I wish everybody a very happy New Year in 2025. I wish the world would choose peace over any conflict. Let's all live happily, stop harming anyone, and take good care of this planet.
May Allah bless us.
The
challenges I faced: I came from a tropical country where I had never seen snow.
Then, I started living in a place covered in snow for eight months. I also faced
language challenges because of my different accent and some new Canadian terms.
Like here, people understand what is "a toilet" or "trial room." I started working with
minimum wage, and I felt it was complicated to get a good pay job to live well.
I didn’t know where I should go for recreation. I didn’t have any idea about
the indigenous people. I had learned some misperceptions about them from the
whites and other races people.
In
this situation, two social organizations helped me. I joined “The Saskatoon
Open Door Society” as a volunteer and registered as a newcomer to “Global
Gathering.” They helped and supported me in organizing all forms to apply for
major benefits as a newcomer and my child’s benefit. We joined and visited
different historical places in the province and learned about Indigenous
history; I worked with them and gained experience. Mostly, they let me join a city corporation meeting as a consultant, took me to city hall for a general meeting, and gave me an idea of how the City works in Canada. Here I must inform you that I have
already completed my Master in Geography & Environment (Group: Urban
Planning) from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
These experiences led me to decide to work as a community worker. Since I have been helped by the Canadian community, I can give something back to the Canadian Community.
When we were in our first year at the University of Dhaka, we had practical classes scheduled at the end of the day. But at the beginning of our course, our practical class didn't start. We heard the professor who was appointed didn't return from abroad. He was studying somewhere out of the country. After missing a few classes, one day, one told us he arrived in the department. We were happy, OK, now our class will resume.
One of the girls told us, let's meet with him. Let's see what he looks like. Allah knows why I was with them. It really doesn't matter to me, what a person looks like. We walked towards the library room by the corridor, and then we had to take a turn, where a bunch of professors were standing in the corridor and chatting with our new professor.
I felt professors won't like how students went there to see someone. So, I just bent and looked (like a pick-a-boo) at the professors; my body was behind the pillar. I am sure I didn't make any noise. But at the same time, the new professor turned and looked at us. I felt we got caught in something, so I immediately hid behind the pillar.
Then our class started. In the beginning, I found this professor very grumpy. Always in a bad mood, scolding students. I felt maybe it was better that he was staying abroad.
But he surprises us; within a month, he has changed totally. He used to smile always and make fun with the students. I started thinking, a person who can smile so nicely, why was he hiding his nature in that way?
I remember he went to visit Cox's Bazar with our senior class. After returning from the tour, he shared some very funny moments. We all laughed loud with him. I wanted to hear more about the tour stories, but some of our classmates from the back bench started making too much noise that he had to stop and change the topic.
I want to share about another day. We were taking measurements of our front open area and portico. We were divided into a couple of groups. I wanted to make sure that we were doing everything right, so before starting work (drawing), I wanted to discuss with our professor about our work plan and whether they are ok or not. But he went to another group. One of our group members, Sharmin, requested him to check work, but then he went to another group. Sharmin became tired; she said each time I asked him to see our group work, he went to another group. So, we decided let's try everything by ourselves. Then he came; I was so angry that I didn't feel like talking to him. But he helped us, gave suggestions and the rest of the day, he worked with our group. We were the last group that he checked in.
At the end of our first year, he went abroad again to study. This time we talked with him. He said he had got a scholarship and would return after 4 years. We calculated, then we will be studying in the MSc class.
Our professor kept his word, and he returned. Then get married. Now he is living in Thailand with his family and working as a professor at a University.
He introduced his wife to us. She is charming, and she worked in a Bank in those days. I liked her smile mostly. She was very lovely and hamble with us.
When I decided to migrate, I also contacted our professor Mokbul Morshed Ahmed. Our professor gave us some links to where their university allows studying on their campus. But those link wasn't working from my end.
Later I moved to Canada. Our professors from the University of Dhaka are always very helpful and friendly with us. We are lucky to have professors like that.
Previously I never made any New Year resolutions. Because I kind of make them every day. Sometimes I could follow, but most of the time, I fail. Though I am happy that I try.
This year I thought, let's make a New Year resolution. That is:
"I want to give my son time every day. Then as much as possible."
I am sure he doesn't want to see me in his room every now and then. But what can I do? I have to be with him. So, that he doesn't harm his health and education. He is in his teen now.
At home, my mom has a recipe book, "Siddia Kabir's Recipe". In my eyes, she was the best. She knew how to cook healthy in a simple Bangladeshi way.
When I was in school, I thought I should try those recipes. So, I had decided on Fridays, after lunch, when my mom goes to take a day nap. I can try to cook and before afternoon tea time, I will clean up everything and let mom work in the kitchen again.
I use to try every kind of food. Some I never tasted before or even never heard the name. I even didn't how the final product should look like. I just tried. Some became non-eatable, some are good and a few came in excellent taste.
I thought I am the only one who is excited about this experiment. But I was wrong.
Friday was my father's weekly grocery day. He used to go to the Khilgaon Kacha Bazar. Every week before he left he started asking me, what ingredients do I need today to cook? And in the afternoon he is the one who used to come first to the table to taste something new.
We were living in a rented apartment in Bangladesh. Our parents rented the apartment near to our own land. Where our parents started building their own house. You know what happens when people make their own house for the first time. My mom wanted so many things in that house and most of them were very new for a home in Bangladesh on those days. Like she put two kinds of window shades. One is wooden (To prevent everything) another one is with a net (To avoid mosquitos). In those days no one made like that. Most of the houses in our area were 1/2/3 storied in that area. Our parents first made 5 storied buildings. So, it became the tallest building in that area. My mom wanted to cover the outside wall with red ceramic bricks. But to reduce costs they put it at the front side only. Mom wanted to design with broken colourful glasses, my dad stopped her by saying it will like masjeeds. She also made cabinets in the kitchen by the local wood makers. People really didn't have those at that time. People laughed a lot at mom and dad because they were expending more money than general people do. But it was their dream house and they have the experience to live abroad and other cultures, so I understand.
If you know me, you have seen I'm not a fashion concern person. Never I was. I like to wear new dresses and I like to wear comfortable dresses. I actually don't bother how I am looking with any dress. But I like people who are concern about their dresses.
In Alkaseem (Saudi Arabia) I wanted to wear different dresses. But my mom didn't give me that luxury. I had to wear the old dresses from my older sister. This situation continued until I became taller than her. So, what I did, I wanted to make changes to the dresses. Another reason was, every day I found that my dress became dirty. So, I thought if I wear more than one dress then every day I will just put off the front one and a new clean dress will come out.
So, I wear the longest dress first, then a longer one and at the end the shortest dress. So, all of my dresses are visible (New fashion) and also I can take off one at the end of the day.
But this didn't continue for a long time. Because adults use to laugh at me and make me felt ashamed.
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Shafeen with new dress, he was 1 year and 9 months old
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