My Life in Canada
By Lai Wei

Like Forrest Gump said. "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get." Before I came to Canada from China, I thought that life in Canada would be comfortable. You don't worry about anything, because the government will take care of everything. But when we arrived in Toronto, I was very upset.

English was everywhere. The people spoke English. The signs, the TV, and even the advertisements were in English. It really made me crazy. The strict immigration officer asked us so many questions, as though we were smugglers.
It was the first time I felt lonely and helpless.

Finally, we arrived in Thunder Bay. The next problem was to find a high school where I could study. The school told me that I should pay $800 per month. That is unbelievable. My parents asked friends to help, we consulted some officers, and fortunately I could go to school with
only paying a $15 student fee.

Now, I am studying in the high school and continuing my life. I’m getting used to having three classes every day, speaking English every day and watching English TV every day. When I first came to school, I didn’t have any friends; even my classmates didn’t talk with me. I was very sad, but these things got better after my first mathematics exam. I got 100% and my classmates were surprised. "Wow, he got 100%! Shake my hand", they all said. Then they began to talk with me and introduced more local students to me. They helped me with my English, and I helped them in math. So now I have lots of friends in school. I really thank my teachers and classmates in high school; they helped me a lot.

I know that to be new here you’ll face many problems, but if you have the correct attitude to deal with these things, everything will be okay. Life in Canada is very easy and quiet. If you stay here for a long time, you will like it here. Anyway, to experience a different culture will be a valuable treasure for the teenagers of the 21st century. For me, I like it here and that’s enough. Maybe there will be other problems, but now, I can stay here without fear.