"Send me on my way"

“Send me on my way” by Rusted Root comes on my ipod as my train pulls into Ottawa station. Anyone would have thought I had planned it! This song was played on my last day at school and perfectly sums up life changing moments. From when I left school and moved to Aberdeen on my own, to now, when I leave the U.K. and head to Ottawa for ten weeks on my own! It reminds me to keep positive and look for the excitement of the journey ahead. Sometimes it’s important to be sent on your way.

The four and a half hour train journey took me from Toronto where I had had a fantastic week. The first part I spent exploring with my family which was lovely and then the second part was a crazy two days on the Launchpad training. Staying in the University of Toronto I met the other 17 students on the Students for Social Impact Exchange run by the British Council. Half the students were from the U.K and heading to various social enterprise placements in Canada, while the other half where Canadian heading over to the U.K. We had all chatted online before so we weren’t complete strangers to one another, however the relief from everyone when we met and realised that we are all slightly terrified about entering the unknown and wondering what on earth we have let ourselves in for. However, despite these worries, we were very excited about the fantastic adventure we have ahead, and if we weren’t we certainly were by the end of the training. If anything, the two days together was a perfect opportunity to tune ourselves to the new accents that we would be surrounded by and our different customs. From driving on opposite sides of the road to the debate a

s to whether to pronounce ‘t’ or not in either country! I did feel a little for the Canadians as they struggled with our accents. I didn’t like to mention that there are very strong regional accents in the U.K. that vary dramatically from city to city…

They are a lovely and hilarious group of people that I am so happy to be sharing this experience with. On the Thursday night the Canadians decided to give the Brits a true canadian experience and took us to see the Toronto Blue Jays baseball match. And they won! Although I had to be told, I couldn't quite work out the score board. However, after much concentration I can confirm it is rounders.

Once in Ottawa I spent the Sunday having a walk around the city. This wasn’t entirely intentional. I had planned to find the Startup Canada offices where I would have my placements and find a “grocery store”. What should have been a 20 minute walk to my office took an hour. I’m glad I had no confidence in my ability to find it and did the rekey! An hour late on my first day wouldn’t have been good! Without a map I continued on as I came to realise that Ottawa isn’t thaaaat big. No building can be taller than the parliament so I just headed f

or that, as it is easy to see. I was slightly bemused to be greeted by a man in a kilt playing the bagpipes! I thought I had escaped this! Turns out Canada is loyal to its Scottish roots with many “Scottish” pubs about. I then found the tourist information and finally got a map as well as just about every leaflet they had. Well I do have ten weeks to fill! I was then directed home via a “grocery store”. At last, food! Jokes, I have to carry it so it’s little and often!

I then started my placement on the Monday morning. I was pretty nervous but more excited which was a pleasant surprise from someone who spends their life worrying. I met the small but mighty team who include some other interns and then had a

meeting with the boss! It was then straight into my research project, but not before a “working lunch” of course (or an excuse to eat out at a nice restaurant!). That evening I was lucky enough to get a ticket and see the England Women’s world cup team beat Norway to progress through to the quarterfinals! I used to love playing football when I was younger so this really was a dream come true!

Day two was quite a surprise for us all. Turns out we had to have the afternoon off to move furniture! Startup Canada is rapidly growing and so in July they will move to new offices on Spark st. I have been reliably informed that this is the street to be on in Ottawa as it is right by Parliament. So in order for us to begin work there we need furniture. Everyone was

apologetic that I had to help them, but I genuinely didn’t mind as it was a great and relaxed way to get to know everyone! And then of course, we needed a Scottish pub dinner to boost our energy!

As the week progressed I become more familiar with the details and the work of Startup Canada and I was able to finish my first draft of research questions, which ultimately investigate the impact that the company is having on entrepreneurs across Canada. In a week or two’s time I will be conducting telephone interviews with the entrepreneurs so I better make sure I know what I’m talking about!

I also

joined the local fencing club this week, which was great fun and a brilliant way to meet more locals. I have some useful and amusing training tips already to take back to my team at university, so watch out Team Aberdeen!

The weekend enabled me to be a complete tourist and ride the open top tour bus to familiarise myself with the city and have a quick look at the National Gallery. And Sunday, well I slept of course!

#ssimexchange #sarahkeith