My Canada Permanent Resident Journey

110,966,155. No, that is not my annual income. That figure represents the population of the Philippines as of June 15, 2021. 16.7% of the population is living under poverty line while 88.6% of the households expressed concern over their finances. Being born and growing up in a third world country, I witnessed the tragic effect of uneven distribution of wealth. Although income inequality happens everywhere, it is a lot worse in third world countries where people with massive wealth run the society. They don’t make or break the rules. They are the “rule”.

I was born in a middle class family. My mom was an English teacher and my dad was an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) so I grew up without him by my side. My mom used to tell me that my dad went abroad to give us a better life. My dad used to work in a manufacturing company but his salary barely covered our monthly expenses. People in our country are underpaid and that is a sad reality that I witnessed when I started to join the work force. I completed a degree in engineering believing that somehow it would help me land a job with decent salary and someday climb the corporate ladder. When I said “decent” I meant enough to cover all the expenses and have some savings for emergency use. A family of four needs at least Php 50,000 ($1000) to live decently in the Philippines. You need money for everything. You need money to see a doctor. You need money to pay for medical procedures. You need money to buy drugs. And yet the income is not enough to cover all these. Unlike first world countries where social benefits are provided, people have peace of mind that they are covered whatever happens. People pay taxes for the same reason. They are given appropriate wages so even if they pay taxes they are still in good living condition. There is less tax in the Philippines but people barely survive due to extremely low income.

Why do I talk about these things? This is the main reason why I worked hard to immigrate to Canada. I did everything I could to stop the cycle of misery for my future grandchildren. It would be an ideal scenario to leave the country only for vacation and to see what’s on the other side of the world, not when you have to leave your family and everything behind to seek a better career opportunity and live a better life. I’m not saying this is a bad thing. I could stay in the Philippines and practice my profession and get stressed for not making enough or come here and not be an engineer and have financial freedom. People make choices and I chose to leave my homeland to come to Canada and start my life afresh.

I moved to Canada in May 2019. It took 5 months before my permanent resident application got approved. There were times I felt scared and hesitant to go because I have no family and friends to help me get settled. I have always travelled alone so I thought that this was just another trip to a foreign country and the only difference was that I would be staying longer. I waited for winter to be over before I booked a flight because I wanted my body to acclimatize to the weather and not get sick. During that time I had to wait for 3 months to qualify for the provincial health care plan. I couldn’t afford to get sick because health care and hospitalization in Canada are expensive and I had no insurance. I started looking for a job two days after I landed in Canada. I didn’t want to sit at home waiting for a job that is related to my field. I had limited funds and the longer I stay home; the quicker my funds would run out. I was mentally prepared to take any job as long as it pays the bills. I didn’t let my ego get in the way of finding a job. But it wasn’t easy. It was really challenging for me since I was new to the country and I had no car to drive around. Although there were public transports, I was not confident enough to go to different places and I had nobody to call if I got lost. I looked around my area for job opportunities and fortunately found a restaurant that was hiring a cashier. It was a good opportunity since it was only 1.5 kilometers from my place. I didn’t have cashier experience but decided to go for it anyway. An old man greeted me as I entered the restaurant. I asked if they were still looking for a cashier and he said yes. I told him that I was interested in the job and gave my resume. Few hours later I got a call from the manager and invited me to come for an interview. He asked me to demonstrate how to use a cash register. Oh my God. I’m in trouble. I didn’t even know how a cash register works! All I knew was you punched in something then you issue a receipt. I got the job by lying. I was not proud of it but I had to do what needed to be done that time. I told him that the cash register looked a bit different from back home and I would truly appreciate if he could show me how to use it. And he did! I watched him carefully and recorded every step in my brain. I couldn’t lose this opportunity. Luckily, the manager gave me a chance and hired me.

Fours weeks into my new job, I had a horrendous encounter with a customer. A man came to order take out. I greeted him with a smile and politely asked him what he wanted.

I couldn’t understand him so I said, “Could you please repeat your order sir?”

I still didn’t get what he said. I knew he was talking about meat but I still didn’t understand or maybe I was just plain stupid. Was it his accent or was my brain not working that time? I had no problem with other customers before him.

Afraid to risk giving him the wrong order and causing trouble, I hesitantly asked him again. “I’m very sorry sir but could you please repeat your order?”

He got very furious and started yelling at me. His voice was so loud that everybody in the store stared at him. “You couldn’t even understand when I said white meat? Are you an idiot? You’re a stupid bitch. People like you should not be working.” he screamed indignantly at me.

I was dumbfounded. My knees and fingers trembled while I perspired heavily. I got really frightened of him. His eyes were throwing daggers at me. How could I not get a simple thing done? I felt so stupid. In addition to my disgrace, people in the store gazed at me with judgment in their eyes. I saw disgust in their eyes. I wanted to cry but I composed myself. I wouldn’t cry in front of these people. Yes I made a mistake but a simple mistake doesn’t warrant dishonor or shame. My co-worker came to the rescue and tried to calm him down. He continued to insult me and called me names. I’ve never been yelled at my whole life and back home I was treated with so much respect and nobody yelled at me. I knew that my life would be different here but I never expected I would be insulted and humiliated in front of many people. What I was getting paid for that time wouldn’t cover for the embarrassment and lost dignity that an irate customer caused me. Despite all the verbal abuse I experienced with the man, I went ahead and apologized to him thinking it would make him stop his scandalous act. To my disappointment, he even got more violent and disrespectful. My co-worker had no choice but to threaten him that he would call the police if he didn’t leave the restaurant in peace. He didn’t want to leave.

“Why did you hire this stupid bitch? So fucking stupid.” he continued.

“Sir, I am calling the police right now. You can’t continue to verbally abuse my staff.” my co-worker bravely answered.

My co-worker picked up the phone while the others started to get physical with the man. “Sir, it’s better that you leave the restaurant and never come back because this would end badly and you wouldn’t like it. We would never let you insult our co-worker, let alone a woman.” they pungently declared.

The man left the restaurant angrily. Then I ran to the kitchen and cried. My co-worker came to comfort me. He hugged me as I sobbed on his chest. I told him how embarrassed I felt and I was not sure if I could continue to work in the restaurant. He was very reassuring and told me that I didn’t do anything wrong. My other co-workers went and bought me chocolates. They knew how to put a smile on my face. And it worked!

That incident taught me some valuable lessons. First, have a humble heart and forgive the people who have done you wrong. It is the only way you could forgive yourself for your mistakes. Second, challenges are part of life. You would feel like a failure at some point in your life but that doesn’t mean you’re incapable of achieving your goals. Third, there are cruel people everywhere. You couldn’t change that fact so live with it. Fourth, appreciate the people around you. In bad situations, you will know who genuinely care about you. These people are the ones who would fight the world to defend you. Fifth, you need to have a strong stomach to survive in a new country. Swallow that pride; deal with unpleasant situations with diplomacy, be kind and compassionate to others, practice humility, and never have a huge ego.

Overall, coming to Canada is the best decision I have made in my life. I didn’t get disheartened just because somebody called me stupid. It didn’t discourage me when somebody said I didn’t deserve to have a job. I persevered even when I felt I didn’t belong. My perception of me remained the same. I worked hard and continued to give my best in everything that I did. All my sacrifices and efforts paid off.

Two weeks after the incident I got a call from HR in an automotive paint company for an interview. Three days after that I got interviewed by the regional manager. I got a job offer the following week. It was a good paying job. Then I moved to a different city without a car. I had to do it. I knew it was risky because there was no public transport in the area but I thought that maybe I could make some arrangement with my boss while I worked on my license and getting a car. Luckily, she agreed. You know what they say about “when it rains, it pours”? My landlord even volunteered to drop and pick me up from work everyday. She even let me drive her car. What else could I asked for? Everything was worth it and I would never change a thing. If I had to choose between coming here and staying in the Philippines, I would choose coming here all over again.

My Canada permanent resident journey has added such value to my life, and I love having the opportunity to share the experiences and lessons I learned with people who also aspire to come here for a better life. This was the reason I started a blog on do-it-yourself guide to permanent residency in Canada. I wanted to help people by sharing how I overcame all the challenges and guiding them on how to settle in a new country the easiest way possible. This is my way of repaying the kindness I received from people around me. The reason why I am where I am is because I never gave up on my dreams. Remember this. People would tell you things. People would discourage you. Don’t get disheartened. You need to have faith in yourself.