I Didn't Even Notice the Cold
My favourite season in Edmonton is winter because that's when I can watch hockey. It's my favourite sport. I've been a fan since the Cup run in 2006. Since then I've always watched Edmonton hockey games even if it's pay-per-view. The guys at work are amazed that I can talk hockey non-stop with them. They ask me how I know what I know. I'm a big fan. Every time I watch I wear my pink Oilers jersey with matching hat. The team doesn't do better when I wear them though.
When they opened the Rexall drug store on the south side last year I waited 45 minutes in -32 weather to get autographs from Cogliano and Gagner. I got autographs and a picture, and now that picture is my screen saver. I didn't even notice the cold.
I had a deal with my parents when I came here. I said I'd work and pay for them to come here, or else build them a house in the Philippines. When they decided to stay I built them a house similar to what we have in Canada. I wanted them to have the Canada experience, the comfortable living that we have here. Their house is like a tourist spot now. People go to see the flush toilet and the water tank since my parents' house was the very first one in their neighborhood to have them. I had to show my parents how to use the flush toilet, and they still didn't use it for a month. I said, "If I come home and you haven’t used it yet, you'll get in trouble!" So they started using it and now they love it.
Thanks to Edmonton they're living a comfortable life. Life in the Philippines was very hard.
Where Next?
Tita Francisco
Tita Francisco first came to Canada on a work permit as a live-in caregiver. She worked 2 full-time jobs for 5 years to finance her parents' home before settling into her current position as a sales coordinator with Citytv.



