6   IMPRESSIONS OF CANADA

By Mr. Simon Shi, Senior Consultant, Onpress Beijing

Mr. Shi is a pharmacy graduate from the Beijing Medical University, and has recently completed his MBA studies in Canada.  Simon migrated to Canada a few years ago, and has elected to return to work in China in the recruitment and pharmaceutical services fields.

Canada is a well-known country for her beautiful scenery and cold weather. Some of the most famous scenes are maple leaves in autumn, the grandeur of Niagara Falls and the French-style Quebec City.  In summer in Vancouver, you can view the sight of the seashore fog, enjoy the fresh and cool air in the valleys and look at the Rocky Mountains covered by snow.  Canada is indeed a paradise for tourists. However,  new settlers in Canada do have different perspectives on living in Canada.

Many new Chinese immigrants would take long coats and thick clothes to Canada,  in order to survive in the extremely cold and wintery weather. However, they might find that these clothes might be one of the many useless things after the first winter. The reason is that air-conditioners or heaters are installed in all traffic vehicles, government buildings, department stores and restaurants.  It is easy for new comers to adapt themselves to the weather. The language and cultural differences are major barriers to the normal living conditions of new immigrants.  The language handicap results in difficulties of understanding and communication.  Misunderstandings will cause disputes.  And personal interests are often affected in the end.  Fortunately, the language difficulties can be overcome gradually.  The “Culture Shock” and culture differences, however, tend to have longer-term impacts.

I want to share with you an interesting experience in the first year I lived in Canada. My daughter had a high fever late one winter night.  Since the Tylenol I gave her could not control her fever, I took her to a nearby hospital for treatment.  We put her on some thick clothes to keep warm before leaving home.  After registering in the Department of Emergency, we were led to the Children’s  Ward.  A nurse there asked me to take off all my daughter’s cloths.  And then this nurse went away.  I did not feel warm in the hospital even if I wore my wool sweater.  I was afraid that my daughter’s condition might get worse if there was no clothes on her.  I reluctantly complied with the nurse’s request. After forty minutes, no one came to check on my daughter.  I was very worried. The nurse came back while I was beginning to put my daughter’s clothes on again.  She was a little bit angry and stopped me.  A doctor then showed up to examine my daughter after 30 minutes.  After a thorough check-up, the doctor said: “You do not need to worry.  She is OK.  You should give her more Tylenol at home.” I asked him if an injection was needed to lower her body temperature. He said it was not necessary. I thought it was a waste of time as we waited for a long time and ended up with this outcome. We did not have health cards at that time, and I had spent Canadian $200 for this visit. I never took my daughter to hospitals since then.  I just keep her “cold” when she had a fever again.