Canada's Point System

you probably have heard about the point system. yes, it’s canada’s point system that will determine whether you are qualified to migrate or not. it is canada’s way of assessing your capability to “make it” here.the point system measures 6 areas and i promise to discuss each area at length in my next posts. for now, i will just give a rundown of what these areas are. out of a 100 points, the current passing score is 67.1. education. education gets a maximum of 25 points. simply put, the higher your education, the higher your points. you get points based on the number of years you have spent studying.2. fluency in English and/or French. fluency in canada’s official language will help you score a maximum of 24 points. your ability to listen, speak, read and write in these languages will be evaluated....

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My First Encounter: Birthday Parties

my son is attending a birthday party today. no, not his classmate this year but a classmate from last year. and he's excited.im excited too. every time he gets invited to one, i am happy for him. because being invited to a birthday party here is not like being invited to a party in the philippines. being invited here is like a seal of approval.in fact, one of the mommies i regularly hang out with (who is not a filipino) takes birthday invitations really seriously. whenever her son gets one, she always has to ask me whether my son is going too.the very first time she asked me, i thought she just wanted to know who's coming and who's not. so i...

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U Comment, I Follow

allow me to veer away from my usual posts today to tell you that i have recently joined the u comment, i follow campaign.what does this mean?this means that from now on, everytime you comment on my site, i give you back the much needed link love. nice huh?if you wanna join me in spreading some love around, i suggest you head over to randa clay and get yourself a cool logo as well.love me and i will love you right back! :)...

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Brave Coffee Anyone?

my husband takes the train to work. i bring him to the train station. this works well because: (1) he gets to relax on his way to work, (2) he doesn't have to look for parking, (3) i get to use the car during the day instead of it being stuck in some parking lot, and (4) there is always entertainment on board.the thing with public transportation here, whether it be the train, the bus or the streetcar, is that people tend to speak as if they are the only people on board. so, it is not unusual to hear snippets of conversation here and there.just yesterday, on his way home, he was seated across two filipinos and their canadian friend. they were discussing how their days went and how much they love coffee. when suddenly one of the filipinos asked the canadian friend, "so have you ever tried......

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Hoppy Easter!

did you know that the easter bunny actually visits homes to leave eggs for good children?would you believe that i didn't know this? would you believe that the easter bunny never visited me? nor did the easter bunny visit any of my friends in the philippines.i just found out today that the easter bunny visits children here in canada. and i'd have to thank our parish priest for that. he ended the mass today by addressing the children and saying, "i hope the easter bunny found all your homes today."what?! i looked at my kids right away. thankfully, they were so busy putting on their jackets and preparing to leave that they did not hear what the...

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Spring is Here!

spring officially started yesterday. unfortunately, the first day of spring didn't come with it.my kids were so happy that spring is here that they seem to be oblivious to the fact that the huge pile of snow in our front yard still hasn't melted. they seem to be oblivious to the fact that the weather is still -18C outside. they are just really excited.i am excited too. if there is one thing i look forward to, its the change of seasons. since we got here, we've experienced 9 season changes. and up to now, the change of season still amuses me. everytime i see it, its still like seeing it for the first time.i love the change that comes with each season. the change in weather. the environment. the activities. the clothes. the decor. the fruits. even our street changes its look. right now, it is...

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Its All Very Canadian

when my mom went back to the philippines from her vacation here, her friends asked her how canada was like. to which she replied, "oh, it's all very canadian." luto canadian (ka na diyan)... laba canadian (ka na diyan)... linis canadian (ka na diyan)....and i know it isn't only my mom saying that. almost all moms i know who come and visit here would never regard their trip here as a vacation. but rather as work.. hard work! moms who have maids back home suddenly find themselves being "maids" to their daughter/son.when we came over, i didn't know how to cook. i never washed dishes. i never did laundry. and i certainly did not iron nor did i have any inclination to do the garden. plain and simple, i don't do housework. any housework. i am simply not made for it. i am not built that way.so imagine...

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Taglish Redefined

when we hear the word taglish, "i wanna make tusok tusok the fishball" immediately comes to mind. i grew up making fun of that sentence. my teachers couldn't help but overemphasize the importance of speaking straight english or straight tagalog for that matter.so, do you think that nothing can trump "tusok tusok the fishball?"how about "mom, i'm gonna ligo?" or worse, "im ligoing."during my first few days in canada, when my aunt was looking for my cousin, he replied, "im ligoing." i go, "what?! he's what?!" "he's ligoing. ligo-ing. as in taking a bath." whew... and i thought tusok tusok the fishball was bad.yup. taglish definitely has gone on to a new level here. a whole new hybrid. gone are the rules. naliligo = ligo + ing. makes sense? maybe it does. maybe it doesn't. i hear words like,...

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My First Encounter: Palm Sunday

if there is one thing living in canada has done for me, it is to push me way beyond my comfort zone. suddenly i have to deal with things i have taken for granted. things i don't even think about. things that i dont dare put my finger on. and things i have never ever thought of doing back in the philippines.i think it is in writing about these things that you will understand what everyday life is for a filipino in canada. a lot of my writings will be in comparing my life in the philippines versus my life here. and i will be discussing general everyday scenarios some of which still amuse me to date.just today, we celebrated palm sunday. and while...

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Weird and Insane

it does seem awfully weird and insane to want to live in a country that i have zero knowledge about. a country i have never seen before. a country i have not even thought about until recently. a country where i didn't have any family nor friends.ok. that isn't entirely true. i do know know one thing about canada. they have one-year maternity leaves. yes!!! one year!!! and to a mom with a newborn baby who is having a hard time looking for the perfect yaya, that seems to be enough. enough to want to move to canada.and i do have family here. my lola's brother lives here. never mind that i've only seen him twice in my life. but surely that would count as family wouldn't it?and friends. my husband's classmate from kindergarten is here. and so is his classmate from college. surely, 2 friends are...

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What, Why and Who?

first things first.what is this blog about? why am i doing it? and who am i?what is this blog about? simply put, this blog is an attempt to help filipinos who want to migrate to canada.why am i writing it? since coming to canada 2 years ago, i have found myself constantly being asked about how i did it. i answer emails from family and friends. i give them websites to visit. steps to take. advice on what to do. and answer the ever constant question of what life in canada is like. more specifically, how life in canada compares to the life i left behind in the philippines.who am i? i opened this account with the thought of not revealing my identity. however, as i write this, it occurs to me that readers would want to know where i am coming from and why my opinions are so.when i was in the philippines...

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Blog Roll

\*m*/rock\*m*/A Fil-Am JourneyA Nice ThoughtA Simple LifeA Sweet Taste of LifeAeirin CollectionsAfter Working HoursAir SickAll The Best of the PhilippinesAmazing LifeAnd Life Goes On For A Filipino MomAngel in the SickroomAnne Loves WillAnything GoesAnything Goes by MarzelAnything Under the SunArt & CultureArticlesBloggersArtsy CreaturesAs I AmAspiring EntrepreneurBare AnimationBarefooted MeBatanggenyong OnlineBest Loving FilipinaBinisaya Ug Uban PaBits and PiecesBitz and Pieces of My DailiesBlog2LearnBlogging is My LifeBlogToryBrandsite.OrgBrown PinayBusiness InstinctCan of ThoughtsCapturing the MomentsCharmed BlossomsCherokee's Dwelling PlaceChess AddictChildren Health CareClick Here To ForwardColor your life with thoughts…Colorful World of ShielaComputer and Electronics Hot DealsCreative...

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