By Anaya Mundamattam; transcribed by Oliver Quezada and the AMS Team
One thing that I am really glad I brought to 1st year residence is an extension cord. As an international student, a lot of my plugs didn’t fit the Canadian plugs. The rooms don’t have a lot of plugs, so it’s just a really useful thing to have. So I could plug in my kettle and charge my laptop at the same time.
One thing I wish I didn’t bring was a lot of clothes. I thought I would be using all of them. Now that I’m at the end of the year and I’m packing up, they ended up just being a hassle. Vanier doesn’t have a lot of storage. I ended up buying some plastic bins to store my extra clothes. Be mindful of the clothes you’re bringing and be selective.
I was on Reddit a lot when I was researching Vanier. Something I heard about Vanier that is true is it was a lot easier to make friends and talk to people because the buildings are a lot smaller. So that’s something to look forward to.
I heard that Vanier is really old and hellish to live in, but it really isn’t that bad. I stayed completely warm throughout the year. Honestly, I was expecting a lot worse. Vanier can be pretty nice. If you have maintenance issues, the front desk gets back to you as soon as possible and it’s usually fixed in less than a day or two.”
Back to storiesI actually got this from a friend: it’s really scary in the first couple of days to go to the dining hall on your own, but I would recommend you go and do it. For every single meal, I sat with a new group of people and introduced myself. It ended up being a really good experience because I met so many different people. Some of those people you end up staying friends with and some just become people that you know or wave at from a distance. But it was just a really good experience overall.
About AMS Residence Reviews
Every April, the AMS (UBC Vancouver’s student union) interviews first year students just before they move out of residence. We then post these interviews on the AMS social media and website so that incoming first years can learn about residence life from a fellow student.
