Settlement

Which word could precisely describe my feeling when I restart a new life in Canada? Happy? Excited? Disappointment? Apprehension? Fear? Panicked? Bored? Surprise? None of them. It is a kind of complicated feeling made of all these emotions together. Every immigrant family has its own story. My story begins with my son’s primary school life.

My family lived in an eastern coastal metropolitan of China before we moved to Canada. I have to say, this city is a good place to live and work. As soon as my son was born, he immediately became the center of my family. I originally planned to stay in the city until retirement. But things changed when my son went to school. He was not happy in school. The school puts too much emphasis on discipline and obedience, which is not compatible with our idea of education. Furthermore, my son was too naughty to comply with the teachers. After thorough consideration, we decided to try to move to Canada, where my brother-in-law had settled down. It’s a big challenge for all my family members. We have to give up many things and hopefully can conquer many difficulties to start a new life. After almost two years of tedious preparation and anxious waiting, at last, we came to the beautiful ‘forest city’, London.

The new life is good in London. My son is the happiest one. He loves his new school very much. There is not much homework, no daily or weekly tests. It seems the classroom is like a playground. Although his poor English was far from adequate to deal with his study in the first several months, he didn’t worry about it at all, which worried his parents instead. It’s a great relief that his language has improved so quickly that he can handle his class now, while his parents are still struggling with English study.

The most satisfactory thing is the comfortable weather in summer. Although, the winter was surprisingly long since it snowed even in the middle of May. And the spring was very short. This summer is amazingly cool and comfortable with only several hot days above 35 degrees, compared to the lasting hot summer of more than 50 hot days in Shanghai. We all love this cool summer. I have no experience of cold winters in London. I heard that the lowest temperature will be under -30 degrees Celsius, and the winter will begin in mid-November. It means almost half a year's winter. We are all curiously expecting to see what a Canadian winter will be like.

Although I have prepared much mentally for the new life in Canada, it is a different experience to live here. There are no huge buildings, no skyscrapers, no crowded streets, shopping malls and restaurants, and no one is in a hurry. Everybody is enjoying his slow life, which is quite different from my crowded home city.

We still have many things to feel, understand, and learn. We hopefully mingle with the local people, immerse into the culture of diversity, and be a host, not just a guest.