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My post landing experience

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My post landing experience of Canada
By:

Friends,
This is my first message on my post landing experience in Toronto last month. The last 4 weeks have been full of surprises and I’d like to share some of my 2 cents from a different perspective.

The first big surprise was at the first immigration counter when the immigration officer said to me “Welcome to Canada, your new home..eh”. I cannot describe the feeling, every country that I have been to in the past I was asked at the immigration “When do you plan to leave?” The next immigration officer turned out to be a lady of indian origin, she took my picture for PR and did not even bother to check my landing funds, even when I insisted on showing ( I spent $10 in getting the drafts made and no one even looked at it )Then I was given a welcome package with vital info for new immigrants. This booklet holds info on the wealth of resources in local areas in Canada. Every resource listed in this booklet should be explored, to my surprise I found many new immigrants giving up too soon on the resources mentioned. The whole process from stepping out of aircraft to clearing customs took not more than 40 minutes.
Outside the airport I was greeted by one of the coldest days of the season with -31C and winds. I was happy I landed on the coldest day because every other days seemed like spring even it was -5 outside.

The next day after applying for my SIN card I attended a seminar in a nearby new comer information center (NIC). There were about 20-25 other new immigrants at this seminar and it gave a wealth of info for a new comer ranging from local info on GTA to how to prepare and look for jobs. These NIC’s also have one on one counselors to help every new comer target the jobs in his own field. Like NICs, there are many such centers and organizations all across canada and what surprised me that how much the Govt is doing to help the new immigrants settle in and get into the mainstream. In the 4 other countries where I have lived and worked before no such help was available, I had to struggle and find out things by myself.
We formed a group of 8-10 new immigrants when we met at NIC and it proved to be a great support structure, to be able to share your experiences and views with people in similar situations is a great help in itself. I took every opportunity to talk to every desi or immigrant I came across at bus stops at trains etc, getting different perspectives was a great learning experience in itself.

I’d like to differ with those who present a very negative image and say that only labor jobs are given to desis. I found a few major trends in immigrants which I feel is also contributing to the miseries of new immigrants. I may be wrong but the general trends which I was was quite disturbing
1. Many desis try to land a job as soon as possible within the first 2 weeks. $1=Rs30 factor and also the fear of spending from the settlement funds drives this trend but I’d suggest if one has to do labor jobs, do it after 3-4 months when one has tried every other avenue to get a break in their own field. Also many come with families and kids which will make things even worse in the beginning. Unless one is very well funded bringing families should be a big NO NO.
2. Many desis try to in the comfort zone of GTA. GTA is an industrial area Esp mississauga and west and most employment agencies there will give only labor and factory jobs, even if you hold an MBBS. I met very well qualified people doing labor jobs and were feeling happy that they are earning more than what they did in india. I was stupefied by one guy(B.E, MBA) who said he is doing day and night shifts at a factory just to accumulate 900 hours so that he can get unemployment insurance from the govt.
I don’t blame the govt. of canada for his miseries, if that is what his goals are then that is what he will get. Many of us don’t aim high enough.
We all have to struggle. the choice of where to struggle is ours. Whether to struggle really hard to re-qualify( if needed) and get into our own field or to keep struggling in menial jobs. The choice is really ours.

3. Not many desis make use of the Co-op and other employment programs offered by the govt. The down side of these programs is that one does not get paid for 5-6 months while one gets to work in firms in ones own field. 85% of those who participate in these programs get gainfully employed. Also,not many desis join french courses. I am not sure of the details, but I am told Govt of Quebec gives $500 a month to everyone who enrolls for a french learning class. A family of 4 grown ups could make $2000 a month for just attending french classes everyday for 4 hrs a day!! And one could then do other jobs as well to support. What do we gain by learning french? A whole new world of govt jobs will open to us besides the money and knowledge of another language. Think about it. It will take time but all good things take time.

4. Lastly and most importantly all new desis must work on communication and presentation before coming. That is the key for everything in Canada. I met a senior college prof from India with a PhD, he was complaining about lack of jobs. There are indians in senior positions in Canadian universities with less qualifications than him but what was the difference. The difference I felt was that this person despite his qualification could not even pronounce his name right “Sassi Kumar” for Shashi Kumar in a bihari/UP accent. No offence to Bihari’s please, I am a bihari too. To top it off he had strong sented “chameli ka tel” and drooping 70’s moustache … I wonder how could he clear any interview.

There are plenty of opportunities in Canada. To get to those we have to work hard to get local licencures and qualifications and canadianize ourselves with a positive outlook. And jobs and opportunities will follow in with time. Otherwise we will just working hard on menial jobs with no hopes for future.
There are very few places in the world which offer so many opportunities to new immigrants to settle down, we need find out about them to make full use of it to succeed.

Gook luck to all.

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reachme
Member since: Feb 04

Posts: 63
Location: Bangalore, India
Post ID: #PID

Posted on: 09-02-04 23:56:55

Seriously, I think I know where people come from when they want to see good stuff and hear good things about canada. These are people(like myself) who have decided to move to canada and are seeking some kind of reassurance that we havent made the wrong decision. :-)
That said, it is actually very useful to see the various points of view and experiences to know what to expect and how to handle it.
I think, jake,chandresh, biomed and Mishtar India have given me valuable input on the different facets of life in Canada to help me not give up completely on the idea of moving to canada nor be overly enthusiastic about it either.
Just knowing all of you are taking time off and helping people like us actually makes this worthwhile. Thanks!!!

BlueLobster
Member since: Oct 02

Posts: 3409
Location: Mississauga
Post ID: #PID

Posted on: 10-02-04 09:16:16

Mishtar,

Welcome to Canada, bud. Good to know that your experiences so far have been very positive and hope that continues, especially on the career front. Keep us posted.

The Canada good / Canada bad debate rages on in the meantime. And the winner obviously is perspective.

I have one question for HARJIT6244 though. Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm genuinly curious. You came here once from Singapore (which sounds like some sort of heaven the way you guys describe it). You stayed here 6 mos. without any luck and went back. Why in the world would you try coming back here if things are so good in S'pore? Why?

Does it mean anything that all the naysayers are writing from within Canada even though they all know that if they really really wanted to, they could move?

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jake3d
Member since: Sep 03

Posts: 2962
Location: Montreal
Post ID: #PID

Posted on: 10-02-04 11:18:04

Quote:
Orginally posted by reachme
I think, jake,chandresh, biomed and Mishtar India have given me valuable input on the different facets of life in Canada to help me not give up completely on the idea of moving to canada nor be overly enthusiastic about it either.
Just knowing all of you are taking time off and helping people like us actually makes this worthwhile. Thanks!!!

Reachme...in my opinion that is exactly what people should get from this site. Hope we have more of these debates where people can make their own conclussions based on differing perspectives.

I hope more people add their views too... does not matter how it is

. If it is positive, I think it would help others if it contains personal experiences like Mr India posted and not just textbook quotes about positive thinking.

I think this thread is a good read for any newcomer or potential immigrant. It encompasses quite a few perspectives already.

Like BL (welcome back

..nice to see you here again) so eloquently put it
"And the winner obviously is perspective".

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Mishtar India
Member since: Nov 03

Posts: 668
Location: Toronto
Post ID: #PID

Posted on: 10-02-04 14:12:22

Friends,
Maybe my perspective is wrong and maybe Chandresh is right.....but i find it impossible to agree with him with what he has written so far.

I may be new to Canada and probably much younger in age but I have also spent past 10 years overseas and last 4 years in New york, i made my decision to move to Canada after assessing things first hand during my numerous visits and i am happy to be be here. What the future holds for me only time will tell, but what ever it holds I am prepared to make the best of what I get and not spoil my present by regretting and remembering my past.

Chandresh's views are very important for people to know but the fact is that there is a huge number of very happy and successful people of indian origin who cherish their being in Canada. I happened to attend 2 big gatherings in the last 2 weeks, one for the republic day celebration and a private indian wedding of my friend. I was proud to meet many indians in high places in corporate sectors, in businesses and also some in good Govt positions also, and when I told them I am new to canada , NONE of them were discouraging and had great things to say about moving to canada . Yes, they were talking about the same Canada which some on this forum call "gallows". The difference is in the perspective.

Unfortunately, those successful people do not come on this forum , but believe me there are many happy indians out there. My own relatives and friends and even my former boss, all came in late 30's early 40's age and all have settled well in the mainstream. Did they face hard times in the beginning? ABSOLUTELY they did .... but they took it in the stride and dont cry about it. Life is not perfect anywhere....neither are we. To be happy, we have to accept what we have and enjoy it , and not cry about what we do not have.

The day to day "factual situations" which have been posted in earleir posts are lopsided. While it is true that you can keep standing for 30 minutes in remote bus stand in cold winter, it is also true the the transit authority offers a service that you can call and get the exact time of bus arrival at that stop, so that you dont have to stand in cold for long. try calling DTC in delhi for that , and try riding a DTC bus or a central line train in mumbai !!! the list can go on and on ....

and it is also a fact which i know for sure that there are millions of more qualified and capable people than me in india who who would do anything to be in my position. I feel blessed to get the exposure and the opportunity which i have got and I want to enjoy and make the best of whatever comes by my way .....life is too short to enjoy to the fullest , why waste it in complanining about small things.

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jake3d
Member since: Sep 03

Posts: 2962
Location: Montreal
Post ID: #PID

Posted on: 10-02-04 14:58:22

Since there is a chance that people will read this thread more than the others. My opinion on the oft criticised medical system ( especially because it was mentioned in this thread). These are my personal experiences. I'd also like to mention that back in India I have been treated only at the best of hospitals like Jaslok and have always been treated by specialists from the same.

1) After around 3 months of landing in TO...my wife had a medical emergency. She was admitted and was in surgery immediately and physically recovered within a cpl of days. I did not have to bear a single expense.
2)My first child was born in TO. Again we have nothing but prise for our experience. Right from the prenatal classes(free if i remember correctly), which the two of us attended, to the delivery. Luckily for us the teacher from the class was also the attending nurse at the time of delivery. Again not a single penny from my pocket. Of course, we all pay taxes for the service..thats not the point here.
3) Second child in Montreal. This time the service was even better than before. We had sessions, after the childbirth where we were even told of the proper procedure to breastfeed the child. The nurse actually told us what was being done right and wrong. The point again is I was very happy with all the attention given to us.No money from my pocket (except for the private room..my company pays)
4) At the age of 4 months my son had to be rushed to the hospital. He was immediately forwarded to the emergency and admitted. There were atleast 40 others in the emergency. More on that in the next point
5) My daughter complained of stomach ache and I took her to the same place. I had a 12 hr wait during which my daughter miraculously recovered . It was tiring to wait, however I knew due to point #4 that the triage nurses deal with patients depending on their seriousness.
6) My children frequently get ear infections and other cold related problems. They get to see the doctor the day we call(we wait for a cpl of days before calling). No money from my pocket.
7) My kids aged 3 and 6 get dental check ups every 6 months. The dentist calls us to set up the appointment for the whole family. My daughters fondness for fruit juice even resulted in steel caps for a few of her teeth...all taken care of at no cost to us. She started public school only last sept and already she has had 3 visits by a dental hygenist with charts of her progress.
8) I broke my hand last summer. Was out of the emergency with a cast an all in 5 hrs..had to wait for about 3 hrs..but again...i could see that others needed more immediate attention. Also had biweekly checkups by the specialist . Physiotheraphy 2 times a week(if i remember correctly) until the theraphist was happy with the progress. This lasted for a cpl of months. My expenses...nil (except for some prescription drugs...paid for by my company).

All this to say that if you really need medical intervention...it is available depending on the seriousness. There are problems of course, it is not a perfect system. Tell me when you find one. Maybe the situation in TO is worse than in Montreal due to the strain on the resources there. However, when I first moved to Montreal I used to think that the system here is less efficient than the one in TO.

Just thought that I would mention my experiences with the medical system too so that people have the benefit of knowing about the same...if they need to.

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Maharaj
Member since: Oct 02

Posts: 1721
Location: Brampton
Post ID: #PID

Posted on: 10-02-04 17:47:21

Quote:
Orginally posted by Mishtar India

try calling DTC in delhi for that , and try riding a DTC bus or a central line train in mumbai !!! the list can go on and on ...

But I still LOVE it. I can't ride that 8.13 train again but I cherish those moments.

I think what Mr India is trying to say that ... resources are available and we must use it. We Desis are not used to avail Government resources, we don't believe in them.

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Mumbai Maazi Ladki ...

Mishtar India
Member since: Nov 03

Posts: 668
Location: Toronto
Post ID: #PID

Posted on: 10-02-04 19:03:33

I agree Maharaj,
those memories are golden.....despite the hardships there I miss my commute as well in delhi and in bombay ...we had perfected the art of getting in and out of moving trains and buses..esp route 512 in delhi on which i rided mostly hanging at the back ladder!!

In a way it is good that we had those experiences..so we can value the better things that we get in life...

" Hazaaron khahishen aisee ke har khahish pe dum niklay...bade niklay mere armaan phir bhi kam niklay"

:-)

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What can be imagined, can be achieved.

Contributors: jake3d(22) Mishtar India(22) biomed(13) BlueLobster(8) Maharaj(6) Chris(5) sanjeevm(4) reachme(3) vijeshjain(3) chandresh(3) sunilshr(3) Tuk Tuk(3) bharat.sharma(2) kjyoti26(2) hestonuk(2) DesiTiger(2) abisangi(2) Manan Gupta(2) AnilKG(1) parmarkn(1) HARJIT6244(1) riiishi(1) NorthAlberta(1) anujark(1) Vel1(1) deepcb(1) Kap(1) amitbakhshi(1) SUDHISH(1) mslall(1) erebello(1) bumbaya(1) smiss(1) nishitno1(1) ayaskant(1) Manjeet(1) xxx(1) peacock1(1)

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