In addition to offering you ''Be Prepared for your Trip!'', a document written by HorizonCosmopolite, we offer a pre-departure orientation day in order to help you prepare psychologically and to organize the logistics of your trip. The session will take place once every three months (it is therefore important to reserve a spot three months in advance) and aims to give you practical tools which will wnable you to adapt to the new environment in which you will be immersed. At this orientation session, you will meet other participants who are leaving at the same time as you in a different country. It provides an excellent chance to exchange ideas and share you fears and expectations.

The pre-departure session is also used to make sure that you are aware and respectful of local habits. It will help to avoid disrupting the host community.

The following is a typical orientation day schedule:

8h45 to 9h00 - Introduction
· Greeting the participants and introductions
· Presenting the day's schedule and objectives
· Clarifying the expectations of each individual

9h00 to 10h30 - Concept of Culture
· Activity: Hidden Senses
· Presentation of key concepts

10h30 to 10h45 - Break

10h45 to 11h45 - Intercultural Adaptation
· Activity: An Ambiguous Situation
· Culture shock theory

11h45 to 13h00 - Lunch


13h00 to 14h00 - Health in Foreign Countries
· Activity about Health and Travel

14h00 to 15h30 - Intercultural Communication
· Critical instances
· Activity: Draw me a house
· Communication theory

15h30 to 15h45 - Break

15h45 to 16h45 - Logistical Information and Security in Foreign Countries
· Travel preparation

16h45 to 17h30 - Conclusion

***These sessions take place in Montreal and are held in French, unless a sufficient amount of people can attend a session in English
Orientation Day for professional internship participants.