Canada isn't for everyone and it's okay

Hello from the other side,

The other side being Canada...brrrr.

I have been here for two weeks now and for those of you wondering, no, this doesn't make me an expert on the subject matter.

But as a widely astute, frequently objective and overall adventurous person, I would have you know that even though I had my papers in my hand and a flight ticket, I was ready to bail if I did not like Canada.

Was it everything I thought it would be?

YES!

Canada is as cold as they say it is. And if you suck at adapting, it is so not the place for you. I count myself lucky that my city isn't as icy as some others (For example: Toronto, Montreal and Yellowknife). However, it is still cold. I was born and raised in a tropical country. Cold for us is maybe 16 degrees. But cold in my city is in the negatives. It was -7 degrees the other day.

The cold is really the only downside to me. In my first few days, I had no boots or any kind of winter shoes so I wore my Nike sneakers ragged. They got wet and soggy a lot and I can tell you that the cold penetrating your feet is not fun. In fact after one particular trek in the snow, I went on Kijiji to hunt snow boots immediately. I cannot come on die.

Canadians are also extremely warm and conversational. I believe that a Canadian can strike a conversation with anyone. My taxi drivers would often just make small talk throughout taxi rides. Strangers on buses, and at bus stops would just start talking to you about the weather or news. The old lady in front of me on the queue at Walmart would just start making small talk too. Man, it was headachey at first. But now, I find myself doing it too.

Their warmth is actually genuine and not just because they're trying to make you feel welcome. I have had several bus drivers and strangers help me out with directions just from looking at my 'lost' face. I had been trying to put on a brave face and not act 'NEW' so I refused to ask for directions. Shame on me!

Canadians are polite as heck. They take their please and thank yous pretty seriously. The other day I went to get a SIM card from the mall with a Nigerian friend. As the attendant was talking to us, said friend gave a typically Nigerian gesture that meant 'rubbish'. Ah! the attendant politely told him "I'm sorry sir but I find your gesture rude. I was simply trying to explain our plans to you". Wow. I felt so ashamed. But I also remember thinking 'You go guy!'. No one has the right to talk down to you just because you're attending to them.

Canadians are open-minded. If their legalization of Cannabis wasn't clue enough, their general laid-back attitude to life should hint on their open mindedness. They hate derogatory speech. They're cool with not getting married and you'd find a lot of people simply just living together (I can imagine Nigerian mothers exclaiming 'God Forbid' right now). They have no airs (at least from what I've observed). I have a male colleague with tattoos and piercings. Yup, in a corporate role. They are waging a war against discrimination at the workplace and winning so far.

They have so many other great things going for them as well which I've heard from colleagues. One of my colleagues is just getting ready to go on her one year maternity leave. Crazy!. I also heard that they usually employ temps to replace the mother until her return.

Now if Canada is so great, why am I saying it isn't for everyone?

• Well, if you're a single pringle like me (Yes, single until married), the loneliness will get to you. My first few days were brutal (by my standards). I missed home so bad and I didn't have any friends in the new city. I saw people walking in groups and pairs a lot, almost like they emigrated with their families and posses. I remember feeling like Abraham for a second. But even he had Sarah.
• If you're not okay with your own company, the loneliness will get to you more. I've never minded my own company. Netflix is my current best friend. I just started watching 'The House on Haunted Hill' and am currently thinking of subscribing to Freeform as well. But if you're the party animal..meh, I don't know if Canada would be a good fit. Everyone is so chill and laid back. There's a pub just around my house and apart from the lumberjacks, I hardly see anyone there. I also just found out we have a 'gentlemen's club' in town (haha!). That shocked me. Who knew my town folk had THAT side to them?
• If you don't have money and aren't willing to scrimp, again, Canada is not for you. For those of us who are unfamiliar with functional economies and systems, they exist. And they are funded by money...your money. Hence, bills. There are a lot of those in Canada. Cell Phone plans, Wifi, bus passes, taxi fares, rent, insurance, license, food, etc. So if you're not ready to either pay these bills or scrimp (i.e manage without some of these luxuries till you can afford them), you may not find life in Canada so accommodating.
• If you are a rule breaker, you may not like Canada. Canada isn't exactly crime free but the incidents are low. We had a robbery a few days back in which the culprits were apprehended. It made the news headlines for days unending. However a typical headline would be 'Billboard on Conception Bay of man professing love to Sonia' or 'Pool proposal for Corner brook is under evaluation'. That's a great news day in my opinion when there's hardly any bad news to report. Recycling is major here as well and traffic laws are held to the highest regard. You also can't just download off any site you please. We definitely can't bring our culture of cutting corners, copyright infringement and rule-breaking here. It won't work!

So far I have no regrets despite the cold. 

I also have a lot more to report but this is already too long. Until next time when I'm not freezing my butt off...Toodles!