I moved to Canada (Part 1)

There was no one to pick us up from the Vancouver airport.

It was raining, and although we wore coats, the cold was unbearable. It's been 28 hours since we left Sri Lanka. We were tired, hungry, and dirty.

I booked an Uber.

Are you from India?

No, we are from Sri Lanka.

Our neighbors! Visiting Canada for the first time?

We are moving to Vancouver.

Welcome to Canada, the greatest country in the world!

Looking out the window, I saw only one color. The world was covered in a grim grey veil. Trees were leafless. The lands were barren, and a lot of grey buildings. We arrived in Vancouver at the tail end of the winter.

So why did you come to Vancouver?

I'm starting my MBA in a couple of weeks. My wife answered.

I've been here for 13 years. I came as a student but didn't finish my course.

You see, you can make money in Canada. I have a house now. And the last 13 years went like that! You're always working, so you don't feel time passing by.

Although he sounded cheerful, I felt sadness in his voice. A longing for his motherland.

It's not like in India. You see, in India, if you go from one state to another, it's completely different right? The culture, the people, and even the food. I'm sure it's the same in Sri Lanka. You have variety. But here, it's all the same, Yaar! You see the same supermarkets, department stores, and restaurants wherever you go. It doesn't matter what part of Vancouver you live in.

After what looked like an eternity, we were at our destination.

It was drizzling, and he didn't get out of the SUV. We were left with four huge bags beside the road in the freezing cold.

There were white puddles beside the road. We soon realized that it was snow. My first time seeing snow. It wasn't like in the movies. I didn't bother examining.

To make things worse, our Airbnb was an upstairs apartment. The path was a narrow spiral staircase. One by one, I carried the bags. Each weighed 23kg, and my wife couldn't lift them.

Did we make the right decision by moving to Canada?

We dropped our bags and looked at each other.

(To be continued)

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Yes, that’s right. I moved to Vancouver. I will capture my experience as a series of posts. You’ll learn what it’s like to move to another country. No filters. I promise. I’m going to share exactly how I feel, the real truth and nothing else.

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