I had such an amazing experience at Odyssey that I ended up working as an English language assistant twice — once at Cégep de Sainte-Foy in 2006–07 and again at École secondaire de l’Aubier in 2007–08! I had just graduated from university in my hometown, Vancouver, and since I had never really travelled, I knew I wanted to live in a new city. I chose the Odyssey program to develop my teaching skills and explore my French-Canadian heritage. My father is from Bonaventure, Quebec, and I had never met his side of the family until I lived in Quebec.
I was proud that the program encouraged me to share my culture, heritage, city, and language with the students. What I had not expected was that my students, peers, and Quebec City itself would teach me so much about my own cultural heritage!
The program is structured (25 hours/week) so that you get lots of teaching experience, but you also have a lot of free time to explore the region you are living in. The Odyssey pan-Canadian training session at the beginning of the program gives you the teaching tools you need and helps you get to know the other assistants in the region!
If you’re interested in pursuing a teaching career, becoming bilingual, trying out a new city, or experiencing a whole new culture without leaving Canada, I highly recommend the Odyssey program to you.
