As a teenager in Beijing, I attended an international high school for students who wanted to go to university in Canada. My parents thought I’d have a better education in Canada, which they’d heard was a safe country with more affordable tuition than the U.S. In Grade 12, I did a half-year exchange to Bathurst, New Brunswick. I fell in love with the small-city vibe there—the population was only 15,000, compared to 21.7 million in Beijing. The experience made me realize that I didn’t like bigger cities. Everyone was so friendly, and there were lots of French speakers, which I thought was charming.
Pretty bad when they start preferring Smog City.
