Abundance
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"You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced” Maya Angelou."
I came to Canada with my husband, Dr. Krishan Kumar. He moved to Canada to take his training for Neurosurgery so he could qualify to become a Neurosurgeon. We came to Canada by ship from London in 1959 and then we took a plane from Quebec to Halifax.
When we first arrived, we started looking for a place to stay. My husband met a man named Sifu and he told us that we could stay at his sister’s place while she was gone for the summer. We spent a few months there and then found a new place where we had our own bedroom but had to share the kitchen and bathroom.
I was able to find a job at the hospital working at the nurses’ desk. I remember having to buy pants because I didn’t own a pair. It was very cold in Canada so I had to buy warm clothes, especially for my walks home during the winter.
We decided to do some traveling and we met a guy that was driving to Boston. We offered to help him with gas for the drive there. Once we got to Boston, we toured Harvard and then made our way to New York and stayed in a small hotel for $4.00/day. We didn’t have much money at the time so we’d buy milk, cheese, and bread for lunch and then find a hot meal at a café for dinner.
My husband was finally offered a job in Edmonton so left NYC to settle down there. We enjoyed Edmonton. I found a job as an assistant librarian and we made some new friends who’d also moved from India. After two years, my husband decided to write his fellowship exam in Saskatoon so we moved here and that’s where I learned about getting a Canadian residency. We applied and became citizens along with our children in 1962.
After his fellowship exam, my husband began looking for a job and met a doctor who wanted to leave Canada because he didn't like the winter so my husband took over his practice. I remember him questioning whether or not he could make it on his own but I was very positive and gave him a lot of strength. We use the $5000 we had saved and put it into his practice.
My husband went on to have his own practice with multiple doctors for over 20 years and I managed all the bookings and accounting. He received many medals and awards for his work. Although, he worked day and night, we have been very happy here in Canada. We have grandkids that I see quite often and my husband and I recently celebrated our 60th anniversary with all our family.