Life begins in a different country...

                          20th Nov 07:15 AM - I got the first glimpses of the country where another chapter of my life is gonna begin. Winter had began in Canada, and it already had its first major snowfall. I saw from the airplane, chunks of snow scattered everywhere. 

                An hour later, sitting in the airport lobby, near the huge “YYZ” neon light sign, after completing all the airport formalities, a plethora of emotions were popping up in my head one after the  other. “The excitement of experiencing a new place, the better life standards and job opportunities it offers, and of course the exciting travel opportunities there for any backpacker… At the same time ,equally if not more, the visuals of the tearful eyes of my parents & sibling, the memories of good times I had with my friends & colleagues I left behind, and the one that haunted me more - the stone faced look on my wife’s face which masked behind a storm of helplessness, sadness...”. Very soon I realized that these are the Yin and Yangs of life, the reality I have to deal with for a while.. Jerald showed up by then, to pick me up from the airport and we began the ride to my first house in Canada.


                He shared a few tips that made me feel better and know some initial stuff for getting settled. We stopped at a Tim Hortons for a Farmer’s Wrap and Cold Coffee - my first meal from Canada. After getting my stuff dropped at home, he accompanied me for getting bank account opened, getting sim etc. That evening, I visited Adonis, a nearby supermarket for getting some food items. It was just past 5pm and the sun was already setting in the horizon. I had dinner shortly and laid down in the only blanket I had for a much needed sleep, calling it a day.

                For the next couple of weeks I spend time in initial settling activities like, getting my bedroom ready, getting travel card, learning how to use public transit, getting acclimatized with the weather, getting to know more about other people sharing the home and so on. I even managed to get the G1 license within this period. I did a fair amount of shopping as well, which include some pricey purchases like a MacBook during the Black Friday and Boxing Day sales.

                Being winter with subzero temperature most of the days, means travelling or exploring the city is not an easy and comfortable thing to do, especially for a newcomer. Still, I managed to visit some famous malls and even went to Toronto Downtown during the Christmas holidays. Abin Royson, one of my roommates was the person who took me to these places and he is one guy who is good in introducing places of interest to newcomers. Also, a go-to guy for shopping, especially if you are looking for some branded stuff.

Toronto Downtown

               
                Visiting Toronto downtown was a nice and fresh experience. It was drizzling occasionally that evening, on top of the temperature already being in single digits. Still, that couldn’t spoil the excitement or thrill of exploring the city. The night life in the city is so vibrant. The streets decorated with Christmas lights, large gatherings in the Nathan Phillips Square, the colourfully lit-up CN Tower, kids and grown-ups equally involved in Ice skating, people enjoying street food, Street cars silently sliding through amidst the busy road traffic - the city was bustling with activities. We too gradually melted into it. It was already past midnight when we left the city.
Nathan Phillips Square 

CN Tower


WinterFest in Canada’s Wonderland

               
Another place I visited during Christmas was, the Canada’s Wonderland - an amusement park famous for its ultimate holiday celebration - The WinterFest, apart from its renowned dive coasters. This time with me were Abin and my new roommate Midhun. This mesmerizingly lit up place had a multitude of Christmas trees, the tallest of them being 70 feet. There is even a lighting ceremony each night for this huge tree, said to be decorated with more than 40,000 sparkling ornaments. 

                 The Wonder Mountain, the Snowflake Lake, live singing & dancing performances,  and a myriad stalls of cakes, sweets and many other exquisite foods - all together made it a magical night full of enchantment and cheer, despite the freezing cold.




                Despite all these fun and holiday entertainments, an air of melancholy was always around me. Being away from family and friends, missing all those fun and togetherness is obviously not gonna make this holidays the ideal one. But, all I can do is to just believe ‘this too shall pass’, and hope for better days ahead, when dreams come true..

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