My hard life in Canada

Moving from India to Canada

In 1983, the speaker moved from India to Canada with his parents and younger brother, Shekhar. Their eldest brother and sister-in-law sponsored them, providing a home and financial support as the family adjusted to a new country.

The speaker remembers leaving Mumbai, then called Bombay, amid a huge crowd of friends and relatives. On arrival, Canada felt empty and unfamiliar. Although he had studied English, he initially struggled to understand how people spoke.

Work, School, and Saving

With encouragement from his eldest brother, the speaker and Shekhar began working and saving. Their early jobs included selling ice cream, washing dishes, working in a kitchen and grocery store, pumping gas, making pizza, delivering flyers, waiting tables, and cleaning homes. The speaker recalls once throwing a pizza dough ball so high that it never came back down.

The brothers worked long hours, relied on buses and monthly bus passes, and carefully saved their earnings. The speaker eventually returned to school, earned good grades, and gained admission to college with a scholarship. He paid for tuition, books, and household expenses through work.

During quiet shifts at a parking lot, he studied and sometimes continued his homework at a college computer lab before going home. He also worked 10-hour shifts on both Saturdays and Sundays.

Looking back, the speaker sees those difficult years as a time of growing independence and building a life through hard work.

Key Points

• Family support helped the newcomers settle in and build confidence.
• The brothers took on multiple jobs and saved carefully to afford a home and education.
• The speaker balanced college with long work shifts.
• He remembers this period as one of independence and perseverance.

People, Places, and Items

• People: The speaker, his parents, his eldest brother and sister-in-law, and Shekhar
• Places: Canada and Mumbai (then called Bombay)
• Items and settings: The speaker’s 1983 plane ticket and Indian passport, buses and a bus pass, and a college computer lab