Love Letter to Canada: by Thuc Cong, Vietnamese immigrant to Edmonton

A Vietnamese woman thanks the nation that helped her through difficult times, and that she now calls home.

Dear Canada:


Today is September third, 1995. I am sitting at my desk, writing this letter
to you. You may wonder why. Because today is my tenth anniversary of being in
love with you.


That's right. Ten years ago, at this time, I was sitting at an airport in
British Columbia waiting for my transit to Edmonton. The imprint of the evening
I arrived at the International Airport has never faded. It was a chilly night.
As I walked out of a terminal door, I was shivering. A gust of cold wind kindly
greeted the newcomer. The traditional Vietnamese costume clung to my body and
made me even colder.


Coming from a country where the sun shines all year round, at that moment
I disliked you a little bit. But that sentiment did not last long. As my husband
drove me toward the heart of Edmonton, I looked along the road and noticed how
attractive Edmonton was, how beautiful Canada was. I fell in love with you right
at that magic moment.


Have you ever asked yourself how many immigrants that you embraced over the
years? Probably not. And you may not remember you once embraced me either. But
that's okay...


I promised myself to do whatever I could for you. I am not sure about the
future, but I am proud of the promise I kept. I have not been your burden. I
have tried my best to contribute productively.


I remember the first difficult year in Canada I went through. I worked as
a janitor at the downtown YMCA, a sewing machine operator, a baby sitter, and
a day care worker. I took all kinds of odd jobs to make the ends meet, to pay
for my courses.


It was even harder when I attended school full time. I never had five dollars
in my wallet. The most valuable thing I possessed was my monthly transit pass.
If you ever saw a little Asian woman carrying a white, heavy backpack getting
on the bus at 6 o'clock in the morning and heading off home at 7 p.m., it was
me.


However all the hard work paid off. My education gave me access to a job
that I love very much. Every day, I see so many immigrant faces. I listen to
a variety of accents in their English. I make myself work harder to help them
through the difficulty I once was in.


There is another thing I should mention: the generosity of your people. I
am not talking about monetary generosity. I am talking about the heart of Canadians.
Fortunately, I met lots of kind people and received lots of helping hands. In
my fifth year in Canada, early one morning when I drove to work, I accidentally
got stuck in a huge pile of snow. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get
my little Honda Civic out of that pile. One passer-by stepped out of his car
in the minus -30 degree weather to help me. I did not have a chance to ask his
name or to take a look at his face. All I knew was that a gentleman was helping
me.


And now, after so many ups and downs, I am in need of help again. My husband
suddenly got ill and lost his job. It has been eight months.. His illness results
in a financial hardship that the whole family has to suffer. Again, help is on
its way.


Living in this hard time in the economy, in 1995, nobody could help anybody
else financially, but there are tons of ways to help when a person is in need.
A get-well card was sent to my home address. A ten-dollar bill was sandwiched
in the birthday card for my daughter. Coupons were clipped from the newspaper
to help me cut my grocery bills. Somebody else gave me a discount on my daughter's
day care fees. All these things I would never forget.


When you are in need you' know how much you are loved. Mentally I felt that
I am well taken care of by our Canadian people. This fact gives me more strength
to deal with my current difficulties. I strongly believe that like pleasures
and happiness, difficulties come and go. If I can enjoy pleasures and happiness,
I can balance my difficulties too.


Dear Canada,


I try my best to write this letter just to tell how much I love you, how
much I appreciate you. However, I think what I do for you is more important than
what I tell you. Therefore, I should conclude my writing to prove my feelings,
my sentiments towards you.. I want always to be with you, in your arms, with
love and fidelity.


Love you forever.


Thuc Cong