Category Archives: Wednesday’s Weekly Update

Nine days of quarantine completed, five left to go. So far, no symptoms! Even though we have yet to leave the house, we’ve had a few brushes with the Canadian way of life which I wanted to share with you. So I’m introducing a new feature to my weekly update called: Bears in the Playground eh? You’ll see why the name when you read the first nugget of Canadian culture shared below.

1. Life in quarantine The first morning I woke at 4am and had the fridge magnets arranged on the fridge by 5am. By 12:30pm the same day we had the internet up and running. Conveniently, we were able to do an online shop for food and some basic house things. Which came, get this, just two hours later!! I’ve also ordered a Social Insurance Number, signed up to the BC Medical Services Plan and we’ve both booked appointments to swap our U.K driving licences for a BC ones. This all sounds very productive but honestly incarnation has slowly started to us drive nuts, mostly because the only piece of furniture we have is a bed. We’re eating on the floor, Jacob is working on the floor and we’re relaxing on the floor. I miss chairs. But who cares, we’re here and we’ll be free to explore in a few days.

2. Getting excited After my friend Nicola sent me this article in the Guardian and I realised that this spectacular mountain is only three hours drive away from here, the fact that I’m living in an outdoor pursuits dreamland started to sink in. My limbs are arching for a long hike, to properly stretch out and feel the burn of a horrible steep incline. I have got my sights set on Teapot Mountain which is near here, simply because how can you not climb a mountain with such a fabulous name?! I’m also getting really excited for winter and the prospect of Snow Shoeing, Skiing, Ice Climbing, Ice Skating…

3. Arrival of the final team member Exciting news! Bally the Greyhound’s flight is booked for the 18th of September. Which means we’ll be driving down to Vancouver on the 17th. We should be able to collect him on the 18th once he has been processed and we CANNOT WAIT!!

What’s Bothering Babs?

Babs’ Question: Do they have kettles?

Firstly, thanks for the photo! You are a legend!! Secondly, great question. It appears that most people have kettles on the hob rather than electric kettles, or they don’t have a kettle at all and just use a coffee maker (barbarians!). But they do sell electric ones. Phew. As a tea-obsessed Brit, this is important stuff.

Bears in the Playground eh?

Welcome to our new feature, where I share something that has made me exclaim: ‘God that’s so Canadian!’

Last Tuesday I attended a training session provided by School District 57 to prepare new teachers for what to expect in Prince George’s schools. As part of the training they covered emergency procedures, including one called ‘Shelter in Place’. Schools, apparently fairly frequently, enact this procedure when the pupils can’t be let outside due to a… BEAR IN THE PLAYGROUND!! I had to mute myself (the perks of training sessions on Zoom) and use my hand to hide my giggling face. Bears strolling onto the playground, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

Photo credit: By http://www.cgpgrey.com, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37262481

WE’VE MADE IT!!! Five months after I was meant to arrive and seven months after we moved out of our house: we arrived in Canada on Monday (31st August)! I’m still in utter disbelief, but absolutely ecstatic to be here. I’ll write a more detailed blog about the experience of emigrating during a global pandemic when I’m a little less jet lagged. But for now, read on to find out why we were finally able to leave the UK.

1. What happened over the last week? As you know from Wednesday’s Weekly Update No.8, by last Wednesday we were tantalizingly close to having everything in place, we just needed the paper work from my new employer. The official documents came through from District 57 (my new employer) on Thursday. However, while there was a contract there was no official offer letter with the word ‘congratulations’ and an official start date on letter headed paper. Knowing that my job status would (literally) need to be in black and white for immigration to let me in, I emailed back requesting an official job offer letter. Thankfully, they obliged the next day. So by the end of the day on Friday we had all the paper work we needed. During Friday and Saturday we said goodbye to our grandparents, set up the internet in our house in Canada and packed our bags. On Sunday we bought our plane tickets, using the credit note from the time we were denied boarding. The next day, Monday, our oldest friend (and brother-in-law) drove us to Heathrow Airport. Hardly anyone knew that we were going; instead of a teary goodbye my Mum and I chuckled about who would cook tea after we got back from Heathrow, because I was so convinced something would go wrong.

2. The flight(s) and immigration. We cleared though the screening (to check that your travel to Canada is non-discretionary) at Air Canada’s check-in desk with relative ease (the only issue, ironically, being with one of Jacob’s documents). This was the point at which we were informed that I was not permitted to travel back when we tried to go in May, so this felt like a good start. Fueled with Yo Sushi! we boarded the plane and nine nervous hours later we touched down in Vancouver. Nine hours is a long time to wait to hear your fate. I’d love to tell you that I was as cool as a cucumber, but that would be a complete lie. Thankfully, because so few people are arriving into Vancouver at the moment we were at the front of the passport queue in no time. The boarder services agent checked the documents which proved we were entering for work, checked our quarantine plan and stamped our passports. Round one complete. After collecting our bags I headed to immigration alone for the final hurdle. Far from the sour faced driving test type I was expecting, the chap who processed my visa was delightful. After some minor hiccups with their printer, I skipped out to meet Jacob officially a Temporary Foreign Worker in Canada. After a short, but extremely atmospheric, flight to Prince George, over the mountains and into the sunset, we arrived at our final destination.

4. What next? When our quarantine plan was checked upon arrival at Vancouver we were warned that breaking it could result in a million dollar fine. So first things first, we’re staying inside for 14 days! Once this is completed our top priority is getting the final team member, Bally-the-Greyhound, here. As well as attending an online training session for my new job, I need to complete all the usual immigration tasks: bank account, social insurance number, driving licence. Oh and we’re in our beautiful, but unfurnished, house. So we’ve got a bit of shopping to do! Thankfully, our wonderful landlady sorted us a bed ready for our arrival, but I’m ready to eat dinner not sat on the floor!!

What’s Bothering Babs?

Babs’ Question: What was the flight like?

Really, really pleasant. We had a full row to ourselves and the plane to Vancouver was basically empty. I can’t say I enjoyed having to wear a mask for 25 hours but, you gottta do whatcha gotta do! I can’t wait to write a full blog about the whole experience: how it compared to flying pre-covid, the screening which took place to check if we had any symptoms and the incredible flight into Prince George.

I have, finally, got some good news to share this week and I’m going to tentatively say that I’m feeling quite excited. Last week was a bit of a turning point so if you missed the update, you can get up to speed here: Wednesday’s Weekly Update No.7

1. The Job interview. As you know, I had an interview yesterday for a TTOC position with District 57. The interview was far more rigorous than is usual for a supply teaching position in this country, but lets be honest, I loved the opportunity to wax lyrical about education! At the end they informed me that they were happy to welcome me to District 57. So that’s it, I have a job in Canada! And not just any job, being a TTOC is the perfect position to learn about and experience their education system, so I’m chuffed! Now the question is, does that mean we can go? Here is the current Covid-19 related guidance for temporary foreign workers from the Canadian government website:

As a worker, your travel is essential (non-discretionary) if you’re in either of these situations:

You’re a worker who meets all of the following:

– has a letter of introduction for a work permit (open or employer-specific)

– has a valid job offer

– can work once you enter Canada and complete your 14-day quarantine (unless you’re exempt)

Point one, the work visa, I’ve had in place since June. Point three, somewhere to quarantine, we have been renting a house in Prince George since July and I’m definitely keen to begin work once the 14 day quarantine is completed. Point two, valid job offer, we are painfully close. Immediately after the interview I sent though all the documents to confirm my qualifications and now all I’m waiting for is an email containing an official job offer/contract. Once that comes through we’re good to go. Finally.

2. Good news for Bally The Greyhound. In Wednesday’s Weekly Update No.5 I set out our increasingly expensive and absurd options for flying Bally to Canada. The Toronto option involved a 43 hour drive and the Vancouver option was double what we were originally quoted. Good news though, our Pet Travel Agent has confirmed the price of a flight to Vancouver and it’s not double the price we were originally quoted. Phew! It is more expensive. But what isn’t now, thanks to Covid-19? In a hilarious turn of events we also have to obtain a special permission for him to enter Canada. I really hope that involves some kind of citizenship test with questions such as ‘What experience does your animal have with bears?’. All being well, Bally should be able to fly to Vancouver once we have completed our quarantine. I’ll keep you posted on what the ‘special permission’ involves!

3. The plan. I’d love to report that it’s all systems go here. That I’ve fallen back in love with packing cubes and that we are busy saying teary goodbyes to loved ones. But for the moment we’re proceeding cautiously! We’ve had too many set backs to get excited until I have an official job offer to show to immigration. That said, my To Do List does have some enticing items including: sell the car* and print travel documents. We are planning to complete the two week quarantine in our rented house in Prince George. Which means that (with great disbelief that this could actually, finally, be happening) I’m also looking into getting the necessities for our two weeks of being house bound. Item number one on that list is getting the internet set up!

What’s Bothering Babs?

Babs’ question: How are you going to quarantine in your house, isn’t it unfurnished? Do you want to borrow an old beach lilo to sleep on?

Hum, thanks for the offer. It’s a good point though. It is a bit mad to spend two weeks trapped inside an empty house. I should explain that it would cost about £1000 to rent an AirBnB, money we’d be mad to spend when we are already renting a place. Plus, we just really want to get to the house. Thankfully, our lovely Landlady has offered to help with groceries. Plus we are planning to get a few things sent there in advance. At the very least, a mattress! So hopefully we won’t be needing the old beach lilo!

*It’s silver and it’s an Astra and it’s quite nice. Thus ends my knowledge. But if you need a car, hit me up, ‘cos that babies gotta go!