Welcome to Canada

As leaves start to turn yellow and the chilling wind starts to blow, I write about the first few weeks I spent here in Canada. Consider the entries on vacation mode. Happy reading!



After almost 12 hours of air travel, we finally reached the shores of the True North. The airplane trip wasn't exactly comfortable considering the combination of human smell that I inhaled throughout the flight. It was quite a relief to get off and finally see Vancouver.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. Unlike most vacation trips, we had to go to the immigration office to present our papers as Vancouver was going to be our port of entry. So after getting our bags (or rather 8 balikbayan boxes plus 4 handcarry luggage and 3 laptop bags), we went to the immigration office. It was good that the we took the China Airlines flight as the queue was not long at all. Someone told me that if you took Philippine Airlines to Vancouver, you'd wait three hours in line as all the other airlines would land at the same time at YVR.

Anyway, I thought that the immigration office would be an interrogation room where all questions must be answered in perfect manner and even every bat of an eyelash would count. I guess my imagination brought me too far. We were immediately assisted since we spoke English as the other immigrants needed an interpreter. Instead of the usual - SHOW ME YOUR PAPERS...AND YOUR PASSPORT...AND YOUR DOCUMENTS - reminiscent of your much feared teacher back in grade school who checks your homework and your signed reply slip, the immigration officers were very friendly. What's even great is that you can see multicultural Canada in their faces as besides the Canadian whites, there were also a lot of Asian officers as well.

Needless to say that the immigration process was quite smooth. In a matter of 15 minutes, we were done. The few minutes that we spent there left a good impression on me about Canadians and this point will definitely be reinforced as I go on.

We were picked up by an uncle who has lived in Vancouver for more than thirty years. He gave us a lunch treat and after a bunch of stories exchanged, we headed for the hotel. The moment we got out of the airport, I knew we were not in Kansas anymore (ahem...Manila). We immediately saw a lot of trees and those cute houses you only see in American TV series. We didn't mind opening the windows as the air was fresh and cool. Unfortunately, jet lag took on its toll and as my uncle was orienting us on the different places we pass by, I was already asleep.

The next thing we knew, we were at our uncle's house. We dropped by just to say hello to his family. It was a bit awkward as we've never really met them before since they all grew up in Canada. However, it was still great to know that you have relatives on this other side of the earth. After the usual intros, we headed to our hotel. On our way, I couldn't help but dream about the soft pillows and the warm layers of sheets.

As soon as we arrived in the hotel, in robotic mode, we took on the task of carrying our bags to the hotel room. After this, I immediately took a shower (and oh how good it felt!) and donned my sleeping clothes. As I was about to lie in bed, one of my mom's closest cousins, Tita Salou, suddenly arrived. It was good to see her because while I haven't known her for a very long time as she only spent a few years in Manila, I liked her a lot for her straightforwardness and carefree attitude. So even when my eyes were about to close, I kept myself awake as we had an exchange of two years worth of stories.

Somewhere in our conversation, I told her that I have some friends who are currently based in Vancouver. The next thing I know, she was lending her mobile phone to me so I can setup my meeting with them soon. I tried calling Arika first. Arika was my college classmate and one of my close friends at that time. The moment I said hello, she knew at once that it was me. It's great to know that she never forgot my voice considering that we haven't seen or talked to each other ('coz with YM we're limited to typing). We were both excited to hear from each other again and she insisted on dropping by our hotel later in the evening.

After a couple of hours, I heard a knock on our door. It was Arika! She didn't change a bit except for the few pounds she gained. I gained a few pounds myself so both of us went "safe" by skipping the "you got bigger" line in fear of being "commended" as well for being "extra healthy." She was with her boyfriend whom she introduced to me. Our conversation went on for hours and covered everything that we missed for the past couple of years that we didn't see each other. As they were about to leave, we set a dinner date at this Japanese restaurant. Yup, I was playing the third wheel but I didn't mind as it was surely comforting to find a good friend in a foreign land where you're about to start a new life.

At 10 PM and with very little sleep, it was time to say goodbye. I lay in bed and dreamt of better days to come in our new homeland.

This entry was posted by jigs, on mercredi, septembre 12, 2007. You can leave your response.