User Story

By Rowayne Salvador

Late one night sometime in February 2004 my 2 siblings, my Dad and myself arrived at the Edmonton International Airport. “It's Canada at last!!!!” I said to myself with joy and some tears in my eyes. This is probably the most common reaction for a person landing in Canada for the first time, though the effect on me was greater due to my lifelong search for opportunities and greener grass.

It was 30 above 0 when we departed Manila, and after 22 hours inside a plane we finally arrived in Edmonton. Coming from a tropical country, snow and -28 C weather that sometimes can reach up to   -40 C weather is just out of this world, but it is real. Yes, in Edmonton it is real. Five years ago, it wasn't real and it almost seemed impossible to have a job I have always dreamed of. Five years ago it wasn't real for me to drive, let alone own a car like I've always wanted to have. Five years ago nobody would believe that I would have a home and share it with my loved ones. It wasn't real for me to roam in a park and unwind after work. It wasn't all real 5 years ago. But now is. In Edmonton it is real. Edmonton helped me make all of these dreams come true that, 5 years ago, was just a vague plan that would take a long shot to become real. Edmonton is, if you are a hen, the place where you incubate your eggs and wait for them to become chickens. Edmonton is a place where dreams do not remain as dreams. It is a place where people enjoy life and can be proud of it.

Edmonton welcomes you. Come, and make all yours real.