Settlement

I had some knowledge about Canada before I moved here as I had been interested in geography and cultures when I was a child. And also, I received some college invitations from Canada the year that I graduated from high school. Fortune is really funny because it took me here.

Even though I had some information about this country, I still had no idea how the life and the people would be. I flew by Air Canada in 2014 and the airlines didn’t make a good impression on me. They weren't very polite or friendly to everyone as I expected from the book I had read about Canada. But, when I landed at Pearson Airport, everything was interesting, including the people, weather, food, stores, life styles, etc.

I have lived in North Bay, since the day I moved to Canada. People here are very nice to me all the time. I feel warmth everywhere I go.

As for the climate, it wasn't that big of a deal because Mongolia has four seasons, plus it has a really harsh winter. So, the cold winter didn't bother me at all. And, Western food always tasted similar to each other for me. Burgers, pastas, pizzas, chicken wings, french fries, sandwiches, steaks, etc. And mostly grilled meat or some Italian menus. But the taste of Canadian poutine and real Canadian maple syrup left me speechless. They are delicious. I'll never get bored of poutine.

Work, however, was very different from back home. In Mongolia, colleagues are very close to each other. We have our lunch together, spend time together and find our lifelong friends in our workplaces. Maybe some places are different but I have worked at only one place in Canada, which was a mining company. There, people had their lunch separately, didn't spend much time together and none of them looked like they were friends. That was very surprising and a little bit disappointing to me.

Unfortunately, my first impression at a hospital was not that great. The first doctor that I encountered wasn’t happy that I didn’t have OHIP yet. I only had private insurance. I paid $300 to see him and he was very rude and didn’t seem happy to deal with me at all. In all honesty, I think he may have been racist.

I was surprised, but after that, I saw more doctors, still had no OHIP card, paid the service fee and never had any more bad experiences. So, the first doctor could have been very stressed from his shift. Who knows?

Also, having a baby here in Canada was blessed. Back home, husbands can't join their wives in the delivery and can't see their kids at the very first minute of their birth. They call it protecting new babies and moms from illness or a new bacterium.

So, some things are similar and some are not, but I enjoy living in Canada.