Five months in Vienna taught me to reach out first

During her HBA exchange term at WU in Vienna, Kanica Thakur, HBA ’26, spent five months exploring Europe, meeting people from around the world, and making a new city home. Below, she reflects on the lessons she learned along the way – from sending the first text to saying yes when it feels right and understanding that “not now” doesn’t mean “never.”

Entry 1: Send the text first

I made my first friend on exchange before I had even arrived in Vienna.

I had noticed a girl from New Zealand regularly messaging in our exchange group chat. Since we were both about to arrive in a new city knowing virtually no one, I sent her a message asking if she wanted to meet.

That one text introduced me to one of my closest friends on exchange. Soon, she was travelling across Europe with me and my Ivey friends, getting a crash course in Canadian culture while teaching us plenty about Kiwi life in return. By the end of the semester, I could not imagine my exchange experience without her.

Exchange has a way of accelerating relationships. Everyone knows their time together is limited, so there is less time to wait for someone else to make the plans, extend the invitation, or start the conversation. Looking back, someone who became such an important part of my experience could easily have remained just a name in a group chat. Sometimes, all it takes is sending the first text.

(Photos above) Kanica Thakur with her friend, Lily Scott-Lysaght, from New Zealand (Kanica is on right in first photo and on left in second photo)

Entry 2: Say yes... Kind of

One of the biggest things exchange taught me was to stop needing certainty before deciding something was worth doing. Some of my favourite experiences started with plans I was unsure about, places I knew little about, or people I had only recently met.

Ireland might be my favourite example. A friend and I decided that if we were going all the way to Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day, we wanted to see more of the country. Delayed flights meant we missed our rental car and spent our first night sleeping at the Dublin airport.

A few hours of sleep and one rental car later, we were driving across Ireland. Rather than stopping at the main entrance to the Cliffs of Moher, we continued toward Hag's Head, where we ended up with what felt like the cliffs entirely to ourselves. We spent two hours walking through the grass and taking in what remains one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Somehow, the trip that began on an airport floor became my favourite trip of exchange.

Before leaving, I constantly heard the advice to “say yes to everything.” I understand why, but I also learned that making the most of exchange did not mean doing everything. With limited time, money, and energy, I had to decide what was worth saying yes to.

(Photo above) Kanica Thakur (fourth from left), and fellow Ivey HBA ’26 students who were also on exchange, in Ireland

Entry 3: A note to myself

If there is one phrase my friends and I lived by throughout exchange, it was “everything works out.”

Missed train? Everything works out. Plans changed? Everything works out. Stuck overnight in the Dublin airport? Somehow, everything works out.

But perhaps the most important thing I learned was that not everything has to work out right now.

On one of my final exchange trips, I sat beside an older man on a flight to Sardinia. Shortly after sitting down, he pulled out a notebook and began documenting his travels. It was such a small moment, but watching him reminded me that there is no age limit or deadline on exploring the world. Exchange can make every opportunity feel like a now-or-never decision, but sometimes saying “not now” is OK too.

I had wanted to skydive during exchange, but between my budget and our plans, it never happened. A few months earlier, I might have seen that as something I had missed. Instead, I now have plans to hopefully skydive in New Zealand, a country I never imagined visiting before becoming friends with someone from there.

Exchange made it easy to treat every week as an opportunity to do something new because I knew my time abroad was limited. Going home, I realized there was no reason that mindset had to stay in Europe.

So, a note to myself: send the text first. Keep learning outside of what is familiar. Say yes when it is worth it, and know that sometimes “not now” does not mean “never.” When the plan inevitably changes, trust that you will figure it out.

Everything works out.

View more photos below

Kanica and Lily in front of the Duomo in Florence, Italy

Kanica on her last exchange trip in Nice, France

Kanica and Sofia Cicci, a fellow HBA ’26 student on exchange, at Nameless Music Festival in Lake Como, Italy

Kanica and Rachel Agro, a fellow HBA ’26 student on exchange, with baby lambs in Dingle, Ireland

Hiking in Tenerife, Spain

A pit stop in Tinghir on the way to the Sahara Desert in Morocco

Kanica and Katie Yeates, a fellow HBA ’26 student on exchange, skiing in Alpe d’Huez, France, at Tomorrowland Winter

Kanica and friends after ATV rides in the Sahara Desert in Morocco