Adjusting to life in a new country can be a challenge.  Here at ILI we are ready to help you adjust to your time here.  Listed below are some things that might be useful in your adjustment.

Homestays

At ILI we encourage our students to be a part of a homestay.  This is a great chance to learn about Canadian culture and practice your English.  Canadian families may differ from traditional families in your country.  Not all families in Canada are a man, a woman and children.  Many families that host students are older couples whose children are adults and attending University.  Others might have no children, or children that are in their teenage years.  If you come with an open mind and ready for anything you'll find all of our homestays are friendly people who want to share their culture

Food

There is a good  chance that your diet is different than what a Canadian family might eat.  You should be ready to try new things and adapt.  Many families don't eat rice as a regular part of their diets.  Meat and potatoes are common foods served for dinner.  Lunches could be a sandwich or the same food from yesterday's dinner.  Breakfast is usually a light meal of cereal or toast.

This does not mean that Halifax doesn't offer a wide variety of restaurants and shops where food from your home country can be purchased.  Offering to cook for your host family or teach them how to prepare your traditional foods is a great opportunity to connect with your host family.

Pets

Many canadian homes have pets.  These can range from fish to cats to dogs.  Household pets are not wild animals and most are very friendly.  These animals usually live in the house.  If you don't wish to live with a pet then we will do all that we can to accomodate you.