When an expat that I meet online agrees to do an interview to share their experiences with us, it is always exciting. I am not a ‘professional’ journalist or anything like that, but just another girl living far from home and wondering what it is like for others in the same boat. And so, because I am not a professional I lack a little creativity in varying the questions I ask. Actually I always ask the same questions because these are the things that I find most intriguing. Then I added a few questions that I get asked frequently on my blog. So, although I feel that the interviews turn out great, are fun to read and informative, the questions I ask are cookie-cutter repetitive.

I personally don’t think I will be changing this any time soon, but always enjoy it when a person that has agreed to do the interview mixes it up a little and puts their own spin on the questions. I always tell the interviewees to do what they want with the questions, and I am happy to see that this one did!

This interview is with Missy. She documented weekly on her blog Travel Adventure to Alaska about a great adventure she went on. She took a boat from Vancouver all the way to Alaska. Be sure to check out her site to see what that journey was like for her.

Once again, I truly enjoyed reading the interview, and thank Missy for taking the time to share with us!

What made you leave your country of origin?

I was young, and I wanted to see the world.  There’s a strong curiosity in me to go out and seek my destiny.  While I was born in the Philippines,  the blood of the Spanish conquistador, the Chinese merchant and the native Filipino intermingled inside my veins.  On top of that, I was educated in a secondary school with American Evangelical missionaries, and a Catholic university with German priests.

Why did you choose Canada?

Canada was not my first choice.  I wanted to go the USA, Vancouver was just a stepping stone.  After a year in Vancouver, I met my husband, and my plans changed.

Talk about Culture Shock:

I can tell you several stories about the subject but I will restrain myself.  From Day 1, I felt like “Alice in Wonderland”, everyday there was something new to shock me.

I remember arriving at a bus stop around the third day of arrival, and I saw an elderly lady waiting for the bus.  Philippines is a young country, it has a median age of 21, meaning half of the population is below 21 years old.    Elderly people are well respected and pampered by their children, bused around and certainly never left alone to travel on their own.  I was naturally fascinated with the idea of an elderly lady taking the bus, so I stared at the lady, then I approached and asked “You are very old, how old are you?”.   I meant it as a compliment, but you can imagine what she thought of me.  She answered “It’s certainly none of your business!”.  I was shocked.

Another example relates once again to minding your own business.  Canadians always greet one another with “How are you?” when they meet each other.  So, when they ask me, I tell them, and that could take anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour.  I found out that they really do not want to know.  I am supposed to just answer “FINE.”  There’s a term that’s used for this situation, it is called ‘I DON’T REALLY WANT TO KNOW. THAT’S TOO MUCH INFORMATION.”   - literally meaning, I don’t want to know and I don’t really care how you are doing.  I just want to mind my own business, and I’d like you to mind your own business too.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly:

The Good -
Canada is a very compassionate country. We have universal health care, good infrastructure.  Social programs for the disabled and disadvantage.  Strong sense of justice.  Peace and Order.  Politically Correct.

The Bad
Canada’s strength is its weakness.  Tough laws and strong discipline made  peace, order, justice,… all the good stuff possible in this country.  So life is complicated, there are many rules.  Little laws like wearing your seat belt in a car, wearing a helmet when biking, no laundry hanging out on your porch, speed limit for school zones, …..  There is a law for everything.  There’s also the social etiquette, no loud voices, loud singing at your home…   You cannot visit anyone without making an appointment. Every thing is planned, calculated, analyzed.  As a result, all the spontaneity is taken out.  In other words, people are polite, nice and a bit BLAND, they don’t know how to have fun and laugh.   I am fine with it now, but I do have to restrain myself all the time, no loud laughter and giggles.

The UGLY
I think there is too much emphasis on independence.  Kids are encouraged to leave home at 19 and elderly parents are institutionalized when they cannot take care of themselves.  I have children and parents, and I love to have my children around, and I would love to have my parents growing old gracefully without having to worry about being a burden.  My parents loved me, and gave me everything I have, and I would want to take care of them anyway I can.   What it means then is probably I will take care of my parents, but my children may just dump me in an institution.  So that’s UGLY.

What is my advice to someone who plans to immigrate to Canada?

My advice are as follow:

1. Do it while you are young and unattached.  You are still adaptable and can work hard.
2. Learn to be self-sufficient, because help is expensive, and people do everything themselves.
3. Be proficient in English, read as much as you can about Canada.
4. Understand what you want in life, weigh your options, and be prepared to make sacrifices and compromise.
5. If you are a professional, you will need your credentials evaluated, obtain your Canadian experience and start from a lower level than you’re used to in your home country. Many professional immigrants arriving in Canada are not able to find jobs in their fields and end up in menial jobs.  This can be a disenchanting experience.

Will I go back home given the chance?

I always tell my family, home is where my loved ones are and family is very important to me.   My children were born in Canada so at the moment, Canada is home.  This may change but not for now.

Thank you Missy for all the great advice!