New Country, New Home  
By Prezena Htoo 

In mid-October of 2000, a caseworker for the Canadian Embassy came to our house in Mae La Refugee Camp in Thailand, and informed us that we would be leaving for Canada on November 27. I remember vividly that I was so happy, and since that day I daydreamed about the life that I will have when I get there. To say the least, I was not prepared for the reality that lay ahead. I naively thought that my life would be free of hardships and that it would be blissful.

On November 30, 2000, we (mom, brother, 2 sisters, and myself) arrived at the Thunder Bay airport at around 11 p.m. I thought to myself this is my new country and my new home. At the airport, we were happily and warmly welcomed by my brother who was here before us, and many friends that we came to know more about later on. They were handing us coats, mittens, and gloves but I had no clue why they were giving us those at the time. I thought it was strange a bit. Before we left the building, they were keen on us putting the gear on and I wondered why. I must say that once I set foot outside I clearly understood what they were trying to accomplish with us.

For the first few months I felt like I was lost, mainly because I did not know the place and the people at all. I hesitated to go anywhere. This matter was made worse by the freezing cold weather that I was not used to, and so I stayed home most of the time, except when I attended ESL class with my mom and other siblings at the Balmoral Centre. I was not eligible to attend the class at first because I had not turned 16. However, my mom’s teacher found out I was at home alone and insisted that my mom bring me along so that I could learn some English. I enjoyed attending school there very much because I got the chance to meet other people from different countries, and also I got to learn how to use a computer for the very first time. There at the centre I learned how to type and developed some English speaking and writing skills. Then came the time when the lady who worked there came to me and said I would have to start high school soon. She informed me that I would be attending St. Patrick High School.

I started attending St. Patrick High School in February
2001. I was in grade 9. I remember coming home from school and complaining to my brother that I didn’t like school and wanted to go back to Thailand instead. I remember me complaining for the longest time and one day my brother said to me, “All you do is complain. I did not have a good opportunity like you. If I did, I would have tried so hard instead of complaining.” From that day on, I stopped complaining to him. It did not matter how much I wanted to complain. I didn’t.

At school, I felt like I was an outsider. I felt like the students were looking at me strange. Sometimes I felt as though they were making assumptions about me and judging me because I was so different from them. I was scared to try to make friends with them. Mainly because I was afraid the outcome would not be so positive, and on top of that, I was afraid that if I tried to interact with them I would get bullied and I would not know how to help myself if that happened. As a result, throughout high school I maintained my distance from most students and only had a few good friends. The friends that I had back then are still good friends to this day, so I’m proud of that. I don’t regret missing out on parties or other fun things to say the least, because I came from a very different background and those were not part of the norms. The only fond memory that I have from going through the 4 years of high school was how well I was treated by the teachers and other staff members. The female teachers in particular were working with me from the moment I set foot in their classes. They volunteered their time and energy so that I could overcome the obstacles and succeed in my study. It was all because of them that I was able to maintain good grades throughout high school and got accepted into the only post-secondary program that I applied. Someone besides the teachers that made me feel welcomed and accepted was who we called “the lunch lady.” My sister, myself, and our other ESL friend that went to St. Patrick High School called her “the lunch lady” because we never knew her real name when we were there. Every time we saw her she had a smile on her face and the three of us always say she is so nice and so kind. For some reason I felt like she was our friend in disguise. We never conversed with her but she was like a friend just by being there. After we graduated we did not get to see her anymore. Occasionally, she would come up in our conversations and we would wonder where she might be these days. We said we did not get to say “thank you” and we hoped that one day we would get to do that. One day I was at the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association and found her there—working. I was so surprised. I thought to myself at least now I can drop by and say “hello” whenever I want. I overcame some of the obstacles and completed high school successfully with the help of the teachers and someone like “the lunch lady.”

I am currently studying at Lakehead University and finishing up my 4th and final year of nursing. University experience has been different from high school in a sense that it is more diverse. I know the new life that we have established for ourselves here in this country may be hard at times, but it is nothing compared to the life that we might have had if we stayed back home. We left behind our country, home, relatives, and friends to set foot into a country that we knew nothing about in order to have a better life. Having lived in Canada for 8 years now, I do feel that being here does reflect that dream. It does not matter how hard it may be sometimes, I still feel that I have more opportunities, chances, and freedom to accomplish what I want to accomplish in life. It’s almost as if the sky is the limit, because I know that as long as I have a firm motivation and determination and try hard, my dreams will not wither away as easily as if I were to have lived back home.