Student Spotlight: Discover Toronto Through Maria’s Eyes
This month, we’re thrilled to feature four wonderful articles by one of our amazing LSI students, Maria Clara Lucas Souza, all the way from Brazil!
Maria brings a fresh and personal perspective to student life in Toronto. In her articles, she shares her favorite tips, local discoveries, and advice on how to truly enjoy living and studying in this vibrant, multicultural city.
Whether you’re new to Toronto or have been here a while, Maria’s insights are sure to inspire and help you make the most of your time as a student.
Woodbine Beach
“Did you know that Toronto has beaches too?
You might be surprised to learn that Toronto’s beaches are freshwater. It’s because they aren’t beaches made with ocean water. Woodbine Beach is a special place that offers refreshing (maybe freezing) water and gives people the opportunity to enjoy the weather on the beach.
I would also like to mention that if you’re into big waves for surfing, warm water for swimming, and a really hot climate, then this wouldn’t be the perfect beach for you, although on summer days in Toronto, it’s a nice option to jump into the cool waters for a break.”
Student Life: Good Times on the Cheap
“One problem I had when I first moved to Toronto was knowing what to do when I didn’t have plans or was bored. Fortunately, I’m here to answer that question.
If you’re like me and don’t want to spend much money on expensive things or food, here’s my first suggestion: go to a park, call your friends or colleagues, and buy some snacks to eat outside while practicing your English. I know going to a park sounds basic or boring, but have you ever tried staying inside your house all day? It could be worse or better, but it’s a good option when your budget is limited. Most of the parks in Toronto are great, so maybe I can say that the highlights of this megacity are the parks!
Now, about the premium option, which I unfortunately cannot choose every day: be open to trying new foods and restaurants. Toronto has a large number of restaurants with food from different cultures and tastes from all over the world. If you’re Brazilian like me, the area between Davisville and Eglinton is where you can find açaí, coxinha, pastel, brigadeiro, or traditional Brazilian dishes. Otherwise, downtown is where you can find good places to eat, like the Old Spaghetti Factory, where you can find delicious Italian pasta.
Life isn’t only about parks and food, but LSI does a good job of taking us to famous attractions and places we should visit, so I’ll leave that to them. It’s also interesting to note that we always have to eat and try socializing, thus maybe visiting a random park or eating an overpriced meal downtown isn’t a bad idea.”
Canada’s Wonderland
“If I could describe Canada’s Wonderland in two words, they would probably be: incredible and frightening. My first experience at Wonderland was amazing, so thanks, Canada!
The park has big, fast, and crazy roller coasters, a big tower with a free fall, Olympic swimming shows, a water park and lots of people shouting. You might disagree, but if you can only ride one, choose the Yukon Striker, it’s the best one!
Honestly, I spent the whole time screaming on the roller coaster; maybe I could better describe what dying feels like. I’m really interested in meeting the person who had the idea to create a 75m-high roller coaster that goes 130 km/h and has four inversions, because he/she is crazy. Now know my heart is strong, and I didn’t even need to have a heart exam.”
Museum of Illusions
“Museum of Illusions is a place located near King Station where you can find distorted images, puzzle games and different structures to take photos with. It’s impressive that such a small room has interesting pastimes for every age, even though the price is more expensive than everyone expects. It’s worth it to go one time, but going more than once might be too much.
As one of the tourist attractions of Toronto, it is more crowded than you can imagine on the weekend (a common issue with this big, little city), so it would be go to try to go during the week.”
