The winters of Winnipeg may not seem that attractive to a Canadian when compared to the beaches of Rio, the romance of Lithuania or the excitement of Shanghai.
But to a batch of foreign students, life on the dull Prairies is just fine.
“I want to stay here,” said LiLi Zhang, a Chinese graduate student studying food science at the University of Manitoba who graduates at the end of December.
Her opinion was echoed by all eight members of an award-winning food product development team who gathered to discuss their recent success.
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“I want to stay here for a while,” said Brazilian student Fernando Luciano.
“I want to stay in Canada and have more experience. I don’t know when I’m going home.”
Fellow Brazilian Caroline Rosa doesn’t seem put off by her experience in the cold heart of this northern continent. And her affections are specific to Canada.
“I think I will stick around. I’m not going to go to the United States (when I graduate.) I like Canada.”
Few Canadian university students choose graduate studies in essential but unromantic departments such as food science. Of the 25 grad students in the U of M’s program, 22 are foreign.
But if this group of students is typical, what Canada fails to produce from homegrown young people is made up for by poaching the brightest students from overseas.
Daiva Daugelaite, a PhD student from Lithuania, said she likes her adviser and sees good opportunities in Canada.
“I think I want to stay here,” Daugelaite said. “If I have the opportunity I will try to stay here as a post-doc.”
No homesickness
Da An, who has focused on pulse crop flour while working on her master’s degree, is keen to keep working in Canada and doesn’t have the blues for home.
“I am not going back to China soon,” she said.
Of the seven foreign students in the group, only one showed much interest in returning home.
“Eventually I want to go back to Shanghai,” said Lini Qiao, who says it’s the best city in the world.
“It’s a very, very fantastic city.”
But until then she’s happy in Canada, and also not planning to run away to the wealth and opportunities south of the border.
“Between Canada and the United States, I would prefer a job in Canada,” Qiao said.
“Canada is more accepting of multicultural people. I think Canada is the better place for me.”
