This essay aims to share my experience of transition and cultural shock: moving from India to Canada to pursue further education studies. This decision impacted my life tremendously.
I landed at Toronto airport on my birthday. I was so delighted, but sad also. Because this was the first time when I was so alone on my birthday. I had left my beloved family behind. Moving to Canada was so exciting for me because I always wanted to study abroad. My key worries involved people, language, food, accommodation, and lifestyle. I was so worried about how people and their nature will be towards me as my English won’t be proficient. However, as soon as I arrived, I met some friendly and kind people who helped me and made me feel welcome regardless of my proficiency in the English language.
Culture shock is a human feeling when shifting from one’s native culture to another. Nostalgia is the twin of cultural shock. When we become aware of our anxiety, we start longing for our past. As I was preparing to go abroad to Canada for further studies, my initial fear was ambiguity. As I was the first person to go to Canada from India, so I did not know what to expect.
It took me almost a couple of weeks to settle in Canada. I slowly learned to adapt to the lifestyle, new food, trying new dishes, and meeting local people, which made me confident to learn more about culture. I made some local friends who made me feel comfortable, helped and supported me with finding suitable accommodation, and recommended local delicacies. The house I got was unfurnished. I ordered furniture from Ikea that came in pieces. I was so confused that how to assemble it because in India we always bought preassembled furniture. Then a couple of friends from Iran helped me to assemble the bed and make this house my home.
The honeymoon stage, crisis stage, adjustment stage, acceptance or adaptation stage, and re-entry shock are the five stages of culture shock. I personally experienced the fascination and excitement of the honeymoon stage with the new culture. I was intrigued by the new culture. Canadian citizens are polite to foreigners. I was very optimistic, interested, and looking forward to exciting new experiences. I am fond of making memories. Clicking pictures and shooting videos has become my hobby. My best memory was when I attended the first lecture at my college, holding a mug of Tim Horton coffee. I believe if we do not celebrate moments, they will pass us by.
The thing that helped me to adjust in Waterloo was, I joined a gym named ‘GoodLife Fitness’ next to my campus. The best thing was they were offering free membership and ‘one month free’ for couples. So, I told this offer to the most beautiful girl in my class and we joined the gym together. Now she is my girlfriend. I made good friends, as we can easily make friends at school.
With all the positive and negative aspects of life, I adapted to a new culture. I started loving the city and its weather. Snow is such a beautiful and magical sight for me, too difficult to put into words. I experienced snow and its majesty for the first time after moving to Canada. I fell in love with the snow. The delightful sky I caught here, I never experienced in my home country. I found that I am the hero of my life.
In this new country, I personally learned a lot of new things with the new culture. I’ve learned how to make money for myself, how to be independent, study and work together. The lesson I learned from this experience is that life is an ongoing learning experience that goes by faster than we think. I learned that if we want a good life with a successful career, personal fulfillment, and supportive mates, we must work hard. I grabbed the ability to learn from my mistakes. I started to develop healthy habits while I’m still healthy and young. We never know what tomorrow will bring.
I will advise others to familiarize themselves with the community in which they have chosen to study, as this will allow them to make better decisions regarding key areas of their life. Besides hiding in the room, they should experience popular cultural sights and events in the community where they are traveling or studying. Take long walks in a new area to get acquainted with local restaurants, cafes, pubs, grocery stores, banks, and the post office. Canada has the world’s best public transport system, and making good use of it would be smart. Communication and computer skills are very important for students. So, investing in English classes to boost language skills will be a great idea. Everyone should take every chance to learn here. Dream big, but courage goal acts as well.