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| Tibia Plateau Fracture.... |
I don’t
have to tell you all that I hit rock-bottom during the first week in Canada,
due to my silly skiing injury. And I’m definitely not too proud to admit that I
had to learn to smile through my tears, but in the end it was all worth it.
During those 4 months, I fell in love with the nature, the mountains, the
snowflakes and the Canadian people. I’ve never met such nice people before in
my life. They did everything possible to make me feel welcome and to support me
when I was sad. Although I left Canada on crutches, it was with a big smile on
my face and a heart filled with love. |
| Snow Shoeing - Delphine Creek |
After graduating
I started working as Office Manager for BinckBank Belgium. It was and still is
an awesome job as a starter on the labour market. My colleagues and I had a lot
of fun, but I still had the feeling I was missing out on something. So I
decided to take a holiday and go skiing all by myself in Canada! I stayed at my
supervisor’s house in Invermere, rented a car and just had a lot of fun. We
went skiing, heliskiing, snow shoeing, shopping and many more things.
At that
point, we started talking about me coming back to Canada to work at rk heliski
as a fulltime employee. A couple of weeks later, I applied for a new Work
Permit (since it can take a while to get approved by the Canadian Embassy in
Paris) and decided to quit my job. I left Belgium at the end of September to fulfill
my Canadian dreams. During the past winter season, I lived my life to the
fullest. We went heliskiing, skiing on the hill, dog sledding, did some heli
sightseeing and heli fondues and just enjoyed the time close to the beautiful
Purcell Mountains.
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| St. Alli's Day 2014 |
At the end
of January I went on a consult with an Immigration Canada Consultant to discuss
my options to remain in Canada. Since Canada is a country with a lot of rules
and regulations, it isn’t easy to immigrate at all. But we found a solution :-)
As of September 2014, I will become a student at the College of the Rockies in
Cranbrook, British Columbia. I’ll start the 2 year program Tourism and
Recreation Management in order for me to stay in Canada. I’m pretty sure a lot
of people think it’s a crazy idea to go to school again, since I already have
my Bachelor’s degree, but I would do about anything to continue to live my
Canadian dream. I’ll be a fulltime student during the first year, including
living at the Purcell House Student Residence. International Students are
allowed to work 20 hours a week during their studies, so I’ll still be a proud
member of the rk heliski family. During the second year, I’ll probably move to
Panorama to work fulltime and study online. This will help me to pay for my
studies, since studying in Canada is a bit expensive. After graduation in 2016
I’ll receive a Post-Graduate Work Permit which will allow me to work within
Canada for 3 more years. 
This means
of course that I’ll probably remain in Canada for a long long time, but I’ll
try to come “home” again on a holiday. If everything passes on smoothly, I’ll
apply for the Canadian nationality within the next 5 years. I realize that this
is a big step in my life, but I just have to give it a try. I’ve been in doubt
for a couple of weeks now, since I feel a bit in between countries. I’ve met a
lot of new people and had a lot of fun, but this might just be a temporary
phase. I have to start thinking about my future and just take the plunge,
because there’s always a way back.
Everyone is
more than welcome to share their thoughts, opinions and advises about me doing
this. I’ll be more than happy to explain to each and every one of you why I’m
taking this decision. I’m only 24 years old, but being here just made me realize
that my life isn’t in Belgium any more.
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| rk heliplex |
J.
