People , just to share a bit of my experience so far:
I am excited reading the Accra stories, better awaits you on the way to Canada !
my intention was just to land - so that the deadline will not expire , spend some weeks looking around , test the job markets and return to nigeria, to analyse and strategize. Expensive option uhn??
left naija with little air , loaded my gtb and had like 2k usd cash ; the experience was just like everyother ones, though we (wifey and 2 wonderful kids) left with BA , stayed like 5 hours at Heathrow airport and we then took off to Toronto. I noticed my kids were unusually happy , smiling and very excited for more than 24 hours and i begin to feel concerned ( positive concern though !)
At Toronto airport , we met lot of chinese waiting to complete their landing as well, since it is a big airport , and a weekend , i wasnt surpise by the queue , it moved so fast . at the immigration desk i was asked about my POF and i told them i had less than 10k , with 2k on cash , and rest on ATM , i was asked again what was the total amount i am bringing in ; i just said 40k ...by faith . SHe didnt ask to see it physically though .
an observation here ,i noticed one of kids name was shortened, funmilayo to Funmil ...on the COPR form i got from Ghana. i didnt see this until i went in for my SIN the following monday and i was asked at the point of entry if i have checked that all the information were correct which i noded in affirmative . please go through all the COPR and make sure all the info are correct and if there are issues , let them know at the point of entry . Anyway i was reassured there shouldnt be any problem especially for the kid.
my host has been wonderful and i wasted no time getting the SIN , opening a bank account with RBC , got a 1000 USD credit card which i have been spending - i understand it is good move to help build credit history ..going forward. and generally looking around .
Being an oil and gas person , calgary seems to be the right place , so i thought i could quickly jump on a plane and get myself in calgary within minutes , like Lagos-port-harcourt moves !! i was taken aback when i realised the lowest fare was like 700$ returns and it will take 4 hours to get there and the time zone is like 2 hours ahead ! so i decided to check a train or bus options ......may be it might be cheaper ...more surprise, it will take minimum of 3 days and the fare could rival the air fare... this underscores wat is being preached here everyday ..planning , planning ! you cant miss it with good planning and asking questions .........but i thank God i took the trip to calgary , i fell in love with the place ......well planned , simple and beautiful .I only planned to look around , test the job market and go back to Toronto before leaving for Naija again ...Well i have spent just 2 days in Calgary and there are interviews lined up for me ! Thank God i brought a suit and some nice shirt !
i wont advice anyone to take my route again , as in , if you are looking at calgary , come straight to calgary , even if your brother is in toronto !
May be this may interest the person asking about integration and leaving the naija certainty for canada , there is big demand for PM and BA here and with the right footing , you will get a good job . plus a community of very helpful and nice human being , in a well organised environment that money and next 10 years of "serious hard work by a focussed government in naija will not acheive .The few Nigerians i have met are extremely wonderful ...eager to help, happy with what they are doing and not regretting moving here ..even now i am playing with the option of resigning my job over the phone in Naija and stay back as there is great prospect here ....but i guess i need to go back and put things in proper shape....
i noticed i am spendig quite a lot on phone calls, and most people are not reaching me on the line . i got a rogers line and was thinking i could load it with like 100$ when leaving canada so that recruiters can reach my voice mail and leave messages for me , which i can then access from anywhere and then take action . i guess that was rather expensive plus i got the phone in Toronto and all calls i am making in calgary are charged as long distance call, thot it was like naija gsm same rate from maiduguri to okija , i am shopping for cheaper options as i will still be in calgary for a while ... i could still use my naija bb through wireless internet , so i am stll kind of connected when ever i am at my host place .
