They were really worried about the cold.
Heeyeon Son and Nadee Buddhiwickrama are newcomers to Canada living in Amherst, N.S. Son, who hails from South Korea, moved to the community with her Amherst-native husband, while education brought Buddhiwickrama from Sri Lanka to the border community. Until their arrival, both had a general idea of what living here would be like. Son studied in British Columbia before returning to Korea where she met her husband, so she had a West-Coast experience of the nation, while Buddhiwickrama’s journey has taken her from Sri Lanka to the United Kingdom and now to Canada where her husband arrived ahead of her for his own studies.
She just had her first Canadian winter.
“When I was living in the UK snow was only knee-high, so I thought I was ready but here it is totally different,” Buddhiwickrama said. “It’s like the meme. Friday it’s snowing, Saturday it’s sunny and on Sunday it’s raining. I thought it was a joke but it’s actually true.”
“I am still getting used to this weather,” Son said. “Temperature-wise, I can put more layers on. I can put a sweater on. But snow is something I never experienced.”
Son’s first experience with Canadian cold was a bought of freezing rain which caused a power outage that lasted a few days.
It was as Canadian as you could get.
“We’re lucky because my mother-in-law has a wood stove so they could cook. It was such an experience for me. I would have to go camping to do that in Korea. It was fun,” Son said.
Neither experience the legendary snowfall of 2015 when some homeowners actually tunneled through snow drifts to their vehicles or resorted to exiting their homes from second-story windows.
“I thought this was the winter but my neighbour told me ‘No, dear. This was kind of a mild winter. You’ll see,’” Buddhiwickrama said.
Nonetheless, Buddhiwickrama has impressed family and friends with the picturesque scenes winter2018 offered.
Son and Buddhiwickrama both grew up in areas where nature was an exclusive opportunity. It took planning if you were going to enjoy a nature walk.
“I grew up in the city so to enjoy this type of environment I had to drive a couple of hours,” Son said. “Here you can go for a walk and enjoy the green space. My kids are going to grow up in this kind of nature and environment. I can see deer. When we are travelling with my coworkers I am so excited. Deer. Eagles… I saw a fox and beaver. My oldest daughter went fishing with my husband and the beaver was swimming by and the videoed it. My parents are amazed by it. We have to go to the zoo to see those things.”
If there’s an obvious Canadian stereotype Son and Buddhiwickrama have noticed, it’s that daytime staple that starts every Canadian road trip.
“Tim Hortons,” Buddhiwickrama said. “My husband, who was not much of a coffee drinker – in Sri Lana we drink tea all the time – right after he came here it became all this coffee. When I came here the first thing he asked is do I want to go to the Tims. And people always smile.”
Son says her Oh Canada moment didn’t happen until she and her family moved into their new home. And it was one of those stereotypes every Canadian can be proud of: being friendly.
“I thought it was very Canadian. My neighbour brought her whole family to my door with cake welcoming us… by then I was pregnant so I was like ’Oh, cake! Awesome!’ That is a very nice and welcoming feeling. Everywhere I go I feel welcome, so that is a really, really great feeling to have.”
Son and Buddhiwickrama say the world looks at Canada with respect. It’s a proud country, yet humble, and its acceptance of other nationalities has not gone unnoticed.
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Twitter: @ADNchris
