Newcomer Stories: First Year

I am thankful that by some great design, our first year in Canada went by unassumingly quiet. It arrived softly in the morning and blended in with the stillness of the night as it left. There was no big hurrah or feast. Just a pat in the back (from me to me) that said "Hey, you made it".

Our first year was not without its challenges. There were many adjustments made with work life, school life, home life. I cannot stress enough that our life is not the same as what we had in South Africa. Canada certainly had its alluring qualities. However, now after a year, it definitely was showing some of its cracks.

But we are not here to differentiate between South Africa and Canada. There are differences, yes. Stark differences. But comparing is not the purpose of why we celebrate our first year. I would then have to throw sticks and stones at both countries that had and has been good to us, which I am not prepared to do.

The other thing, of course, is that if we wanted the same things, we would not have made the move in the first place.

The truth is....I feel glad having lasted a year. I am hopeful that I will get to my second year, and my third, and fourth until I lose count. I feel content enough that we've made the right move. I appreciate what we've accomplished during our first year so far. I look forward to more achievements in later years. I feel blessed that there are still those who continue to pray for us and our success.

You see, there will always be the good and the bad...and in between, is what we make of it.

Here's to my family and may the future shine brighter than ever for us.

Newcomer Stories: On The Other Side Of Fear Lies Freedom

From Pinterest

A few weeks into my new country, one winter day, early in the morning, while waiting for my bus at the bus stop, a young lady approached and chatted me up. At first I was a bit dismissive and aloof. Deep inside though, I was more scared than anything else. My mind was racing and thinking horrible thoughts. What if she was a robber, had a gun, had a knife, etc.? My defences (which were trained in South Africa) came up and I could hear my mind thinking of escape routes.

She smiled all this while and brought out a pamphlet from her bag (which I thought might have been a knife or whatever). And then she proceeded to tell me that she was a Jehovah's Witness and that she just wanted to share some of God's teachings with me. I mean this with no disrespect, but I have never been so happy that somebody told me that they were a Jehovah's Witness until that time. I felt relieved (not because she was a Jehovah's Witness but) because she was not there to harm me.

I suppose more than the teachings she shared, she taught me a more valuable, blatant lesson...That my life in Canada was very different to my life in South Africa. I knew this before but it was never as apparent and clear as day until then. Living in South Africa sure has taught me to be overly cautious and alert...and scared. And I realised that that was not such a life at all. My illusions of being happy in South Africa sorta died a little that day. I would never have had that kind of talk in a bus stop. I would never be caught dead in a bus stop at all. Period.

We discussed the teachings for a short bit while I pondered my newfound realisation of freedom. I must admit I enjoyed speaking with her thoroughly. My bus came and I had to leave, but not after exchanging names and kind words and hopes to maybe cross paths again. She was aptly named Gloria.

Newcomer Stories: Getting Into Catholic Schools

 

One of the biggest worries as a parent when you embark on such a big move across oceans and seas is to make sure that the kids suffer as less as possible.  Regardless of how difficult and chaotic this time can be for you (or me in this case), the kids must never feel too traumatised with the move. In short, their lives must go on.

 

We timed our departure from South Africa to be the month of December because that was when schools closed and we thought it best to let the children finish their respective grades. Around January, after being in Canada for a month, we started looking for schools around the area we lived in.

 

The choice was made easy by the school catchment system applied here in Canada. Basically, each school has a boundary map and if you stay within its boundaries, your child can be enrolled into that school. In Ontario, I found that each area usually had 2 accommodating schools - one public school and one Catholic school. Both types are public schools, funded by the government, except that there is religion teachings in the Catholic schools.

 

As a family, we had decided before landing that we would be enrolling the kids into Catholic schools. We went to a newcomer information centre, where we booked to have assessments done on the kids. Although the kids were allocated to their levels based on their age, the assessment was also  important to assess that the kids would be in the right level. My kids were promoted a grade higher. My younger one would have been grade 4 based on her age, but was put into grade 3 since in South Africa, she had only finished grade 2.

 

We gave in our address and the information centre confirmed the schools that my children were going into. At the school, we went to register the children. Documents that were required for registration were birth certificate, proof of address, immunization record and ID passport. At the elementary school, we also had to produce my youngest's and my baptismal certificates. You see, to attend a Catholic elementary school, it is compulsory for one of the parents of the student to be Catholic and for the student to be baptised in the Catholic faith.

 

For my eldest, who was attending high school (or secondary school as it is called in Canada), all she needed extra was to buy a few sets of school uniforms. Her baptismal certificate was not required as all students were accepted regardless of their faith.

All in all, it was an easy registration for them. I was glad. As a parent, it's always a great feeling to know that with so much uncertainties around us and our situation at that moment in time, something was going right. The kids were all right after all. :-)

VTT - Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe Recap

Before I came to South Africa, I always had this misconception that animals run amok on the streets of Africa. I even envisioned that elephants are the main mode of travel, as opposed to anything with wheels. My logic was that Africa had all these animals in abundance that the best way was to put them to good use.

After 20 years, I have long accepted that this misconception is what it is, a misconception. Until I came to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and Chobe National Park, Botswana. I think pets are classified quite differently in this part of town. Instead of cats and dogs, the streets and hotels of Victoria Falls were filled with small monkeys and babboons and warthogs (or what I happily remind myself as mini-Pumbaa's, haha).

My mental picture of riding elephants was not really far off when we went on an elephant back safari at Victoria Falls.

Come to Africa! Ride some elephants! The myth is true!

We met a "domesticated" cheetah named Sylvester. Well, as domesticated as he is, he was still a wild animal, according to his keeper.

We saw how a herd of elephants crossed the Chobe river and threw mud all over their bodies.

Crossing the Chobe

Mudslinging

Enroute our way back to our hotel at Victoria Falls from our day trip to Chobe National Park, we encountered a lioness crossing the road.



Don't mind me, I'm just crossing the street

Okay, so in South Africa, there are game drives which let you experience seeing all these animals in the wild (much like our game drive in the Chobe National Park recently). But the experience is not quite the same when you realise that you are not in a game drive, you are in the security of a tour bus, and just outside walks a fierce animal, right smack bang in the middle of a town road.

The best I can describe Victoria Falls is basically a semi-urban jungle, where the animals roam free and the tourist beware. Taking nothing away from the main attraction of the waterfalls, it is the best backdrop one could have amidst the wilderness.  I wish I was a bit more adventurous to have tried out the other activities that were being offered at Victoria Falls (i.e. white river rafting, bungee jumping, etc.) It was such a small town but definitely worth the visit.

It is a true African adventure unlike any other.

VTT Postcard - Bela-Bela - Forever Resorts

Hot springs....that's the name of the game when you visit Bela-Bela.

We made our way to a local resort, The Forever Resorts, to get the full hot springs experience. The Resort was situated in the middle of town so was not hard to find.

The children enjoyed the swimming a lot. The hot mineral water just flowed out from pumps. At first, Missy was a bit shy and scared in her Dora bikini, but later on, there was just no stopping her.

Missy and me playing with hot mineral water

Water slides are not for sissies, I tell you. Eldest and hubby tried out a couple of them at the resort. The resort boasts a total of 11 pools and most of them were filled with hot mineral water and so became more enticing to play around in. I even tried my hand at one of the water slides. It felts so refreshing and healing. I don't know what it is that makes us connect warm water and healing powers.

There were other things to do at the resort but as we were a little pressed for time, we only had the chance to prance around in the pools.

We left just after lunch and went onto our next stop.

For more information on The Forever Resorts in Warmbaths, visit their website.

One Small Step Into Emigration

I've never spoken about it before. Not out loud in public anyway. But the time has arrived for me to come clean. I hope that this story will enlighten the burden and clarify some issues for people who are travelling the same path we've undertaken ourselves.

This process has taken me over. Well, at least the last 3 years of my life. Our application is luckier than most. I know of some that have waited or are still waiting for their turn.

Our process started in mid-2009 when we made the decision to emigrate. It was just a conscious decision after accepting that life in South Africa is as it is. I am not an embittered South African. In fact, I am one who will say that South Africa has mostly been good to me. I have my ups and downs with the way of the country but have just realised that the future looks a bit bleak for my offsprings.

I suppose I just did not want to be stuck without a Plan B should anything go wrong.

So Plan B was to immigrate into Canada, which I think as I delved into the application much deeper, it started turning into Plan A.

I have no qualms to announce that after 23 months from the date of application, the Canadian Embassy has finally issued us our immigrant visas.

Our feelings cannot be fully expressed - but a mixture of excitement for the future and a fear of the unknown, all packaged in one, should suffice for now.

Note to readers: I hope to write more about my immigration journey, the ups and downs, tips (if any) in the next blog posts.

VTT Postcard - Cape Town - Intro

Yep! December 2011 marked the month when we eventually went frolicking to South Africa's mother city, Cape Town. It is quite shameful to say that in all our years in South Africa, this was our first visit to the place. But we were not disappointed. Cape Town lived up to its name as a top tourist destination in South Africa.

Cape Town is located in the south-western tip of South Africa. If you were coming from Johannesburg, like we were, it was a good 16 hours of straight driving, one way. Even with hubby and me, alternating on the wheel, we decided that it would be best and safer if we stopped over somewhere and rather just spend 2 days of driving with occasional stops. We were there for a good solid week anyway. And we got to spend New Year's there.

Although Cape Town is one of the big cities in South Africa, it was far removed from the fast-paced life and buzz of Johannesburg. Cape Town had vibe and mellowness at the same time. The beaches and the scenery weren't bad additions to the equation.

In the next few weeks, I'll be showcasing Cape Town in all its glory....well, the ones that we got to see anyway. One week for Cape Town was not enough. I reckon we needed a month to properly take it all in.

I'd like to invite my readers to take this trip with me to the Mother City again, week by week. You never know when you'll get the chance, but it will definitely be on top of your list of future possible destinations if you have not been there yet.

On a convincing last note, recently, Table Mountain was voted as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Table Mountain is a mountain right gobsmacked in the middle of the city, towering over Cape Town. Enticing enough?

My Child Shows Support - RWC 2011

Last Friday marked the start of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. For a lot of our friends in the Philippines, rugby would just mean some sort of superglue. Be assured that in South Africa, rugby is serious business.

Supporters have started the Rugby Friday, where everybody is urged to wear their rugby jerseys, shirts, gears, etc. on Fridays to show their support of the South African team. Most schools and businesses really showed their enthusiasm last Friday at the start of the World Cup. You can see my child as she gears herself with the springbok shirt and waves her small South African flag.

According to Wikipedia, rugby is a style of football originating from Rugby School in the United Kingdom. I personally have not taken a liking to this game and think this sport is too rough as the players do not wear padded sports gear (this way, it is very different from American Football) as they tackle each other on the field.

But the game is definitely big here in South Africa. The South African team, fondly called the Springboks, have been twice World Champions already. Once in 1995 - this epic and symbolic win was depicted in the movie Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman as former President Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, the then winning Captain of the Springbok team.

The Springboks are the current defending World Champion, having won the tournament in 2007. There is high hope that they will win again this year. Go Bokke!

Of course, being a supporter can get really tiring, and so after her big rally, we popped by the local KFC to feed our little big supporter some KFC pops. :-)

Girls Talk - There's A School Upon The Hill...

We have been on school topics for the whole month of June at Girls Talk. This week we are asked to produce and share a class photo. As I have not shared much of my student life here in South Africa, I think this would be as good a post as any to reveal that time in my life.

I will start off by saying that my post title is probably gibberish to most people. But I was just being reminiscent of a school song I once learnt to sing at school halls.

I don't know what it is but everytime I think back on my time at KHS (formerly known as Kaffrarian High School), my mind conjures up a stage set that looks like something from Hogwarts School of Wizardry. I suppose it felt very much like a British way of things. The school was divided in houses (Frere, Milner, Durban, Grey) and we did not call the level of studies as years, but rather, standards at the time. Something like fourth year high school would be Standard 10 or Matric.

My share of photo for this week is that of my Matric class here in South Africa.

I am in the far right, seated.

Notice much? Yes, we are all girls as it was strictly an all-girls school. This was a photo of our section. There were only 2 sections of about 25 students each at that time when we graduated. This was in 1993. The guy in the middle was our class adviser, Mr Kerr, who also happened to be our Accounting teacher. Below is a fun picture we took of all the Matriculants that year.

Me - second from the left, seated

For other class photos, check out Girls Talk!

Nota Bene! For anybody who's interested, herewith the full length version of the school song:

"There's a school upon the hill and our hearts are yearning
To its busy path that leads towards the goal of learning
Many knocks have come our way
In our work and play
Yet with ringing voice we say
Hail to thee, Kaffrarian!
Frere and Milner, Durban, Grey, Kaffrarian!
Animo et fide, Kaffrarian!"

Lunar Eclipse At Our Part Of The World - 15 June 2011

It was quite an event as the whole neighbourhood was out to witness the lunar eclipse last Wednesday, 15 June 2011.

According to the radio, this lunar eclipse was the first of 2011 and was one of the longest eclipse in several years, lasting 108 minutes in totality. The lunar eclipse started from 20h22 and turned red (at its peak) at 22h13. The moon turned back to normal from 0h03 midnight.

Here are some pics taken by my daughter while the whole thing unravelled:



We were quite lucky that although it was chilly and in winter, the skies were clear and the moon was visible that night.

Old Topic Reposted: My Coke Fest 2007 - South Africa

One of my old concert experiences.....It's been more than 4 years ago that I saw these artists but the atmosphere that day has stayed with me. Maybe because it was my first ever "real" concert. The "My Coke Fest 2007" was held at the New Market Racecourse on 27 April 2007. Here's a recap of that day:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Truly spectacular, what can I say??! Okay, so I about 20m from the stage, and the performers are the sizes of giant ants, but the sound and atmosphere were truly amazing.

We arrived for the My Coke Fest 2007 at 10am in the morning. The concert started at about 12pm noon, kicking off with several South African bands, who were also impressive performers. The international bands came on at about 5pm, starting off with Hoobastank. I think they sang about 9 songs, I lost count after the first few that I did not recognise. But I must give credit, the lead singer was adorable to watch on stage, such character!!! You can guess I am not a fan, but they did perform their greatest hit, The Reason, which I sang along to, haha.

Second to come was Staind. I also enjoyed their performance although I think they were a bit too heavy for me. "It’s Been Awhile" and "Outside" were perfect renditions.

Thirdly (this is so like a pun!!!) 3 Doors Down came on. And I must say, they were really the highlight of the concert for me and my husband. I must confess around about this time, I had already lost my voice (some to screaming, most to singing along). I even recorded some of their songs but to my dismay, I found out later that I actually ruined the recording with my offkey voice singing along in the background :-(. What a shame. They sang "Kryptonite", "Let Me Go", "Away From the Sun", "Loser", "Here Without You", "I Can Be Like That", among others. I am definitely a fan from here on out.

Last and top-billing the concert (after Guns and Roses cancelled) was Evanescence. Amy Lee’s voice was astounding. They came on a bit late at 9.30pm and finished 11pm. They performed "Bring Me To Life", "Call Me When You’re Sober", "Good Enough", (and on encore) "My Immortal", and others. Amy Lee was great on the piano and could very well have performed solo and got away with it.

After this liberating 12-hour head-bashing experience, I shall leave you with some words of "wisdom" from one of these exceptional rockbands to hit SA shores:

"I really don’t mind what happens every now and then, as long as you’ll be my friend til the end…If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman? If I’m alive and well, will you be there holding my hand? I’ll keep you by my side with my superhuman mind…Kryptonite, YEEAAAHH!!!"