As Karolinska Institutet offers Master students to spend one semester at one of their partner universities, I decided to apply for exchange studies. Happily enough, I got the opportunity to go to my favorite exchange destination, Toronto. The University of Toronto is one of the world’s top universities and offers a great variety of research groups in the field of life sciences. Moreover, going to Toronto gave me the possibility to explore Canada, a country that I am very attracted to because of its beautiful nature and kind people. In order to go to Canada one has to plan ahead. It will take a while to get all the documents together to apply for a visa, which will then take around 4 to 6 weeks to arrive.

The period between the Christmas holidays and arriving in Toronto was quite stressful. I gave a last poster presentation about my second laboratory rotation, flew to Canada one day later and started the lab in Toronto another two days later. I spent the day after my arrival to get familiar with my new surroundings and buy some essential moving-in equipment for my otherwise furnished room. I would recommend taking more days off between the arrival and beginning of the Master project but for me it was not possible with my tight schedule. During the first working day I received my student card at the main campus, which was very easy as I had received clear instructions where to go prior to my arrival. I suggest getting the student card as soon as you are in Toronto since it will give you free access to the gym, discounts on public transport and a number of additional discounts in stores and at venues.

When you apply for Toronto you should bear in mind that Canada is an expensive place to live. All in all, it is comparable with Stockholm I would say. I got a flight with Air Canada which was 6000 SEK for the round trip and I paid around 1400 SEK covering initial moving-in expenses. My estimate for monthly expenses is around 9000 SEK (5000 accommodation, 3000 food, 1000 leisure activities). Additionally, one has to pay a health insurance of 500 SEK per month.

Finding accommodation in Toronto was one of the greatest challenges I had to face before going to Canada. Since I went with the IVGSR visiting researcher program (which freed me from taking courses as compared to the official exchange student program), I was not eligible to live on campus. Private housing in Toronto is expensive and hard to find. Luckily, two weeks prior to my departure I got a room in an independent student housing which I can really recommend as it was central and affordable (check out Tartu College).

Here are some useful contacts and links:
inbound.exchange@utoronto.ca
www.tartucollege.ca

The University of Toronto is really huge and it took me quite a while to get an overview of the different research departments. After careful research, I chose a handful of labs I really liked and I arranged Skype interviews with some of them. Since I started to write to labs in the beginning of the summer holidays, it took some people quite a while to answer but you should be patient, most people will reply whether it is a positive or negative answer. 

I finally decided to join a group at the department for Neurodegenerative Diseases. I was very impressed with the new facilities which were equipped with state-of-the-art technology and this seems to be a general standard in laboratories at U of T.

The official language in Ontario is English. Canadian English is quite easy to understand compared to some dialects in the UK or USA. Therefore, it wasn’t difficult for me to have normal conversations from the beginning.

Canadians are well known for their friendliness and this held true in Toronto. When I arrived at Toronto airport and looked for a bus to take me downtown, a nice lady approached me. She explained me the public transport system and took me to the right bus stop. Whenever you have a question, Canadians will take their time and are happy to help you. In contrast to Germans or Swedes, Canadians like to small talk. I didn’t really enjoy these kinds of conversations in the beginning but as I found more topics to talk about I got used to it after a while. 

Unlike in Sweden, Canadians don’t place importance on coffee breaks. As having fika is a great way to talk to people in private or ask someone from another group about alternative approaches to perform an experiment, having lunch or dinner together is a good alternative. Besides these minor cultural differences, a major challenge I had to face was to get used to the weather. Although I had experienced cold and snowy winters in Stockholm, the lowest temperatures in Toronto were still below the ones I had ever gone through before: more than 20 degrees below zero for almost 3 months and once spring arrived temperatures rose to almost 30 degrees within only a few weeks. Therefore, it is important to bring proper clothing to Toronto and be well-prepared for any weather.

Toronto is a cultural metropolis that offers pretty much every leisure activity one can image. Here is my top ten “Things to do in Toronto”: 

1) Toronto Islands

My favourite spot in Toronto. A twenty-minute ferry ride takes you to the islands in lake Ontario; a great place to relax, play discgolf and enjoy the amazing view of the Toronto skyline.

2) Distillery District

You will find old breweries, fashionable bars and haute cuisine restaurants in this district located in the heart of old town Toronto. The place to be on a mild spring evening.

3) Sport Events

Even if you don’t watch ice hockey, baseball or basketball at home, you will start loving it when you see the Maple Leafs, Blue Jays and Raptors performing live.

4) Beer and Jazz

What’s better than enjoying a cold beer and good music with friends on a Friday evening after a long week in the lab? Well, not much if you ask a Bavarian.

5) Just eat!

The multicultural city offers a huge variety of restaurants serving traditional food from all over the world for reasonable prices (coming from Sweden you will find it cheap). Yummy!

6) CN Tower

The tallest free-standing structure in the world. A sightseeing highlight you shouldn’t miss! The view is spectacular and gives you a hint of Canada's vast extend.

7) Room Escape

Paying money to be locked inside a room with nine of your friends and then try escaping from that room by solving puzzles sounds a little awkward to you? Not for Canadians! And if you give it a try you’ll find out that it is great fun!

8) Niagara Falls

Only a two-hour bus ride from Toronto you can discover the world-known falls. The round trip is 350 SEK.

9) Museums and Art Galleries

The best thing to do during cold winter days is to check out museums in Toronto. The Royal Ontario Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario are free on Wednesdays and Tuesdays, respectively, and are especially worth visiting.

10) Sports

The great sports offer at Hart House or the Athletic Center is free of charge for exchange students and as Canadians are in great shape you won’t have a hard time to find someone to join you.

I really enjoyed my time in Toronto very much and I am really grateful that Karolinska Institutet gave me this opportunity. It was a great experience – from a scientific, cultural and personal perspective. Getting to know another continent definitely broadened my horizon and this knowledge can make the difference to your own advantage when it comes to applying for a PhD program or a job later in life. Although it is a lot to organize, this unique experience definitely paid off and I will remember it a lifetime. Therefore, I can only recommend applying to the University of Toronto.