Our Move to Canada

Man it was hectic. Boxes and boxes of stuff packed. We would pack and pack and there would still be stuff left over. You don't realize how much stuff you accumulate till its time to pack it all. Then movers arrived on Dec 21st and took most of our stuff away. What's left over is only the little that would go into the mini-van or be discarded. Didn't look like it was much right? Hah, try packing it. We were never going to manage to fit everything in the van. Thankfully a friend of ours gave us their roof top carrier that they never used. That thing was a monster and tough to handle but it stored a lot. Throw in last minute farewell parties, extra gifts that you now have to fit in as well, cleaning up the apartment before returning it, one last doctors appointment for Kuttan on the 22nd and then staying up till 5 A.M finishing up, we were close to physical and mental breaking point on the morning of the 23rd when we handed over the keys to the apartment to landlord and started off on our journey. It was funny, how packed the van was. Every inch of space horizontal and lateral had been used up. In the middle of all this stuff was us four. AND both the kids were sick - cold and maybe even a slight fever. Thankfully the weather was holding up and it was bright and sunny and the temperature was bearable. I was nervous about how I had tied the carrier down and kept checking it in my mirror. I had this horrible vision of it coming crashing down on the car behind me while driving at 75 miles an hour.

Our first leg was headed in the exact opposite direction - South, of where Canada was - North.
We headed down to Kentucky on the 1 hour journey to Ushachechi's place. We were tired but Ushachechi and family were as loving as always. They also had visiting them, Ushachechi's sister-in-law, her husband and kids who we were meeting for the first time. They turned out to be the nicest folks possible. It was like we were back home in Kerala. Everybody was loud and friendly and having a great time, great food and most importantly help with the 2 sick kids. That visit was a great recharger for our batteries. Jaydevettan proved to be a handyman beyond compare and he re-attached the carrier for us more securely. That was a huge weight off our minds.

The next day , we said our goodbyes and left their place and drove North to Columbus, Oh. A trip of around 2 hours. The kids were still sick. Thankfully other than a little sickly rain, the weather continued to hold up, no snow yet. We spent our time in Columbus with our friends Subin and Simple and had a little Christmas celebration with them. Alas, the weather forecast predicted overnight snow and continuing snow fall the next day. The day of the longest leg of our drive.

But wonder of wonders, the next morning, the temperature had continued to hold just above freezing and all the precipitation was drizzling rain and not snow. We set off on our trip North to the city of Buffalo in New York state a good 5 1/2 hour trip.

We drove up from Columbus, basically cutting a swathe through the state of Ohio from the South West corner (Cincinnati) to the North East corner - Cleveland, via Columbus, close to the center. Once we passed Cleveland, we were now on the I 90 highway traveling North East skirting one of the famous great lakes - Lake Erie. Occasionally through the trees on the right side, the lake would appear, vast and blue like the the ocean. But we didn't slow and watch the scenery. We had seen it before, besides, we wanted to get as many miles in as possible before the drizzle turned to snow and slowed us down or the kids threw up and stunk up the entire van. We only stopped once, filled the van, ate ourselves fed the kids and got right back on the road. We ate up the miles, the kids slept blissfully and the weather gods continued to bless. We drove up through Pennsylvania and then into New York state. We made it to Buffalo.

Buffalo is in the West end of the state of New York and several hours away from the actual New York city. Buffalo is a good sized industrial city in itself and is a close neighbor of the famous Niagara falls. The Niagara Falls are right on the border of USA and Canada. In fact, the falls have 2 sides, the US side and the Canadian side.

We found our hotel pretty quick and settled in for the night. For dinner, as a last farewell, I drove down to this Italian place that we had once eaten at before and loved and brought some parcels over. Kannan was feeling much better so we even treated him to some of his favorite pizza. Adieu to the USA. Checked and rechecked papers and documents several times over for the formalities of the next day.

After breakfast the next day, as our hearts filled with excitement and trepidation, we made the drive up from the Buffalo, past Niagara and onto the border - the Queenston-Lewiston bridge.
The customs officer on the US end was as surly as customs officers the world over are, but we were through with no problems pretty quick. Well prepared documentation sure helps. We made the slow drive over the border to the Canadian side. We spent around half an hour with a very friendly immigration officer and got our official papers. Customs was a breeze. After that, changed some cash to Canadian money and we were on our way. Canada, here we come.

Miles per hour changed to Kilometers per hour. The signs on the road now became bilingual, as they barked out orders and warnings in both English and French. The pace on the road definitely picked up. Driving in Canada for the first time, I gingerly and carefully negotiated the highway traffic and Rathi provided faithfull navigation as we nervously looked for the way to our new apartment in this place called Mississauga - a huge suburb of Toronto's. The place was amazingly easy to find. The landlord showed us the new apartment. He was a Malayalee as well and very friendly. The apartment was hideously small and cold. Not close to as comfortable as the one we just left. Slow steps, we reminded ourselves. It was a place to call home nevertheless. Meanwhile, I had caught whatever the kids had, while they were both getting better, the brats.
After that, its been pretty much the slow process of settling down. The very next day was spent with the movers delivering the stuff. Toronto is one of the most Cosmopolitan cities in the world. I was reminded of Dubai - without the religious government. Every other face on the street is an Asian or African. People from all parts of the world were there, India, Pakistan, China, Thailand, Afghanistan, England and other European countries, you name it, they are here. Low crime, high taxes, free medical care, cold weather, these are the constants in Canadian life. The socialists utopia land. The people are nice and friendly, except when they are driving. Whereas in Ohio, we had to drive at least 20 mins to get to the nearest Indian shop, here they are everywhere. In the first few days, we discovered a Malayalee grocery shop, (Rathi was like a kid in a candy store) and a Saravana Bhavan restaurant just like the ones in Madras.
So that's it for a description of our trip. Slowly but surely we are settling in. I will be starting my new job with the new year and that's going to bring its own challenges that I am looking forward to. The kids have both recovered and although I am not a hundred per cent yet, I am feeling better as well.