Sarra is one of our Leeve ambassadors, from Tunisia. Today, she shares with us her story about why she decided to move to Montreal for her studies. (Article Number 1)

Never thought it would be easy to leave my family and be happy in another country. In fact a few years ago after I graduated from high school, I decided to leave Tunisia in order to go to Canada. I was young and didn’t know what I was expecting from this new country. On August 2007 I packed whatever I had and I left my beloved country and family.

I was heartbreaking but I did whatever I had to do. What a decision! I was confident, and I thought it was for good. Education back home is accessible to everybody but I was expecting more than that. No matter what, I was determined to grow and make something good of my life. So here I am, 19 years old, going alone to a country I didn’t know.

The day I arrived in Montreal, I wasn’t expecting such a welcome. Immigration wasn’t a funny moment but I did it and it was fine. The first few days were not so bad because I had family over there. It is actually easier when you know people in the country that you’re planning to visit. So here I am in a Montreal the city of my dreams surrounded by so many people that I know but feeling so alone. In fact, everything seems amazing in the beginning but you quickly feel homesick no matter what.

That impression was there in the begging but once you move on you see things in another way. It took me a few months to find my marks. University wasn’t a piece of cake as well. The first day at school was memorable, seeing a campus that big, being able to talk to people from all over the world, discovering new activities and of course feeling like a new person.

I was so happy that I couldn’t believe my self. My dream came true and I realized that I had to give the best of myself to succeed!

In this series of articles, I will tell you about my story in Montreal, people I met, things I did, crazy and sad moments. I will be as honest as possible and I’ll give you the best version of my story there. So follow my adventures on Leeve!

A picture of Montreal University