Montreal, Second Love

student’s musings home abroad

Chaudhry, Student Life Editor

“I have a good group of Brazilian friends and the Latin American Association at McGill, too, that

“I know if I go back, it’s not going to feel the same,” Neves said about her home country Brazil. “I don’t belong there anymore […] Brazil is always going to be my country but Canada could be my home.”

The question of whether or not to settle in Montreal, therefore, becomes more complicated than just a matter of weighing economic and educational

“The more I speak English, the more I lose Porit just kind like I’m not Brazilian builds crisis,” she culture are in constant flux. After speaking to so many international students, I’m learning that we can nurture spaces to hold on to our cultural heritage while also making space for new experiences and homes. This has allowed many international students to find an

“I really love this city and I think the university is so beautiful and I really love how we have a museum and an ice skating rink, I just think it’s something out of a movie, and it would be insane to move out,”

This conflicting process, thus, is a lot like falling in love again after heartbreak—you can never really let go of your first love, but your heart slowly starts to make room for one more. Montreal is that second love for many international students, just as it is for

Despite the struggles, the winter, the moving, the construction, and all that French, I realize I’m slowly falling in love again. Lahore will always be my first love. With its sublime street food, its colourful festivals, and its kindhearted people, it will always hold a special place in my heart. However, bit by bit, Montreal is now starting to carve its own shape on

Even with the copious amount of snow this is buried under and the unnecessary orange cones outside my I still look out window every ing and think, “this city is absolutely gorgeous.” After all, love isn’t worth it without its red, or rather white flags, is it?