MY TRIP TO THE INTERNATIONAL ACADAMY OF DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

So dudes, this was a sweet trip. I went to the International Academy of Design and Technology in Toronto today with my parents. I'm looking into the fashion design program. So it took us a few good hours of driving before we even could see the CN Tower, but we did make it after a stop at the Flying J for a pit stop and gas. When we got into the city, we had to swerve and manouver around other vehicles like I've never seen before. It isn't that busy of a city - like not as crazy as people may think Toronto is. My dad had an idea of where we were going, but that was just it. He had an idea which caused us to make crazy driving moves and so on.
When we finally found the place (at the CBC Building) we had to find a place to park. Let's get this straight right here and now, I'm not driving around in Toronto. I'm taking city transit. The parking lot cost us $30 (CDN). Now you can park there the whole day, but still, we were only there for an hour and a half. A little expensive for me. As I walked closer to the beuilding, I felt like this would be a good finishing school and a really interesting experince, instead of a real place to start out with no skills at all. Anyway, when we made it into the building, the lady at the desk told us that we had to go back outside and into other doors that was a minute away, go inside and go up the green elevators to the 8th floor. So we did. Once at the 8th floor, though, there was no one at the desk to greet or even if we needed to ask for directions from. We kinda looked around a bit then decided to sit down in the "wait here please" chairs, hoping soneone would come by to direct us to where the open house was located. We sat for about 20 minutes. Throughout that time, about 12 people came up and seemed to be in the same predicament as us. We all waited in the little "wait here please" room as students passed us and wondered about our presence there.
Finally, a woman came up with about 6 other people and told us to follow her. I didn't know whether I should or shouldn't, because she didn't even ask if we were there for the open house or not. I followed anyway, hoping that it wasn't a class, with my parents. The woman carted us through a hallway, passed a "key-card open only" door and into a room dubbed the film studio. Now, because the room was called this, my mom and dad wondered if it was where we were supposed to be. My dad asked someone if this was a room just for the film studio people or for everyone and the answer was "for everyone." So we sat, as waited as people walked in with little pamphlets in their hands. We didn't get one nor were we offered one, so Dad got up and asked for one from one of the staff along with a bottle of water that they supplied for all the people attending the open house.
A man gave an introduction to the school and a background as well as their statement of education. It was very good. He talked a little about everything. About costs, 24-hour student access, 85-97% carrer placement stats, and that the teachers are people who are actually in the business that you are learning about. After this speech, he directed everyone to the "tour guides" who were standing in the back. He named each one and what area they would be taking the "tourists". One by one, the crowd dwindled down. One thing that stuck out was when he announced one area for people to follow. Game design. The tour guide was taking the tourists to the game editing and marketing or something weird like that, and all the boys in the room stood up to leave. But a correction came, it was not for game design, but for what I said earlier. So mostly all the boys sat down. Then he announced the game design tour guide and they all stood up again and walked out. That was quite hilarious.
Again, finally, he announced the fashion design guide, so my parents and I got up and followed along with a few other people. When we reached the room, the guide let us in then left us with another person who I soon learned taught the first semester students in the fashion design course. Once entering the room, I saw three rows of sewing machines... industrial sewing machines. I mean these babies were hot! I mean,... um... heavy duty, yeah, top knotch. Anyway, then I went through the doors into the drafting room. Items of clothing were spread across the wooden tables and were also hanging on the "Judys" (the manicins that you can stick pins into and stuff). It was very impressive work.
The woman introduced herself and talked a bit about the program. About the small class sizes (20 people or less to a class), the co-op positions you will get, the different projects that you would have to get done and the way the program works (four weeks of in class, the fifth week- a work week - the sixth week all the work due and so on). It was very interesting and she did a great job of explaning the program. Then my dad began asking questions. Question: "How long is the program?" Answer: "18 months, nonstop." Q: "Is there a co-op program?" A: "Yes, and we'll supply a placement as well as call for you if you want." Q: "Do you need great sewing skills?" A: "No. The first few classes are to teach you how to bob thread and sew in a straight line. We help you develope the skills instead of making you develope them on your own." and so on. Then it came to the most important question of all: "How much will this cost?" A: "I don't really know, the admissions cousellor is here though!"
My dad went over to talk about admission and living costs with the admission counsellor while my mom and I looked around at all the clothing. We didn't really want to get between my dad and his "reality check" moment.
After getting the stats, my dad, mom, and I went for a pit stop at their bathrooms then took a small self-guided tour of the hallways. There were knitting rooms with knitting machines in them, the "Gerber" (the computer program, not the baby food) room which had computers in it and other rooms with sewing machines and drafting tables.
As we finished our tour, we said our thanks and found our way throug the hallways and down the green elevator. I left the International Academy of Art and Design with a content feeling that this place would be actually really good for my fashion design hopes. This place is great for you if you do or don't have any skills at all. Also another perk, you are flown through because it isn't necesary for you to take any unneccessary courses like english or math or pscychology etc. You only take classes that are immediatly relevent to your course. My folks and I found that as one of the academy's strong points.
After pickign up our car and opening up our $30 parking spot to other tourists, we left the city of Toronto with a good feeling. This frightening and sometimes intimidating city was not as crazy as expected and the pedestrain/car ratio was quite even to say the least.