| Canadians Never Say Old |
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By ??Moonlight Toronto, Ontario “After I immigrated to Canada, I didn’t like to look into the mirror anymore” my friend Lily said with a smile. We were exchanging stories of our first experience in Canada, sitting beside a small table near the window in a café bar, on a snowing Sunday. I felt that I fully understood her. For a woman, who was no longer young and who was going to start a new life in a foreign country, wrinkles, even just a couple, could be detrimental to her confidence. As with other new immigrants in Canada, she used to work during the day and go to classes in English as a Second Language, that is ESL, in a community center in the evenings. In one of these classes a teacher, Mrs. Dorsy, allowed students to talk about their work in their home country. Lily used to be a mechanical engineer in China. She could not help feeling down talking about it. It had been quite a struggle in Toronto, looking for a professional job. It might actually be impossible. Mrs. Dorsy cheered Lily to continue, “Excellent, it is a nice profession. Are you working as a mechanical engineer now?” “ No.” Lily answered, saddened much more. “I am working in a Chinese restaurant.” she answered, feeling quite uncomfortable. “Did you try to find a job in mechanical engineering?” Mrs. Dorsy encouraged Lily to talk more. Lily began to explain to Mrs. Dorsy all her shortcomings in her job applications”. She meant that she was no longer young, had no Canadian work experience or Canadian professional certificate and her English was poor. “How could I find a professional job in Canada?” Lily lowered her head down further and further. I could picture her in that class. “What did Mrs. Dorsy say?” I asked, becoming interested. “The teacher looked at me for a second and spoke very slowly and very clearly”: ‘You look very young. Please remember this, Canadians never say old.’ At the end of the class, Mrs. Dorsy spoke to the whole class proudly: “Tomorrow is my 65th birthday. Today is my last day as an ESL teacher. Let us say goodbye.” Sixty-five years old? Lily could not believe it. As she looked at the teacher’s pink and healthy-looking face, her bright eyes and her confident smile. Lily felt enlightened. Mrs. Dorsy and her last class. How impressive it is! Since then, Lily has been motivated and driven. Mrs. Dorsy and her last class had inspired her. She has been working hard. She spent all her spare time improving her English. Eventually, she found a professional job. Does Lily face a mirror these days? I would not have known. But through her stories and wrinkles , I see much youthfulness in her heart. That is quite infectious. Note: When Lily first came to Canada, she took English classes. In these classes, she learned not only English but also self-esteem and confidence from her Canadian teachers Background InformationA mechanical engineer from China, Mrs. ??Moonlight now resides in Toronto and works in community services field, providing services for new immigrants Mrs. ??Moonlight began to write poems, prose and novels in Chinese since elementary schools in China. The life in Canada has inspired the poet in her and she has become more creative and productive than ever. In the past four years, she has written a few hundreds of poems, prose and novels in Chinese and in English. These were published in newspapers and magazines in Canada, China, USA, and Australia. She was active in several literature websites, having posted many of her works, most of which are well received by readers. Her poems include: Tracks of Heart, A Serenade from the Desert, The Waterfall, Children of the Mountains, Phoenix Nirvana, A Foreign Moon and A Hometown Lantern, The Pyramid, A Song of Lotus, This Coal Mine Has Eyes, A Walk in the Snow with Plum Blossoms, White Rose, Fire Bird, Balance of the Earth's Poles, Flying Horns, Fire Bird, Blood in the Snow, Twilight. An example of her essays is titled Canadians Never Say Old. These were well received by the readers. One of her poems, Twilight, won a third prize of "Huahe Cup, 2007”, a competition of Chinese poetry with candidates from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Europe and North America Mrs. ??Moonlight has been the Vice President of the Society of Chinese Literature Society of North American, the Secretariat of the Association of Chinese Poets of Canada. She organizes poetry recitals and is a co-founder and an editor of a poetry magazine, “North American Maples.” In 2007, she sponsored the Global Competition of Classic Chinese Poetry. It is a global success in the literature world. |
