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A Strange Way of Growing On You
By Riki Roy
We were living in Tanzania when our young son (he was in Grade 8) decided he wanted to do nanotechnology. I started to research for universities that offer nano as an undergrad program. I found that the University of Alberta in Edmonton would soon be starting this program. But where was this place called Edmonton? In Canada!
We applied for immigration to Canada. In March 2004 we arrived in Canada. Our entry to Canada was Calgary. As we walked up to the immigration officer he said, “Welcome to Canada” and asked a few questions and then commented, “You speak very good English,” and we were done. No opening bags or embarrassment or searching questions; I had tears running down my cheeks as he asked us to proceed to the terminal for our flight to Edmonton. We were being welcomed rather than ridiculed...this was a first! I could fall in love with this country. And we did. We became citizens on 12th May 2009!
We arrived in Edmonton not knowing a soul. My husband, Roy, left me and my son, Avishek, in Edmonton and went back to Tanzania to look after our business. I tried to get a job in my field here and was told that everything on my resume looked good except I did not have Canadian experience. I could not understand how Microsoft, my previous company of association , was different in Canada versus all over the world. Eventually, someone offered me a job at one-third of my usual annual income; I could not bring myself to accept it. With my husband back in Africa, I was now essentially a single parent having to meet the financial responsibility of raising our son. Roy encouraged me to look at business opportunities related to our experience. I was introduced to financial services. This I could relate to as we had been investing and planning and it is very natural to us.
Our intention was to help our son to get to university, settle him and then move back to Africa. Instead, Roy sold his shares in our business in Tanzania and joined us in this beautiful city we now call home. We started our own financial brokerage that does structured tax and estate planning; we have now grown to almost 30 agents between Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. This year I started another business..jpg)
One of my biggest concerns was what sport was Avishek going to play as he had never known the snow. I need not have worried. He is now an avid snowboarder, loves the mountains and the snow, and took to tennis one and a half years ago and wants to train professionally.
In a span of 5 years for me and my son, and 3 years for Roy, we have become citizens of this wonderful country and have a beautiful home in Edmonton. Our son is pursuing nanotechnology and may take tennis professionally. We live together as a family which we have never had the opportunity to do before (while living in Tanzania, Avishek attended boarding school for most of the year in Kenya). Many new friends have welcomed us into their families. The warmth of the people of this city is unparalleled. Edmonton has a strange way of growing on you and it did for us.
Thank you to the many Edmontonians who helped us make this our home. We could not have done it without you. After all, it’s not the place but its people that make the character.
About Riki Roy
Riki and Roy have a financial brokerage on the West side of the city. Riki and Roy volunteer for charities at the casino, love the cultural diversity of Edmonton and enjoy the Fringe, Symphony Under the Sky, the rock concerts at Rexall, and the hockey games (Oilers fans obviously!). Their biggest passions remain teaching and creating successful entrepreneurs.
Avishek, when he is not studying or playing tennis or snowboarding, is training to be a currency trader so he can finance his research in nanotechnology.
