Settlement

I came from South of mainland China in 2014 with my husband and my son. Life in Canada is different from my hometown. I lived in a super busy city before, like crazy busy, people there walk like run, and every bus is full of people, people are everywhere. Now in York Region, we can easily keep social distance from others, and sometimes you can be alone on a bus. So far, we are doing fine about all of the changes here because we know we need to be in this atmosphere here and enjoy it; otherwise, it will be a harmful change for us.

First of all, the language problem is one of the biggest issues for us. In my son's first year in school in Canada, Grade 5 in elementary school, he got concerned about violence with other kids, which we had never heard before. He could not explain; he was so mad and turned red at a kid in front of everyone because the kid shouted right at his ears at school. It almost took a year since he met his second English teacher. He encouraged him to read articles out loud and make friends; even he would be a friend of my son, they get along very well. And my son is going to high school, and he has no problem with his English. My husband and I need to support the family, so we cannot just go to school to learn English and work six days a week because we work in Chinese companies; therefore, we have no chance to speak English.

I remembered that we did not know how to order food in McDonald’s, which we did at least once a week in our hometown. We tried to find ways to create more opportunities to learn and speak English, like LINC or online learning websites. Due to our English level, we have to go to the night or weekend course first, which is not an ideal method for us, we have no time on the traffic and one of us need to stay home with our boy.

Finally, I found some online programs, like online college and LINC Home Study and italki, a website that can let people see a language teacher around the world at a very suitable price. We study every week, talk to the native speakers, and know Canada's culture from them. And I printed out some speaking materials and kept them with me; I read them when I have time, private time, even time in the washroom. Because adult learning is complex, you would not feel pressure when you speak them out with nobody, no comment, no criticizing, just the way you feel comfortable. After that, you get your confidence to pronounce English. You can speak yourself out confidently even you might not know too much English vocabulary. Then you can do more socializing with others in English.

Secondly, you can pack up your stuff and ship it here before moving to a new environment instead of throwing it away or selling it at a low price. For example, I sold my car at a very low price before I moved. I did not realize that I could still keep it and ship it here. Then I do not need to buy another car here. You could rent a storage unit to keep all of the stuff before you have your own place. Then you do not need to buy the new one, but if you want it, you could do that.

Thank you for reading my story; I really appreciate it. I like to share my experience with you as a new immigrant, and my family and I have a new life here and feel happy with each other. I hope that everyone can enjoy their lives and stay active and positive.