Journey as a newcomer to Canada
Journey in Canada
My journey to Canada as a newcomer was an eye-opening experience. Moving permanently as a newcomer to a new country such as Canada is a hard journey to make, especially if you speak a different language and come from a different cultural background. My journey as a newcomer was quite a shocking experience for me as well as an adventure.
Before immigrating to Canada, I grew up in the megacity of Bogota, Colombia. A tropical rainforest home to a total of 12 million inhabitants. Colombia is a multiethnic country with a mixture of different cultures and a cultural variety in its people, regions, and gastronomy. While I still lived there. I went to a bilingual school where I learned English and where I found out that I wanted to live abroad for multiple reasons that I will explain later. I expressed this to my parents, and we had a chance to move either to The Netherlands or Canada. Since we had family in both places. My parents chose Canada for various reasons such as language, proximity (same continent), and a new opportunity to start anew.
It all started back in 2004 when we first moved to Canada. Our first entry point was Montreal, Quebec, where my father’s family had already settled in a few years back. My father’s family greeted us, and I remember clearly how excited I was to learn a new language (French) and practice my English with native speakers. I also recalled that summer so vividly because I got chickenpox right on my birthday.
We met a few people here and there. However, my parents decided to move to an English-speaking province since I already spoke English; they thought it would be a smooth transition. So we embarked on another journey, packed our bags, and moved to Windsor, Ontario. Little did I know that each province in Canada is different from one another in terms of weather, hospitality, and people’s behaviors.
After moving to Windsor, I didn’t feel accepted or so welcomed as I did in Montreal. First of all, I had no family members other than my parents and brother, and I had quite an accent when I spoke English. I felt targeted and singled out by the never-ending question, “Where is your accent from?”.
It made me feel different, like a stranger in someone else’s house; not only did I feel different, but I also started to find out that I was gay, which did not make it any easier to fit in. On the other hand, my parents had their own problems adjusting while my little brother had it easier since he was just a toddler.
Once again, my parents decided to move to a different city and province altogether. At this point, my cousin had come all the way from Colombia with us, which meant me and my brother automatically acquired an older sister. We finally settled in Vancouver, British Columbia, where I started attending high school. I decided to not speak Spanish anymore and to focus on getting rid of my accent; it took most of the High school to talk like a “true Canadian, eh.” Upon graduation, I decided to go to Fashion school, where I met many amazing people who accepted me.
Finally, I started to feel part of something, so I decided to enroll in University to further my education. I started making connections and decided to eventually come out to my parents. It was a long journey of acceptance and trying to be part of something bigger than myself.
I’m proud of my newfound country Canada, because of the culture, diversity, and positivity that people emit; it feels like a home away from home. Canadians stand up for what’s right, respect each other’s differences, and work hard to keep their surroundings clean and safe. Canadians are very friendly and will do anything to help each other out. Now what I think about it, I know the main reason I wanted to live abroad is Canada; I feel thrilled and grateful to live in Canada. Canada feels like home. The most important part of it all is that I finally feel like I belong.
Author: Frank Pacheco Article title: My newcomer journey to Canada URL:https://mdsconsulting.ca/about-us/