Sunday 29th January 2017 - A sad day in Quebec City.

Hey guys,

It’s with great sadness I write this blog today. I was debating whether to discuss the awful event that occurred in Quebec City on Sunday. Then, out of respect for six people who lost their lives, I cannot ignore this matter. Also, I am sure as a reader of this blog you are thinking “how do you feel about living in Quebec City now?” As my loyal reader, I wanted to be honest and let you know, as an immigrant, my feelings and reaction to this.

That Sunday! (29^th January 2017)  Gary and I had a lazy day after being busy the day before. The Sunday was filled with complete laziness. We stayed in our lounging clothes and the most we probably did was practiced French and Gary Skyped his family. As the evening approached we decide to catch-up on some British T.V programmes. We both were in the Sunday mood of dreading getting up early and back to our routine on Monday. On the sofa, we were cuddled up watching the latest episode of Taboo. The sight of Tom Hardy was a good distraction from how I was feeling. It had been a few hours since I’d been on my phone so I decided to browse through Facebook. As usual I was flicking through memes and laughing at the odd video of someone doing something stupid. Through Facebook I follow the news pages, e.g. ITV and BBC news, to see what the latest in my hometown is. Whilst flicking through my newsfeed, the ITV page had posted ‘BREAKING NEWS: Reports of shots being fired in…’ I thought how awful. It is upsetting to admit this headline was no surprise. So I read on. ‘…Canadian Mosque… Quebec City.’ What!? I was in complete shock. Of all the places on Earth this would be the last place this would happen; so I thought. Immediately I told Gary. He frantically sat-up on the sofa and his first words ‘NO F*****G WAY!’ In dismay I passed him my phone to show him the article on the ITV news website. We both desperately searched other websites to get answers. Why the hell would this happen here! Even when we got settled into bed, knowing we needed to get to sleep, we felt unsettled and were still filtering through the websites. For some reason this affected us more than other terrorists events. Gary had made a comment which sent shivers down my spine and made me feel even more physically sick.  This was the week I had started my French Course, There was a variety of people in my class which included male Muslims. Usually I wouldn’t think the worst but on this occasion I did. There isn’t a huge Muslim community here and the chances of them being affected in some way were high.

We did eventually get to sleep and before we knew it my alarm was going off at 6:30am. Straight-away I checked the news and my College’s Facebook page. I thought I’d check if the College was closed out of respect for the Muslim students. It wasn’t and I got ready. Walking into the class was strange. I don’t quite know what I was expected but it felt like every other day. Our tutor asked us “Comment ca va?” – How are you? The majority of the class answered “Ca va bien.” – Things are going well. However one of the Muslim men answered “Ca va mal.” – Things are going wrong. Later on, in broken English, I expressed my condolences to him and his community. It was upsetting to see the sadness in his eyes.

When I got home, I searched for more information on what had occurred; this included browsing Facebook. An event written in French kept popping up on my newsfeed. I decided to view it and translated the words to English. It was a vigil in the Saint-Foy area, near to the Mosque where the horrific event occurred. I felt compelled to go and show my respect to the people who had been killed, their families and the Muslim community. A few messages were exchanged between Gary and I, it was decided I would pick him up from work and we’d go straight there.  

We parked the car a 10 minute walk away. As soon as we got out of the car we joined a crowd of people walking towards the vigil. There were thousands of people there; the majority were, assumingly, non-Muslim White Canadians.  It was a powerful sight and the atmosphere was a mixture between peace, love, unity and sorrow. We did try to get near to the stage to hear the likes of the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and Mayor of Quebec City, Regis Labeaume, gives speeches. It was impossible in the huge crowd to get close enough to even hear what was being said. I did take candles to lie in the snow in the memorial. Unfortunately, the candles wouldn’t stay lit in the minus temperatures and gusts of wind. Later on, I did light a candle at home. Alternatively, we did stand by the barrier near to the Mosque. It did bring a lump to both of our throats when I said “it’s 7:30pm, I can’t even imagine what happened here 24 hours ago.” Gary and I hugged each other. Side by side, we took a moment to remember the six victims. Then we walked along the street of News reporter vans and headed home.

The victims of the Quebec City mosque shooting. Clockwise from top left: Azzeddine Soufiane, 57; Khaled Belkacemi, 60; Ibrahima Barry, 39; Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42; Abdelkrim Hassane, 41; and Boubaker Thabti, 44.

(HANDOUTS, MOUSSA SANGARE/THE CANADIAN PRESS, FACEBOOK)

I want to finish off by saying thank-you for taking some time out of your day to read this post.  Maybe you can light a candle to shine some light on these six lives and their families. Let’s not forget the 19 people who were injured and the other people who witnessed the vicious attack. For me, I have been humbled by the reaction of Quebecois and Canadian people. It has also been a lesson that hate exists everywhere on this Earth – which I thought would be less of an issue in Canada. It is unnerving to think there maybe repercussions of this hate crime but I will rise above it. I have decided to be an advocate for love and peace. This is something we all can believe in and act upon! 

5. Bienvenue a la ville de Quebec – Welcome to Quebec City – Part 2

Bienvenue a la ville de Quebec – Welcome to Quebec City – Part 2

At the time, the bed was the best thing ever in the world. Back in England, our mattress was old and dipped in the middle. Gary and I would often gravitate towards the middle which would result in bare sweaty thigh touching. This bed was so big that when I stretched my arm out I couldn’t even touch Gary…this was bliss! The room was pitch-black so I didn’t have a clue what time it was. I was tossing and turning for a few minutes but I was waking up. With one eye open I reached for my phone. I felt like I’d slept for a solid twelve hours but to my surprise it was only 6:30am.  It was 11:30am in England, so of course I felt like I’d had a good sleep. Not wanting to waste our time here Gary and I woke-up and started getting ready. The warm shower was refreshing and took away all the grubbiness of yesterday. My make-up was applied and my hair was dried. Apart from using Gary’s roll-on deodorant and smelling slightly manly, I felt like the normal Francine Gibbs again.

We decided to open the curtains and reveal our view. How can I describe this? Well, you know the Diet Coke-Cola adverts where women drool over a good looking guy doing manual work. As a hot blooded heterosexual woman, in front of me was a large construction site full of men. This was the Canadian equivalent times a hundred. In England there is a saying that if you bend down and you show your bum then you have a ‘builder’s bum’. The stereotypical image of a British builder (Construction worker) is a big beer belly hanging oven jeans and when bending down the ‘builder’s bum’ would be exposed. The Canadian Builders had nice perky bums and there was only the odd beer belly in site. Sorry Britain, this definitely was another point for Canada. Oh…and before I forget, the view of the City was nice too.

We both were hungry now and luckily as part of our stay, breakfast was included. The restaurant was modern and the breakfasts looked amazing! There was the option of waffles with fresh cream and strawberries, French toast with caramelised apples and many more. I decided to go all out with the full breakfast with the Canadian twist. There was no greasy bacon or a fried egg instead there was streaky maple bacon and baked beans with maple syrup. Gary had the waffles, strawberries and crème fraiche, which were yummy too. We were definitely in Canada and this was a great way to settle us in. 

Not long after breakfast, we grabbed our coats and took a short walk to Gary’s future employer’s office. It was only around the corner. When arriving in the reception area it was chaotic. There were people carrying strange looking statues and boxes to the elevator. The whole office was moving to a new location today. Nervously we both waited in the reception area with all the madness around us.  A tall man entered the reception and welcomed use with a handshake and a ‘bonjour’. This was the guy that Gary previously explained would be over seeing his team and plays an important part in the creation of the game. We weren’t sure if I’d be able to go into the office as creating games is top secret stuff. Gary asked if I could. After a few exchanges of French words with the receptionist we both were presented with confidential forms. This was the real deal. If we were to share any information on this game the company could sue our asses. It is understandable though the Gaming Industry is bigger than films. If information was leaked before the release of a game it can cost a company a hell of lot of money; especially a worldwide company like this one. Let’s put it this way, I signed the form and I kept my mouth shut from that day on. You can understand now why I haven’t shared too much about Gary’s work. By an agreement between me and the company I can’t. Plus, I want his project to do well so I’m not going to spoil that.

Once settled at a desk, Gary was told what game he’ll be working on but you’ll have to wait and find out what it is. We both were blown away from the presentation of the project. I don’t even work in gaming but even I knew this was shit hot stuff. It looked professional and incredible. I saw the look on Gary’s face. Like a ton of bricks, it hit him that he would be working for one of the biggest companies in his industry on an incredible game. He was even hungrier for this job.

We went on to meet his future team and they kindly took use out for lunch. They took use to a posh burger restaurant which was a ten minute walk away. Yet again, we were surrounded by friendly people. They were welcoming and we were full of questions. Many of their answers were reassuring and offered us a lot of comfort. It was an unusual situation to be asking new people who they bank with, how much are their bills, is there bears, what are winters like, etc. As quickly as it had begun it was over. We said our goodbyes to the majority of the team. Outside of the restaurant, we were left standing with his future manager. He was apologising for his lack of English. Truth be told, we felt guilty for not speaking French and we could understand him perfectly. It is a different matter to whether he could understand us, especially my Brummie accent. There was a slight chill in the air so we didn’t want to be standing around too long. His manager kindly offered to take use for a walk to old Quebec City. We had watched many YouTube videos on the history and the tourist attractions in the City. Old Quebec City is often described as the most European city in North America.  These European influences go back to the 1400s and 1500s when the English and French explorers arrived in North America and claimed new regions for their own countries. Over time they continued to push further inland into the 1700s and repeatedly clashed – this was with the aboriginal communities as well as each other. In 1756, a fully-fledged war had broken out between France and England. This is where Quebec City plays a big part in this history. There is a well-known area here called the Plains of Abraham. On the 13^th September 1979, this is where the French and English troops met. This was the day both the French and British commanding officers, Louis-Joseph de Montcalm and James Wolfe, were killed in the battle. The British did win the battle and ultimately the war. The once named “New France” colony became British. The British let the French-Canadians remain in their settlements and carry on with daily life. This is a significant decision historically as it was the early steps to the French language and culture being imbedded in Canada. Up until 1947, Canadians were considered British subjects which changed after the Canadian Citizenship Act. There are still British influences and traditions here, however the monarch’s role has become largely symbolic. Queen Elizabeth’s ll’s portrait is found on notes and coins and there is a bank holiday in May, Victoria Day, in honor of England’s Queen Victoria. There is so much more I could write about the history but I think that would be a very long post. In brief, I hope it helps to understand the British- my home country’s - influence in Canada.

Now, here we were on our way to Old Quebec City with our own local tour guide. His Manager was fantastic and shared loads of information with us. We were bombarding him with plenty of questions though. Looking back we must have looked pathetic with all the “oohs” and “aahs” we were saying. Every shop or building we would pass, we would point and say “wow, look at that”. We were the typical tourists!

One of the most famous buildings in Quebec City is the Château Frontenac Hotel. This is a famous hotel which is often photographed by many tourists. It made an appearance in every YouTube video we had watched. Yet again, the realisation of this was kicking in. I can’t deny it was a stunning building but after all the hype and build-up I was expecting something more magical. To me, what was more impressive was standing on the huge platform by the hotel and overlooking the enormous Saint-Lawrence River. It was the biggest river I had ever seen. It is so wide that a ferry transports cars and residents to the city of Levis on the opposite side. Stood there with my rosy cheeks and chill in air I was filled with warmth deep inside. It reminded me of standing on a British pier by the seaside except this was beautifully different. This was natural beauty at its best.

We continued walking along the large platform still overlooking the river. Then we walked up ‘a lot’ of steep steps up to the Plains of Abraham. I was getting warm in the not so healthy kind of way. His manager was taking it in his stride whilst I was trying to disguise my panting. Note to self – I need to get fitter once I move here. Once at the top, thankfully, we sat inside a band stand overlooking the river. The sun was shining and there were rays of light shining on our faces. Usually, I would welcome the warmth on my face but I was boiling hot.  This is where his Manager said “Au Revoir”. The next time Gary would see him is at work in a few months’ time. Once I got my breathing back to normal we went for a walk around the grounds of the Plains of Abraham, we couldn’t help but fantasise about how often we would visit here with a picnic in the Summer. The jetlag was starting to take affect now though. Bear in mind it may have been six in the afternoon in Canada but our British body clocks thought it was eleven o’clock. We decided to get a few snacks from the shop and headed back to the hotel. Back at the hotel we were quickly ready for bed and again fell asleep at nine o’clock.

To be continued….

4.Bienvenue a la ville de Quebec – Welcome to Quebec City Part 1

4. Bienvenue a la ville de Quebec – Welcome to Quebec City

Gary and I sat down for tea at our dining table. On the dot, it was 7:15pm. We sat in our usual chairs opposite each other. It was my homemade Spaghetti Bolognese tonight, which I always eat in my unladylike manner; in other words, shovelling it into my mouth resulting in sauce landing on my top and halfway up my cheek. When Gary pipes up and informs me he has a surprise. Now what...I cannot take anymore! He goes on to explain the company are going to pay for us to visit Quebec City and all we needed was spending money. What!? Yet again, I am speechless. I know I am writing this blog now, but this stuff couldn’t have been written. There are many stories I have read, yet I was in my own fairy-tale. There was only one catch though. We had to go in a week and be back in England by the Sunday so our Visas could be processed. 

Early Thursday morning, my mom’s partner dropped us off at Birmingham International Airport.  I said goodbye to the city I grew up in and into the unknown. We had been awake for 3 hours and the adventure was only beginning. We had to travel to Dublin, then Toronto and then Quebec City; this was going to be a long day!

When arriving in Dublin, the Irish in my blood, said go to the pub! So we sat at the bar waiting for our next flight. We both had only gone on European holidays. The longest flight I had been on was to Turkey for four hours. Now we were sat after an hour flight waiting to board onto a seven and half hour flight to Toronto. Whilst sat there we heard ‘Can Mr Riley and Miss Gibbs please attend to the front desk please?’ Oh no, out of all the flights I had been on, I had never heard my name over the speaker.  Luckily, it was to question whether we had any baggage. We were only going for a few days so we only had hand luggage. I think this looked suspicious to the airport security. In a panic, we tried to explain we weren’t doing anything illegal and weren’t a threat to Canada.  Our reaction was enough to persuade them we were most certainly not a threat. May I add, hand luggage is a nightmare! My bag was pulled out at Customs in Birmingham. My liquids were placed in the grey tray and along with my other items were put through the scanner. Then, surprise surprise, I had too many liquids. The information online clearly stated I needed to use a 20 x 20 clear bag but I chose to ignore this useful information. As you do, I was stood in front of a 6ft 2 stocky, miserable guy who clearly hated his job. My little case was wide open for everybody passing to see into...thank goodness I put my underwear into the zip section. So how was I going to get out of this; one thing I love about being a Brummie girl, is we know how to crack a joke and how to charm people. This skill has proven to be very helpful in the past but not today. He wasn’t charmed and I couldn’t even crack his face. Evidently, he had enough of my charm, then begging, then ‘you must be joking’ tactics as he decided to walk away without saying anything. I was faced with choosing between my foundation, concealer, primer, lip-gloss, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, hair products and my Gucci Perfume. This is any woman’s worse nightmare. How could I decide? Like a Super Hero, his more helpful and nicer colleague came to my rescue. She understood my dilemma and she was a professional at this. She put some of the items into Gary’s clear bag and took the big lid off my perfume – useful tip which I’ll use for my journey back. I even took a photo of the new compacted 20 x 20 clear bag. All I threw away was the shower gel and deodorant. If you were wondering, there was shower gel in the hotel. Gary and I did share his sticky ‘roll-on’ deodorant. This is what really relationships are all about, not the rubbish you see on Instagram.

After finishing our drinks we sat in the waiting area. It was time to move when the upbeat Irish voice asked the rest of the passengers to board the plane. There was this huge plane with Air Canada printed across the side.  As we were in Economy, we had to walk from the front of the plane right pass first class. As we were struggling to walk through the narrow aisle with our cases; this one smug guy looked up at us from his comfy chair bed, with his leg stretched out and reading his free newspaper. I really wanted to ‘accidentally on purpose’ knock him with my case but I resisted.

The plane had two aisles and there were rows of four seats in the middle and two seats either side by the windows. Brilliant, we had two seats on the side. It wasn’t a full flight and it was a pleasant flight considering the seven and half hours. We could drink as much as we wanted; this included wine and beer! We hired an IPad and were able to watch films on the Air Canada App. Gary is going to kill me for saying this but we watched How to be Single. A nice Chick-Flick, I knew Gary was a catch. To be honest I think he was more eager to watch it than me. He teased how he could imagine me acting like the female characters when I was single. What a cheek and as he predicted I bite back; my reply being how they were free and living life to the full as independent women.  Who was I fooling? I was happy I weren’t single anymore. So, we laughed and admired the sights of New York in the film. We had always dreamed about going to New York. Now, we were discussed how it is a nine hour drive or a short flight away from Quebec City! A visit to New York was on our ever growing list of things to do whilst living in Canada.

Before we knew it, the seat belt sign came on and it was time to get ready to land. We looked down at the sight of Toronto. We weren’t quite prepared for the size of the city. Everything was enormous, the skyline was amazing. I felt like I was a kid again going on one of my imaginary adventures except this was reality. The runway was huge, the airport was huge. We didn’t have a clue where we had to go so we followed the crowd. Like rabbits before headlights we went through passport control. Beforehand, we were handed and completed the visiting visa form on the plane. The man checking our passports was really friendly and told us not to worry. He stamped our passport and directed us in the right direction. We officially had international stamps in our passports…whoop! We handed our visa forms at the right desk and went through connection flights. We showed our freshly stamped passport and boarding passes. Then we were at customs again. I took out my newly organised liquid bag and Gary took out his bag with my foundation and lip-gloss in it – He hoped he didn’t need to explain that one.

With twenty minutes until boarding we quickly popped to the shop. I was pleased there was the familiar slight of Cadbury’s chocolate. Whether it is because Cadbury’s chocolate originates from my hometown, Birmingham, it definitely is my favourite chocolate. This is one home comfort I am glad to see in Canada. When leaving the shop we walked towards the waiting area where there was an interesting sight. In front of us were men casually dressed in jeans, cowboy hats and belts with big buckles.  It felt like the cast of an old American Cowboy film had arrived. Either way it was amusing for two Brits.

It wasn’t long until we were boarding the plane. We walked along the corridor towards the plane and out into the fresh air. The plane was tiny, it sat forty passengers and the propellers were on the wings. I thought we struggled to get on the last flight but this was even cosier. We were lucky to find spaces for our hand luggage otherwise we’d have to cram the small cases by our feet. We weren’t sat together on this flight so I carried on to the back of the plane. As I was settling in a friendly American female voice said ‘”your friend asked me to swap seats with you.” We swapped and I thanked her. She replied “no problem, ma’am.” The people are so friendly and nice here; I could get use to this.

Sat on the plane we could feel the tiredness kicking in now. You know that feeling when your make-up has worn off and you’re desperate for a refreshing shower…that’s exactly how I was feeling. We took off on the long runway and enjoyed the fascinating sight of Toronto. Due to the plane being small, it took longer to reach altitude. This gave us even more time to admire the view. We had another drink which was included in the price of the flight. It was a full fat sugary Coke to give me the energy boost I frantically needed.

Finally, we arrived at our final destination. Yes, the flights were over! The time was 6:30pm in Quebec City, it was 11:30pm in the U.K and we had been awake since the early hours. We had only slept for 3 hours too. We would have been brilliant extras on the set of The Walking Dead. We officially looked like zombies and walked like them too.

We jumped into the nearest Taxi and were on our way into the City Centre. In our half dead way we examined the sights of the highways and North American cars. Everything looked bigger. It made England look like a country built from Lego.

We arrived at Hotel Pur which was a tall building, which dominated the area. We walked straight up to the desk and explained we were here to check-in. In response, we were informed there was no booking under our name. We wanted to collapse and were being told this bullshit – my patience was wearing thin now. Gary was getting stressed and agitated. Like the supportive girlfriend I am, it was my time to step-up and resolve the situation, but instead I collapsed on a bench nearby and closed my eyes. The manager was doing something and Gary was talking to someone. That’s all I can remember. Then we went up the lift and into our room.

In the middle of the room was a Queen-size bed, which I’m sure was talking to me at one point. There was a floor to ceiling window overlooking the city. I couldn’t be bothered looking at that right now so I shut the curtains. PJ’s were straight on, quick wee and a text to family saying ‘Here’; then we both KO’d. At 9:00 pm in this beautiful City we had crashed and our human batteries were in recharge mode.

To be continued…

3. Give me a second to catch my breath

3. Give me a second to catch my breath

Here I am, reflecting on my life whilst sat on the sofa looking out at the park again. In my head I was trying to figure out how this all happened. A month ago, my life was plodding along as normal. Now I am an ill, soon to be jobless woman moving to Canada. This was a real turning point in my life and I needed to adapt quickly. Let me just pause for a minute and make sure I got this straight in my head...I have been with the man of my dreams for just over a year. It is clear to see he is your soul mate and best friend otherwise you wouldn’t do this you stupid woman. He has a great career...yes he has. Now his hard work and dedication has paid off as he has been offered this great opportunity...yep, that’s right too.

Now here I am. Why am I in shock? It’s fair to say I haven’t had the easiest of lives. I wasn’t born into a rich family nor had the greatest of opportunities in my life.  My life started off, as my mother puts it, a pleasant surprise for her at the age of seventeen. Birmingham, England was where I was born and grew up. For the majority of my childhood I grew up in a council flat, which isn’t the most desirable of places to live. Through the innocence of my eyes the majority of my neighbours were nice and we looked after each other. However, we did have the Police raid the drug-dealers next door the once. I remember the drug-users, alcoholics, criminals and domestic abuse in my block of flats too.  As a Brummie (someone from Birmingham) kid, I soon had to become streetwise and had my eyes exposed to a lot growing up. As a child, you soon get to know your place in society but it didn’t mean it couldn’t change or you have to settle for that. In my teenage years, the council finally offered my mom, her partner and I a move to a council house. It was only because the Council wanted to knock down our rundown block, otherwise we could have been there for much longer. The house was a huge upgrade in comparison to what we were used to. We had two lovely elderly married couples either side of us. At this point my mom had been with her partner for eight years and it wasn’t long until my beautiful brother arrived. I went on to achieve all my GSCE’s whilst at a low-achieving school. There were a few years of me not knowing what I wanted to do and I attended College and Sixth Form, but dropped out. These years involved a lot of drinking and partying. Eventually, through ambition and the right support around me, I did go to University. This was an opportunity to make my life better. However, this is where I faced another challenge; I was diagnosed with Dyslexia. At the age of 21 years old, I had to accept the label of a learning disability – being dis-abled. That annoyed me, I was not disabled i.e. hindered, restricted or stopped. I just had to learn differently. Yes, it took me longer to read or write but I still could do it. I was determined and I was going to get my degree! Fast forward three years, I left University with a 2:1 Classification and I was a qualified Social Worker. After my chances of succeeding in life, I was proud and had an overwhelming sense of achievement. I went on to have a few challenging and intense Social Work and Family Support jobs. As much as I loved this work, my health was persuading me to say goodbye to it.

‘One day you can be a victim but the very next day you can be a survivor and fighter.’ – Francine Gibbs 2017

My life was changing. My body was forcing me to reflect on my life and look after myself more. Yet, I could not get my breath. Okay, my health was not great but my life was changing for the better. Due to past experiences, it was difficult for me to accept things were so good. I was always facing life with my fists clenched and standing like Muhammad Ali ready for a fight. This was the first time in my life that I could relax. I didn’t need to fight this; I just needed to go with the flow. 

2. The next steps were a blur. It happened so quickly!

The next steps were a blur. It happened so quickly!

It was time to put the plan into action and ‘put the feelers out’. Gary’s best friend had been offered a job in Quebec City, Canada and was waiting for things to be processed before he and his wife moved there. We discussed how Gary could ask his friend if he could forward his work portfolio to the company – this is nothing unusual in the gaming industry. With no hesitation, his friend was more than happy to help Gary out. So, the next day, Gary arrived back from work, ate his tea and locked himself away in the computer room to update his work portfolio. Gary being a perfectionist, worked hard over a few hours to get it just right. Once completed, he forwarded the online link to his friend. This was then forwarded to the gaming company. Canada is five hours behind the U.K time. Although Gary’s friend sent the email straight away it was the end of the working day there. There was nothing more Gary could do. We both curled up together on the sofa with a warm cup of tea to unwind. There wasn’t much unwinding when all we spoke about was Canada, Canada, and Canada. The butterflies in our stomachs were becoming more noticeable and bigger now. This was really happening. All we needed to do was be patient. Anyway Gary wouldn’t get a response until next week. It was getting late at this point so we put on our PJ’s and lay in bed. We gave each other a goodnight kiss and said "what will be, will be." 

The next day, Gary returned from work, as usual, and I had the tea on the table ready, as usual. With a bemused expression on his face he told me he had received an email from the company. I was in shock that within less than 12 hours he had a response, but wait, what did the response say? Gary went on to tell me he had been asked if he was free for a Skype interview on Monday – in a few days! Wow... that was a bit quick for ‘putting the feelers out’. I was extremely shocked and nervous at this point. I couldn’t get my head around the fact that I’ve had to fill out long application forms, attend interviews, and have reference checks and criminal checks for jobs. This would take months for me to find and start a new job. He replied that evening and, as simple as that, the interview had been arranged for Monday.

On the Monday, Gary ate his tea pretty quickly. He freshened up, got the IPad ready and it was the wait for the Skype call. It was booked for 8:30pm British time. It was 3:30pm in Quebec City. He still had 30 minutes to wait which involved checking his appearance in the mirror, emptying his bladder twice and checking the room lighting for the call. We both were watching the clock 8:27pm, 8:28pm, 8:29pm. Then the Skype music filled the living-room, I quickly jumped up, shut the door and sped to the bedroom. This was like no other job interview – this was our future!

Sat on our bed, I tried to read a book. Every time I heard a laugh or loud talking my eyes would glance down the hallway towards the living-room door. I deliberately left the bedroom door open so I could try to hear what was being said. Not that I could. Even though Gary was doing all the hard work, I felt every emotion he was going through. It was as if I was waiting in line for my own job interview. For nearly an hour I had butterflies, nerves and excitement. I stood-up, then sat down.

It went quiet and I couldn’t hear any more talking; our life changing interview was over. Gary immediately ran into the bedroom. He was buzzing with excitement but was nervous. Trying not to get ahead of myself, I was the proud girlfriend and had a good feeling about it all; so did Gary. However, we reassured each other that what will be, will be. It had been a great experience and when Gary has an interview with another company he’ll know what to expect now.

We didn’t have to wait long for an update. The next day Gary had an email asking if he was free for another Skype interview on the Wednesday. Oh no, we had to, I mean Gary had to go through this again. At least it didn’t say nope, not interested. Surely, that’s a good sign, right? A few days went by and Gary went through the Skype interview with different team members this time. Yet again, we had to wait for a response.

On the Friday, I was doing the routine of cooking tea. There was a beef casserole in the slow cooker ready and waiting for Gary’s return. This meant I could sit on the sofa and hog the T.V to myself before he got home. This didn’t last long though. Our flat was on the second floor, which was the top floor in our block. Where I was sat, I was overlooking a park through the French doors and a Juliet balcony. That day the park was filled with lively children on the playground and people walking their dogs. This was my favourite spot in the flat where I could watch the world go by. I thought; I am going to miss this view, if we go. Rather than watching T.V, I was looking out of the window daydreaming about life in Canada, again? In my personal and work life I had many changes happening at the same time too. My health was not good as I was experienced pain in my lower back and stomach area. As a result, I had been off work for two weeks and there was no sign of me going back anytime soon. Everyday tasks of driving and walking were difficult. There were ongoing medical investigations and it was suspected the pain was related to my womb. Any growths, i.e. cancer, were ruled out, however at the age of 27 years old I didn’t know what my chances were of having children anymore. After completing three long and stressful years at University and becoming a Social Worker; I was facing the possibility of giving the career up. Gary was very supportive and was encouraging me to leave my job to prioritise my health. This was difficult for me to digest. Gary and I had only been together just over a year and I was a strong independent woman; how could I possible rely on my partner to financially provide for me? Everything I was and was going to be was quickly changing. Whether I was in the U.K or Canada, I didn’t know what my future held for me anymore.

All these thoughts were running through my head. Then I heard Gary slot the key into the front door. Right away I snapped out of the daydream. Once inside, he stood in the doorway of the living-room and didn’t look his usual self. Instantly I thought "crap, he’s heard back about the job and its bad news." With a sad tone he said "I got an email. I didn’t get the job." He handed me his phone so I could read the email. He told me to read it whilst he went to the toilet. So with concern I started to read it.

‘Hi Gary, we are really pleased to offer you the job…’

What? Oh my goodness…I was really confused at this point. Read it again...

‘Hi Gary, we are really pleased to offer you the job…’

And again…

‘Hi Gary, we are really pleased to offer you the job…’

My brain would not register what I was reading. At this point after hiding in the hallway, Gary reappeared. Still in shock I asked "You got the job?" Straight away, we flung our arms around each other and were overwhelmed with excitement. Within an instant, without any hesitation, it was decided we were moving to Canada!

1. Where did it begin?

Where did it begin? Why move to Canada or another Country?

By Now, I think you have the picture loud and clear that my boyfriend and I moved from England to Canada. How did that happen? I am not quite sure but I am going to share the journey with you in my blog posts. From start to finish so make sure you follow me and keep an eye out for my next post.

So here I go...

One night towards the end of spring 2016 Gary and I were lying in bed. It was the only time we would get chance to really talk and relax. Our weekdays consisted of Gary leaving our flat at 7:30am for work. He would travel to work by train to Nottingham City Centre from the small town we lived in, Hinckley, Leicestershire. He hated the traveling, which took over an hour there and back each day. He works in the Gaming Industry and it is the kind of job where you have to travel or move for work.

Meanwhile, I worked as a Social Worker in Child Protection. My working hours were all over the place and I was constantly busy, rushing around and worn out. The days when I would finish at a reasonable time, I would go straight home and cook tea. Gary would arrive home tired at 7:00pm. Food was served at 7:15pm; we would clear up and have a cup of tea. After watching television a little while it was time for bed. As you can imagine, at the weekend we were busy doing everything we didn’t get chance to do in the week. At this point we had been together for over a year and we were stuck in a rut and we knew it. We were in a routine and were fed-up!!

So that one night, we were tucked up in bed and actually spending time together. We were exhausted after another busy day at work. Gary started talking about how a few of his friends in the Gaming Industry were planning to move to Canada. The companies were offering relocation packages to cover the majority of the moving cost. This included the flights, visas (including a work visa for partners), shipping of goods and accommodation for the first month. What a great opportunity! We were amazed how much the companies were helping out and it was free. In my career, I have worked for councils and charities – I’ve been amazed when I’ve had free lunch at training days so I was flabbergasted by this news. Then we asked each other, would you move to Canada?

Would you move to CANADA?

What a question?

We had spoken about it before but this seemed more real and reachable. Of course, we did get over excited and started to dream about our life in Canada. Instantly, a lot of questions rushed through our heads. What about our family and friends? Is it affordable? Gary was 29 years old and was going to be 30 next year. I was 27 years old and felt like I was approaching 30 a lot sooner than 3 years. Our Facebook newsfeeds were overloaded with beautiful brides, cute baby photos and people standing outside of their newly brought homes. We're both ambitious and had the same plan of being more settled when we were 30 years old. Our first goal was to buy a house, which we were saving for monthly.  We were always practical and realistic; we could achieve this in a year. We could have done it now but we wanted a good deposit. The move to Canada would put our plans completely out of the window. We both worked hard; surely this is what we were aiming for, especially at our age?

Yet, we were questioning our life! So we fast forwarded our life by 10 years. We asked ourselves what we would like our lives to look like? It was clear we wanted a house and children; but we didn’t want to be parents who were working all the time. We wanted more time together to enjoy and share our lives together. We wanted to get married one day. We wanted to look back on our lives and not have any regrets. This all cost money though. Something needed to change and we needed to think how to achieve these things? We needed a new plan!

Is Canada the new plan? From what we knew already, certain living costs were cheaper in Canada – properties were cheaper to rent and fuel was cheaper. Also in comparison to the UK, people seemed happier and had better lifestyles. None of this, working all hours under the sun! For Gary, it was a great career move. Plus he would have an increase in his salary. The way I'd describe it, it's like Gary going to Oxford University and having that experience on his C.V. It would make him a very desirable employee and would open up many doors. One door being working freelance from home in the future. This was perfect for the lifestyle we wanted! The more we spoke about it, the more we were talking ourselves into going. The list of questions was still endless! So I turned to Gary, with a slight mischievous grin on my face, and said "what is the harm in putting the feelers out?" It was agreed. We would go for it and see what happens.

Eek... Blog On Fran is officially live!

My first EVER Blog Post!!!

Bonjour and Happy New Year to all you lovely people. Firstly, thank you for dropping by and reading my first ever blog post. Whoop!

So, I suppose I should explain what my blog is all about! Well... my boyfriend and I moved from England to Canada in the Summer 2016. As you can imagine it has been one hell of a rollercoaster of ups and downs and double loops. Since moving here I have wanted to create a blog about the adventure, but to be honest I was a little scared. I asked myself "am I that interesting?" or "will anybody even visit my page?" or "would I be any good?" I have watched the Vlogs and read blogs of beautiful, well-presented younger woman and thought I'm not like them. Even now, I am wearing my favourite faded Tom and Jerry T-shirt and my Nike trousers and I haven't even brushed my hair today. To be fair, I am having a lazy day so who cares what I look like, right? My laziness towards my appearance is exactly why I'd be no good at Vlogging. However, now it's the new year I've gave myself a kick up the bum and thought "sod it" give this blogging thing a go. It is now or never! If all fails at least I have a journal of my life in Canada!

What to expect from my blog?

I hate anyone or anything that is fake. I am not doing this to brag or to make out I am living the dream, although people have often said I am. To me, I saw an opportunity and took it. You either grab and act upon your dreams or carry-on dreaming; therefore my life is not my dream, it is my reality. The dream for me before was to live abroad, but what is the reality of 'living your dream?' If you want to know the truth, then join me on this adventure and carry-on reading.

My blog is going to give you an insight into what it is like making a decision to move abroad. Believe me, some parts are easy, but then others are much harder. In my head, I think there are people who would like to read about my adventure and then there are some people who are dreaming about moving abroad. I can only speak from my experience and I hope it can open people's eyes up to the possibilities in YOUR life. I know it is a cliche saying, but there really is more to life than just living or existing. So you need to ask yourself, are you living life to the full or are you just existing?