01/03/2026
🧡
48 years ago today, January 3rd 1978, we immigrated to Canada. It was my very first time on an airplane. I took this picture as we approached the Calgary airport. When we landed it was -32C. I remember what it felt like when I took my first breath stepping outside the airport terminal; like the air froze and got ‘stuck” inside my throat. I had never, ever seen that much snow…
People were very nice but it all felt so different. My 12 year old sister was refused entry into the lounge as our family waited for a table at a restaurant. Our dog wasn’t allowed to come into the stores when we went shopping for winter attire. People took their shoes off when they entered a home. The cashier at Safeway asked “how are you today” and I contemplated if she really did want to know because I had never met her before. It apparently wasn’t customary to kiss on the cheek three times when greeting someone new (wish someone had told me 😜)
When our furniture finally arrived from across the country, our couch was frozen solid for days. I missed my friends and older brother back home and I remember going to buy a house plant for some company. International phone calls cost over $8/minute, at least that’s what my parents told me. They kept saying I could go back to the Netherlands to pursue my dream of becoming a midwife in just 6 short months, as soon as I would turn 18. But then they bought me a horse and I stayed. Still here. And life is good.
🇳🇱✈️🇨🇦