Encounters With Canada – Health + Medicine (AKA I dressed up as a cow and touched a placenta)

Have you ever spent a week living with 120-something other people? That was me before spring break, at Encounters With Canada.

Encounters is a program that brings together youth from all across Canada to live under the same roof (between the same teal and orange walls) for a week, in the cute little city of Ottawa (home of the original BeaverTails!). Every week is focused on a different career theme, covering everything from politics to arts to sports to ecology. I went for health & medicine.

Encounters was a ridiculous experience. Every morning, our dorm of 30-ish girls woke to a lovely bilingual wake-up call followed by Ottawa’s worst radio station. Then everyone piled into the single washroom to fight for the sinks. The row of plugs in front of the mirror, filled with phone chargers and hair curlers, is quite a sight. But you don’t want to spend too long getting ready, or risk being last in line for breakfast (and this line wraps all the way around the cafeteria).

Strange as it sounds, I miss those things.

At Encounters, everyday was filled with a flurry of activities, from guest speakers to career panels to hands-on workshops. I met a truly awesome professor who made me reconsider nursing, and helped a midwife deliver her “baby” (no worries, it was plastic). One thing in common was that all of the guests were so obviously passionate about what they do – it was so contagious! I really liked the medical ethics discussion, and all those open conversations about abortion, euthanasia, and genetic engineering. And I loved hearing the Hippocratic Oath (even more beautiful than waking up to birds in the morning).

We also toured many places around Ottawa. Some people had the chance to visit a cancer research lab, while others went to the Agricultural Museum of Canada, CSI workshops, or a tour of U of Ottawa. More touristy locations include Parliament, Byward Market, and the Civilization and Nature Museums. (Lesson: do not fall asleep during question period, even if you can’t understand a word of the French debate. Do NOT. The security guards are there for a reason.)

But just as much if not more, Encounters is about Canada. A visit to a veteran’s cemetery and a mini candlelight ceremony in the snow made me realize, yet again, just how lucky we are to be where we are. And never has one single week made me more aware of how much my French needs improvement – all the announcements were in both languages. What I really, really loved though, was the skits everyone did in their province/territory teams – no one was shy about making fun of their own homes.

That was what was really special about that week – the people. Everyone was incredibly open and accepting, and hilarious and easy to talk to. I didn’t get to meet everyone, but those I did, were really fun people. I loved hearing cougar stories from BC and listening to maritime accents. And for the first time in my life, I met someone from Yukon and the Northwest Territories. When we weren’t busy folding proteins or napping, Encounterers were making music with trash cans, watching Mean Girls, playing pingpong, or dancing in the cafeteria ;D

It was only a week, but I definitely won’t be forgetting Encounters anytime soon.