The four challenges that I faced when moving to Canada

It is time to go to bed, we have to get up early tomorrow. We had “bandeja paisa” as lunch today and nobody knows how our lunch would be like tomorrow, and the most important, if we would have another “bp” anytime soon. 

Luggages, passports and an empty apartment. I still feel like it was yesterday, that moment facing a few minutes before arriving to the airport. It was time to say goodbye to my uncles, cousins and my closest friends. My hands were shaking due to the excitement and mixed feelings I had, however, I remember looking into the eyes of my parents that were filled  with hope and confidence and I knew this was a good decision, if not, the best that we could ever have made in our lives. And I said to myself  “God never gives us a challenge that we can not overcome, so, here we go.”

I moved to Canada from Colombia with my family four years and a half ago, encouraged by the opportunities that are open to everybody to improve their personal and professional lives. Our parents always wanted for me and my brother to have a broad window to the world and a wider view that a diverse society could offer us to grow up and to learn how to contribute to our new society. 

I have to admit how hard this process has been for me and, the amount of times that I have felt without the enough experiences, so, I’d like to talk about some of my biggest challenges since I moved here. 

#1 Cultural shock

I’ve always been very proud to be Colombian and the culture that I grew up with. But at the same time I was open to learn how to merge into a new culture that I found in my new country. That was always going to make me treasure other peoples ideals and beliefs that made me humble when it came understanding diverse thinking ways. It was very hard at the begging due to the difference that I was facing.

People are constantly used to be surrounded others that maybe don't think the same way but have common attitudes and preferences that allows them to gather easily but, being into a  different land makes it more challenging to overcome invisible barriers. 

Cultural shocking is found as been disoriented with feeling and customs when moving to a new country, and those were some of the feelings I had at the beginning, something deep inside was making me feel that I didn't belong here and that is how commonly people feel when starting a new chapter in their lives. After years of living on  your native country you feel confident when you are with people because the things that they do are usually the same as the one you like to do.

#2 Language barrier

Even though, english is a universal language that is spoken broadly, when you have to communicate you have to know, not only the language itself but the way people locally speak it and the codes of formality and informality.  For other people like me, english was a huge challenge. I realized how important it was for me to know idioms to be able to succeed. ESL is the first steep that a non-native had to enterprise in order to start learning it. 

As a result of my natural worry I really pushed myself into it and I tried to surround myself with people that would speak to me in English all day long. Another important decision that I made was finding a job that would obligate me to start forcing myself to communicate. Work environments are the best options to when is needed to improve your new language. And finally, defining incurs into the academic field has been to me the real environment to master my language skills. 

#3 Traditions

Celebrating important dates is commonly a tradition to share with your closest family and friends, and one of the most difficult challenges that you have to face while being at a different country is to accommodate the situation to different scenarios. 

Every christmas time, New Yeas Eve or Birthday celebration I had to assume spending this holidays missing out best loved ones back home in Colombia.

I remember those days when we used to gather with all my cousins, uncles and grandparents to perform the most traditional dates in Colombia, preparing out favourite traditional meals, listening to out traditional rhythms that remanded us how important family is.

For immigrants the process to settle down is almost always the same but leaving inside a great void. 

#4 The weather

Having just one season per year against four, is like quadruplet your efforts. I was always a fan of the snow whiteness, the beautiful warm colours of the summer, the blossom of the spring and plenty spectrum colours of the fall, but getting used to wearing a heavy coat with tons of layers underneath was a little overwhelming.  However, at the end there is a lot of fun skating, snowboarding, skiing, camping, going to the beach and getting tan in the same scenario. 

Moving to Canada is a daring decision that I’m sure not everybody would make, specially if their lives are comfortable and stable and they have lots of opportunities there, and although my life in Colombia had a higher level of the standard, I feel that I wouldn't have increase the personal enhancement  that I have achieved now. 

As in every life situation, there has to be some difficulties to learn appreciate and fight with consistency for what is important in life. People that decide to get rid of material possessions, learn the importance of what really matters in life, which is personal growing, professional accomplishments and pride of the efforts.  I can guarantee that the personal gratification of having done the right things would give anyone the satisfaction and enough strength to succeed. 

So, having commented on my personal experience, would you accept the challenge to move to another county to persuade your goals?