Canada Calling 2…
It has been eight months since I arrived, and I must admit that this period has been filled with significant challenges. Adjusting to a new life—steering with limited furniture and functioning without my own vehicle—has proven difficult. However, the most rigorous test has undoubtedly been my work. Working on a new domain and new technology simultaneously, all while managing demanding customer expectations, has been a steep learning curve. Despite these hurdles, I have to say that this adding sharp learning curve in my career. So, let me continue to share the experience of my journey in Canada.
One of the best things about my arrival was the timing: I reached Canada just as summer was beginning. This gave me crucial time to settle in and adjust to the new environment without the pressure of harsh weather. I quickly learned that summer is the season to truly enjoy here, a realization that hit me hard when November and December brought the intensity of the Canadian winter. This is my first time experiencing and learning to survive in freezing conditions. My daily routine now begins when my wife leaves for school around 8 AM, and my main job is getting my son ready. Just to add, my wife started working in school as French teach, her new exposure to work abroad. Back in India, I could never have imagined dropping my son off at school—a 1 km walk in temperatures ranging from -15 Celsius to -25 Celsius and then walking back home. Here in Canada, this is simply normal. I know I will adapt to this routine in the next couple of months, but for now, it remains tough, very tough.
Over the last three to four months, we’ve had several wonderful family celebrations, including my wife’s, my son’s, and my own birthdays. We celebrated with cake cutting, enjoying traditional Indian sweets, and treating ourselves to lunches and dinners at Indian restaurants (we still love our Indian food!). In between, we enjoyed festivals like Diwali and the local holiday, Halloween. Aadvik particularly enjoyed Halloween as it was his first time experiencing it. Then came the much-anticipated first snow on November 9th. While I had experienced snow before in the USA and Sweden, this was Aadvik’s first real exposure to this kind of intense winter. Despite the difficulty, he enjoyed it, but the conditions are getting harsher day by day. We have tried to prepare ourselves by investing heavily in the required Canadian winter attire: heavy and costly jackets, gloves, caps, and lots of other gear, all in an effort to feel confident that we can survive this deep winter. The coming days are Christmas and New year holidays. Looking forward to holidays.
Finally, I want to reflect on my professional performance. I am truly enjoying my work, not just because it is challenging, but because it represents a significant different from what I have done for the past ten years. I have been able to prove to myself that I can master something entirely new even at this stage of my career. My current role is a unique blend—roughly 60% supply chain domain and 40% technology. Coming from a technical background, the real demand has been to deeply understand the business side, including supply logistics and Distribution Centers (DCs). So far, I have been able to satisfy both my clients’ expectations and my own. I recognize there is a massive opportunity to improve further, and I am committed to continuous learning. I am confident that with my current performance, I will achieve many more milestones in the days ahead.
Thanks for now, journey is continued with lots of expectation and challenges. Hopefully, will overcome the challenges will continue to move further ahead.
