Depoimento: Miguel Righetti

Miguel Righetti em Vancouver

"I must confess I was a little bit worried when I was on my way to Vancouver. Firstly, I thought people would not be able to understand me and secondly I thought they would have a rather complicated vocabulary, but from the moment I arrived in Toronto and started talking to Canadians I realized how kind and polite they were.
As far as Vancouver is concerned I started falling in love with the city the moment I got off the plane; everything I had seen from the airport all the way to the place I stayed, including the school, was fantastic.
A very beautiful and modern city, safe during the day and night and gently crowded with incredible people: the school staff members, amazing teachers... They had all made me wonder if I really had to go back to Brazil. The Speak Trips Team was available at all times giving me all the instructions I could have possibly needed.
I arrived during the summer and the temperature was around 30 degrees Celsius, which was a record, but for someone from Maceió, like me it wasn’t a problem. We were able to stay out in the streets until 10:00 pm, sunset time. In the following months things started to change, but it could not make me stay at home... I simply had to go out. The Public transport is very good, I was able to get information from Vancouverites all the time and they were patient and polite to me during the whole of the 8 months I was there. I was supposed to stay 6 months, but I decided to extend my stay for another two 2 months.
During my stay I was able to meet and make friends from many countries from all over the world: Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada and I also met people from all over Brazil. I went to ice hockey games, Stanley Park, the English Bay, awesome pubs with good music and Canadian beer. When winter came I went again to all the mountains I had been during the summer and believe me it was even more beautiful!!! When I was on my way to school by Skytrain, I simply couldn’t take my eyes from the mountains… I loved everything: the forests, the parks, Whistler, the Rockies, and when the 2010 Winter Olympic Games started the city was “invaded” by people from all over the world; everybody, including me, were carrying Canadian flags and celebrating the Canadian victories, taking hundreds of pictures, making videos for the school, going to Livecity.
With all the joy and happy moments I was able to improve my knowledge of the English language and skills incredibly and I hope to increase it even more.
I had to come back to my home country to finish the Law School at University, but Vancouver will always be in a very special place in my mind and I dream of going back someday and stay for a much longer period of time."


Miguel Acioli Righetti.