I have decided to go back to Canada for good during my year long working holiday in Australia. It wasn't until I was in Australia that I realized that Hong Kong was not the place for me. It's culture and work ethics are so different from what I'm used to and I've worked there for five years. It was a good plan. I mean, my sister is planning on going back to Canada after she graduates from her vet degree at the University of Sydney and my parents plan on going back when my dad retires in two years. It was a family plan, one where we could keep the whole family close together for the foreseeable future.
I loved Australia though. My sister and I traveled to many of its cities and it was beautiful and fun. It's a place I can see myself living for the rest of my life. So my plans have changed. Hopefully, my parents won't be too mad.
To do so though, I need to get a sponsor from a company and everybody tells me its not easy. So my plan is this now: to go back to Canada and do well for a couple of years and transfer over there. Easy right? Wrong.
Of course, having sprained my ankle badly a couple of days before my flight is plain bad luck and being on the plane exacerbated my condition until my ankle was swollen to the size of an very big orange. I had to be wheeled to and from the plane on a wheelchair. I hated it but I honestly cannot limp and carry my two carry-on bags at the same time. Hell, I couldn't even limp for a long amount of time. It seriously hurt like a bitch. At least I got a chance to ride in one of those airport golf carts.
My friend, Fiona, picked me up from the airport after I paid the porter who picked up my luggage from the conveyor belt and pushed it outside to the arrivals hall, my first impression of Toronto, Canada was that it was cold. Very cold. Freezing my ass off cold.
So for the time being, I'm staying in the basement of Fiona's place.
I have a list of things to do before my paperwork is all accounted for. The most important of those things is filing my taxes. I can't be on the up and up without them. One of the problems is that I have not declared non-residency when I left Canada so this is probably the most alarming. So that's the first thing on my list. However, to do that I would need my sin number and I don't even have that.
So we did the things that are the easiest on my list first. Things like setting up an account, getting a credit card (though I still haven't received it yet), replacing my sin card so that I can file my taxes, replacing my health card, finding a job and resting so that my ankle heals faster. Of course, the latter actually involves going to an acupuncturist twice which was painful and feeling like a bio lab experiment. Seriously, I was stuck with a couple of needles and then they ran a current through it for like half an hour.
I do have good news to report today: my sin card just arrived in the email after a really long and tedious meeting with a Service Canada representative. Apparently my file was tagged due to inactivity and they had to call another department to see if they can release my sin number to me. They couldn't and that was why I couldn't file my taxes before now. Hopefully, things will go more smoothly now.
Maybe soon, I can find a job and move into an apartment of my own. I can't wait!
No comments:
Post a Comment