Celebrating my 8th year in Canada

I am celebrating my 8th year in Canada today. May 19, 2013 was the date when I arrived in YVR Airport. In that span of time, I started as a Permanent Resident and became a Canadian Citizen wise in the ways of one of the coldest parts of the world.

I lived more than 2 decades of my life in the Philippines and it felt like I was reborn in an unfamiliar place.

It was so peculiar that I am viewed as one. The hardest part was I thought I was well prepared and armored because I speak the language and I bought thick winter coats but I was completely wrong.

I gradually adapted to being a Canadian through the experiences I had every single day. But as hard as the adjustment stage was for me especially the first winter which I thought I would die; I had a lot of fun and laughter.

I would like to share 10 funny and unfiltered thoughts I have in my tough years in Canada:

1) Saskatoon is in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan is not a Chinese sauce. It is a province. It is important that you pronounce it right.

2) When driving, you gotta stop and give way to ambulance and firefighters when they pass. In the Philippines, we don't exactly do that. We even piggy back after them. (Unless it has changed now) That explains the bad ass Asian driving stereotype and I hate it when you assume correctly about us- Asian, women and driving.

3) You don't have to answer elaborately the question "how are you?" because it is just basically a warm hello. If you did, make sure you didn't have much eye contact to the person so they won't think you're hitting on them.

4) Even if you look old, your ID would still be checked if you enter a bar. Do not ever forget bringing your driver's license especially when you are in a group of people, you don't want to be perceived as a loser when you’re the only person left outside and you needed to get home by yourself because you don’t have a proof that you’re over 18 even though you’re really in your 30’s.

5) Winter lasts for 7 months in Canada. Winter is the most awful thing especially living in the Prairies which has the temperature in the range of -20 to -40 degree Celsius all the time. It is NOT fun. It is not comfortable at all. Winter sucks. If you could escape winter, do it. Go to somewhere warm in January and February. If not, always remember T.G.I.F. Tires, (winter tires can save your life) Gloves (frost bite is not a joke), Insurance (for any car accidents, get autopak), and F for the F word. Just say Eff Winter when you're very sick of it. Catharsis helps.

6) For the few places that I've been in Canada: I realized that the pride of Manitoba is The Jets. (I just wanna say how proud I am to have lived in Winnipeg or Canada in general at this very moment; I don’t think that that kind of spirit is seen elsewhere); The pride of Saskatchewan is The Riders; The pride of Quebec is Poutine; The pride of British Columbia is Asian food; The pride of Alberta is Banff; The pride of Ontario is Niagara Falls. Therefore, I found out that The Prairies pride is people because it’s all flat and that’s all there is. I’m kidding.

7) You file your own taxes. If you want to pay an accountant to file taxes for you, then go for it. If you have two jobs, deliberately contribute to paying more taxes so you save money during tax season, also contribute a lot to your RRSP so you get taxed less and get more refund. Believe me on this one.

8) Most of Canadians rely on private transportation because bus schedule sucks. I did not say bus drivers. Bus helps a lot of course. Most of the people drive and it's very convenient rather than riding a bus that takes a lot longer to get from Point A to B, so you gotta have a decent knowledge of driving and take care of that license.

9) Canada doesn't call it Toronto Maple "Leaves". The hockey team is Toronto Maple Leafs. Apparently, the plural form of leaf is "leafs" in Canada

10) My knowledge in English came from American English so I was a bit surprise with some differences. Canadians pronounce these words in a very Canadian way - about (aboot), niche (neesh), sorry, (sori) , toronto (tronno), caramel (care-amel) and route (root). Americans obviously pronounce it the other way, “abawt, nitch, sari, Toronto, caramel, and rawt. They always make fun of us, example, South Park.

But alright, kidding aside, this is really my story. 8 years ago, I was a courageous person who left my country and I didn’t have any idea what I should bring with me. I couldn’t really pack my whole life in my luggage, could I? I also really don’t know why I should start over; well in fact I had a good career back home. But I made the best decision in my life. I ran away because of the kind of government in the Philippines and the suffering that I think has no cure, to go to a country with freedom, free education and healthcare and better government.

I landed in Saskatoon and stayed at my brother’s basement. Without his help and other relatives, I won’t be here right now writing this. So, thank you my dear brother and my aunt.

Like all of you, I struggled at first in not getting the job that I really wanted. I also experienced having two jobs to pay my rent on time. But with all the hardship, I’ve been working in an IT staffing firm in Vancouver. After living in the Prairies fror 6 years, I made the jump and went to my dream city and got my dream job.

I brought with me my culture and background but Canada welcomed that with open arms. I became a good Canadian resident for being a good Filipino. I learned to interact and care for all the kinds of people since Canada is all for diversity.

I lived in Saskatoon, moved to Winnipeg and now I’m enjoying the beautiful city of Vancouver, ranked as one of the best places to live in the world. I met amazing people and diverse individuals. The idea of pluralism is something that I value the most now. Diversity is the essence of Canada and it feels really good to live when I’m surrounded with people who respect each other knowing that we are protected and valued by the Canadian Constitution.

I gave you ten funny points in the beginning but I will end this post with 3 accumulated wisdom.

1) When looking for a job, don’t think about levels. The important thing is to get your foot in the door. The more important thing is you learn. Open your mind to possibilities. Canada is a land of opportunities and if you put yourself in a box, you won’t enjoy the ride.

2) Just as our bodies and brain grow new cells every day, we should always keep growing and learning. Improve your skills, your English skills as the most important one because it will not only open up career opportunities but also relationships – real friendships and permanent lifetime connections, to name a few.

3) In life, many people will tell you that to be successful you have to be somebody else. But when I came here to Canada, they will tell you to be yourself. That’s important. Just be yourself and everything will work out fine. That’s what I did.

Thank you and share this post or leave comments.

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