Oh Canada!
Monday, 9th Aug 2010 - Sunday 9th Aug 2020: Soumali completes 10 years in Canada!
Boy, time does fly fast doesn't it. Who knew 10 years would fly by me so quickly. Exactly 10 years ago today I packed my bags in Mumbai and left the comfort of home for Canada, Vancouver specifically - and 10 year later I am still here; however today, instead of a foreign unknown city Vancouver/Canada is what I call my second home.
As I am racing down the memory lane that spans a decade of my life, I am flooded with so much nostalgia and emotions. I could perhaps sit here and pour my heart out in never ending pages but alas no one has the time for that. So, the capricorn me decided to keep it short and sweet and summarize the key milestones of my life each year..so here goes..
a walk down the memory lane:
2010 - Post Grad. Moving to Vancouver after receiving admission to the MBA program at UBC. I always wanted to study at an University abroad and experiencing the education system in Canada was everything I had hoped for and more - specially coming from an Indian education system the contrast was truly remarkable. Also I do get asked this question a lot - if I think the MBA was a valuable degree and my answer is resounding YES! I truly believe that the impact of education is more than the tangibles of career and salary - it changed me as a person fundamentally as it thought me how to think, engage and analyze and problem solve - life changing skills I would say :)
2011: Learning to truly live alone and not just survive but thrive. Moved to BC's capital Victoria for my internship and learnt what living ALL ALONE in a new city truly takes. Spoiler alert - it involved a lot of long walks everywhere - idle walks, happy walks, celebration walks, sad walks, lonely walks, bored walks, walks to the groceries, walks to the bus stop, walks to the mall, walks to the gym. The upside - with all the walking this year was the fittest that I have ever been in my life! Oh another fond Victoria memory - I lived in the upper floor of the most beautiful home in the quaint Cook street village and fun fact the house was built of marsh land and was sinking - I found it the hard way on one drunken night after a few too many wine pours - that story for another time :)
2012: Finding a footing in Canada. I was fortunate to be one of the few people to have not one but two full time offers come my way while still going through the MBA program. On of them being a Management Consultant with Big4 - ah that coveted job position for most MBA's! But while that was easy the real struggle began once work started - adapting to a new work culture, often working and traveling as the sole women on an all male project team, hours and hours of frustrating conversations requesting for opportunities that leverage you new degree rather than being slotted back into the confines of my previous experience - all stories many of us are so intimately familiar with. My journey was no different. The struggles were real, the tears were real and the achievements hard earned. This was also the year I had the opportunity to work with a wonderful mentor who was so instrumental in my career. Much gratitude and plz plz if you can, do mentor.
2013: Travelling through Canada and USA. Perks of a consulting job - you get to travel a lot when you work and you get to be on bench when you don't work; and what do you do when on bench? You guessed it right - you travel more! Toronto, Kamloops, Calgary, Victoria, Montreal, SFO, LA, SD, NYC, Washington, Baltimore, Chicago..... Air miles and hotel points became my favourite currency and I became very skilled in the art of eating alone in fancy restaurants and doing so gracefully. By the end of 2013 I always had a carry on ready by my door - always ready for a new adventure. This was also year I made my first trip to Europe, to visit my brother and my friends and had the most dreamy Christmas and New Year celebration in France - it was just like in the movies! :)
2014: Dating! Met someone amazing and a whole new world of beautiful friends who became family. So many wonderful memories and lot of love in my heart always <3
2015: A chapter of many firsts. First foray into the startup life + Adulting - first car, leaving behind the roommate life and living by myself, first family visit to Canada, mom travelling abroad for the first time. First trip to South America and completely falling in love with it!
2016: Community - finding a sense of home and family and deepening my roots. One of the most satisfying experiences of my life has been being able to serve the Bengali community here in Vancouver. Having found the warmth of friendship in this wonderful community, for the first time Vancouver started feeling like home. Serving the community also deepend my understanding of my culture and roots and allowed me to develop a strong appreciation and love for it - for that I am eternally grateful! I found a passion for community service which I never knew to exist before. The whole process also made me intimately aware of my own strengths and inculcated a sense of confidence that I now often find myself going back to when the demon of self-doubt raises its ugly head. Having lived in Bombay, San Francisco, Vancouver and Victoria - I have often wondered what 'home' is - and to my it is simply a place where you are surrounded by the love of your dear ones and where that love runs its unconditional course through you and is reflected in your simple everyday actions.
2017: Citizenship - Merci Beaucoup Canada! Period.
2018: Rediscovering Passion - Music, dancing, painting, blogging, cooking and most importantly discovering the meaning behind the 'joy of baking' :). Art truly saves! This year I also spent a lot of wonderful time in my balcony intoxicated with soulful music, deep conversations and warm embraces of good company.
2019: Evolution - Coming of age and understanding my own values. 2019 was invariable one of the toughest years of my life. Made a lot of mistakes, learnt from it the hard way, worked hard to rediscover my authentic self, found courage to have the tough conversations and stillness and grace of forgiveness. All of this is still a work in progress. My career btw. was amazing this year :)! This was also the year I got to live 1:1 with my mother as an adult after ages - we both have changed a lot and I am so glad that I got to know her from a different perspective and redefine our relationship.
2020: Paused - due to COVID. Lol kidding.... In progress.... Please visit next decade for updates :) But I can tell you that this is a very very special year. I am relearning what love is all over again and am basking in the warmth of simple unadulterated friendships - all of this feels so right :)
As I write this, I am filled with gratitude for the many opportunities and support I have received in this foreign land and from it's wonderful people. I am also intimately aware of my privileged in the sense that I had the luxury of a 'choice' in my decision to move to this country and that my both my homes are a safe and wonderful place where I can thrive. I love them both equally and authentically.
Ultimately as I reflect back, my immigration journey has resulted in my mind's borders and boundaries to be expanded. I have caught a glimpse of how big life is and how much bigger I could be. Capacity threshold so much larger than I realized. I now think and speak a slightly different - a more expanded and global and hopefully an empathetic language.
10 years down - I now claim on this new land the life that is truly mine!
Here's to many more.
xoxo
P.S - This beautiful art is by Jennifer Adomeit - a Canadian and BC born art enthusiast and an elementary school teacher. Used here just for personal blogging and not for any commercial use.