But just like everything has advantages and disadvantages, I will try my best to describe Canada with objective facts. If there is any subjective concept, I will try my best to point it out. I hope this essay can provide some views from different angles for those who want to come to Canada, those who are already here but not satisfied, those who want to return to China, those who have returned to China, and of course, friends who have come to Canada since childhood like me.
About language
During my first ten years in Canada, I thought my English was not bad. 17 years old, taking TOEFL 1 10. My classmates and white people around me say that I am good at English. But to be honest, when I moved to Kingston to study law, my English changed qualitatively.
In Toronto, and friends who have been there like Wanjin and Richmond Hill, we all know that there are really many people in China. Give a real little example. One year, I went to a government office to change my driver's license. An elder sister from China stood in front of me and told me to change it first in Chinese. I asked why, and she pointed to one of the shop assistants in China and said that some of them could speak Chinese. Then I realized that three of the six shop assistants were from China, but I didn't know whether they spoke Mandarin or Cantonese.
So, as you can imagine, I haven't had a chance to speak English every day since I came from high school. One-third of high school Chinese (some are more exaggerated) and some classes in universities even passed half. I clearly remember that once I walked into the classroom and saw that the whole class was students who spoke Mandarin.
When you come to Kingston, white people really don't treat you like an outsider. I'm not saying how friendly they are, but that they don't put up with all kinds of English accents every day like white people in Toronto. They have long known that when they speak, they should deliberately slow down and pronounce as standard as an announcer. It's nice here. One by one, you can save syllables, try to keep your voice down and practice listening absolutely.
But it is in this environment that my spoken English has improved. When I went back to Toronto last year, I chatted with a white man and suddenly found out how he spoke differently. Later, I learned that if you speak like a foreigner in China, our friendly friends in China will definitely slow down to make you understand, just like the white people here, but if you speak between China people, you will not be so deliberate.
Having said that, it's like emphasizing the importance of language here. I can't communicate effectively, and English as a second mother tongue can't communicate, which really affects the speed of my integration into life here.
Of course, there are exceptions.
Being able to speak a language is a necessary but not sufficient condition for a better life in Canada. In other words, our parents, older immigrants and refugees who have never been to school can of course live happily in this country. And I have experienced all three kinds of people, good and bad.
Example 1: My wife once lived in a European country for a long time. When she came to Canada, she felt two differences.
First of all, Europeans? Native? People will look at people from other continents more or less like a peep show. First, because they don't see much, it's more about the culture of a single race and the estrangement from foreigners. However, when my wife came to Canada to shop, Kingston's white sister was not curious about us, the only pair of Asians in the whole supermarket, or just did what she should do. This is still a single community like Kingston, where 90% of the population is white. If you go to Toronto.
Secondly, the issue of pension settlement. My wife and I went to Toronto for morning tea. When my wife first came, she told me curiously that there were many old people here. I said, the old man has time. She replied, I mean the old man from China.
I suddenly realized that I have been to the place where my daughter-in-law is in Europe, and the Chinese there have had contact with me. When we ask them about their future plans, most people, not all of them, will say that they will bury their old bones in their hometown and leave their leaves behind. However, I don't want to mention how many China people are in some Canadian nursing homes or sanatoriums. In most areas, family groups where the whole family comes to have morning tea every weekend abound. What is this phenomenon? I won't add my own point of view.
Therefore, in Canada, if your language is not good and you don't want to spend time learning English, it's not bad to find a Chinese community to live in. My friend who repairs cars, my elderly parents whose teacher can't speak English, and the old immigrants who have lived here for half their lives are all doing well. It depends on what you want.
People can write a paper in pursuit of happiness, and there will be too many subjective opinions. I will not participate for the time being, and forums abound.
About Canadians
I think? Canadian? This category can be legal, and the node is the moment when you swear allegiance to the Queen of England, which is the identity in your heart.
Many immigrants, including those from China, never come back once they get citizenship. One of the most interesting groups is from Hong Kong.
Before 1997, Hong Kong people were faced with the chaos they might encounter after the reunification, and they did not understand and trust the ruling party. As a result, thousands of Hong Kong immigrants flocked to Canada, where they felt they could settle down. This is also the first wave of China people's integration into Canada.
However, due to the smooth transition of Hong Kong and the cold winter in Canada, these people moved back to Hong Kong in large numbers around 2000. But it is extremely ridiculous that because of the chaos in Hong Kong during this time, someone moved back here.
Of course, in addition to these immigrants who have obtained citizenship, there are also some people with lofty ideals who I think are a few people who have obtained citizenship but are still dedicated to China. They are determined not to regard Canada as their second hometown, but just a place where they can settle down temporarily. I believe that many Wenzhou people and Fujian people living in Europe should have this mentality more easily.
But most of them are like me. Of course, I still feel that I just think of myself as China and Canadian.
However, our great motherland does not think so. The problem of dual nationality has been puzzling us overseas travelers who care about our motherland but are turned away because of their identity.
Ok, I'll limit my discussion to Canada first, ok? White? , or more than two or three generations of immigrants, or our traditional definition of aborigines? Foreigners? For such people.
Canadians are not angels, and I really don't think all Canadians are saints. However, just like domestic people's prejudice against various regions, the ugliest side of these human nature is definitely one in ten thousand in Canada.
What are most mainstream Canadians like? Although I'm talking about stereotypes, anyone who knows a little about Canada will feel it deeply.
Add eh at the end of 1. sentence?
No matter right or wrong, say sorry.
Always hold the door for the person behind you, no matter how far you are from him.
4. Not afraid of freezing, you can often see boys and girls wearing shorts and short skirts at MINUS 20 degrees.
5. Make fun of Americans, hehe, American friends, so do we.
6. Pedestrians never look left and right when crossing the intersection (except when running a red light)
7. Be open to foreign cultures.
Think so much first. The first few items are basically easy to understand, but I want to do some in-depth discussion on the last item.
If the United States is a melting pot of culture, then Canada is a hodgepodge of spices, and any flavor you can think of can be found in Canada. These flavors were skillfully stewed slowly by the chef with slow fire until everyone became a pot of porridge, but all the flavor porridge was preserved.
Let's use some real cases. Religious issues in any country are a major event, and even become the fuse of war.
I have been to Canada and downtown. You will see all kinds of religious buildings, Muslim temples, Judaism, Orthodox Church, Catholicism, Christianity, not to mention Buddhism. Zhanshan Jingshe and Foguang Mountain are all full of incense and numerous believers.
A few years ago, I forgot which temple it was, and said that I would buy a piece of land here in Ontario to rebuild the temple on Mount Wutai in China, covering how many hectares. Can you believe this happened thousands of miles away in Canada? But then the temple was stopped for various reasons I don't know.
Many friends will say that no matter how good/bad Canadians are, it has nothing to do with me. I just want to hang out in the Chinese community. What are you?
Of course, I believe many people will have this mentality, but I still think more friends are deterred because they think there is nothing to talk about with white people, or because of language problems.
The old way, some of my personal experiences. Classmate D, a classmate who can't come to a small village in Canada, is the kind of mainstream child, which is cool at first glance. We worked together, had fun together, and he wanted to build a deeper friendship with me, so we went to a party organized by the department.
Friends who have lived here know that the gathering here, except for freshmen, is nothing more than drinking and chatting, which is no different from the kind of banquet in China, maybe just relaxing. At the beginning, we can continue to play case chats together, but there is nothing to talk about. In order to break the deadlock, classmate D raised the topic that I can't watch any sports. He also said that he was a hardcore team of Super Bowl XXX, that the Canadian ice hockey team was so awesome, and that I was a nerd. I usually read the history of China and watch documentaries. You know these sports. ...
Because D and I have different topics. Ours? Friendship "also ends at the work level.
I believe that many students who have dealt with white colleagues/classmates here should have similar personal feelings.
I thought I might only deal with friends in China all my life, and then P appeared.
The appearance of P made me really realize that just like making friends in China depends on fate, in distant Canada, friends really depend on fate.
It's fun to get in touch with P. Our class usually adds each other's Facebook. I don't pay much attention to Weibo because I play more. Suddenly one day, another classmate of mine said, er, XXX, P said that you haven't answered his invitation for two weeks. Your face is so big that you immediately sweated after hearing it. This can't be done. It's not offensive, so I took the initiative to find this strange classmate who sits in the last row of the class after class every day (I am the first row every day).
It was this misunderstanding that I hooked up with P and started our friendship.
Slowly, I found that I had a smooth chat with P, who, like me, is a bookworm classmate and has a deep understanding of politics, economy and international hot topics. Ha, ha, ha, I later found out that I don't have that deep relationship with many students in China.
Haha, to sum up, those of us who grew up with different cultures will naturally be attracted by people who have similar experiences with us. Think about the first topic at the hometown party, what happened to our hometown.
However, whether we are white or China people, we are all human beings, and we all have some parts related to our own culture. Once we connect them through these bridges, you will find that we all share the same idea with many white people. We all want to have a happy family, a healthy body and work hard for our future. Even better, through contact with them, we will learn more about each other's culture, why white people attach so much importance to the law, why they hate eating dog meat, and so on. This is what attracts me most in Canada.
About winter entertainment
Where is spring? Where is spring? Eastern Canada has experienced a rare winter in the world this year. It is still freezing in early March, which can be said to be the coldest winter since I came here.
Such bad weather naturally severely limits the outdoor activities that friends can carry out. However, in addition to the suggestions on study, fitness and re-fitness that I saw in Canada some time ago, Canada also has some good winter entertainment activities.
First of all, the northland is naturally covered with snow, which is extremely suitable for skiing. My wife and I were lucky enough to go skiing in Montblanc, 200 kilometers north of Montreal. The scenery is really pleasant, and the ski resort is very big. We have to take the cable car twice to get to the foot of the mountain. I stand with my wife? Looking up at the top of the mountain in the distance, the Mid-Levels are really spectacular.
Then I chatted with a little classmate who was skiing in China. She told me that she skied in an indoor ski resort in Beijing and was particularly interested in skiing. However, because Mont Tremblant is too far away from Jincun, we decided to go skiing at Karaboji Ski Resort, which is only two hours' drive from here and close to Ottawa.
When I arrived at the ski resort, I obviously felt smaller than Quebec. Students who ski in Beijing also say that the indoor ski resorts in Beijing are so big. I'm surprised. Wow, it's amazing that China can keep a mountain indoors and learn a lot.
After a little warm-up, we boarded the cable car and headed for the top of the mountain.
Halfway to the center, the little classmate suddenly looked at the ground at least 10 meters above the ground and asked lovingly, did we jump from here by ourselves? I replied that we haven't reached the top of the mountain yet, and then pointed to the top of the mountain that hasn't reached the top.
It turned out that the mountain was very steep, and the little classmate thought at first that it was only as high as she saw. Unexpectedly, it's just the top of the mountain, and there is still a long distance above it. . .
Therefore, skiing is really an essential project for friends who are interested in going out to play in winter. Skiing at high speed in the mountains, the speed and excitement are really more enjoyable than riding a roller coaster!
But I strongly suggest that you must wear a helmet when skiing, because the most deadly thing in skiing is head collision. You must do what you can and don't slide on the track that you can't control before you are ready.