Our emigration: the life of Ukrainian women in Canada

Photos from the personal archive of Victoria Kravets

Victoria Kravets moved to Quebec about two years ago, marrying a Canadian at the age of 40. Before that, she lived in Vinnitsa and worked as a financial director of a private company, and now she is improving the language and plans to work as an internet marketer.

About her life in Canada, she told the publication Gloss.ua.

When I left for another country, all my experience of Soviet childhood, post-Soviet youth and Ukrainian maturity remained with me. What is good: changes in life and constant learning are not new, uniqueness and dissimilarity are in fashion. And it is bad: to integrate mentally, culturally and professionally means to change your formed mentality with their mentality.

My husband is a Canadian from Quebec, a descendant of the first French immigrants. Immediately, I note that Quebec is different from the rest of the country's provinces by its French-speaking population and the post-French mentality, which, like the language, was Americanized under the influence of its neighbors.

Weather and nature

The end of December is 2015, the third plane of the Kiev-Quebec route lands at Quebec Airport around midnight, and by the morning it falls about a meter of snow.

The average snow cover here, taking into account the shrinkage of snow and thaws - more than 1,2 meters. With temperatures ranging from -25 degrees in winter to + 35 in summer.

Due to high humidity, everything grows like in the jungle. But the beauty is “terrible”: the number of flowers and ornamental trees (sometimes tropical) on the streets near all types of buildings exceeds the limit. Wildlife also seems to feel that Canada is a civilized country, and it’s not possible to grow as you like. I live in the suburbs and in my area I observe squirrels, gophers, lizards and small colorful birds.

Education

Super responsibility, super possession of new technologies, super-manners: it's all about those on the top of career ladders. The rest are educated just as much as is necessary for their standard of living. In the remote northern provinces there are people without complete secondary education; A lot of people in the age do not use the Internet. Higher education in Quebec is possible only after acquiring a vocational school. Many people do not want to spend five years at a university, which in itself does not provide a good workplace.

Photos from the personal archive of Victoria Kravets

People and behavior

At the mention of Ukraine or Poland, I often see the puzzled faces of Canadians. For myself, I understood: when dealing with local people, asking a question or answering is possible and not in essence, the main thing is to make it sound beautiful. At the same time, they like to communicate: even minor issues are discussed carefully, for a while they do not pay attention. But in the case of business calls, I most often speak with an answering machine: here, if a person is immersed in a task, he does not answer calls.

Here, not everyone is punctual and careful, but smiles and politeness are everywhere. The rule of good taste is volunteering and charity.

Comfort and order

All services here are at the service of society, which for everyone is personally fraught with monthly waiting times for a doctor’s appointment, passing a law exam, and so on. The police are equipped with a staff of caring and friendly psychologists, but patrolmen shoot after the first unfulfilled order.

Bureaucracy too. The rules of the road are strict, but understandable, comfortable and logical, but numerous and frequent signs slow down traffic in the city incredibly. On highways - on the contrary: there is a lower speed limit, and in order to stop, there may be problems.

Roads are repaired every year, which causes discontent among residents due to traffic blockage. But in the province the roads are of average quality.

The country is large, population density is one of the smallest in the world. The distances are enormous, and with them big machines and buildings, and even doors, packaging of goods and personal items. Units of measurement — feet, pounds, and miles — are often used and confused.

Photos from the personal archive of Victoria Kravets

Language and Integration

I thought I knew French at a basic level, and I certainly distinguished it by ear, but I was mistaken: it was an illusion. I froze when I heard my husband and son talk for the first time. It was like the sounds that dolphins make - a set of vowels, mashed potatoes with a mouthful. In response, they told me that my language consists of only consonants, and even the birds are expressed more clearly than me.

To become your own for them, you need to speak their slang and in their manner. Otherwise, they are not sure if you can at least use all the facilities of a modern toilet, unless, of course, you speak fluent English, German or French. But there is everything to learn the language: courses from morning to evening, all formats, free or even pay you extra: it all depends on the conditions of immigration. On the exam - challenging tasks from life.

Discrimination of any kind is prohibited even at the initial stage - for example, not everyone will accept jokes about women.

Work

There are a lot of jobs and services for its search, just choose. But an overseas diploma usually undergoes a reassessment and requires a local internship, which is not wanted. Therefore, it is better to relearn, to start with a simple and / or new job: fortunately, even the minimum wage covers basic needs. They are trained in narrow specialization, quickly, efficiently.

Prices and selection

I did not expect such a choice of products: never even in Europe did I see such a diversity in the diet at such reasonable prices. At the same time, Canadians still love junk food.

Price tags for goods are always without VAT. Not all cafes and shops are open in the evening.

Property prices in Quebec are not much higher than in Kiev and the region, and the infrastructure is much better. It is true that most Canadians live on credit, having large homes and luxury cars, plus an information society and traffic on the roads - all this gives rise to stress and depression.

Photos from the personal archive of Victoria Kravets

Health and ecology

Depression, which can be attributed to the lack of a smile on your face, is treated with medicines, like a cold, everywhere. Vitamins and nutritional supplements are an integral part of the diet.

Sorting garbage, drinking water from the tap and the cleanliness of the streets indicate a high level of quality of life, and the number of parks, walking routes and bike paths is inspiring. Canada is a bicycle country, and the longest walking route in the world is open here. Even fat people run around, I admire them. I do not understand one thing: why people, including the elderly and with children, walk and play sports in the midst of the heat, under the sun.

The discovery for me was the agricultural hobby of Canadians: they love to pick berries, apples, and pay money for it. In general, you can find classes for all types of creativity.

Women and looks

Here I will disappoint: despite the stereotypes regarding the grooming of local women, there are many smart, stylish and well-groomed ladies along with fat women of all ages. But their style and even the color scheme in the wardrobe is different from the European. For example, I would prefer to dress in Europe.

But in general, it seems to me, Canadians are one of the simplest and cutest people in the world, and Canada combines a highly developed economy with a humanistic idea.

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