We finally settled in our new home a week ago now. There is still much to be done, but at least we have a home. The process took longer than expected, but we like what we have now.
As you may know, my wife landed in Toronto on Christmas day. What you may not know is that she showed up wearing just a T-Shirt and a light jacket in her hands. I was like, you got to be kidding me! I asked her if she had brought any bigger jacket, to which she said yes, but it was in her big locked bags. I offered to give her mine but she refused, until we got outside of the airport buildings. Her first comments were “do you guys live in a morgue?” We all laughed. So I said to her: “This is nothing. Wait until it gets really cold”. She couldn't believe it would get colder than that.
The first four days were harder for me than for her. Do you know why? She would go to bed at 6PM, Toronto time (which is 1AM in Rwanda) and she would get up at 3 AM Toronto time (10 AM Kigali time). Those were her normal hours back home. The problem with that was that she would shout loud in my ears: “it's time to get up!!”. I was like, at 3 AM??? Are you kidding me?
It was not easy for her to adjust to everything. The weather, the big city and other stuff. The biggest adjustment for her has been the food. No chance for her, as you know, I can eat almost everything lol. She has seen me eat stuff that she did not like at all. My comment is always the same: “Let's agree to disagree” lol. At least for the food. For everything else, she has the final word lol.
I saw a little bit of light when she said “can you please bring me that Tim Horton's latté? I like it”. At that time I knew she was in the process of being “canadianized”. Hopefully soon we would be sharing my usual small iced cappuccino (sorry Jim, I know it's against your rules).
Finally the breakthrough came two days ago. As Toronto was freezing like crazy, she wouldn't even go in the living room. But she told me that she was hungry, so I convinced her to go out and eat. There is a small Greek restaurant not far from where we live. I told her that the food was nice. Hoping that she would like it (unlike any other food she had eaten so far), we went out. She decided to order a well done steak with potatoes and Greek salad. Right away, she fell in love with the salad. By the time she finished her dish (almost in 5 minutes), all she could talk about was Greek food (maybe she has Greek ancestors). I almost became jealous as she had never used those words to describe...me. She was so in love with the food.
She was so glad she went out regardless of the weather, and that she finally found a dish she loves (too much, if you ask my opinion). And before going to sleep, she said to me. I am glad I am here now. And I want to tell you that I love you. In my thought, I was like “take that Greek food! She loves me more than she loves you”. Lol
All the way through her settlement and challenges, I knew she would be OK. It was a matter of days. Do you want to know why I knew it? Because I went through that myself. When we go through challenges, it's for us to learn something, but it is also for others who will eventually go through them and who will need us as mentors. We can confidently say to them: don't worry, you will go through that. I've been there.
So, if you are going through hard times, all that I know is that it's for a season, and they will soon be teaching materials for you.
Moral of the story? Do you want to be a Canadian quicker than you think? Just go to Tim Horton's and you will also like Greek food.
Always a pleasure
Patrick
The Journeyman
patrick@goalachieverscanada.com
www.goalachieverscanada.com
As you may know, my wife landed in Toronto on Christmas day. What you may not know is that she showed up wearing just a T-Shirt and a light jacket in her hands. I was like, you got to be kidding me! I asked her if she had brought any bigger jacket, to which she said yes, but it was in her big locked bags. I offered to give her mine but she refused, until we got outside of the airport buildings. Her first comments were “do you guys live in a morgue?” We all laughed. So I said to her: “This is nothing. Wait until it gets really cold”. She couldn't believe it would get colder than that.
The first four days were harder for me than for her. Do you know why? She would go to bed at 6PM, Toronto time (which is 1AM in Rwanda) and she would get up at 3 AM Toronto time (10 AM Kigali time). Those were her normal hours back home. The problem with that was that she would shout loud in my ears: “it's time to get up!!”. I was like, at 3 AM??? Are you kidding me?
It was not easy for her to adjust to everything. The weather, the big city and other stuff. The biggest adjustment for her has been the food. No chance for her, as you know, I can eat almost everything lol. She has seen me eat stuff that she did not like at all. My comment is always the same: “Let's agree to disagree” lol. At least for the food. For everything else, she has the final word lol.
I saw a little bit of light when she said “can you please bring me that Tim Horton's latté? I like it”. At that time I knew she was in the process of being “canadianized”. Hopefully soon we would be sharing my usual small iced cappuccino (sorry Jim, I know it's against your rules).
Finally the breakthrough came two days ago. As Toronto was freezing like crazy, she wouldn't even go in the living room. But she told me that she was hungry, so I convinced her to go out and eat. There is a small Greek restaurant not far from where we live. I told her that the food was nice. Hoping that she would like it (unlike any other food she had eaten so far), we went out. She decided to order a well done steak with potatoes and Greek salad. Right away, she fell in love with the salad. By the time she finished her dish (almost in 5 minutes), all she could talk about was Greek food (maybe she has Greek ancestors). I almost became jealous as she had never used those words to describe...me. She was so in love with the food.
She was so glad she went out regardless of the weather, and that she finally found a dish she loves (too much, if you ask my opinion). And before going to sleep, she said to me. I am glad I am here now. And I want to tell you that I love you. In my thought, I was like “take that Greek food! She loves me more than she loves you”. Lol
All the way through her settlement and challenges, I knew she would be OK. It was a matter of days. Do you want to know why I knew it? Because I went through that myself. When we go through challenges, it's for us to learn something, but it is also for others who will eventually go through them and who will need us as mentors. We can confidently say to them: don't worry, you will go through that. I've been there.
So, if you are going through hard times, all that I know is that it's for a season, and they will soon be teaching materials for you.
Moral of the story? Do you want to be a Canadian quicker than you think? Just go to Tim Horton's and you will also like Greek food.
Always a pleasure
Patrick
The Journeyman
patrick@goalachieverscanada.com
www.goalachieverscanada.com
Thank you for another great story. Life is full of different challenges that people face and coming to a new country is one of the hardest.
ReplyDeleteTom 2 tall Cunningham
www.tom2tall.com
Tim Horton's she is "canadianized" in moderation please. If she likes greek food you have it made. Jimmy the Greek and Taste of the Danforth in August. OPA! OPA!
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