by Shamim Ahmed
In our ‘Journey of an International Student’ series, Shamim shares his experiences and journey as an international student parent at the University of Toronto. This thoughtful monthly series aims to highlight experiences of international student parents, find connections in our community, and uplift voices of others. If you have story or idea for our Redefining Traditional community, you can submit it here!
On December 2nd 2019, we were traveling to Bangladesh after almost 3 years of being in Canada! Everyone was so excited for this vacation. We saved money for several years to buy tickets and see our families again. December is a good time to visit Bangladesh. It is winter there and green landscapes, fresh vegetables, seasonal cakes, and warmth of your dear ones are waiting! Bangladesh is a tropical country and we have six seasons throughout the year. I know you might be surprised, and I will share all about these seasons in one of my blogs in the future. But today when I refer to winter, do not get confused, it is not like the winter we observe here in Canada. We have a lot of rainfall in Bangladesh, but apart from that, the temperature is high throughout the year. The average temperature during summer is around 39-degree Celsius. Therefore, when I talk about winter in Bangladesh, it is 15-20 degree Celsius, pretty much the summer in Canada!
“To observe attentively is to remember distinctly”
Our daughter Wamiah had spent a good share of her childhood with our parents in Dhaka as both my wife and I were busy with our jobs. Childcare centers are not a very well-structured concept in my home country, therefore the few ones we have are privately run and awfully expensive to afford for many families. Instead, our generous parents were always willing to take care of our children and that is how our traditional Bangladeshi families stay close with a strong bond. Unfortunately, the situation is not in our favor to make a trip to Bangladesh this year. Coronavirus has spread its wings and reached everywhere including Toronto and Dhaka (capital city of Bangladesh where I used to live). The infection rate is high and, on an average, around 50 people are dying every day from coronavirus related infections in Bangladesh. Travels are discouraged and of course we abide by the rules set up by public health authorities for the sake of everyone’s safety.
We are now stuck at home for COVID-19 and cannot fly to places we wanted to be, but as human, we have a wonderful gift, which is memory. For the post, I am going to walk down my memory lane for a while with all of you.
“Invisible things are the only realities”
After reaching Toronto on December 8th 2016, one of the first things that we did was to open our bank accounts. It is an important thing to do, and if you are an international student, I encourage you to do the same. Everyone travels, carry some money. It is neither safe nor comfortable to carry money with you or keep them at your home for long. Moreover, it is good to have a credit card as soon as possible for your daily needs. Having a credit card early also helps to have a good credit score in the long run.
Furthermore, as a scholarship student, I needed to provide my bank information to department for processing my payments. We were lucky to have a rented apartment at the University of Toronto Family Housing, and they also needed the bank information. To be honest, you cannot live hassle-free even for a week without a bank account. Many banks have exclusive offers for students, and therefore, doing some research and speaking to your peers before making a choice can be helpful. Just a month before I opened my account, my bank was giving televisions as gifts for people who opened a new account with them! Unfortunately, I was late to get that offer, but managed to get my account fee waived.
“All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream”
I was so excited to visit my campus and Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH) where I enrolled for my Doctoral of Philosophy program. It took me a while to find the building using Google Maps. DLPSH is a little different than other structures at the University of Toronto. It is comparatively a new building, and stand-alone amidst the variety of Victorian architectural designs you can see throughout the campus. Still, I loved it. This was my destination. I worked hard for months to qualify for a spot in this school, one of the top public health schools in the world. I could sense a bit of holiday mood already; few students or faculties were there in the building in the second week of December.
Luckily, I managed to meet people whom I bothered with hundreds of emails before coming to Toronto. I thanked them honestly for their patience and support extended to me. I believe it is important to build good relationship with colleagues for a better work environment. These are the people we usually spend one-third of our weekdays and we need to look out for each other. Unfortunately, it reminds me that even after working with my Innovation Hub colleagues for almost 7 months, we could not meet face-to-face yet due to COVID-19. We try to meet and greet online using virtual platforms, but I certainly miss meeting them in person, going out for a coffee and sharing lunch during office hours. As the United Kingdom is ready to vaccinate its citizens from next week, soon the vaccines will be available worldwide, and by next fall, I hope, we shall all be able to roam freely!
“Never to suffer would never to have been blessed”
What is Canada famous for? To be honest for its generosity, maple syrup and Tim Hortons! We have been hearing about Tim Hortons since we decided to come to Toronto. My wife, daughter and I are fans of Starbucks and never tried Tim Hortons before until now. We were so happy when we first went to a Tim Hortons and now it’s a part of our lives. My daughter loves chocolate donuts, I go with half coffee, half vanilla and my wife prefers the latte. I miss buying coffee and Timbits for my students and enjoying it together in the last class of the semester.
“Beauty is the sole legitimate province of the poem”
Today, I miss my home country very much. I miss seeing my parents. I miss hanging out with my friends in the crowded Dhaka streets, chat about the politics while sipping into hot Masala Teas. But it is what it is. COVID-19 has put all of us into a difficult position, and we need to be little patient and responsible to take care of each other during this time. Good days will come. I can understand the feelings of everyone who are missing their home countries, cities, friends, and families. Many of us will not be able to travel to their favorite hometowns during this holiday, and that is the reason we need to be kind and supportive. We need to be compassionate and caring. Together we will see brighter days and happy moments in the new year. I am a hopeful person. I hope you are one too.
I shall get back to you all with a new blog next month. Till then, stay safe and healthy. Happy holiday everyone, and an advance Happy New Year 2021 to you all!
- Many thanks to E.M. Forster for the title and Edgar Allan Poe for the subtitles!
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