When you don’t know the winters in Canada, you can hardly imagine what it is really like to experience temperatures below zero. It’s something that you only learn when you come and live your first Canadian winter. For example I couldn’t have ever imagined that smiling on a windy winter day could make your teethContinue reading “8 everyday tasks that are a struggle for newcomers during Canada’s winter”
Category Archives: newcomers
7 curious things about winter in Canada
This is my fifth winter in Ottawa, and fortunately I don’t dread it anymore. When I first landed in Ottawa in the winter of 2018 people told me things that made me fear I wouldn’t be able to put up with the extreme cold. For example, I heard things like: “you’ll never get used toContinue reading “7 curious things about winter in Canada”
My kids’ experiences adapting to school in Canada
When moving to another country to start a new life, one of the main concerns people with families have is how well their kids are going to adapt to their new schools. Do they have a good command of the country’s language? Are they going to make new friends easily? Will they be happy withContinue reading “My kids’ experiences adapting to school in Canada”
Five strategies to embrace the Canadian winter
When my Canadian husband told his friends that he was moving back to Canada in the middle of the winter, with wife and three kids who had always lived in Peru and who had never experienced temperatures lower than 14 degrees Celsius, they thought he was crazy. They thought that it was going to beContinue reading “Five strategies to embrace the Canadian winter”
A list of institutions you should know about if you are a newcomer
Three years ago, when we just arrived in Ottawa, we were living in a swirl. We were frantically buying furniture, beds, mattresses, and other things to furnish our new home. We also needed warm clothing to deal with the cold climate. But there were lots of other things to do as well; paperwork and administrativeContinue reading “A list of institutions you should know about if you are a newcomer”
My three years as a newcomer in Canada
At the end of the year, it’ll be three years since we left the big city of Lima in Peru to start a new life in Ottawa. How did it turn out? If I have to say something about the big adventure we took 3 years ago, I’d say it has turned out surprisingly well.Continue reading “My three years as a newcomer in Canada”
All about winter gear to survive the Canadian cold
During my first days in Ottawa, after moving from Peru, I didn’t have proper winter clothing to face the horrendous temperatures that hovered around minus 20 C. I had no idea how I would put up with those harsh days. It must have been the excitement of feeling snow for the first time in myContinue reading “All about winter gear to survive the Canadian cold”
8 biggest struggles as a newcomer to Canada
It’s soon going to be three years since I moved to Canada, and even though many people will think that I’m not a newcomer anymore, I still feel like one in some ways. It will always be challenging living in another country, speaking another language, trying to assimilate the customs and manners of the locals,Continue reading “8 biggest struggles as a newcomer to Canada”
How a family of newcomers survived their first winter in Ottawa
I always wanted to write the story about the odyssey that it was for me and my family to move to Ottawa in the middle of the winter, when we were hit with a frigid week of sub-zero weather. Our tale might help someone thinking of moving to Ottawa but who has worries and secondContinue reading “How a family of newcomers survived their first winter in Ottawa”