Land of Milk and Honey

Alan Saldanha

I used to dream about snow flakes wafting gently against a backdrop of leafless trees in winter, about Christmas trees bedecked with brightly colored lights, and about a lone orange beacon from the facade of a tall, glassy skyscraper mirroring the setting sun.

Such were my visions of Canada before I landed here with my family in 1998.

I knew that Canadians were kind and courteous and hence I conjured up images of their nods and smiles in my direction, accompanied by a sing-song ``Good day!" as they passed me on sidewalks strewn with autumn leaves.

But a few months after landing in Canada, the milk-white snow I had dreamed about turned to a paler shade of gray. The glimmering lights of impressive skyscrapers in downtown Vancouver represented offices where other people held decent jobs. I was disappointed and felt like a plant of paddy rice in a wheat field.

During that initial period when I was trying to secure employment, I found myself wed to a constant feeling of queasiness. Sure enough, Canadians on the street smiled at me and wished me well. But I was too embedded in my thoughts, mainly revolving around making ends meet.

In course of time, however, things changed for the better. When I now reflect on what transpired then, I would say they were teething problems. Most immigrants go through the mill. It is not a pleasant feeling, but it is certainly a good way to learn about life in Canada firsthand.

New immigrants to Canada react with discomfiture and sometimes even defend the system that they got away from. They heap lavish praise on the very things they once denounced: The crowds they brushed shoulders with now represent human warmth; the noise and the cacophony of traffic in Asian cities is interpreted as music to their ears. They miss those sounds. But they still denounce the squalor and corruption of the Third World.

When confronted with the harsh reality of life and unfamiliar conditions in Canada, they wince and whine. But those who survive the first two-to-three years of hiccups after landing in Canada manage to go through the motions of life with some degree of acceptance. But if the discomfiture of trying to acclimatize is unending, then it is time to re-orient and remind oneself, ``This is for the children."

For a new immigrant to complain about the conditions after arriving in Canada is as natural as a bird struggling to take flight for the first time. With conditions diametrically opposite to the world they came from, it comes as an odd revelation that there are queues not to break and courtesies to be adopted. But at the end of the day the system prevails.

Stress for the Indian immigrant in Canada is different: It is mostly borne out of financial insecurity. Immigrants are often concerned that if something were to go terribly wrong with their finances, they would be washed away without a trace.

However, let's consider a few of Canada's pluses: It has the ninth-largest economy in the world and is also considered to be the ninth best country in the world in which to do business. Some people call Canada a welfare state; others say it utilizes a form of Socialism. There are many good things about living in Canada and they easily out shadow the perceived negatives.

Call it what you may, the bottom line is that Canada cares for its people and the government ― however goofy it may appear at times ― works.

The author is an Indo-Canadian freelance writer and was editor of the ``Daywatch'' newspaper from 2006 to 2007. He's now semi-retired at the age of 61, and lives in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, and can be reached at alansdaywatch@gmail.com.