Immigrating: Editorial - Have Some Fun in Canada!

One of the best freedoms that Canada has to offer, is the freedom to have fun. If you are finding the settlement process harder than you expected, the very worst way to react is to stay in your apartment feeling sorry for yourself. Culture shock, homesickness and unemployment are all very stressful. Put them together and they can be overwhelming. You need to find ways to keep your enthusiasm and self-confidence high.

If you are feeling scared, adding fun into the mix can turn that fear into excitement. If you are feeling depressed, frustrated or homesick, fun can lift your mood and take your mind off your problems.

The more you smile, the more positive and optimistic you feel. That positive energy communicates the right message to everyone around you. Your family feels more hopeful, your friends think you are being brave in the face of huge challenges and potential employers are more likely to find you appealing and feel that you would make a good addition to their team. So even when money is scarce, it is sometimes worth spending a bit to see that movie, go on that ride, buy that CD or rent that garden plot.

You owe it to yourself and your family to experience some of the freedom that was such an important part of why you chose to come to Canada in the first place. The journey you are making should be exciting and memorable. So don’t run away from the fun – go out and find it! As you settle and integrate in Canada, finding a home, finding a job and enrolling yourself and your children in school are all things you must do.

Canadian Newcomer Magazine is dedicated to helping make those things easier, faster and less stressful. But as the summer of 2008 finally begins, we want to take some time out to remind you how important it is to keep a smile on your face, and how smiles on the faces of your loved ones can make even the worst fears and worries seem distant and not nearly as hard to deal with as they seemed before.

Dale Sproule
Editor