Migrating to Canada

Funny Obama Cartoon

2008-11-10T13:22:00.000-05:00

Here's a supposedly controversial editorial cartoon drawn by Bruce MacKinnon that ran in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald on January 7, 2008.

Fall has Arrived

2008-10-06T16:31:00.000-04:00

Ang bilis ng panahon. Just last friday, the leaves of trees were still green. When I drove to work this morning, they've all changed colors... it seems too abrupt. I don't remember the change being that fast the previous autumn seasons. Anyway, I love it. I love fall and all its colors. I took the above picture several years ago but I think it captures what I feel about it.

Italy: I Love and Trust You

2008-09-06T20:38:00.000-04:00

Warning: jolog post.

Magpapaka-jologs muna ako. Jolina is coming out with a movie entitiled ITALY: I Love and Trust You. Although I'm not really a Jolina fan. I want to see this film. The film is a comedy about the life of a Filipina crew member in a cruise ship, which, as the title suggests, is going around Italy and other European countries.

I saw some clips. The setting is wonderful. I love travelling so this is a big plus. From the clips, I think I've been to all of those places so it would be interesting how they would be portrayed in a Filipino film.

I also enjoy cruises. In fact, I just came back from one a bit over a month ago. In most of the cruises, about 40% to 60% of the crew are Pinoy. Syempre since Pinoy din kami, they would give us a free drink or two. We would also converse a lot. There were even a few who remembered us when they worked for different establishments back home (i.e. servers at Palms Country Club, corporate photographer, etc.) and would approach and chat with us. From those conversations, it's interesting how they have to be away from their families for several months to make a living. At the same time, they get to see places that they otherwise would never have dreamt of visiting in their life. Just seeing how cruise guests would react to their Filipino servers/stewards, you would see how they've grown to respect Filipinos as kind, hospitable, and hard working people. They are all wonderful people who represent our country well and make us proud. Cheers to them!

So I hope that this movie would do them justice. It's supposed to be a light movie, an exception to the norm that OFW films have to be serious. I'm really looking forward to this. Now, if someone will just send me a DVD copy...

The Way I See It

2008-06-29T16:01:00.000-04:00

Starbucks cups have literary quotes from renowned authors under the program title "The Way I See It". Here's a nice one from Augusten Burroughs (The Way I See It #141).

English:

I used to feel so alone in the city. All those gazillions of people and then me, on the outside. Because how do you meet a new person? I was very stumped by this for many years. And then I realized, you just say, "hi" They may ignore you. Or you may marry them. And that possibility is worth that one word.

French translation:

Avant, je me sentais tres seul dans la ville. Tous ces millions de gens et moi, en dehors. Car comment rencontrer quelqu'un? Ce probleme m'a laisse perplexe pendant bien des annees. Puis j'ai realise qu'il suffisait de dire << Bonjour >>. Il se peut que la personne ne vous regarde meme pas. Ou qu'elle vous epouse. Et cette possibilite fait que le seul mot en vaut la peine.

- Augusten Burroughs, Author

So to everyone out there, "Hi!"

Video: Landings and Take-Offs at Toronto Pearson International Airport

2008-05-20T19:15:00.000-04:00

Last Monday, our family decided to spend Victoria Day at one of my dad's favorite places, the Wendy's across the edge one of Toronto Pearson International Airport's runways. We spent the time watching planes land and take-off. We did this a lot a few years back in Amsterdam when we would go to a McDonald's near the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. I told myself that I would buy that McDonald's for my dad. At least now I know that I don't have to go that far... a particular Wendy's right here in Toronto should do.

Thanks Canon Canada - Excellent Customer Service

2008-04-19T18:33:00.000-04:00

I was so amazed by the customer service of Canon Canada. My SLR's sensor needed cleaning as small shadowy spots were annoyingly appearing in my pictures. So I contacted Canon last Thursday, they said to just bring it over in their main office in Mississauga where they will clean the camera for free! That's right... for free! My camera is already 3 years old so already way past its warranty. But no warranty was needed even though it's a service that I would have happily paid for. I was pleasantly surprised because it wasn't really due to any fault from the camera's design or manufacture but just what you'd expect from regular use.

The next day, I had my dad drop my camera over their office on his way to do some errand. When he came back... lo and behold... another surprise... Canon said that they would ship my camera once it has been cleaned. It's free again! (Notice a pattern? I love free stuff. hehe.) Within two days, I received my camera back well packaged, complete with all the little things that I also sent over with it such as the body strap and the neck strap. So not only was the cleaning free, they had prompt and reliable customer service. These little things make people feel happy about being a Canon user.

I tested the camera. Everything worked perfectly... nothing was broken. There were also no more shadowy dots. Now it's ready for my trip this July.

(I'm really happy with the excellent Canon service. However, I can't say the same for Omega's replacement parts department. I've been contacting them and have been receiving constant assurances that the extension links for the watch that I bough would be delivered soon. It's been already 3 weeks since they first promised to deliver them.)

Earth Hour 2008 - Nelly Furtado, etc.

2008-04-06T02:33:00.001-04:00

Last March 29, 2008, Toronto observed the Earth Hour from 8-9pm. The city turned off its lights for an hour and a welcome guest, never seen in Toronto, showed up... the stars. Anyway, there was a big free acoustic concert-party downtown at the Nathan Phillips Square. The main attraction: Nelly Furtado. In observance of Earth Hour, her opening song was "Turn Off the Lights". Other performers included Fefe Dobson and Philosopher Kings. Below are the pictures. Videos are to follow. (in black, Nelly; in red: Fefe; in brown: Philosopher Kings)

Post-Blizzard Videos (Lots and lots of snow!)

2008-03-10T01:00:00.004-04:00

Last March 8, 2008 "we're on the verge of smashing the 207.4 centimetre record snowfall for a Toronto winter, set in 1938-39," according to the Toronto Star. There are mountains of snow piled along the streets. And by mountains, I mean MOUNTAINS. Unlike in the winters of the past few years wherein the piled snow never went higher than 2 or 3 feet, the snow in front of the house is taller than an average person. Below is a picture of the house at spring. You can compare this to how it looks like right now post-blizzard.

Our house around spring time:

Videos of our house taken this morning after the blizzard:

Part I:

Part II:

Part III:

Part IV:

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-29T22:32:00.000-05:00

One of the belens (Nativity Scene) in our house.

My Favorite Restos

2007-12-09T06:31:00.000-05:00

This entry is a tribute to my favorite restos. Bigla ko lang naalala yung mga pagkain sa Pinas. Sarap! Nakaka-miss... Anyway, if you'll look at this list, almost all are restos in the Phils. Well, aside from I've just been in Canada for 2 years, I also haven't tried much of the super fancy restos here yet because of the hefty price tags... anywhere from $50-$100. But otherwise, if I already have a job, I'll be trying them out siguro (mga once every two months lang. hehe) because Toronto has many many many excellent restaurants and chefs. So here goes: (Note: aside from Korean Grill House Picture, all the others were taken from the internet)

Spanish:

Gaudi's

- located at the topmost floor of Greenbelt, same floor as the theaters. Quite expensive but excellent ambiance. Only by reservation since it's almost always full. First time I ate here was during a business meeting. The second time was on my anniversary with May. One should try the steak (medium rare is what I like best) and the chorizo. They opened a second branch in Fort Bonifacio.

Chinese:

Tagaytay Highlands China Palace

- Obviously located in Tagaytay Highlands. They have the best Peking Duck... and I've tried an uncountable number of Chinese restaurants. The peking duck that could compare was that of a restaurant in Shenzhen, China.

Burgers:

Hotshots

- delicious burgers... My favorite is the Bacon, Mushroom, and Cheese Melt.

Others: Forgot the name... I just discovered a new burger place in downtown Toronto. Really good as well.

Fastfood:

Jollibee

- Nothing beats the Chickenjoy and spaghetti meal.

Ilonggo

Bacolod Chicken House and Chicken Bacolod

- I miss their Chicken Inasal (Pecho - breast) and the sinamak (ilonggo vinegar) with soy sauce.

Pinoy:

Gerry's Grill

- they have the best sisig.

Others: The UP Beach House - really good barbecue. There also used to be a Filipino restaurant called Harana in EDSA Shangri-La several years back. It was actually the best for me but sadly, it doesn't exist anymore.

Korean:

Korea Garden Restaurant (Makati)

They have the best spicy beef stew. Their bulgogi is also fantastic.

Korean Grill House

An affordable eat-all-you-can restaurant chain where you cook your own food. You just keep ordering the dishes you want (beef, pork, chicken, squid, fish, rice, appetizers) and cook them yourselves. I loved it the first time I was brought there. My friends and cousins that I brought there loved it as well.

Japanese:

Sugi

My favorite dish that I can't find in other japanese restaurants is their Gindara. This is a family favorite especially the Sugi in Greenbelt. It was the last restaurant we ate in before moving to Canada. We had a "family moving-to-Canada meeting" in one of their private rooms the day before our flight. Come to think of it, I think we always seem to get that room every time we're there.

Toronto Japanese Eat-All-You-Can Restaurants

I can't name any particular ones because they all look the same, all taste the same, and all offer relatively the same prices. The eat-all-you-can part can catch you off guard. This is not like Saisaki buffet where low-quality food is served. Here, you order the dishes you want and they bring them to you. If you want more, just keep on ordering and ordering. In this way, they come out as freshly cooked... or uncooked. It's high quality eat-until-full sushi, sashimi, maki, tempura, teriyaki, etc... basically every japanese dish you can think of.

Club Food:

Palm's Country Club

They have excellent themed buffets. I always eat there when I visit from Toronto. My brother makes it his second home... there everyday because of the free wifi.

Toronto's Cavalcade of Lights Festival

2006-12-05T00:59:00.000-05:00

During the Christmas season, Toronto celebrates the Cavalcade of Lights festival. Aside from major streets and neighbordhoods fully lighted with christmas lights and decorations, every weekend there's an event happening in City Hall. Last Saturday, I went there with Debie (formerly from UP EEE (now in UBC EE) who's taking her coop in Toronto). The entire Nathan Phillips Square (city hall plaza) was filled with people.

Things for people to do:
1. Ice-Skating.
2. Watch the band (last Saturday was Jacksoul... a really good jazz-R&B group)

3. Watch the spectacular fireworks display
4. Watch the Immersion, a light project. (The Old City Hall was immersed in projected light throughout the night. However, Immersion itself is a 15 minute projection show amidst loud classical music)

5. Enjoy the christmas decorations.
6. Eat. There were several booths scattered across the Square.
7. Enjoy the night and Relax.
Other pictures: (including the Swarovski crystals-xmas tree in Eaton Centre, and Dundas Square)

$1 Ikea Breakfast

2006-11-25T16:07:00.001-05:00

This morning, we went to Ikea once again to try their $1 breakfast. It was a beautiful foggy morning (I love fogs.. especially when you see the top of the downtown buildings 'disappear' inside the fog). I was shocked to see their cafeteria full of people. It seems many avail of this meal. With a loonie, you get fried potato cubes, scrambled eggs, and link sausages. I liked it... for $1, a real deal... you can hardly buy any food here for that amount.

Free Flu Vaccination

2006-11-24T17:33:00.000-05:00

The Canadian government is really impressive. Today I just came from free flu vaccination given by the province of Ontario to all Ontario residents every year. Take note: it's free. There are many temporary clinics set up for this. I went to the Ikea near our house for my vaccination even though I could have gone to the clinic in Ryerson. No lines... no hassles... They had around 20 nurses (or medical technologists) to administer the shots. So when you go there, you wouldn't have to wait at all. Then after wards, you're required to stay there for 15 minutes just in case you get some comlpications. I hope the Philippines could also have such a government. Even though taxes here are a lot higher than in the US or in the Philippines, Canadians don't complain as much because the government does its job (even better than the US government). And the government here is also really good with 'systems'... everything is systematic, orderly, up-to-date thus service is prompt and hassle-free.

2006-02-25T11:42:00.000-05:00

Dear Filipinos,

I could not stand Gloria... She should be hanged! (hypothetically speaking of course)

Sorry for the harsh words. But she keeps on pushing for her personal interests at the great expense of the Filipino people. It is not poverty that brings Filipinos to emigrate. The poor work abroad only as OFWs and return to the Philippines after a few years. Most are unable to bring their entire families to emigrate. Emigrants are really people who already have at least comfortable lives in the Philippines but have grown hopeless (at least for the time being) with the present government.

Everything is starting to be like Martial Law... the scary thing is... GMA is a lot more intelligent than Erap... she is able to manipulate everyone by hiding behind different "terms" and playing things strategically... that makes her worse and more frightening. Now she's arresting anyone who opposes her? Close down newspapers?... Where's the freedom of speech... the freedom to express your view against the government. Coup should never be tolerated but to go against civilians and civil institutions? That's definitely martial law.

Her first tactic is to scare her opponents. Frightened animals would never fight back against a hungry beast. Her cabinet has been insinuating that they would take over media outfits that would oppose her. Isn' that what the media is supposed to do? ...To bring out the truth?... To support good things and to expose and condemn what's evil even if it's the government? This is exactly what is called freedom of the press. More importantly, it is freedom of speech.

Her move to raid the Daily Tribune is a scare tactic to keep the press from opposing her. What exactly is the Daily Tribune? That newspaper could not be more than an itch behind her back. It has very low readership. It could not be able to invite crowds to a party even if it were to give free food... what more to promote rebellion?? No... GMA is intelligent enough to know that if you hit a small bug with enough force (without warrants, with the threat of military power given the declaration of the state of emergency), the larger bugs would hide in their holes.. in the dark... and would dare not show their faces.

If only I was there... I would have walked to the streets and joined the rallies; showed my disgust at the leech that bleeds us dry just as I went to the streets against Joseph Estrada even way before EDSA II in Ayala and in front of the Congressional building. The good thing with Estrada was that at least he respected public outcries... respected democracy in that sense... did not tramp upon any freedoms that are the basic fabric of democracy. This current President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, is not scared to ignore freedoms wisely calling them different names. A fool with a new shirt is still a fool.

A thorough analysis of Malacanang press releases would show a scary unfolding of events. Each statement thay make lays the ground for justifying what would have otherwise been illegal acts. They have effectively been playing on legalities and the psychologies of the people. I have been closely following events through the radio and newspapers. From the very beginning, even before the declaration of the state of emergency, I knew that there was a newspaper or a media outfit bound to be closed down. I also knew that this was a good reason to go against her opponents including those who had no hand whatsoever in the attempted coup.

The military officers who were said to have masterminded the coup are freely going about. The general is in house arrest (not imprisoned) and the colonel going about his own business. If the coup was really gravely serious, these officers should have been placed under protective custody and flung to some far away place in case their supporters might free them. There is no longer a clear and present danger... Malacanang knows this. They are simply taking advantage of the situation.

Even if the state of emergency will have been lifted. Malacanang would have succeeded in accomplishing its primary objective... to silence any opposition.

Oh poor democracy! Oh poor Filipinos!

A real democracy is representative of the sentiments of ALL the people... not just the majority. Minorities also have stakes in the government. Their lives are affected as well. Even people who believe in the values of the opposition should have a say in the government. Thus, opposition should never be silenced yet encouraged in a real democracy. I know this. I have just studied under a great Canadian political scientist. Real democracies should encourage parties from all backgrounds... rightist, centrist, and even leftist. They keep each other in check. Even in Canada for example, a great capitalist society, leftist parties are highly respected and recognized. Having representation by different parties of different orientations ensures that unbridled ambition is kept in check. Power is not monopolized and abused. Everyone should benefit and not be maginalized... the rich, the poor, the educated, the uneducated, the right, the left, the loyalists, and the oppositionists. Everyone should benefit. No one should be marginalized. Everyone has a stake in the success or failure of a government to properly and morally govern its people.

Please let us not be apathetic to what's happening. Filipinos have gotten used to being used and abused such that evil elements are able to take advantage of the helpless... Indeed we have all become helpless because of this. It is our apathy that cripples us as a people. Our determination to watch in the sidelines, to remove ourselves from the tiring and repetitive political struggles and turmoil suffocating our country. We can not... We should not... simply watch as if all that are happening will not affect us, our loved ones, and our future. If we believe in the greatness of the Filipino people... if we believe that we deserve a lot more from our government, let your voices be heard.

Sincerely,

John Glenn R. Kilayko
A Filipino
Taken by Glenn Kilayko.

1st sem grades!

2006-01-11T01:39:00.000-05:00

I got my 1st sem grades... And I'm so happy with them! I have to keep this up... I want to end up in Silicon Valley... I've been reading a lot on it over the internet and have also borrowed a book from the Toronto Public Library: "The Silicon Valley Edge". I was quite disappointed that the major industries of Canada are actually in the natural resources and financial sector and not much engineering... especially electronics engineering. So there's a big possibility that I'll take my masters in the US and work there.

Winter

2006-01-11T01:05:00.000-05:00

I arrived from Manila on November 25. I had to attend the funeral of my grandfather. When we arrived... we were greeted by this extreme people call winter. On most of the dates, the temperature is from -1 to -6 degrees Celcius with positive temperatures on rare occasions. Regarding the temperature... there is such a thing here as the wind chill factor. For example, even though the temperature is only -3 degrees... the wind chill could make it feel as if it's -13 degrees. This is the more important temperature that you have to watch out for... it's called the wind chill factor... I've mentioned before that the Weather Channel is quite accurate.. it is... it is your best friend during winter so never leave home without checking the forecasts so that you can dress appropriately. I actually don't check the Weather Network. I check the Yahoo forcasts (with YM and more recently, the Yahoo Widgets) and they're just as accurate. If you're afraid of the cold, don't worry... as long as you dress accordingly, you'll be ok. There are good winter jackets that can be bought in any sports store. And you also have to learn how to layer (wearing several layers of clothing like shirts on top of the other).

I'm gonna talk again about shoveling snow...

I have learned (through hard experience) that as soon as it snows and kinda stops, you shovel the driveway and the pedestrian road while the snow is stil soft. You just push the snow with your shovel to the two sides of your driveway. Then you add salt on the driveway to melt the remaining thin layer of snow and ice. If you do not remove the snow while they're soft. They tend to harden into ice thus they will be a lot harder to remove. Also, if you started out that you cleared the entire driveway of snow, all you need to do is regular maintenance just pushing the snow to the sides each time. If you do not, you're gonna end up shoveling (carrying and moving the snow) to clear off mounds or thick or hardened snow. As for the salt, these can be bought in Canadian Tire (hardware warehouse), Costco (Wholesale warehouse), and most gasoline stations. I actually enjoy shoveling. It's a good exercise. You can check the internet for safety tips before shoveling though becuase it can lead to heart attacks for the physically inactive. For those who don't want to do manual labor, you can buy snow blowers. They're like lawn mowers that you move over the snow, sucks them, and blows them to one side.

Pag new couple kayo, it's probably better to live in a condo or apartment so that you wouldn't have to shovel. That's what I'd do. You can't be lazy to shovel since aside from aesthetics, and bringing your car out of the driveway, there can be legal constraints... for example, you could be brought to court if someone slips along the pedestrian way fronting your house since you failed to shovel.

You have to take care when you drive on roads that have not been cleared of snow and ice by snow removing vehicles. As the tires loose traction, the roads can get... no sorry... are extremely slippery. You have to control your braking and have to do it at a greater distance than the regular distance required. Also, you lose some steering control while driving as your car has a greater tendency to skid... It's a normal occurence. When you turn the wheel right, you notice your car skidding to the right. You turn the steering wheel to the left without any effect at first thus usually overcompanesating. This results in your car suddenly skidding sharply to your left. My first experience with this, I was a bit terrified to lose that much control over the car. Just drive slowly and when you start skidding, just point the steering wheel to the direction where you want the car to go so that you do not over-compensate (though is is normally hard to know when you've already pointed the wheels ot the right direction).

I actually like winter although it is colder here than in the US since we are more north (more so if you live in more northern cities like Montreal, etc.). I love it when you wake up in the morning just after a heavy snowfall where everything is white (especially when the snow removers have not passed by yet). It has a certain magical feeling to it.

Oh by the way... I know before that snow are crytals just as they are portrayed in cartoons and christmas decorations. But I never thought that when you catch a snowfall... you really see the shape of the crystal!

Updates... Get Personal

2006-01-11T00:57:00.000-05:00

I just discovered from an avid reader of this blog... that I have an avid reader for this blog! hehe. Thus, I apologize to this reader and to others for not updating this. Like regular bloggers, I'm deciding to get a bit more personal... tell you about some of the things that has been happening to me... not just the cold "tips and lessons"... this serves as two things... getting personal will give people a better idea of a regular (kinda) life of a new immigrant to Canada. Secondly, it will also make writing entries for this blog easier as I'd have to think less.

Have a Happy New Year everyone!

First Shoveling Snow Experience

2005-12-06T22:15:00.000-05:00

Masaya naman yung first experience namin with shoveling snow. That was when we just came back from the Philippines: November 25. We rode the taxi coming from Pearson International Airpoer to the house and were greeted by white surroundings and a lot of snow that had to be shoveled from the sidewalk and the driveway. Kaming 4 boys nag-shovel. The snow was about 6 inches. Good thing it was only about -5 degrees. The night before that, the time when the plane left HK (stopover) to Toronto, the pilot announced : Anchorage -9 degrees, Toronto -13 degrees.

Anyway, removing the soft snow from the car and the driveway was easy. But clearing the sidewalk was the hard part. It had become ice. Iit was hard and slow to remove the ice... It was only our sidewalk that wasn't cleared since we were away for two weeks. Our plane just arrived and we were wide awake due to jetlag even if it was already around 1am. We were making a lot of noise with our shovels hammering/scraping the ice. But if was fun since it was the first time. Now we understand what people mean by shoveling at once after heavy snowfall. You would not want it to turn to ice. The snow becomes ice when the temperature rises and melts the snow to water. As the temperature drops once more, the water turns to hard ice. This ice is slippery so should be removed from sidewalks. Here in Canada, you can be sued if someone slips at your sidewalk due to unshoveled snow/ice. Thus, even with the time, we immediately took to the task.

The sidewalks and the driveways of the other houses were well cleared... they must've put salt on them to melt the ice.

After that experience, though it's already winter, we did not need to shovel as much. Snowfall had been light so shoveling the sidewalk was a lot easier and quicker.

Visited the Phils for a week

2005-12-06T21:51:00.000-05:00

Sorry haven't been posting as much. I went to the Philippines last month for just 1 week. That was really nice and refreshing... though the reason that I went back wasn't exactly.

Anyway, when I went back, I realized that I changed. There are certain things that didn't feel the same anymore.

NAIA Airport

As we walked out of the bridge from the plane to the airport (NAIA), we were welcomed by a strong stinking odor. Didn't exactly expect that with my first step into Philippine soil. Anyway, it was a pleasant surprise that in the five months that I've been away, they renovated many of the NAIA washrooms. They're now more pleasing to the senses than before. I tend to judge airports with their toilets. Before I felt was embarass when I see foreigners visiting the Philippines use NAIA's toilets.

In the baggage claim area, I observed that there were many NAIA personnel not doing anything and just standing around chitchatting with co-workers and OFWs. I also saw this going back to Canada. It seems that people have a lot of time in their hands. Here, since I worked before, every penny that an emplyer pays the employee counts. If you're supposed to work for 8 hours, you work for 8 hours. Is it becuase the airport is a government institution that it suffers from a heavy beaucracy and over-staffing, suffering from inefficiencies? It took a while for us to go out of the airport becuase the scanners for the luggages were broken. At least that's what we heard from one of the airport personnel.

AIR

Outside the doors, I felt the gush of warm and moist air rush to my face... If you can differentiate between polluted air and clean air, I would say that was also polluted. I didn't expect my nostrils to have become more sensitive to such things just after 5 months in Canada.

TRAFFIC

On the road it was... awww... the nice noisy sound of Manila traffic... noisy engines of jeeps and tricycles and the countinuous honking of horns. People rarely honk their horns in Canada. when they do, you must be doing something really bad. It's also more stressful to drive in Manila's streets with its disappearing lanes, lack of road signs and marks, and the non-observance of right of way. Swerving and cutting through is common in Manila unlike in Canada. Aside from the lack of driving education and road signs, it's also probably becuase of the sheer volume of traffic.

Anyway, those are the initial things that I noticed. But don't get me wrong... when the plane landed on NAIA runway, it was bliss... the Philippines will always be my home. My history, relatives, and friends are there. But slowly, you also get to appreciate what Canada has to offer.

Ever wondered why the pedestrian is king in the US and Canada?

2005-10-23T00:07:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered why in developed countries, drivers seem to respect pedestrians? For example, here in Canada, the pedestrian is king. Even if the pedestrian is ignoring the walk and don't walk light signals, drivers could not do anything but to wait for the pedestrian to complete his cross. Pedestrian... from latin pedes meaning foot. We are not used to this in the Philippines where the driver is lord and his car, his charriot. It reminds me of the PC game, Starcraft. The Filipino driver is like the protoss saying, "Power Overwhelming".

I remember first encountering the drivers respecting pedestrian traffic when I went to Hawaii a decade ago where we did a lot of walking in Honolulu. One afternoon, when we reached the side walk waiting for the oncoming car to pass us before crossing to the other side of the road, the car stopped right before the sidewalk letting us pass. I was thinking... what a nice person. Then my dad told me that it was really like that in many countries unlike in the Philippines. This amused me very much.

Was it becuase developed countries normally have stricter enforcement of their laws? Is it becuase their citizens are more disciplined compared to Filipinos?

Today... I have found the answer! Let me tell you what happened today.

I went to work on foot today (a mere 15 minute walk). However things were different than before. It was raining hard... it was pouring. The wind was strong. And the temperature (in the single digit nearing zero) was its coldest that I've experienced in Canada since arriving in June. to top it off, I felt a bit feverish. Though a 15 minute walk may not be too great a feat in the Philippines, it was here this afternoon; and as I hear, every winter when the temperature could reach up to -40 degrees.

That is WHY drivers respect pedestrians. Sure the laws being implemented, people being more disciplined play their parts. However, I believe that it was simply a matter of necessity living in countries that experience harsh weather conditions. Pedestrians have to reach their destination (indoors) in as little time as possible... it is simple freezing. Within the comforts of their heated cars, drivers surely know what the pedestrians must be feeling at that very instant: "I HAVE TO GET INDOORS." From this, I believe, originated this idea of treating the pedestrians as kings.

To top it off... Philippine drivers endure long hours of heavy traffic (so do New York City drivers). This leads to treating pedestians as obstructions in the road.

Harbourfront Centre

2005-10-18T18:28:00.000-04:00

Gene and I went to the lake area cuz we've
never been there. Curious ako as kung maganda ba dun
cuz normally maganda yung mga sea or lake view areas
ng mga developed countries. Even Roxas Boulevard is
nice. It's really nice there. One area is a small park
so it's a nice quaint area good for relaxing. Another
area is the harbourfront centre which is busy and full
of tourists. It's like the Manila Bay walk. There you
can ride the ferry to Toronto Island, a small island
with an airport in the lake, other boat tours, eat
in restaurants with a nice view, or just listen to
the music of street performers.

I just found out that the street performers
especially the subway musicans are not poor. They're
required to have music degrees to be able to play in
the subway stations. They even sell their CDs. You can
say that they really enjoy performing for people that's
why they do it in subway stations. Oh... one of my
reasons to go to the lake was realy to take pictures.

NOTE: Pictures of Lake Ontario, and Harbourfront Centre
can be viewed in http://glennpics.blogspot.com

Condo prices

2005-10-18T18:23:00.000-04:00

Yestrday I was checking prices for homes and condos. I
think that for newly weds, condo living is
better for us. The cheapest condos I have seen (pero
magaganda sila) costs $150,000. That excludes
furniture and appliances. It's becomes more affordable
if we get a 25-yr mortgage. Compared to the Philippines
though, prices of condos here are still quite steep.
However, mortgages are easy to get around if you have
good credit and since the salaries here are higher
than in the Philippines, the condo prices here end up
to be quite the same in the Philippines if you take in
to consideration the salaries.

Opening and Closing times of Malls

2005-10-18T18:21:00.000-04:00

Actually mas-lively ang malls sa atin. On weekdays,
malls (excluding the cinemas) close at 8pm and 6pm on
weekends. On weekends only restaurants and cinemas are
open 'till 9. Actually, that's also the opening
and closing times observed by restaurants and shops.
Medyo weird if you compare it to the Phils but I guess
they really treat weekends as restdays here.

Weather Channel

2005-10-18T18:17:00.000-04:00

Grabe ang weather channel dito. They make weather
prediction the science that it is. They're very
accurate even for forecasts a week earlier. When they
say that it's gonna rain in this day, it's really
gonna rain so you better bring your umbrella to
school. If they say that the temperature will be like
this,it will really be like that so you should dress
accordingly. They make Ernie Baron seem like a joke.
Actually people here, including my mom, check the
weather channel daily because the weather varies a lot
and they're usually right on the dot. I was told that
the accuracy of weather prediction here is close to 99%.
In fact, weather prediction here is said to be more
accurate than in the US since Canada experiences more
extreme weather conditions. There was a story that a
few years back in Montreal, a blizzard suddenly occured
without warning so people were not prepared for it.
Many died especially old people.

For those who will be transferring to Canada, once
you're here, make it a habit to check the weather
channel before leaving the house.

Declassified: Toronto Film Festival

2005-10-18T18:11:00.000-04:00

Declassified email:

Today we went up the CN Tower. When we came down, we chanced
upon the Toronto Film Festival. We missed the arrival of
many of the actors and actresses who were already inside.
However, I chanced upon the early departure of Orlando Bloom
and Kirsten Dunst. It was really so unfortunate that I wasn't
able to take a picture of Kirsten. At least I was able to
take a perfect shot of Orlando (note Orlando Bloom 004.jpg).
There were so many Hollywood stars and singers daw who were
there pero mabilis lang kami dun eh.


NOTE: Orlando picture can be found in http://glennpics.blogspot.com

Because

2005-10-12T11:00:00.000-04:00

How come a lot of my 'becauses' in the past posts were spelled as "becUAse"?? Only my mom noticed the consistent typo error... Anyway, I edited the posts already. If you see any more please add a comment here as I normally just type speedily without any thought as to how I'm typing the words. Thanks.

Toronto Pictures

2005-10-09T00:37:00.000-04:00

I posted a lot of Toronto pictures. Check out my photo album: http://glennpics.blogspot.com

I Miss

2005-08-25T10:04:00.000-04:00

I woke up early in the morning becuase of this dream I had. The dream got me thinking... I was inspired to write how i felt... so here it goes:

I Miss

by

Glenn Kilayko



I wish to wake up from this long dream...
I want to wake up and suddenly find myself
in our beloved country, the Philippines.
I dreamt last night that I was back home.
I was excited that I woke in the middle of the night.
People say that they envy me or that I'm
so lucky with all the education and financial
opportunity that is available here in this faraway land.
Perhaps career-wise they may be right.
But if you work hard and are determined,
you will live a good life as well back home...
the best of lives.


I miss our country.
I miss the early mornings as the sun pierces
through the sleepy sky.
I miss the sight of people cleaning their front yards.
I miss warm pandesals.
I miss Filipino breakfasts in restaurants.
I miss the cheap and delicious food: the adobo, the
pork chops, the sisig, and the lechon.
I miss the very affordable restaurants and fast food chains.
I miss the chicken joy, the nuggets,
the zinger, and the hotshots.
I miss the sound of horns and the wild city driving.
I miss the rains, the typhoons, perhaps even the flooding.
I miss the jeepneys with all of their decor.
I miss our cities with all of their color.
I miss the vibrant life and the fiestas.
I miss the religious ceremonies and the stampitas.
I miss the warmth and smiles of our Filipino brethren.
I miss our fields, our mountains, our skies, and our seas.
I miss our beaches with our fine white sand.
I miss the night life in Eastwood or Makati.
I miss the Filipino language spoken everywhere you go.
I miss the sari-sari store with the colorful posters
stuck on its walls.
I miss my relatives and close friends who had
just always been there beside me...
I miss the political excitement
and the activism of the people.
I miss our love songs.
I miss our music and our television shows.
I miss our movies with their slapstick comedy,
intense drama, and cheap props.
I miss our stone fortress-like churches in the provinces.
I will miss our christmases with the parols and parties.
I will miss the simbang gabi and the puto afterward.
I will miss our Christmas carols with their up beat tunes.
I will miss exchanging gifts
with plenty of friends and family.
I will miss the loves I left back home.
Basically, I will miss what I consider
to always be my home.

Toronto Mass Transportation System

2005-08-16T22:02:00.000-04:00

It is said that Toronto has one of the best mass transportation system in the world. Probably even the best. TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) is a public company that is funded mostly by taxes (aside from the high fares). Perhaps you'll find out as I go through a brief overview of the Toronto mass transporation system:

Subway

Toronto has an excellent subway system. They're relatively clean and with no graffiti (unlike NYC subways). There are subway stations all over the Greater Toronto Area. Riding the subway is easy and simple. All you have to do is know how to read the subway station map and know where you're going. I myself take the subway as my primary mode of transportation.

There are several means of using the subway. For regular users, there is a monthly metro pass. This costs around $100/pass which is good for unlimited rides for a month. For students, you can buy the metropass at a discounted rate of $85 from their respective schools. There is also a day unlimited pass that costs $8 for unlimited use for one day. A regular token (1 complete journey - no matter number of transfers) costs $2.50 (one token). If you buy $10 worth you get 5 tokens. There are other fares and ticket rates within the ttc system. You can also pay with $2.50 in coins for one trip. The above-mentioned are just the ones that I normall use. For example, they have family tickets for Sundays and holidays. All of these could be used for the entire ttc system which includes both public buses and subways. For more information such as fares and maps, check out the Toronto Transit Commission's Website at www.ttc.ca.

The Toronto subway sytem is an extensive network of railway and stations. It has four subway lines: Bloor line(green), Yonge line(yellow), Sheppard line (Purple), and Scarborough line (blue). Like our MRT system, each line has two railways with trains travelling at opposite directions. You can cross from one subway line to another on special stations called subway interchanges. Subway interchanges are basically just stations with access to more than one subway line. Your token/ticket is good for the entire stretch of your trip regardless of the number of transfers from one subway to another. This include subway to bus and bus to subway transfers. To go to your destination, check to see if it is in the north, south, east, or west of your present station. From there, all you have to do is to look at signs saying which line leads to a particular direction (N,S,E,W). For example, from Don Mills station on the Sheppard line to St. George Station on the Bloor line, one would ride the westward train to the Sheppard-Yonge Interchange (Station), then southward on the Yonge line 'till the Bloor-Yonge interchange. From there, transfer to the Bloor line and ride the westward train to St. George. Maps are posted on the train and on the stations. They have a drawing of a compass on the maps for commuters to know which direction they should go. Maps are also available upon request from the ticketing booths in each station.

Trains are quite frequent here in Toronto. You have one arriving every 5 minutes... usually sooner.

bus transfers: for transfer to bus from the subway or vice-versa, if you paid with a token/coins and not an unlimited day or monthly pass, you need to get a tranfer ticket within the station (if you have to leave the station to ride the bus). Do not forget this in order that you would not have to pay again for a single trip.

Buses

TTC Buses are all over the city. They are even purchasing several hundred more buses from the sky-high gas tax. The gas tax being high serves a dual purpose of funding for the TTC and also to push people to use mass-transit rather than cars. With the efficiency of Toronto's mass transit system, not many are complaining.

I haven't really ridden the buses yet but the fare and the tickets are just one with the ttc subway. I will write down what I've heard from other people. (TAKE NOTE: the TTC is only for the Greater Toronto Area... does not include the suburbs like Mississauga where a lot of Filipinos live but Mississauga has its own efficient bus system)

Riding the TTC bus, you can wait for the buses at designated bus stops. Usually there is a red pole near the corners of the road. There are also glass bus sheds in some areas that offer protection from the weather. The buses will stop at the bus stops when the drivers see that there are commuters who wish to ride the bus.

To disembark, there is a cord that when pulled means that you want to go down at the next stop. At nights, especially when the buses are quite empty, you can ask the driver to announce your stop for those who are still inexperienced.

FOR THE SUBURBS
For the suburs going to Toronto and vice-versa, you have the GO transit system. They have either the GO train or the GO bus. It's an efficient way to travel between the GTA and the suburbs.

Bayview Village Park

2005-08-16T21:50:00.000-04:00

Here are pictures that I took early this morning today of Bayview Village Park. There are a lot of large and beautiful public parks scattered around Toronto. Anyone can use the facilities for free such as basketball, tennis courts, football, soccer, and baseball fields. There are also well maintained playgrounds for kids to play. During the summers, the fountain play area for kids is popular where they run around in their swimsuit and get wet to cool off from the scorching heat. Some large parks like the Bayview Village Park have areas which look like forests. In fact, there is a long bike trail that goes through Toronto which is like (or probably is) a real long forest within the city.

Bayview Village Park - Tree

2005-08-16T21:48:00.000-04:00

Tree (Bayview Village Park)

Bayview Village Park - Field

2005-08-16T21:47:00.000-04:00

Field (Bayview Village Park)

Bayview Village Park - Sky

2005-08-16T21:46:00.002-04:00

Sky (Bayview Village Park)

Bayview Village Park - Pathway

2005-08-16T21:46:00.001-04:00

Pathway (Bayview Village Park)

Blessing by Priest before Leaving for Canada

2005-08-16T21:36:00.000-04:00

Here is a priest giving us a blessing for a safe journey before we left for Canada. Actually he officiated the renewal of vows of my parents as husband and wife at the same time.

I suggest that for people ask for blessing for a safe journey from a priest before they leave. You're gonna need it! :-) Actually it's good practice to ask for blessing each time you travel for: 1) graces from God for a safe and succesful journey, 2) to remind us of what our REAL journey in this world is and not to lose track.

Filipinos as Apostles of Christ

2005-08-16T21:32:00.000-04:00

Churches here are usually modern looking. You hardly, if any, find the old classical or stone construction churches we have in the Philippines. Though about 50% of the population is Catholic, most Canadians do not practice religion as both a public and private exercise. They merely see it as a private one. With this, churches are not as packed as in the Philippines especially on weekdays. Also, in communities with a large Filipino Population like Mississauga, a great percentage of the devotees, and even the mass servers and ministers, are Filipino. Masses are also not as frequent as in the Philippines. Most churches just have one daily mass each day while others even have only on alternating weekdays. I believe it will be good for migrants to even strengthen their faith in Canada. It is also a means to be apostles in the midst of the world. In fact, Filipinos are already acting like that... apostles of the world, apostles of God. 300 years of Spanish colonialism + strong Catholic faith + good english + large OFW and migrant population = an entire nation of missionaries. It's really amazing how God plans everything.

Cleaning cars and house

2005-08-08T22:05:00.000-04:00

Here I learned how to clean the car. We hosed the cars down and used towels to remove the dirt and to dry them off. Here there's no need to use soap becuase there's hardly any oil or grease splashing onto your car. What you simply have to remove is the dirt. Even this, you do not have to do weekly, unless it rains, since there is hardly any dirt and dust in Toronto. It's probably because there is really low air pollution and dust particles flying about. You could go on weeks without cleaning the car and it will still look like it has just been washed.

The same goes for the house. You hardly need to sweept the floors or vacuum for dust since there is hardly any. It is said that you have to repaint your house a lot less than in the Philippines since the paint also does not discolor due to pollution.

Here you may be on your own, cleaning and maintaining things without the help of any domestic help. However, these things have been made easier here by the clean environment and the instruments and technology available to make the work a lot easier.

How is Toronto?

2005-07-29T19:26:00.000-04:00

Here it is... I'm starting to like it. In fact I think I already like it a lot.

Well basically this entire blog will be about life in Toronto and how it is so I won't go into much detail yet. But to put in a general manner, I will put my likes and dislikes, advantages, and disadvantages of life here compared to Manila.

Things I don't like:
1. Away from friends and families, from your fellow countrymen.
2. No exitement brought about by Politics. (You'll miss it sometimes)
3. Canada looks down on Philippine Education no matter what school you come from (UP, DLSU, Ateneo, etc.)
4. Philippine credentials and degrees are not recognized here.
5. Getting a driver's license is a struggle; You really have to study for the written tests, take lessons, pass 2 hard road tests.
6. Car insurance is extremely expensive; moreso for drivers 25 and below.
7. Though Canada is a vast country with different land formations, Toronto is an extremely flat place lacking in beautiful mountain scenery around Toronto.
8. In the suburbs, buildings are far apart so you have to walk quite a distance or use a car.
9. Few large malls.
10. People not as religious even though almost 50% are Catholic.
11. I miss Filipino dishes... although there are Filipino restaurants here.
12. No Jollibee, Chicken Bacolod, Shakey's, and spaghetti and rice in fastfood outlets.
13. Movies are EXTREMELY expensive. They could cost from $9 to $15.
14. No household help. But technology and simple equipment and instruments help to make your job easier. A regular joe could set up his own furnitures (bookshelf, bed, table).
15. Beaches are nothing compared to Philippine beaches.
16. Taxes are sky-high esp. for high-income families since Canada is a socialist country. (Although there is hardly any poor unlike in the US and everyone gets excellent infrastructure, free health care, free primary and secondary education, and subsidized university).
17. Taxes for goods and services is higher: 15%.
18. Prices for basic things such as food and drinks are high. Eating out even in a fastfood is like eating in a classy Philippine restaurant.

Things I Like:
1. A lot less corruption and political instability.
2. There is a large population of Filipinos. You can find Asian and Filipinos stores everywhere offering services from haircuts, filipino video rentals, fil music cds, and your favorite Filipino groceries (although really expensive... imported). Filipinos are also very helpful and welcoming making sure that you're new life will be pleasant.
3. People are very nice. They greet each other on the street and are very accomodating. They are mostly pleasant.
4. The most multi-cultural city in the world. It's like a UN city. There is no clear majority... not even the original white Canadians since most of the population are 1st or 2nd generation immigrants.
5. Great public transportation system. Every place is accessible by subway and bus.
6. Very low crime rate. It is the safest large city in the world. You feel safe walking on a dark and deserted street at 2 AM.
7. Roads are safer since drivers here have had training, know the rules of the road, and are more discliplined.
8. The pedestrian is king.
9. Large and breathtaking public parks with free use of fields and courts. Parks are also everywhere.
10. Clean and green. A lot of forest-like areas even near the city.
11. Technology for the home is a generation ahead... cable internet, movie on demand, programmable lights, laser printers, flat screen TVs and monitors are standard.
12. Really spacious. Large sprawling parks and public areas, wide and open parking spaces.
13. College or even highschool students have the opportunity to earn big bucks in part time work. In fact, most students do. A student could earn as much as a vice president of a Philippine bank.
14. You learn to do household work and instruments and technology make doing them easier.
15. Not humid... could be hot during the summer but not as humid as in the Philippines. However, people say newcomers should watch out for Canadian winter. Let's wait and see (rather feel).
16. Squirrels, birds play in your garden. Wildlife is very much protected and blooming.
17. You have all the best products of the world sold here. Consumers also have within their hands an enormous power to choose what they want given that there are just endless choices of different types of products.
18. Free healthcare, excellent education not to mention it being subsidized for post-secondary, and free for elementary and high school.
19. You have the potential to be what you want to be... want to be an astronaut? A fighter jet designer?

These are just some of the things... they are too many to all write in one post.

Although I love the Philippines, the country and its people, and also considering that my lifestlye back in the Philippines was superior to what I currently enjoy in Canada, I think that I will be living here for many years. One good thing is that it's easier to start out into the new world fresh out of college here than in the Philippines... to start a family here... Here you have the potential to be what you want to be as long as you work hard and have principles. With this, I think I could do more staying here than in the country I love where hands are tied by political issues and corruption. Might as well do what I can for the country from Canada considering present conditions. I will just be going back and forth and perhaps, when already comfotable enough, transfer back.

University, College, Minimum Wage

2005-07-29T19:09:00.000-04:00

University
Ang baba ng tingin nila sa Philippine universities. To make things worse, I'm a late applicant so every passing minutes lessens my chances exponentially. I probably have close to zero percent chance right now. Actually, mayayabang talaga yung canadian universities. Masmadali pa makapasok siguro sa US universities with what I've been hearing. Pag hindi ako natanggap, I might work first for 1 year then try applying again (no applying for 2nd sem) cuz basically a Philippine degree will be useless here. I've met many people who occupied prestigious positions in companies back in the Philippines that had to make do with a simple job here. There were also graduates from engineering, etc that had to make do with working in the grocery or something. There's a recent DLSU graduate of Business (graduated 3 years ago) who immediately moved to Canada after graduation, he is now working as a salesman in a Bossini store. Another guy who already graduated Political Science from UP about four years ago and who already had a good job back home is now in college again because he can't practice here. On the other hand, only about 50% of Canadians have a college/university degree. Magkaiba nga pala yung college sa university dito. A university leads to a degree... a college leads to certification. A university is to theoretical while college is to practical stuff. Examples of college diplomas are technicians, assistants, general marketing, etc. Most college degrees lasts only for 2 years. Some people work afterwards or transfer to a university after. Unlike the Philippines, there is also no pressure here to graduate on time. Many work before studying or go off in some semesters to work. That's becuase university education here, though subsidized, is really expensive so students normall get a student load and work to pay it off.

Minimum Wage
But don't be fooled. Minimum wage here is very high. In fact most students in the unversity have part-time jobs which pay them close to the minimum wage. There are also many high school students who already worked while in high school (cuz you can work starting 16) and are now store managers earning $30,000 while still in college. Madaming money dito. Minimum wage here is $7 per hour. I myself was offered a night job, 5 hours daily, with a pay of $10/hour. One canadian dollar equals 48 pesos. If you do the computation, that's $50/day * 5 days/week * 4 weeks/mo * 48 pesos/dollar = Php48,000 per month. That's near minimum wage only but yet it's quite big compared to Philippines even just part time work. So by the end of university, most students here have enough money to buy a car or even their own house. Someone said that the backbone of the Canadian economy, the labor force, are the students since they are the ones who do the menial jobs. Since most students, no matter how rich you are, work while studying with anything from groceries, to clerks, there's no shame here in doing menial jobs. Hindi din binabastos yung workers, salesladies cuz you never know that these people might be a lot richer than you.

How's Toronto? (Intro)

2005-06-30T10:10:00.000-04:00

People ask how's Toronto? This is probably the most important post I have yet to write. Watch out for this. It will be out within the next few days. *Smile*

I'm cooking! (Rice, Kitchen)

2005-06-30T10:06:00.000-04:00

Who would have thought that I could cook... As in not just heat something or bake right from frozen? Well I could. The past few days proved it becuase here, you are forced to cook.

Cooking
The past week (2nd week), we've been cooking. We realized that money will really come out of our pockets if we continue to eat out as restaurants and even fast food are expensive here. My siblings and I have been doing the cooking. I baked (from frozen) pizza , buffalo chicken wings, and chicken nuggets. Aside from the usual eggs for breakfast, for yesterday's lunch, I cooked Salpicao and decorated the plate with a carrot and cabbage salad. Surrounding the salpicao at the center of the plate is corned beef. That's my first culinary work of art.

Rice
For those worried that they won't be able to eat rice once they've transferred here, worry not. We have been eating rice for all of our meals that can be purchased from any grocery. Rice is imported from Asia so the price of rice is a bit higher than in the Philippines.

Cleaning the dishes
Cleaning the dishes is quite easier here as there are many tools and equipment available. I learned that hot water is used to remove the oil and particles from the dishes (don't laugh if you knew this before). Back in my Condo in QC, the faucet had no hot water. There are also special brushes used to easily scrub the plates thus you do not have to scrub so hard with a sponge. We also learned how to use the dishwasher. The advantage of eating less rice is that there a less particles that cling real strong on the ceramics since rice is one of the hardest to remove.

Meeting with a friend in Square One

2005-06-30T10:04:00.001-04:00

Square One is said to be the largest mall in Ontario. Yesterday I met with a friend from UP EEE and UP carpool. His family migrated to Canada at exactly one year before us, june 17. He came all the way from North York (so we'll be neighbors once we transfer) to Mississauga riding the subways and the Mississauga bus. He left at 2 pm and we were supposed to meet at 3:30 thinking that the trip would only take at most 1:30 hours as Mississauga was only a suburb of Toronto. We were mistaken. He had a two-hour long travel arriving at 4pm. On my side of the road, I was waiting for my dad to arrive from the car rentals as he was going to drive me to Square One from my place. However, it rained real hard that he was stuck in a bus stop without a jacket (as he merely walked). Together, with Gene and Gerald, my brothers, we mounted a rescue effort to bring his jacket to him in the bus stop as it was on the way to Square One. Once we all met, I continued on to Square One by myself arriving fully drenched at around 3:45pm.

We walked around Square One as the two of us have not yet fully seen Square One... nothing impressive. The malls in the Philippines are better and with others, like atc and Greenbelt3, having no competition at all. Checking the cinemas, the tickets here are really expensive that they cost from $10 to $15 per ticket. There are automatic ticketing machines where you can check the movies and the ticket prices with the touch screen and just swiping your credit card of bank card to pay.

We ate in the food court. One meal here from Arby's (a burger store) cost me $7.00 (By $, I mean CND: $1 = P48). That's only a regular drink (large in Philippine standards), fries, and a burger. Food is really expensive in Canada. A safe budget would be $8 per person.

My friend says that everything in Canada is PLAIN with many things built for mere utility. The malls are plain, the theaters are plain (better cinemas in GB, Powrplant, Eastwood, Glorietta4), and the clothes are plain. Speaking of clothes, Canadians are the most simple people I have ever seen. Unlike the the Europeans, Asians, and yes... Filipinos... Canadians are extremely simple when it comes to dressing up. And i'm not talking only about the middle class but the upper echelons of society as well. During summers, the usual shorts, shirt, and sandals suffice when going out. Sometimes people repeat wearing certain types of clothing within a week. Women use only one or two bags and dress simply. You could even say that Filipinos are classier people. The advantage here is that people will not notice you if you dress simply.

Most college students in Canada have a part time job. This is important for the so-called "Canadian Experience" that companies look for in job applicants. Basically, they look for the person's job experience in Canada. The pay isn't too bad also. Students are not paid less than the minimum wage of around $7 per hour. Some even hold managerial positions in retail outlets if they have been working in those since high school. A manegerial position could pay up to $60,000 a year. The minimum wage may seem high. But if you are a person who likes to go out, watch a movie, buy a few things... you would not be able to save anything. However, if you're good in saving, coupled with the higher rates of Coop (paid OJT), you could purchase a car or even a home as soon as you graduate.

As an aside, there is a term (more of an insult) used here for new immigrants who seem lost... it's like the Canadian word couterpart for promdi. Here it's called FOB (Fresh Out of the Boat). I find this quite funny because it remembers the Ellis Island days wherein immigrants riding in boats would arrive in Ellis Island in New York City. DO NOT use the term. You might get jailed for racism. Normally though, this term is used by one new immigrant to a fellow immigrant. It will be insulting with any other person saying it.

We walked back to our apartments were we spent a few times remembering our carpool and EEE days then parted ways. That was at around 7 pm. During the summers, like yesterday, the sun was still high up until late at night so 7 pm felt like 5 am.

Applying in an Ontario University

2005-06-30T10:04:00.000-04:00

Applying into an Ontario University is a bit different compared to a Philippine or even a US university (well i applied for the US 5 years back so i don't know if it's still the case). Ontario is the English-speaking province of Canada which contains two important cities: the national capital, Ottawa, and the financial district and largest city within Canada, Toronto. Located within Ontario are several of Canada's most important universities. Some of these are University of Toronto, McMaster University, Queen's Univerity, University of Waterloo, and York University. The only known school for the average Filipino is the University of British Columbia. Though UBC consistently ranks itself among the top 10, it does not really find itself in the top 3 though an excellent university nontheless. And as the name implies, UBC is located in the province of British Columbia in Vancouver and not in Ontario.

To apply into any Ontario university, you need to:

1) have an email address becuase email will be the primary method of communication used by the universities.
2) Have a credit card. Though I think you can apply and pay using checks, the credit card is the surest and easiest way in paying for any application including the TOEFL.
3) Apply in OUAC (www.ouac.on.ca). OUAC stands for the Ontario Universities Application Center. Of course, this assumes that you have visited the websites of the universities that you want to apply to and have checked the deadlines and requirements.
4) Take the TOEFL. When I took it, the testing center was in the Ateneo Graduate School in Salcedo Village, Makati (NOT in Rockwell!). The TOEFL is an english exam that tests a person's facility in written and verbal english. For regular english speakers, you do not need to worry with this. It will be very easy for you as it was for me. Have the TOEFL sent directly to the schools you with to apply to.
5) TRANSCRIPTS: Send your high school transcript. For transfer students, send your university transcript and official course descriptions. You have to get these early from the registrar as some universities take a slow time processing applications for transcripts especially in the graduation seasons. It took almost 3 months for the University of the Philippines to give me mine.
6) For some courses, you are required to fill up some forms (usually online) to show your extra-curricular background, work experience, and awards and recognition.
7) Regularly check the websites of the schools and OUAC to know the status of your application.

TAKE NOTE: These are mere guildelines. You can get the details and the application process for each univeristy from the websites of the universities that you wish to enter. You can get their web address by typing the university name in google.

Buying a House

2005-06-25T02:30:00.000-04:00

We have a house! We just bought it yesterday. Though the deal is not yet closed.

Intro
Buying a real estate in Canada is different from buying one in the Philippines. Here (Canada) everything is systematized, boxed, open, and both more simple and complex. I will just tell the story on how we did it.

First, we started looking for a home in the North York area. It is a suburb of Toronto about 40 minutes by subway. We wanted North York because we wanted to stay in the suburb which is not too far from Toronto and that we have heard that there is a really good neighborhood there, Bayview.

Neighborhood
Why is neighborhood important? Elementary and Secondary (High School) public education is free in Canada. But unlike in the Philippines, public schools are well funded, have excellent quality, and is the norm. There are very few private schools in Canada and they're normally very expensive. People of all social classes attend public schooling even the rich. There are secular public schools and also religious public schools (i.e. Catholic), which are also funded by the government (or rather the sky high taxes) . However, you cannot chouse the public school where you wish your children to go to. You have to go to the nearest public school (and they can't deny your child admission). Thus, you have to choose the good neighborhoods with the best schools. It depends on what you're looking for. You may look for the quality of education, facilities, mix of people, beautiful campus, or any combination of the above. Accordingly, the neighborhoods with the best schools are also the most expensive and the most prestigious. Thus, our search for a home in Greater Toronto's more prestigious communities, Bayview. Among the presitigious areas, the areas closer to downtown Toronto are more expernsive. For the rest, generally the closer you are to downtown Toronto, the higher the property prices. For the same types of houses, property values vary in land values.

Aside from excellent public schools, good neighborhoods are characterized by their ambiance, existence of public parks, public sports complexes, libraries, among others. Public parks here are open 24 hours together with their ezcellent tennis courts, football fields, and other sports facilities which are are free (no payment). You just have to go to the court then play. In fact, a large Mississauga tennis court is dominated by Filipinos daily. Country clubs are not as common like in the Philippines becuase the public parks are already complete.

We looked around North York and really liked Bayview because, although extremely expensive, is a nice and pleasant community with a subway station besidethe Powerplant (Rockwell)-type mall, Bayview Village Mall. The place also has very good schools and is accessible to the universities that my siblings and I plan to go to.

House Hunting
We have a Filipino realtor who goes around with us. We did the house-hunting for three days. He knows our price range and the area that we want. Almost all houses being sold are listed with all the details for all the realtors and buyers to see. You can check the online listing in http://www.mls.ca . Completed transactions could also be accessed by realtors. With this, there is much transparency in the real estate market therefore removing under-the-table dealing, and also over or underpricing. Normally, homes are bought and sold in their market values.

During house-hunting, we entered houses with an olympic-size indoor pool, beautiful river at the back, classy homes, houses with sauna, gyms, and elevators. Here, basements are standard and are really large becuase activities like get-togethers, excercise, and parties are held there during winter. There are also usually bedrooms found in finished basements. If in the mls it says Bedrooms: 5 + 2... the 2 means there are two bedrooms found in the basement effectively makeing the number of bedrooms into 7. Take note: the basements bedrooms are your regular-sized bedrooms and are sometimes well-lighted themselves.

Unlike the Philippines wherein houses have to keep the heat out, houses here are designed to keep the heat in and are also built to last a century. Exteriors are normally made of brick, stone, or stucco. Bricks and stones are not painted and make use of their natural colors. With their strong and sturdy construction, houses are made to last long so you rarely find brand new homes being sold. In fact, a house around 5 or 6 years will be the best since they're relatively new and at the same time, tested against the seasons for any cracks and leaks especially in the basements.

Houses also have central airconditioning systems, central heating, central vacuum wherein you just connect the tubes to vacuum holes in the walls so no need for vacuum cleaners, remote car garage doors, and security systems (especially the new ones). Some houses have skylights which are windows on the ceilings for a bright indoor space. Skylights are not practical in the Philippines though because of the heat.

House hunting is diifferent here. The realtor has to make appointments to visit the homes. When the owners of the house are away and the seller's realtor is not around, you can still enter to see the homes because your realtor, with the appointment, has been given access codes for the lock box and the home's security system. The lock box is a small box that contains the key to the house. This can be opened with a combination code that is given to the realtor. Even with no one around, and with all the seller's belongings within the house, you can then enter the house to check every room.

We noticed that in Bayview, many of the houses that we entered are owned by Hong Kong Chinese immigrants.

Buying Process
Once we have found the house, then the buying process began. The listed price of the house is not usually the price with which the house is bought. When we found the house that we were interested with, we went to the office of our (buyer's) real estate agent where he prepared a proposal document which my parents signed. In the proposal, you have the proposed amount that you're willing to buy the house for and the terms you desire such as the closing schedule, when the sellers should vacate the house, inspection details, and financing. Normally, the proposed price is lower than the asking price (from 90% of the price up). The buyer could either accept or decline the offer.

Our realtor faxed the proposal (a faxed contract can be considered binding if it's stated in the fineprint) yesterday afternoon at around 3 PM. During dinner in a Filipino restaurant owned by a Filipina and her Vietnamese husband, our realtor told us that there were three other competitors for the house and that there is final bidding and presentation at 9 pm in the office of the seller's agent. Thus while having dinner, we were thinking what was our final bid and what terms to propose.

If there is competition for a property, the prospective buyers will have to give a final bid for the house. Bidding has two components, the price and the terms. The buyer will choose from among the final bids who gets the house or none.

Thinking what bid we would give, we removed financing and significantly lessened the closing period to make the terms better. We need to close the deal sooner anyways as we have no place to stay. We offered to pay very close to the asking price but with a twist. Included in the value was my parents' lucky/favorite numbers. The buyer was amused and even asked our agent during his presentation the reason why the value we offered was not a round number. Our agent simply said it's our lucky number.

It seems that out of four bids, ours was the second highest. However two things put us at an advantage. The first was that our closing was in two weeks while the higher bid in 60 days. Secondly, the owners of the house remembered us when we visited the house yesterday morning. Fortunately they were there and that we talked to them asking them questions regarding the neighborhood becuase they said that it seemed like our family was nice... this tipped the balance. With this, we won the bidding.

Closing
The house does not really belong to us yet until the deal is closed. This means that the house has been inspected by an inspector and has found no major damages and that all equipment are in working condition. This also requires the hiring of lawyers, fixing the mortgage, and also paying the taxes. Once all of this is finished, we can transfer into the house as soon as the previous owners move out.

Real Estate Agent
If you want an excellent Filipino real estate agent in the Toronto area (including the suburbs like Mississauga, Oakville, North York, etc), just message me and I'll refer you to him.

Packing Tips

2005-06-22T20:21:00.000-04:00

Airline Limitations (Weight)

1. Remember to check with your airline their maximum allowed weight per luggage and handcarry. Check also how many you can bring of each. Normally, you are allowed to bring a maximum of 2 check-in luggages (70 lbs. each) and 1 handcarry bag (7 kg). You can bring a laptop (w/ laptop bag). This is not counted as a luggage or handcarry. There is also a size-limitation for handcarry bags.

2. When measuring the weight of luggages and boxes, you can use handy tip that I just learned packing for Canada. Instead of carrying each luggage while standing on top of a weighing scale, simply get a strong stool or trash bin, place it on top of the weighing scale then set the scale to zero. You can then put the luggage or box on top of the stool. You can even pack your things while your bag sits on top of the stool as the weight limitation is one of the hardest things in packing for migration that you're going to face. I myself had to pack and repack several times in order to fulfill the weight requirement.

Boxes

We Filipinos like bringing everything all at once during our trips unlike other nationalities who have their things sent thru a container or courier. Thus we are famous for the large balikbayan boxes.

1. Normally, our boxes are covered with masking tape with our address written down on the box. I find it to be better both practically and aesthetically to buy an additional bag specifically made for the balikbayan boxes. We bought ours from Ace Hardware. It costs around Php400 each. The price may seem steep compared to a plain Php50 box but I find the benefits to far outweigh the costs. For one, your boxes would look good. In fact, a Canadian immigration officer approached our boxes to admire how they looked and paid us a compliment. Secondly, They offer additional protection in case the boxes get destroyed during the flight. And in case you have to move residence again once in Canada (which is often the case as first time immigrants normally stay with their relatives first while looking for a house), you do not have to tape the boxes all over again. A simple zipping of the box-bag is all it takes. As a bonus, these boxes have plastic slip-on pockets where you can slip a card or paper with your Canadian address.

2. For the two allowed luggages, have one as a box and the other as your regular large luggage. Put everything that you'll be using for the first few months in your luggage and handcarry so as not to open the box immediately. This tip is useful for those who are migrating and first living in a temporary location.

Marking

1. Put labels at each luggage and handcarry so as when they get lost, they can easily be retrieved. Include your name, address, and contact number.

2. Mark your bags which a ribbon each or some visible marking. Use only one color for all the bags. This facilitates bag retreival from the airport conveyor belt. These also makes your luggages easier to spot.

What to Bring

This is one of the most important question that one asks as an immigrant. However, there is no clear answer. Each person has a unique set of things to bring. I will list below some of the general things that one should bring:

1. Clothes - hopefully you arrive during the summer. If not, bring clothes for the cold weather. Layering is the key. Wear clothes one over the other. You can buy some kind of winter clothing in the Philippines but ideally, once you've arrived in Canada, buy from here as the quality, comfort, and protection from the cold is more superior. Clothes, as in most things, are also cheaper in the Philippines so might as well buy a lot while you're still there.
2. Documents - This includes all your travel and immigration documents: passport, tickets, list of immigrant effects. Also bring your driver's license (the local license could be used for about a month depending on the provincial law. You may use an international license which you can get from AAP in Makati or Quezon City), any insurance papers you may have, birth certificates, marriage certificates, adoption papers, and annulment papers. Bring also your diplomas, academic certificates, transcripts, and report cards. Have doctor's prescriptions for eyeglasses and vaccinations (esp. for children.). What you need to bring varies from one person to another. These are just SOME of the most basic documents that you may need to bring. Have the original in one bag and photocopies of each document in another. Though in the Philippines I think all our documents are in English, you should have a notarized translation for non-English documents.
3. Medicines - I don't really know Canadian laws regarding the buying of medicine but as I recall, you won't be able to avail of your free medical check-upsas an immigrant for a certain time. You have to check this in the internet. In case sickness occurs or you suffer from a disease, have medicine for at least three months in your bags.
4. Personal Effects - Bring any jewelry, memorabilia that you may have. It's only with the first landing wherein you can bring anything in your possession tax free. To travel light (or within the limits), only bring your priceless possessions like photos, special gifts you may have received, etc. All the rest, you can replace here in Canada.

These are just some of the things that you need to bring as an immigrant. As for those who aren't migrating, some of the tips above may be useful. Good luck packing!

LANDED

2005-06-18T05:21:00.000-04:00

My family has just landed! We are now officially Canadian Immigrants.

Philippines (June 17 AM):
12:00 midnight: two friends, OJ and Mark, arrived in our house to bid farewell. They brough a small can of corned beef which Mark cooked in remembrance of our past hangouts in the house during highschool when I would serve them cornedbeef. Oj brough his laptop with him to fulfill a promise that he will give me a copy of his downloaded mp3s before i go. He copied them while we were eating the cornedbeef into FIVE blank CDs. I also showed them the scrapbook which May gave me which contained letters from different friends, relatives, and orgmates.
2 AM: We played table tennis in the house for one last time.
4 AM: OJ and Mark bid farewell. Ended up talking for another hour. We did not get any sleep for that night.
5 AM: The two left. Took a bath and finished my last-minute packing.
6 AM: Went to mass in St. Jerome. May arrived (supposedly a surprise which I knew beforehand) during the 1st reading. She came all the way from Quezon City alone. I asked her to go with us to the airport. The first time she asked, her mom said no. But a change of heart occured and that she decided thatif May was going to ask a 2nd time, her parents will agree. May found this out from her maid and thus asked a 2nd time.
7 AM: Last-minute cleaning of my room with May's help. She got some stuff for herself. Tito Jo, Tito Doodz, Tito Boy, Tito Gambi, and Reggie were on hand to help us bring the things to the airport. Reggie wasn't supposed to be part of the group but when we met two weeks ago, when he learned that my uncles were going to go all the way from Batangas to help out, he said he wanted to go to say goodbye.

My mom's barkada went to the house to also say goodbye even though we've been seeing them for several days for the past two weeks.

8AM: Left for the airport in a convoy of four cars. May was with me in the Land Cruiser which was the only car in the convoy without a sticker of BF. In Toyota Gate, after the other three cars have entered, we were halted by the guard. After talking to him, he allowed us to enter. I almost blew my top.
9 AM: Airport. Two porters brought the bags and boxes. I started helping out to put the boxes into the porter's carriage but Tito Jo said, "Huwag na. Pahinga ka na lang para sa malayong byahe". How nice... Said our goodbyes to all my uncles and Reggie. Then said a non-telenovela goodbye to May... just a simple hug and kiss.

Our stuff really looked intimidating in black. All the boxes were placed inside bags for boxes also colored black. We looked like an official group of some sort with equipment meant for some aid mission in Africa or a military attack by the mafia against the government.

According to our weighing scale, all our luggages exceeded the 70 lb. maximum weight allowance per luggage set by Cathay Pacific. We even had a driver wait outside the airport in case we were gonna have to remove a few stuff to lessen the weight (In the end, Gene left his cellphone in the car so it was great that the driver waited). However, all our luggages were deemed within weight by the airport Cathay personnel.

By the way, for 14 luggages, my dad paid 800 pesos. Standard international tipping for porters is $1/bag according to my dad.

10 AM: The Airport personnel in-charge of weighing our hand-carry bags said that all our bags were 10kg, which was way above the 7kg maximum weight allowance. He let all our things pass though since he knew we were migrating. When he found we were migrating to Canada he said: "Kapag kailangan nyo ng houseboys, andito lang kami." We then ate breakfast (my last meal in the Philippines) in a Chinese fastfood restaurant.
11:50 AM: Boarded plane. Felt weird. I've been traveling interntaionally all my life but this felt different. There was no excitement. I was always excited everytime I stepped on a plane. This time, stepping on a bus did not feel any different. This time, the plane was really as a means for public transport and not for leisure.

Hong Kong (June 17 PM)
3 PM: Landed in Hong Kong as a stopover to change planes. The Hong Kong airport is my most favorite airport. Just the same, I found it to be a cold place this time. Each step felt heavier and heavier. Each step was a step farther away from certainty and a step closer to uncertainty.
4 PM: Plane left for Anchrage, Alaska for refuelling.

Anchorage (June 17 AM)
10 AM: Plane landed for refuelling. I was a bit disappointed since I expected to see snow everywhere (Alaska!!) but I suppose even Alaska experienced summer. Airport personnel cleaned the lavatories and the maintenance people underwent inspection while all the passengers remained in their seats and the changing of the guard for the plane's crew. The flight took around 16 hours. On the plane, I watched Hitch, robots, and Phantom of the Opera (Anchorage to Toronto). I also had a good sleep on the plane as I had yet to sleep since June 15 (Phil. time).

Toronto (June 17 PM)
9:30 PM: As the plane landed and you can see the lights of the metropolis from the window, excitement creeped in. We disembarked. Now our we have a beautiful and clean airport.
10 PM: Passed by the usual immigration booth.
10:15 PM: My parents had their final interview and briefing in the migration office. We were warned in the seminars we attended in the Philippines that this process could sometimes take long and that people were also sometimes denied entry in this last interview. I pictured the place to be a cold, uncomfortable place with stern, strict, and old migration officers doing the interviews. It was the complete opposite. The interview was done in a comfortable setting with cusioned benches for those waiting for their turn. In fact, there was no need to wait as there were many migration officers waiting. they were even the ones asking if we have been already interviewed. They were all nice and cordial even pleasant and welcoming. Now I understand why many Filipinos migrate to Canada. After the interview, we were officially Canadian immigrants. I was thinking that I should not be afraid... After all, it was a momentous occasion for Canada to have received, who in a few years time, will be their greatest immigrant in several decades. hehe.
10:30 PM: Customs was next. We had to declare all our belongings (carried by three porters) that we had with us and those to follow. Even the customs officer was a far cry from the customs-officer-stereotype. She was also pleasant and accomodating. An onlooking official remarked under her breath: "one family?? Wow! Sweet Jesus!". We are 7 in the family. Then another white official who had nothing to do went towards our bags and discussed with the porters. Upon learning we were Filipinos, he told us, "was admiring the way you did your packaging. Patay sila!" He was pertaining to how all our packages had uniform labels, stickers, and yellow ribbons. All were also black and that our boxes were neatly place inside a black bag for balikbayan boxes thus hiding the hideous looking boxes with all the addresses and duct tapes wrapped around them.
11 PM: We sailed through customs. The lady officer did not even check stuff. She merely certified and filed our list of belongings. It could probably be becuase we were a family and obviously would not cheat our way in and also it was already late (though she didn't betray any sign of drowsiness). We were met by a Filipino friend, Tito Clem and his friend, who had a large truck. They brought us and our stuff to where we're staying now for a month. In an apartment/executive suite in the heart of Missassauga, Toronto.

University Application Jitters

2005-06-10T05:31:00.000-04:00

It's been a few weeks since the Canadian Universities that I'm applying for sent an email confirming receipt of my application from OUAC (Ontario Universities Application Center). With this, the universites, University of Toronto (U of T), McMaster, and Queen's University should have already sent me their application forms and instructions. In fact, I think I should have received it by now especially since I'm already leaving next week. I still haven't received anything.

However, knowing that the universities will be asking for my transcripts for high school, post-secondary education, and TOEFL results, I already had them sent via DHL to U of T and Queen's. The DHL lady said it will only take 2 days. Today is the third day and looking at the tracking feature of the DHL website, all that has happened so far was that the package has left Manila yesterday at 4:30 AM. If it has really left Manila at 4:30, it should have landed somewhere several hours ago, either in some connecting flight or in Canada itself. I'm getting worried that it could have gotten lost. To think that aside from the stress it will cost, each package though merely composed of a few documents cost Php1400!

Packing, Bank, Film, Pen

2005-06-07T02:50:00.000-04:00

This is one of the aspects of migrating, or even travelling, that I dread the most... packing. It took me the entire PM to relatively finish packing. I have one luggage which is completely full of clothes, a carry-on which is also completely full of clothes, and a balikbayan box which is as heavy as a boulder (with all of my academic books). All the bags are full... I haven't even packed my polos, sweaters, and thick jackets. I'm going to have to remove several shirts to make room for them. I just learned from my mom that I have to redo my packing to evenly distribute the weight since the check-in luggage should not exceed 70 lbs. Another full day tomorrow... By the way, tomorrow is my mom's birthday.

This morning, I closed my bank account and transferred all my funds to my mom's account. I also withdrew 3000 pesos which I splurged on a cross ballpen. I bought a wireless compact Linksys router for Canada (they say it's cheaper here), and an 258 MB USB Flash Drive. I also had 4 films developed and bought 10 more films. I'm betting that films would be cheaper here.

I was sarisfied with the turn out of the B&W film I had developed. It was my first. I experimented with B&W film and discovered that it is good for taking portraits. One advatage is that you do not have to think much about the color when taking the shot. Another is that you are drawn more into the expression of the people's faces or the detail of the scenery rather than the color. This produces a highly dramatic effect.

If you want to view my B&W pics, click on the link to your right which says My Artistic Photo Album of visit http://glennkil.photosite.com

Self-Inflicted Poverty

2005-06-06T04:53:00.000-04:00

This post is not for bragging. Keep an open mind. If you can't have an open mind, then stop reading this post...

A slight fear has gripped the family. Though for many immigrants, Canada brings a bright and financially-rewarding future. This may not exactly be true for my family (esp. my parents). My parents are doing the migrating motions simply for the future of us kids.

This is so becuase in all honesty, we live a relatively comfortable life here in the Philippines. Slight fear has gripped us since there will be a drastic change of lifestlye. Compared to what we have here in the Philippines, life in Canada is summerized by my dad's words in a family meeting: "self-inflicted poverty". My dad will not be earning as much once we transfer. In fact he will surely be earning a lot less. It is more like retirement for him.

I have an anecdote. We attended a seminar for Canadian immigrants in Citibank tower last week. Everyone had their spirits up, hopefull for a brighter future. A video was shown wherein the one of the immigrants said that in his native homeland, he had to work for three months in order to buy a colored television. In Canada, he could get that TV for merely a week. The people in the seminar brightened up. We stayed quiet... As my dad joked afterward (half-nervous), "it takes them a week to buy a TV... I could buy one every three minutes"... An exaggeration... but not too great an exaggeration.

People we leave behind

2005-06-06T01:12:00.000-04:00

It was touching to know that a good friend shed tears with the thought of me leaving. Thinking about it, there are several reactions of acquaintances, friends, and relatives that we leave behind:

1) indifference - acquaintances
2) sadness - close friends
3) fired-up patriotism (esp. with us leaving the Philippines)
4) excitedness and happiness - my girlfriend... who's confident that she'll be following in two or three years.
5) people who try to have fun with the few days that I have left and just 'mourn' when I leave - Liz. hehe.

It's amazing to see the different reactions of people. It's comforting nontheless. In fact, you become closer to people once everyone realizes that you only have a few days left in the country. By the way, we'll be landing in Canada next week.

Final Family Reunions

2005-06-06T01:00:00.000-04:00

The past two days were marked by family reunions on both sides. They were happy-sad affairs.

Yesterday, I spent the entire day in my condo. I fell asleep after watching three movies. I was awaken with a call from my dad asking me where I was. I completely forgot that it was the reunion of my dad's side. They threw a despidida party for us. The party was for 7pm but by that time I was still in the condo and was just about to leave.

There was heavy rains and flooding along Katipunan. Traffic was at a standstill for several hours. I waited until the traffic was at least inching bit-by-bit... around 9 pm... before I left. It took me a full hour before I reached the end of Katipunan from my condo near KFC! Traffic was caused by heavy flooding in front of Jollibbee. Four lanes converged to a single unflooded lane. Since I was driving the Safari, I happily traversed the flood with "Let's Groove Tonight" playing on the radio. I passed around 10 stranded cars in the flood. It was fun! hehehe. Three hours of frustrated waiting suddenly disappeared.

Sorry... I deviated from the topic... I just had to record that.

Anyway, I arrived in the party at 10:30. It was good conversation with my cousins. We talked about girlfriends, work, school, and future plans over good food. It was okay. There was not much sentimental chatter as these people had the means to travel and there was a big chance that we'll be seeing each other a bit sooner than expected. One of the families also planned to migrate to Canada upon learning that we will be migrating. Aiza, a cousin, given the go-signal by her dad, plans to take up masters in Canada since we will be there to keep her company. Also, all knew that we could easily communicate via the internet.

At the other side of the spectrum (in many ways) was my mom's side from Batangas. Since it was my parent's wedding anniversary, the entire clan came to alabang to celebrate with us over lunch. we ate in Paquito Mas. They then went home with us to swim and to just hang out. This reunion was quite sadder... My mother's side is relatively less financially blessed thus has almost zero opportunity to visit us in Canada. We're very close to our relatives from Batangas so it was a very sad event. Reggie, my favorite cousin in my mom's side, said he will go back in a few days to see us off in the airport. Lolo Goring, despite his poor health, came with the group to bid us farewell. Lola Ising was more sentimental. She told Giovanni, "Sa susunod na makita kita, binata ka na." (the next time we meet, you're already a teenager). She also said "Susunod ako" (I'll follow). She probably wants to follow as her sister-in-law already lives with her daughter in the States.

We saw them to the car. Farewells were exchanged but not exactly the goodbyes for people you won't see for several years... just your regular goodbye-see-you-again-soon. But deep inside, we all knew that was not the case. My siblings plan to visit from Canada next summer. I don't think I would have that opportunity for several years. Sad indeed... To make matters worse, none know how to use the internet (our primary mode of communication) except Reggie. Although Ninang Uya said she will try to learn how to use emails so we can regularly send letters and pictures for the family to see.

Introduction

2005-06-05T11:36:00.000-04:00

Hi. I'm a University of the Philippines incoming 5th yr "supposedly" student. I'm migrating to Canada with my family. I will attempt to record everything relating to migrating to Canada as a student, friend, relative, and as a Filipino. This serves three purposes: 1) for posterity; 2) so that my friends and relatives would know how I am and what I'm doing; 3) and lastly, for prospective immigrants (esp. to Canada) to know what they'll be facing.

By, the way, I'm also a photography hobbyist. You may visit my websites. Please add comments and sign the guestbook:
http://glennkil.photosite.com
http://glennpics.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

Glenn