By Riley Koltun

“Moving to a completely different country is quite a drastic change, everything you knew, all that was familiar, near and dear to your heart will be nothing but memories.” Forest Hill CI welcomes new student Sigi Buzi all the way from Albania where she enters a new journey in her life. Everyone has his or her own story, and according to Buzi you just have to appreciate it. After moving from Albania this summer, she explains her experience and her adaptations to her new life that had just begun only a few months ago in Canada.

Buzi came to Forest Hill not knowing anyone or having any friends, but that did not bring her down. She had a very positive attitude and was excited to meet new people and make new friends. Buzi instantly reached out to fellow students and was excited to learn new things about different people. She did this by joining clubs and participating in extracurricular activities such as Creative writing club, Politics and History club as well as the newcomers club. “I picked out random clubs that have nothing to do with my interests, just to learn something new and meet different people,” she explained.

After asking Buzi if she has fully adapted to a new environment she said “I’m pretty sure at this age you can never fully adapt, because you’re used to completely different things and its not easy to change your ways or suddenly look at things from a North American perspective”. Although many things were changing for Buzi, she was able to take her passion of cooking from Albania and continue to pursue it in Canada. Although the transition may be difficult for Buzi, she feels very comfortable with expressing her true self.

There is so much new information to learn when moving to a new country but Buzi has got it under control. She did not know that jay walking is illegal in Canada as traffic laws were much different in Canada. She says “In Albania either you cross the cross the street or leave because those cars will never stop”. Buzi proves that you can always learn something new and that it can be a good thing, a safety law in fact. She also explains that in Albania she took many lessons whether it was basketball, swimming tennis or piano lessons she did it all. “All of this is because in Albania private courses are extremely cheap, so it would be a shame not to take advantage from it,” she says.

Buzi leaves anyone who may be in a new and/or different environment with a few words from her personal experience. She says “Talk, express yourself, enroll in many activities as you possibly can and meet new people.” From one new student to another, take her advice; it has seemed to work very well.