My First Impression
about Canada
(draft 2 after 1st correction)
I am still not familiar with too many aspects of life in
Canada, but I would like to share my first impressions about Canada.
I moved to Canada from Ukraine in September of 2015 so I am
still new settler in the country. Here, in Canada, I live in a small village
Burns Lake in beautiful British Columbia with a population of over 2,000
people. Our city is located between two bigger cities Prince George in the East
and Prince Rupert in the West. My husband and I drove through this village from
West to East and from East to West many times, so all my impression are based
on what I saw, heard, read, or was dealing with at that place.
Let’s start!
I was impressed by the huge distances! Travelling 200-300 km
for the local people is like going around the corner. So a car here is a
vehicle and not a luxury, whereas in Ukraine it is still luxury. Also I was
impressed by multiculturalism here and huge number of people of different
nationalities which live peacefully. People are polite, friendly, and tolerant,
so no one criticizes anyone for appearance: piercing, tattoo, green hair….
Nobody cares!
Here there is a well-developed infrastructure for people
with disabilities- from reserved wheelchairs to specially equipped buses. Also
here is a very strong financial support of own community. The different
companies, firms, private people donate money for their local community.
Volunteering is something that exists long time in Canada and many people are
involved on that and do this job with a pleasure, whereas in Ukraine this is at
a primary stage. Here all important documents such as PR Card, driver license,
insurance card and etc. I can receive by mail, what is conveniently and save
our time. I can get any information not
leaving the house and not wasting my time just with a phone call or using
official sites of companies, firms or government departments by internet. I saw
many times as a Hardware store was closed but the fertilizer for flowers, the
soil, the melting salt was seating outside next to the store and nobody was
stealing this. And I thought, probably,
there is not the crime in this area.
Canada has the
imperial system of measurement while in Ukraine there is the metric system. So
when someone does ask me how is my height on feet I say “I don’t know”. If I
have to buy potatoes, for example 10 LB bag, I have to converse to kilograms,
or when I bake I use the conversion table from Celsius to Fahrenheit. The sales taxes on most goods and services
which are not included in prices make me confused. By the way, sales taxes in
British Columbia are 7% PST (Provincial Sales Tax) and 5% GST (Good and
Services Tax) what in total is 12%. In my opinion it is confusing situation,
when I liked a dress by posted price $100, but in total I would pay 12% more
because of taxes. For example, in Ukraine all taxes (20%) already are included
in price and everybody knows how much has to pay without confusion, because the
posted price is final. Here is easy I can return any unsuitable or defective
thing during two minutes without any problem within 14, 30 days or three months
of purchase with original receipt. While in Ukraine it is almost impossible. For returning I have to write an application
addressed to the main manager, explain the reason of returning, and attach a
copy of the passport. Then, after the conclusion of expertise, if I am lucky,
they will return money in three months. Any alcohol in Canada I can buy only in
the specialized shops which controlled by the state. In Ukraine I can buy an
alcohol in any shop. For me was strange
to know, that I don’t have to include in resume any information about my age,
marital status, photo. In Ukraine a situation is opposite. The photo, age, and
marital status are required, otherwise the resume is not acceptable. As I know
here is not the employment history, while in Ukraine it is very important
document.
It seems Halloween is a very popular event
here as New Year or Ester in Ukraine and people spend a lot of money for that.
For example, in Ukraine nobody celebrates Halloween, because it is associated
with monsters. I saw a large number of orthodox churches of different streams.
Even our small village with 2,000 people has approximately 15 churches.
It seems the
traditional Canadian Maple Syrup is in every house like a sushi in Japan or
pasta in Italy. Even I have it! According
my observations all Canadians drink a coffee! And as soon as the break has
begun the most of people go to Tim Hortons to pick up the coffee. I was disappointed when I couldn’t find some
food here which I had in Ukraine and I miss so much: bread, roasted brown
buckwheat, different kind of salty fish, halva, cottage cheese, and whey. Or it
seemed that the name of food was the same, but the quality here is lower.
There are a lot of fat people, especially the young
generation. The weather changes three-four times a day, so very often I can see
people in shorts and flip-flop in the middle of the winter. I feel embarrassed
when person who see me first time ask me:” How are you”? whereas in my country it is not good manner
to ask a stranger that question. Canadians like so much their smaller brothers,
I mean dogs and cats. And I have never seen any homeless or stray animals.
One thing that cannot
be compared with Canada is its nature: endless forests, mighty mountains,
fascinating lakes, and wonderful wildlife.
These were my first impressions about Canada, people,
situations. Some of them are funny, some are interesting, some are sad. But
despite this my main goal here is accept that, take the best of it and become a
part of Canadian society.
