me to travel to various parts of the country, either through bus or plane.

Pierre-Philippe

 

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