Settlement

Our family landed in Toronto and settled down in Moncton, New-Brunswick province in March 2016. And in October 2017 we moved to Guelph, Ontario province. After 3 years living in Canada, I want to share some information and my feelings about Canada.

The people

The local Canadians are very, very friendly and kind. They are willing to help others who they think need help. I’d like to share two stories that makes me truly grateful. Especially when we came to a new place that is totally strange.

Story 1

After we settled down, we wanted to buy a second hand bicycle for my son. After reading ads on “Kijiji” and making an appointment with the seller, we drove to him. During the conversation he got to know that we were newcomers. At last, when we paid him for the bicycle, he said: "It is free, because you are newcomers." After realizing my son didn’t have a helmet, he went back to the garage to find a helmet for my son. He informed me that the helmet was his son’s.

Story 2

After we moved to our new house, it was about the late spring and beginning summer of 2016. The grass on my lawn had grown very long, it needed to be cut immediately. I had no experience of taking care of lawn and no tools to work with. My neighbor, who is a native guy, noticed me when I got rid of the dried grass in my lawn. He then walked to me with his lawn mower and showed me how to use it. Until I got my own lawn mower, I kept using my neighbor’s for a long time.

These people made me grateful of how wonderful Canada was and helped me learn to support others who are in difficulties or need help.

The School

In Canada, there is “English Language Study Aid Program” in elementary schools that aims to help the new students to improve their English. On my son’s first day of school, I questioned him, ”How was your first day of school in Canada?” He simply replied with, ”It was very interesting!” He mentioned that there were special programs for immigrants that the teachers ran language programs where they would learn English by playing educational apps that are amusing to children. This makes children learn English easily and interestingly. I thought to myself, ”In China, they would have just let my son remember words and write them over and over again. Why is Canada so unique?”

Another fact about helping immigrant kids adapting rapidly to Canada is schools and teachers paying much attention to them. The teachers would put an old student who is the same race as the newcomer and let them sit together. The old student masters both English and the native language, acting as an interpreter and a partner. The new kids will feel much better in a strange environment and learn much faster. The teacher would give parents information about the children’ study and life in school periodically. I was astonished by how much attention the teachers have paid to my son. In the next few days, the teacher informed me that my son made an abundance of amazing progress!