Is Canada the right place for you?
By chandresh

Having been in Canada for almost 3 yrs now, I have
seen frustations of many a people, Desi or
firangi, professional or graduate only, north or
south Indian etc. etc.

The whole things boils down to two things - what
did you expect from Canada, and how did you plan
to achieve it. And based on these 2 things, the
final thing is - what are you willing to do after
having come here. People have different reasons,
different backgrounds, and definitely, different
expectations!

Having moved to different countries five times ,
and having travelled to a dozen or so countries
around the globe before coming to Canada, initial
settling down procedures was a breeze for us -
whether it be SIN, or drivers test or finding our
way around thru bus, subway or even rental cars.
What was really difficult was - finding a suitable
occupation. And the reason was - what was
recognised by the Immigration dept as good
qualification or experience to settle down in
Canada and help it grow, was not good enough for
Canadian employers.

Well, I DON'T THINK EMPLOYERS ARE WRONG when they
require you to have Canadian experience - by that
they do not mean whether or not you have the
technical knowledge required in Canada; they mean
more of social skills and learning the silly ways
of doing things in Canada. You have to realize
that though you might have more knowledge or
experience to do things in a better manner, what
counts is "are you able to do it in as silly a
manner as we do it and as we understand it?" And
therefore they need people with Canadian
experience - so that they speak the same language
as Canadians, they understand that your food might
have basmati rice, but it smells to them, that you
might be ready to go out of your way to achieve
results in time or help a colleague in his work,
but you should not do so - because emotions and
human bondage is not a way of life in Canada.

We all know that:
1. the medical help is absolutely lousy here
2. the education system is plagued by govt.'s lack
of funding and laws of "untouchability", work to
rule, etc. etc.
3. the racism is clearly and bluntly evident
4. corruption is of no less order than in India
5. family values have very very low priority in
Canadian culture
6. temperatures are extreme here
7. crime is quite common here
8. cost of living compared to gross salaries is
very high
9. taxes are one of the highest (or highest??) in
the world
10. etc. etc. etc. etc. ............

and so there is no use discussing the obvious and
rhetoric.

After almost three years here, my conclusion is
that Canada is in need of coloured labour force
who can do the dirty work for the "earlier white
immigrants" (they THINK they are Canadians, and we
are immigrants!), and not for anyone who has/ had
(in India or anywhere outside of Canada):

a. a professional qualification, or
b. good work experience at supervisory level or
higher
c. a car
d. a house or aparment in a small/big city
e. children attending school
f. a social status, networking,
g. a place to call home!

THE DECISION TO TAKE IS:
i) are you dissatisfied to the extent you can't
help but keep complaining?
ii) are you not getting what you had dreamt of a
life in Canada?

THEN WHY DON'T YOU GO BACK? All the reasons you
might give (social face saving, children's
education, no immediate job back home etc.etc.)
are just excuses. Once you are sure you are not
getting what you expected, and you can't change
the Canadians, do yourself a favour - GO BACK, and
tell your friends not to make such mistakes as you
did.

Before I voluntarily resigned, till yesterday I
had a job of a senior manager in a manufacturing
company in toronto, with good prospects of rising
in the organisation and getting reasonable
financial rewards to lead a comfortable life with
remuneration of my wife as a teacher in York
School Board - but I have had enough of it - I DO
NOT WANT TO CHANGE MY NAME FROM CHANDRESH TO
CHARLES - AND MY WIFE DOES NOT LIKE SENDING A
CHILD TO SOCIAL WORKER WITHOUT FIRST TRYING TO
SORT OUT PROBLEMS WITH THE CHILD AND HIS FAMILY
AND SHOWING THAT SHE REALLY CARES and next month
I am leaving this country - even without getting
citizenship - BECAUSE THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF LIFE
I WANT!

LEARN ONE THING FROM CANADIANS - IF YOU DON'T LIKE
IT, YOU DONT HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT!

There is nice quote by Eric Hoffer - "Every new adjustment is a crisis in self-esteem."

Those who constantly adjust to everchanging conditions of life, come out victorious, always. Such people manage to keep high morale and self esteem, despite the ongoing adversities of life.

I see Chandresh as one such victorious person, who is contantly adjusting to the new conditions.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
What can be imagined, can be achieved.

originally written by CHANDRESH


You call it JUST? Something that prompts millions of people around the world to stand and queue for years to be able to come over to Canada is JUST? It is like saying that a really efficient CEO of big organisation who does not keep a single paper on his desk because he is able to dispose them off by quick decision making, JUST signs the papers and cheques and only talk to guests, does not do anything (Likeactually making the budgets, or writing the account books or stand on the shopfloor to produce something - he JUST signs some papers) ? My god, such people run the whole organisation and grow it to be able to give employement to thousands of people who learned 2+2 when they were in SKG

I do not agree with the concept many Indians have about schooling in Canada. In my view there is a difference between education and schooling (or academic studies). What we are taught in schools in India is pure theory - let's be frank, how many of us actually understand the practical and real aspects of that theory that we are taught?

Four years ago, my son came to me and put forward a question:

'you want to decorate your house and doing up your living room and bedroom, want to use diffused lighting. Give suggestions how you would do it '

Well I had studied in theory everything in light in physics in my school days, and infact got very good marks on that topic, but it took me more than an hour just to think what kind of advice should I give him. this involved types of bulbs, types of shades, top lighting, bottom lighting, surface of walls, finishing of ceiling, colour of walls (how they will absorb or reflect light), fabric of furniture etc. etc. etc. What I mean to say is, such a question make me THINK and apply logic, which I could do with my experience from age, but in my school with my academic studies, I would have neither been asked to do, nor i could have the capacity to rack my brains for such things.

Similary, two years ago, my daughter came to me with a project to build a bridge with McDonalds straws and metal pins. It was very easy to make a bridge - but what was tricky was HOW MUCH WEIGHT WILL THAT BRIDGE HOLD. There had to be a balance between the materials used, length of the bridge, its height and then finally strength to hold weight. It took us four days to do one - and imagine, the bridge she made with her friend in school turned out to be better than what we (my wife and I ) build for her with our logic. We seemed to know theory better than her, but could we translate into practical world - not well enough!!

Today, my son is doing a History project and his topic is Abraham Lincoln. He is researching almost all things available for that guy, his growth, his ideologies, how it affected the citizens, his words and what that meant etc. etc. Did we do such things for Ashok, or Chandragupta Maurya, or Aurangzeb, or even Mahatma Gandhi?? The education he will get from the project will help him a lot in shaping his own life and thinking - rather than just 'ratoing' what Ashok did, or in which years did Mughal rule and fought wars - without ever understanding the inner aspects of those wars, their contribution to the society and how they changed or formed a nation.

Yes, initially I was shocked when I saw my daughter doing simple addition in Math class in grade 5/6/7. But the confidence that I have seen in my kids from educational point of view as well as social interactions in far better than what they could have got in Indian style of schooling. Today, being in high school, they might not know the exact theory of various things, but they have the confidence to talk to an engineer, or a businessman or an artist and discuss various aspects of their professions, and believe me, at times, even be able to give great suggestions based on their practical experiences. Such education, though not impossible, but is very difficult to find in kids schooling in India.

There can be manu such examples where I feel and can prove why Canadian education is better but I hope the above shoud suffice. Infact, my wife has been a teacher for sometime now, and not only I , but she herself is amazed how much she is learning in primary school which she as topper of her univeristy did not know - what are the various aspects of grammer, how different sound are made, what these sounds convey, what is erosion and how it affects us practically at home or in environment, how to treat a child in his growing years given his own family background etc. etc. That is education - in India we have academic learning - important, but not necessarily better.

And as I said earlier - the final result is - these guys here are able to build a nation where we want to come and live, not the other way around, even with the best of brains in South Asia. Even the guys from IITs and IIMs want to come here and live, and they rarely send their kids to study in India, from where they themselves had studied and became good enough to be doing something great in North America.

Chandresh

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY CHANDRESH

Moral of the story - HOW PERCEPTIONS CHANGE

While I congratulate Jughead in trying add a
philosophical punch to an otherwise practical joke and
in trying to explain another reality of life, I will
have to add that the original post itself conveys a
moral which is hidden somewhere not in the post.

If readers care to read thru Anujark's posts, they will
find that she had started contributing to this forum in
a very positive manner, sometimes philosophical,
sometimes emotional (self composed poems) and also a
moral boosting one (in the success stories section). She
is one of the persons with whom I have interacted
personally on phones and e-mails (I still have not met
her in person), and the confidence she exuberates (or
used to), is almost contagious. Another person from whom
people can learn a lot.

However, a few months in Canada and imagine even she
resorts to such jokes for cheap laughs/grins - no I am
not criticizing her for posting this joke, but I was
sadly amazed to see it coming from her out of all the
people. I would have considered her someone like
BL/Crenshaw who really are ready to fight it out in
Canada and take advantages of the good it offers and
filter out the bad, and prepare themselves constantly
for getting the best out of this country.

Without going into details - I can only say that I can
understand the latent reasoning for her to come out with
such a joke. Both husband and wife are professionals who
were doing reasonably well (or more than that) back in
India before they decided to come here - and through the
months have faced frustrations of various kinds.

It might be just one passing joke - but it tells me how
perceptions change and it can take only a few months for
that change, and that I consider is the moral of the
story.

HOWEVER, IT IS JUST THE WAY I LOOK AT IT AND READERS MIGHT THINK THAT I AM MAKING A HILL OUT OF A MOLE, but I
feel such insignificant cases/reactions are a reflection
of how life changes.

Chandresh

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY CHANDRESH ON 14.1.2004

the good and great of Canada

Disclaimer: These are purely personal experiences and comments based on personal liking. Readers might have different experiences or different priorities/value systems, and so their views on the points mentioned below may be different, and therefore are NOT debatable.

Also, these comparisons are based on Canada vis a vis India (those parts that I have lived in). They might not hold good for any other country/ies.

The reason to migrate to any country is mostly on personal choice and sometimes forced upon due to various reasons. The people who are thinking of migrating, or have recently landed in Canada can look forward to various advantages/benefits, some of which are mentioned hereunder:

1. The factor of multiplication is a big benefit - 35 to 1. Due to this factor, a person doing similar job for same no of hours back home can get make roughly 4-5 times the money in Indian Rupee terms.
2. For many, if not all, a social status back home that - vo to phoren main rahta hai.
3. On landing in Canada, you stand in a carpeted or very clean lobby, with working toilets if someone needs to ......, and an officer who greets you with welcome to canada phrase.
4. After clearing the airport, you find working trolleys, which can take big bags, and not something that looks to be designed for keeping an overnighter.
5. When you come out, whether the first time, or nth time, taxi drivers, hotel reps etc. etc. don't crowd on you to make you feel you wanna go back inside!
6. A very clean air immediately hits you and suddenly you start feeling it was the first time you were breathing.

Life In Canada

1. First and foremost, you have constant supply of electricity and water, and blackouts are rare. You do not have to wake up early in the morning to fill up your buckets, tubs, tankees or take a shower. Similarly, you do not have to sweat in heat or live under candlelight in summers, or be disturbed by the noise and smoke of mini generators.

2. No visible pollution! You breathe better and your shirt collar does not become black by lunchtime. Infact, you can wear one set of clothes for 2-3 days without feeling bad.

3. The roads you travel on are good, infact great and you do not have to be on constant alert that someone might just decide to jump in front of you. In India, you might be driving a Honda or Lancer or Merc, but you have to drive on road full of pits, speed breakers and various sorts of vehicles. Here a motorcycle has right to the same space as a car, and it is illegal to overtake a mobike in the same lane.

4. The buses you commute on are cleaner, air-conditioned and the driver many a times greets you. For disabled persons, the bus lowers down, puts out a ramp on which you can place the wheelchair and lifts it back to sitting level. So a wheelchair bound person can easily commute on most of the routes without any help.

5. The roads have sidewalks, so people wanting to walk can do so without worrying for traffic. Similarly, a pedestrian's right of way is given due regard. You do not have to dash to the other side of the road to avoid a car hitting you on pedestrians crossing.

6. Govt offices - the ultimate sunvayi might be better or worse than India - but you get to wait in a nice and clean office mostly. And rarely would you find any sarkari mulajim talking to you as if he owned the place and did not have enough sleep at home (exceptions can be there but rare!)

7. The roads and sidewalks are clean mostly without any garbage on the road. If garbage is there, it is mostly packed in big plastic bags and kept there to be picked up by the municipality truck, sooner rather than later.

8. There are fines for traffic violations and applied too. If it is green light, you can safely speed up, without worrying that another vehicle might come from your right or left beating the red light (sometimes that happens, but unlike India, you do not have to be on the lookout for that!)

9. Coming from Gandhi's land, we actually do what he preached, here in Canada. We do our own dishes, we vacuum our floors and we also clean our toilets ourselves. For those who are idealistic about society and human rights, this has great meaning.

10. We do not work or live in buildings that are smothered with paan ki peek and other types of body wastes lying on floor which are so common in India. Nor do we come across graffiti on staircases/elevators in the office or residential buildings (exceptions are there), or on boundary walls (Prof Arora - rishte hi rishte ).

11. Eve-teasing in public is absent or rare, I hear there is, though I have not seen it. Buses are safe from that point of view.

12. Weather - that is the greatest thing. Summers are absolutely great with everything so lush green, the fields look like thick green carpet and flowers look extremely beautiful. Fall / Autumn is amazingly colourful, it seems some painter has actually painted the trees with wonderful imagination. Winters are harsh, but the snowfall is wonderful to watch and great for children to play. In Delhi, a +1 temperature might be killing with no proper heating but here one can easily survive in minus30 degrees with proper clothing, and enjoy the snow too. Spring really brings the springs live in you. The temperatures are great and you feel so energetic.

13. For an Indian, all kinds of Indian food is available and at most of the places, in a cleaner surrounding and with better ingredients than in India, because of strict laws. Vegetarians need not fear - unlike many other places on the globe where finding vegetarian food is like looking for a needle in bundle of hay, all kinds of veggie food is available and in abundance.

14. I have never seen my phone line go dead even when they were laying new pipelines/cables in the surrounding areas!

The above points about life in Canada makes me live in Canada with all its difficulties because though individually they might be small things, collectively they become the quality of life, and I value them more than other luxuries of life. I do not compare politics and politicians, because they are beyond me and do not directly affect my daily living. Nor does corruption or lack or more of it.

These are just some of the reasons why I feel one should want to migrate to Canada from India, or South Asia - but as I said earlier, they are my views and values.

And yes!!!

15. An advantage for being coloured and not good looking - when commuting by bus or train, I get a full seat unless it is difficult for the whites to find a better person to share it with!

Chandresh

great change of opinion /perception

but Mr. Chandresh is saying he is stood by every word mentioned in his article on home page of CD.
As per his saying i might not be intelligent enough to understand the message in his article.
But one thing is very much clear after going through above stated posts that now he has positive thoughts about canada. Thats good , as commented by rajand that now chandresh is victorious . I am really happy over his success. There is nothing wrong if opinions/perceptions changes as circumstances changes.

MY POINT IS THAT THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE AT CD HOME PAGE WRITTEN BY CHANDRESH IS NO DOUBT IS VERY WELL COMPILED STATING THE REALITY FOR THE IMMIGRANTS BUT I THINK IT IS GIVING VERY NEGATIVE IMMPRESSION ABOUT CANADA TO A NEW OR PROSPECTIVE CANADA AND SINCE CHANDRESH IS VICTORIOUS AS PER MISTHER INDIA STATED IN THIS VERY THREAD , I SINCERELY REQUEST CHANDRESH TO KINDLY REMOVE THAT POST FROM THE PRIME LOCATION OF THE HOME PAGE OF THE SITE OR MODIFY IT SUITABLY TO MAKE IT A MEANINGFUL SUCCESS STORY THAT WOULD REALLY GREATLY BENEFIT THE VIEWERS.

i hope i have not hurt your feeling chandresh bhai. I am really impressed by your zeal and honest desire to help others. you perheps rightly said that i am not the intelligent enough to understand the message behind the article.

regards,

ptm

rajcanada,
harjit is harjit 6244.