“You possibly can by no means be unhappy or mad whenever you’re dancing”
(Illustration by Lauren Tamaki)
In my senior yr of highschool in my hometown of Quito, Ecuador, I fell in love with pc science. It was like a puzzle. For every project, I had to take a look at the totally different items and use my creativity to determine how they match collectively. My mentor mentioned I ought to research pc programming at college, and my boyfriend, who was on the College of Toronto, inspired me to use to Canadian universities. After I was accepted by the College of Waterloo, I had no thought what to anticipate from Canada.
I flew to Toronto in August of 2016 with my mother, two weeks earlier than the start of my first semester. Once we handed by the suburbs, I assumed they appeared so protected, similar to the films. My roommate was a Canadian whose dad and mom had been from India. She requested me about Ecuador, our meals and the way lengthy the flight was. We bonded over a shared love of pop music.
Just a few days after I moved in, my mother went again to Ecuador. “You’re going to be advantageous. It’s going to be okay,” she stored telling me. It felt extra like she was saying it to herself.
I didn’t really feel homesick till two weeks later. I missed the mountains of Ecuador. Ontario is so flat. And I missed the meals, too, particularly inexperienced plantains and seafood, like ceviche. Some days I’d go to the cafeteria and couldn’t discover something I wished to eat. I referred to as my household each different day to ease my homesickness. My brother’s child tooth had been falling out, and he despatched me a Snapchat about his entrance tooth being unfastened. I felt unhappy that I used to be lacking it.
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I struggled at first, juggling my courses with extracurriculars, just like the college tennis group. After I failed a math course, I noticed I wanted to give attention to my research, so I stop tennis. My grades improved quickly after.
To settle in at Waterloo, I discovered associates from Colombia. I wasn’t in a position to specific myself as nicely in English, so it was comforting to attach with them in Spanish. I joined a salsa dancing membership and have become extra concerned with the Latin American group. You possibly can by no means be unhappy or mad whenever you’re dancing.
I by no means had to take a look at the climate report after I was residing in Ecuador. I didn’t know what a windchill was or that it may make the temperature really feel colder. My first Canadian winter was fairly terrible, however the snow was lovely. I keep in mind, after the primary heavy snowfall, I appeared out the window and every part was lined in white. I additionally began spending extra time in Toronto over weekends and faculty breaks, the place there was an even bigger Latin group. We’d make meals collectively, like ceviche, and play Latin music.
When the pandemic hit, I used to be residing in New York Metropolis, doing a co-op placement with a tech firm. The borders to Ecuador had been closing, so I booked a flight residence and completed my co-op and college research remotely. It was comforting to spend time with my household once more. My brother, father and I might play tennis, and I taught them find out how to salsa. My mother cooked quite a bit. She’d make inexperienced plantains, crab and locro—a cheese and potato soup.
I stayed in Ecuador from March of 2020 till April of this yr. I discovered a job in Toronto as a software program engineer with a tech firm referred to as Intuit, and rented an house close to the workplace.
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I’m a giant metropolis individual. I really like residing in Toronto. There are all the time so many occasions taking place just like the Caribbean Competition, Salsa on St. Clair and picnics by the harbourfront. Whereas exploring the totally different neighbourhoods, I even discovered locations in Kensington Market that promote Latino meals, like chilaquiles, and a grocery retailer with staples from again residence. Seeing the CN Tower, particularly when the lights change color, feels symbolic of every part I like about Canada. When there was a giant earthquake in Ecuador, they lit the tower with the colors of our flag. They’ve performed it with the Ukrainian flag, too. It says to me, “We look after you.”
It’s onerous to say whether or not I’ll keep in Canada perpetually. However I’m centered on constructing my profession, and Toronto is a superb place to work in tech. With so many new corporations and investments within the business, I do know that is the place I need to be proper now.
