On September 3rd, 2024, I took a flight from Toulouse to Toronto, the city I had chosen to live in for six months. My flight wasn’t direct—I had a layover in Dublin for just one hour.
Actually, I cried before saying goodbye to my parents because I probably only realized at that moment what I was about to do—moving abroad, to the other side of my country. It was only for a few months, but at 20 years old, it was undoubtedly a huge decision and a crucial step for my future. I was almost ready to give up. Even though I was early, for some reason, I nearly missed my flight. So I ran with my backpack, barely having time to think about anything—just run, no time to stress.
The stop in Dublin
After more than an hour on the plane, I had a stopover in Dublin because my flight was with Aer Lingus, an Irish airline. I only had an hour to catch my connecting flight, so I quickly changed planes. However, I was surprised by the size of the airport and had to run to find my gate. In the end, my flight was delayed by an hour, so I took the opportunity to eat at the airport.I also remember being surprised when the staff greeted me with, “Hello there! How are you?” In France, we usually don’t ask this kind of question—we just place our order directly. It was a small but pleasant cultural difference that I really appreciated.
After that, I waited, but there were some announcements, and I couldn’t understand anything they were saying. As a result, I almost gave up a second time, thinking to myself, Why did I choose to move to an English-speaking environment if I can’t understand a single word?
Seven hours in the sky
During the seven-hour flight, I think I watched Netflix—I had downloaded some movies—and listened to music. It didn’t feel too long, but I started to get excited when we flew over Canada. I also had one meal and an Irish snack, which I really appreciated.
My meal
Toronto
When I arrived in Toronto, we had to register and scan our passports, and then pass through customs. For me, it took more than two hours, and I was so stressed about explaining everything in English and possibly being rejected, in case I had done something wrong with my tourist visa in France. I was surprised once again by the fact that some information at the airport was translated into French, but then again, Quebec isn’t too far from here. After spending another hour waiting, a guy asked me some questions about my journey—what I was going to do here, how long I was going to stay, and things like that. At that point, I was really worried about my luggage.
The funny thing was that he tried to speak French with me, and actually, he did very well. After I took my luggage, which had been placed to the side, I looked for the train because the airport is more than an hour away from the center of Toronto.
Reflections
After taking the train, I was supposed to take the subway at Union Station, a very busy station in Toronto. I got lost inside, but eventually, I arrived at Bloor-Yonge Station, which is close to my apartment. I was surprised by the size of the building, and even though I arrived almost at night, I didn’t feel insecure with my luggage. Finally, I had arrived in this huge city—first adventure, success!
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