Foreign Service - Strike?

[skas13]

]
Fair enough, but I have had issues with mixed race. Also, in my country, if someone swore at me, I could swear back and feel 1 on 1. Here, if I did that, I would feel 1 vs many since I not only don't speak Korean, but also, I might offend multiple people just by saying a korean swear. They ironically think our swears are meaningless. But thanks for the advice. Don't get me wrong, it is not a totally unsafe place here at all. I knew people from Jane and Finch in Canada. One is dead now....compared to that, this place is like a church. That being said, I am not always treated as at least an equal to most people here.

I don't blame you. I lived in India for 5 years, and honestly home is home. We are lucky to live in Canada. Nothing wrong with wanting to come back here and feeling safer here. India was NOT an easy place to live. But it wasn't unsafe.
I lived in Korea too, and though it is safe, I hated dealing with the blatant racism. S. Korea has it's problems.
Hope you get your visa soon.

 

[Dan_from_Surrey]

I always thought Harper is more on the lines of a Thatcher, Mulroney, or spokesperson for Imperial oil.

Yeah, George bush style, unfortunately I don't see him being the last one for a while, way to much money being made by big business for them to start backing leaders with their own thoughts.

 

[costaudjoe]

Latest articles on the strike:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/08/20/pol-foreign-service-bad-faith-complaint-hearing.html

http://www.ipolitics.ca/2013/08/20/foreign-service-union-appeals-for-public-support-ahead-of-hearing/

 

[Canadian_Leb]

http://www.ipolitics.ca/2013/08/21/foreign-service-union-treasury-board-await-labour-board-decision-on-strike/

 

[jeanmichel5678]

It makes me sad to the point that it became rare that I come to this forum.

 

[Matt29]

I didn't call YOU a hillbilly. But i said I have heard those complaints before. Honestly when you ask me to grow some balls before I comment, you need to look at yourself. After only a year in Korea, you made some very disrespectful comments (and strange ones) and made them like you are an expert on the topic. I'm not an expert on your issues, but you are not an expert on Korea either. Korea is different than Canada. But your comments were not respectful, you just took a nasty shot at it.

never said I was an expert. Also, everything I said was fact. I experienced it. I am not saying that all are like this or that. I said what I experienced, and only I am an expert on that. As for you not calling me a hillbilly, you kinda did. Saying I am from a small town in Canada? Toronto is a small town in Canada now? SO then what is a major city? Montreal? HA. Not really. And it has been a year here with NO foreign help whatsoever. What I've learned about this place is a lot. Not enough to be an expert, but enough to have a valued opinion. My comments were not meant to be respectful towards the specific individuals who mistreated me in Korea. I am not racist, them being Korean by blood has nothing to do with it, but their culture does influence the way they view foreigners and if you ARE a Canadian, you know that on average, we are a LOT more open towards foreigners. Our economy is practically BUILT on it.

 

[Matt29]

I don't blame you. I lived in India for 5 years, and honestly home is home. We are lucky to live in Canada. Nothing wrong with wanting to come back here and feeling safer here. India was NOT an easy place to live. But it wasn't unsafe.
I lived in Korea too, and though it is safe, I hated dealing with the blatant racism. S. Korea has it's problems.
Hope you get your visa soon.

Thank you very much for your kind words. I really hope my family can meet my son sometime before Christmas. They missed everything so far because of their busy lives, I just want to go home, like you said. It is not unsafe here as a whole, but if you live/have ever been to Mississauga, Oakville, or even other smaller towns near Toronto you would see why/how I would feel safer there.

 

[keesio]

never said I was an expert. Also, everything I said was fact. I experienced it. I am not saying that all are like this or that. I said what I experienced, and only I am an expert on that. As for you not calling me a hillbilly, you kinda did. Saying I am from a small town in Canada? Toronto is a small town in Canada now? SO then what is a major city? Montreal? HA. Not really. And it has been a year here with NO foreign help whatsoever. What I've learned about this place is a lot. Not enough to be an expert, but enough to have a valued opinion. My comments were not meant to be respectful towards the specific individuals who mistreated me in Korea. I am not racist, them being Korean by blood has nothing to do with it, but their culture does influence the way they view foreigners and if you ARE a Canadian, you know that on average, we are a LOT more open towards foreigners. Our economy is practically BUILT on it.

Ok last comment on this and then i'll move on, I promise.

First off, Mississauga is a small town and Toronto, only until recently (like the last 25 years or so) was certainly not a big city (or anywhere near as diverse). You mentioned you are a yonug guy so maybe you don't remember this. Anyway, even now, unless you live in the downtown core (South of Bloor, East of Bathurst, West of Parliament), the density is not so big. Really, look at the TTC subway map and compare it to any other large (non-US) city in the world (southern US is obsessed with cars). That is the first hint. But I'm nitpicking and size is all perception I suppose. And compared to the big cities in Asia (you see Seoul so you know), Toronto is pretty small in terms of population and density.

Look, I feel for you. Korea is a pretty homogeneous country (which they are proud of) and can have a streak of xenophobia at times. And the comment by someone else regarding mixed race people has some truth to it. Only if you are famous and successful do they consider it a nice novelty, otherwise they can look down on you. That is good reason enough alone to want to move back to Canada, which is more accepting of this IMHO.

But the comment on feeling unsafe because of the threats of war? Come on man! It's not Syria or Egypt and those poor folks are waiting too and lots of time the VO being shut down in Cairo. And I know you didn't really believe it yourself since you backed off on that comment a bit. And the safety thing overall? Those two are a stretch. You are frustrated that your sponsorship is taking so long and you are just venting I know to bring urgency to your situation. But those two are the things where I commented that sounds "off" to me. South Korea does rank higher than Canada in overall safety ratings by the WHO and UN. Many people just get freaked out by the sheer population density and the crowds of people which they mistake as unsafe, especially if you are used to more space like Canada in general (yes even Toronto). My friend's wife's mother felt uncomfortable visiting Toronto because she felt it unsafe, too crowded, people were rude/pushy.

Ok, I think we both agree we are tired of arguing on this so I'm done with this. Good luck with your sponsorship, I think the annoying wait is one thing we can both understand, it'll come through and hang in there.

 

[costaudjoe]

Thank you very much for your kind words. I really hope my family can meet my son sometime before Christmas. They missed everything so far because of their busy lives, I just want to go home, like you said. It is not unsafe here as a whole, but if you live/have ever been to Mississauga, Oakville, or even other smaller towns near Toronto you would see why/how I would feel safer there.

I fail to see how this process/strike is stopping your family from seeing your son (either you going to Toronto or them going to Korea).

 

[gongdi]

Korea is a pretty homogeneous country (which they are proud of) and can have a streak of xenophobia at times. And the comment by someone else regarding mixed race people has some truth to it. Only if you are famous and successful do they consider it a nice novelty, otherwise they can look down on you.

I always found with my travels in Asia that mixed blood babies are often viewed as inherently "beautiful and clever". Old ladies often come over to my baby just to see her and my wife tells me some girls are envious of her. In fact, I fear that my child will get a swelled head about it more than anything. It's usually only the young men who make the rude comments, but you need to grow a thick skin and ignore the cat calls and jealous remarks.

Matt29:
The xenophobia gets to me sometimes, but all of a sudden you meet a great person here and forget all about it. Some people will just see my face and refuse to speak to me, or will insult me using Chinese (which I can speak and understand) thinking I couldn't possibly understand what they are saying. As a father, it should be easy to look beyond a few jealous guys making catcalls and focus on the more important things in life. My chief concern is air quality and space. I want to give my daughter the amazing upbringing in the Ottawa valley that I enjoyed, and I can't do that living in a congested city living in a 1 bedroom apartment. Anyways, this wait is painful for all of us. My MP's representative practically knows my name as I have been e-mailing her so often with my concerns since the strike began.

 

[Matt29]

Ok last comment on this and then i'll move on, I promise.

First off, Mississauga is a small town and Toronto, only until recently (like the last 25 years or so) was certainly not a big city (or anywhere near as diverse). You mentioned you are a yonug guy so maybe you don't remember this. Anyway, even now, unless you live in the downtown core (South of Bloor, East of Bathurst, West of Parliament), the density is not so big. Really, look at the TTC subway map and compare it to any other large (non-US) city in the world (southern US is obsessed with cars). That is the first hint. But I'm nitpicking and size is all perception I suppose. And compared to the big cities in Asia (you see Seoul so you know), Toronto is pretty small in terms of population and density.

Look, I feel for you. Korea is a pretty homogeneous country (which they are proud of) and can have a streak of xenophobia at times. And the comment by someone else regarding mixed race people has some truth to it. Only if you are famous and successful do they consider it a nice novelty, otherwise they can look down on you. That is good reason enough alone to want to move back to Canada, which is more accepting of this IMHO.

But the comment on feeling unsafe because of the threats of war? Come on man! It's not Syria or Egypt and those poor folks are waiting too and lots of time the VO being shut down in Cairo. And I know you didn't really believe it yourself since you backed off on that comment a bit. And the safety thing overall? Those two are a stretch. You are frustrated that your sponsorship is taking so long and you are just venting I know to bring urgency to your situation. But those two are the things where I commented that sounds "off" to me. South Korea does rank higher than Canada in overall safety ratings by the WHO and UN. Many people just get freaked out by the sheer population density and the crowds of people which they mistake as unsafe, especially if you are used to more space like Canada in general (yes even Toronto). My friend's wife's mother felt uncomfortable visiting Toronto because she felt it unsafe, too crowded, people were rude/pushy.

Ok, I think we both agree we are tired of arguing on this so I'm done with this. Good luck with your sponsorship, I think the annoying wait is one thing we can both understand, it'll come through and hang in there.

Thank you. Just wanted to say, I already got the sponsorship approved but I am waiting on a visa for my wife. Been waiting over a year for that...

 

[Matt29]

I fail to see how this process/strike is stopping your family from seeing your son (either you going to Toronto or them going to Korea).

I can go home, so can my son, my wife cannot. Also, my family cannot come here. They don't have the time or money to spare. Simple as that.

 

[Matt29]

I always found with my travels in Asia that mixed blood babies are often viewed as inherently "beautiful and clever". Old ladies often come over to my baby just to see her and my wife tells me some girls are envious of her. In fact, I fear that my child will get a swelled head about it more than anything. It's usually only the young men who make the rude comments, but you need to grow a thick skin and ignore the cat calls and jealous remarks.

Matt29:
The xenophobia gets to me sometimes, but all of a sudden you meet a great person here and forget all about it. Some people will just see my face and refuse to speak to me, or will insult me using Chinese (which I can speak and understand) thinking I couldn't possibly understand what they are saying. As a father, it should be easy to look beyond a few jealous guys making catcalls and focus on the more important things in life. My chief concern is air quality and space. I want to give my daughter the amazing upbringing in the Ottawa valley that I enjoyed, and I can't do that living in a congested city living in a 1 bedroom apartment. Anyways, this wait is painful for all of us. My MP's representative practically knows my name as I have been e-mailing her so often with my concerns since the strike began.

I agree, my son gets many "cute" comments as well, but some old men and other couples look at us like we are an abomination or something. Also, I have heard the chinese comments too, but I also understand a bit (since as I said, my friends are almost all chinese back home) so I usually just ignore them.

I really hope this whole thing vanishes quickly. Time goes by so quickly.....my family still hasn't even met my son ><" It just boggles my mind.

 

[costaudjoe]

I can go home, so can my son, my wife cannot. Also, my family cannot come here. They don't have the time or money to spare. Simple as that.

I really must be missing something here. You have stressed how important it is for your family to see your son. Your wife CAN go to Canada. Koreans can have 6 months tourist visas.

My common-law partner (who is Korean) and I stayed in Canada together many times for longer than 6 months by crossing the border to the states and coming back. It seems to me that it is a personal choice to wait out the process and not the process itself that is stopping you from bringing your son to visit your family.

I say this not to aggravate you but to let you know that you have possibilities.

 

[zardoz]

I really must be missing something here. You have stressed how important it is for your family to see your son. Your wife CAN go to Canada. Koreans can have 6 months tourist visas.

My common-law partner (who is Korean) and I stayed in Canada together many times for longer than 6 months by crossing the border to the states and coming back. It seems to me that it is a personal choice to wait out the process and not the process itself that is stopping you from bringing your son to visit your family.

Agreed. From http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp?country=Korea,%20Republic%20of

Country: Korea, Republic of

You do not need a visa to visit or transit Canada.