Hi! I am JC and I’m from Canada, currently doing my Masters in Maritime Archaeology at Bournemouth University. Depending on where you’re from, you may find that the food here is often very bland. This doesn’t mean it’s like this at every restaurant. If you go to Italian, Indian or Asian restaurants the food is often full of flavour.

Cooking at home

Almost all the spices from home can be found here, which means that you can put in as much flavour as you need when you are cooking. I was even able to find some Sriracha sauce (a hot sauce that has become very popular in North America). If you’re able to go shopping at Aldi, veggies are affordable and good quality. As for the fruits, apples, peaches, oranges, etc. are also affordable and good quality. The only fruit that I have found up to now to be too expensive and not the best quality are the strawberries – this could very well be because they are not in season.

Organising Your Time

I was originally shopping every few days for my groceries and buying what I needed for the meal I was going to cook. But with the size of the fridge, and the amount of cupboard space, I started buying enough food to last me around 1 to 2 weeks. Whenever I cook meals, I always make enough to have a few leftovers – after all it takes the same amount of effort to cook the same thing for one person or three. This also means that it saves on time on days of the week when I might be too busy to cook.

Small treats from Home

Eating healthily should be the norm in a student’s life, but it is important to treat yourself from time to time. I found real Canadian maple syrup here, and almost everything else I would have found at home like candy, cookies, spices and peanut butter. The only two things I haven’t found up to now are Ruffles All Dressed chips and a good poutine (a Canadian dish of French fries, cheese curds and gravy). These are minor things compared to being able to have the experience of living in a new country.

JC