- Feb 22, 2012
- 11
- Category........
- Visa Office......
- Pretoria, South Africa
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..
- App. Filed.......
- at CIO 11 April 2012
- Nomination.....
- March 2012
- AOR Received.
- AOR-CIO: 9th May 2012
- IELTS Request
- NA
- File Transfer...
- Dont know but ECAS Changed to IN-PROCESS 24/5/2012
- Med's Request
- 12/6/2012
- Med's Done....
- 19/6/2012
- Interview........
- WAIVED
- Passport Req..
- 19th July 2012
- VISA ISSUED...
- 1-August-2012
Hello good people,
Settling down in Canada is like learning how to walk for a child. Sometimes feels overwhelming and so much pressure to try and think you can replicate your life styles from where you are coming from. Point no 1...I keep reminding myself this is Canada and not SA.
Things are different, some you may find interesting some shocking and surprising. For example paying for incoming calls bla..bla. My first few days after landing was hectic with the fact that I started a new job 4 days after landing. So having a friend or family here also play a very vital role.
Anyway managed to sort out SIN, Bank account, Schools for Kids (2 in primary and 1 in Higher sch). Luckly my kids got immediate promotions to their next grades. As of last months my kids were in grade 8,5 and 3 respectively but since the Canadian academic session staretd in Septemeber and they had already completed 3 terms of their various grades, they admiitted them into the next grades (keeping fingers cross to see progress). Opened an educational account with the bank for kids so that I can benefit from the government contribution. Well..you see you will hear lots of advice but I guess the onus is on one to make the right decision anyway.
So next thing was to shop around for a car and furnish the house. I looked at different cars from dealerships, kijiji etc. As a choice I decided I dont want to start gtting myself into unnnecesary debt here in Canada so we decided paying cash for car, household contents etc. So meaning I have to look for a good deal at the same time not compromising on quality (if that is possible). Yeah before I forget...getting a car for us is for 2 reasons (moving around over the weekends will be easy and going across US border town when the time comes, secondly I came prepared and ready to work hard by doing 2 jobs at the same time...so that when I knock off from my first job, I could easily connect to my next job...which I am still trusting God for)
At the moment am taking winnipeg transit to the office which is completely realiable and right on time. Luckily kiddies school is a walking distance from home (am not sure during serious winter if they can still walk to school, time will tell..just like 100m to sch). Anyway I found a Dodge Journey SUV on kijiji from a private owner about $2000 cheaper for the same vechicle at dealership, got the safetied doc, papers all correct. In manitoba my experience for vechicle insurance was not that bad except that they made me to still pay for PST (Provincial tax even though it was a private deal....no escape . The vechicle is a 7 seater and have enough space for us. The aspect I am not happy with is the fact that we are still waiting for our furnitures to arrive even after paying for them since last weekend and I was told they will deliver today, you can imagine no dinning table, couches but at least we have beds. Insurance was $146 permonth with option of car rental in case of accident.
Got Shaw cable company for around $90 per month for Cable TV (basic), Home phone and internet....again I looked for what we need right now than what we wanted. I did road knowledge test and pass and now I will go for the full license sometimes this month as I am allowed to drive for 3 months.
My colleaques are fantastic and very accomodating.....although Canadian employers seems so strict with timesheets etc. I was told I only need to complete a timesheet when/if there is a change in my schedule but I am just suppose to put in 7 hours of work per day.
Got our health card sorted immediately and my employers are paying for prescription medication, ambulance, dental etc. The next step is to buy our first house in Canada. I got a preapproval from my bank already but I was told we still need to apply for insurance cover if we are not dropping up to 20% deposit. Anyway we decided we are not going to rush, we would stay another 6 months before buying.
Hope am not boring you..... . Still struggling with my sleeping patterns...I got up 2am now and I decided to write an update with my progress.
Settling down in Canada is like learning how to walk for a child. Sometimes feels overwhelming and so much pressure to try and think you can replicate your life styles from where you are coming from. Point no 1...I keep reminding myself this is Canada and not SA.
Things are different, some you may find interesting some shocking and surprising. For example paying for incoming calls bla..bla. My first few days after landing was hectic with the fact that I started a new job 4 days after landing. So having a friend or family here also play a very vital role.
Anyway managed to sort out SIN, Bank account, Schools for Kids (2 in primary and 1 in Higher sch). Luckly my kids got immediate promotions to their next grades. As of last months my kids were in grade 8,5 and 3 respectively but since the Canadian academic session staretd in Septemeber and they had already completed 3 terms of their various grades, they admiitted them into the next grades (keeping fingers cross to see progress). Opened an educational account with the bank for kids so that I can benefit from the government contribution. Well..you see you will hear lots of advice but I guess the onus is on one to make the right decision anyway.
So next thing was to shop around for a car and furnish the house. I looked at different cars from dealerships, kijiji etc. As a choice I decided I dont want to start gtting myself into unnnecesary debt here in Canada so we decided paying cash for car, household contents etc. So meaning I have to look for a good deal at the same time not compromising on quality (if that is possible). Yeah before I forget...getting a car for us is for 2 reasons (moving around over the weekends will be easy and going across US border town when the time comes, secondly I came prepared and ready to work hard by doing 2 jobs at the same time...so that when I knock off from my first job, I could easily connect to my next job...which I am still trusting God for)
At the moment am taking winnipeg transit to the office which is completely realiable and right on time. Luckily kiddies school is a walking distance from home (am not sure during serious winter if they can still walk to school, time will tell..just like 100m to sch). Anyway I found a Dodge Journey SUV on kijiji from a private owner about $2000 cheaper for the same vechicle at dealership, got the safetied doc, papers all correct. In manitoba my experience for vechicle insurance was not that bad except that they made me to still pay for PST (Provincial tax even though it was a private deal....no escape . The vechicle is a 7 seater and have enough space for us. The aspect I am not happy with is the fact that we are still waiting for our furnitures to arrive even after paying for them since last weekend and I was told they will deliver today, you can imagine no dinning table, couches but at least we have beds. Insurance was $146 permonth with option of car rental in case of accident.
Got Shaw cable company for around $90 per month for Cable TV (basic), Home phone and internet....again I looked for what we need right now than what we wanted. I did road knowledge test and pass and now I will go for the full license sometimes this month as I am allowed to drive for 3 months.
My colleaques are fantastic and very accomodating.....although Canadian employers seems so strict with timesheets etc. I was told I only need to complete a timesheet when/if there is a change in my schedule but I am just suppose to put in 7 hours of work per day.
Got our health card sorted immediately and my employers are paying for prescription medication, ambulance, dental etc. The next step is to buy our first house in Canada. I got a preapproval from my bank already but I was told we still need to apply for insurance cover if we are not dropping up to 20% deposit. Anyway we decided we are not going to rush, we would stay another 6 months before buying.
Hope am not boring you..... . Still struggling with my sleeping patterns...I got up 2am now and I decided to write an update with my progress.
again ... GOOD JOB!