Hanna moved to Canada in 2021 from Ukraine. She shares her experiences of adapting to a new country, surrounding herself with support, and moving forward with her career while missing her family.
Move to Canada
My husband and I moved to Canada in September 2021, half a year before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. I left my parents, sisters and friends in Ukraine with a plan to visit every summer. Because of the war, it is difficult and dangerous. My parents, unfortunately, can’t come to me in Canada, therefore, I plan to fly to Ukraine in August of this year to see them. I haven’t seen them in almost three years.
Career in Ukraine
In my home country, I worked in a dog shelter, and then one day discovered that the library I was a member of was hiring a librarian. I was skeptical about them hiring me as I have an engineering education and never worked in a library, but they did, and I worked as a librarian of a reading hall for one and a half years.
Challenges of Moving
Moving was difficult for me. Every immigrant knows how difficult it is to start your life from scratch in a new country. My husband’s aunt Nataliya lives in Vancouver, so she is a huge help. We lived with her for one month when we arrived in Canada, which was helpful. She still helps us with everything. She is our family here. It means a lot.
Exploring Education and Careers in Canada
When we arrived, I started to study to become a Human Resources manager, but after a year of studying, I realized that it was not for me, and changed my specialty to Creative Writing. I am halfway through this program so far, and plan to complete my Diploma of Arts in Creative Writing in the future. I love to write, one of my essays was published in Pearls, an annual anthology for Creative Writing students at Douglas College.
Library Studies
I applied to Langara College’s Library and Information Technology program in 2023. I recently finished my first year of studying there, and I recommend this program to everyone who wants to be a library technician. Instructors at Langara are professional and supportive, and I feel that I’m a part of a big family there. It’s important and helpful in the studying process to feel that you are a part of a big community, and you belong there.
Library Champions Project
After applying to the program, I searched the Langara website, and found a link to an article called Library Volunteer Program Gives Immigrants a Sense of Belonging. It drew my interest and after reading the article I applied to the Library Champion Project (LCP). I was eager to know as much as I can about BC libraries. Even though I worked as a librarian back in Ukraine, our library system is completely different from here. I applied to know as much as I can about libraries in BC.
Library Champion at Coquitlam Public Library
I enjoyed the program a lot. Information provided in the program was so interesting and helpful. I not only discovered new information about libraries, but also had a chance to practice my presentation skills and even volunteer at Coquitlam Public Library. My classmates and me provided information for library patrons in different languages upon request. I helped Ukrainian speaking patrons, and my friends helped others in Korean, Chinese and Farsi. It was a great multicultural experience; I would happily do it again.
I learned that in BC, people can borrow electronic devices, musical instruments, print negatives, and even rent a recording studio. Libraries listen to the needs of patrons in their communities. I really love the ability to borrow e-books, especially books in different languages. I enjoy the Ukrainian e-book collection on Libby from Coquitlam Public Library. There are still some problems with the collection, which I tried to resolve while volunteering there, but it’s a great start for the Ukrainian community here. Hopefully, in future, there will be not only an e-book collection there, but printed books in Ukrainian too.
Support and Mentorship
This project gave me a strong foundation of knowledge about libraries, and confidence that I am on the right path. But the most important gain is the people I met on the project. I would especially like to mention Branka Vlasic, who gave us all the knowledge and provided huge support not only during the project but also after. I would like also to give a huge thanks to Ann Johannes, who is responsible for Community Development Liaison, Programming & Community Connections at Coquitlam Public Library. She gave us a deep knowledge about library services, and she is a huge support for me. In April 2024, I completed my first-year student practicum at Coquitlam Public Library. Ann was my supervisor. I couldn’t ask for a better supervisor! She is so professional, supportive and a great example to follow. It was an invaluable experience, and I will never get tired of thanking Ann for all that she did for me as I was adapting to a new country and a new job. I wouldn’t be here now, so confident in my career and education path without her support and belief in me.
Current and Future Plans
In March 2024 I applied for a Page position at the Fraser Valley Regional Library, and have been working there since. I enjoy my job greatly and I plan to build my career in library. I plan to graduate in spring 2025 and find a full-time position. Also, I am planning to get my Master of Library Information Studies in future, to be able to be a Librarian. So, as you can see, I’m only at the beginning of my path to Librarianship, but I’ll do my best to reach this goal and it’s a big part of me adapting to a new country.
Community Involvements
I am a part of LibTech students’ community and member of VOLT, Langara’s college volunteer program. I’m a member of the EAL Book Club at Coquitlam Public Library. Also, I’m a part of Ukrainian community in Vancouver. My husband and I organize board games parties, book club gatherings and we help to gather fundings for Ukraine in order to get all necessary supplies to Ukrainian defenders. I would like to do more for the community and to help others in adapting to a new country, and maybe in future there will be more time for that.
Reflections on Adaptation
No matter how cool the process of adapting to a new country is, all childhood, teenage and adult memories remain in the country where you grew up. You can’t replace it with anything. Places where you lived, loved, cried, grew, developed, experienced the entire spectrum of emotions, failures, ups and downs – all this, remains there forever. And now I am very hurt by the fact that these memories are being destroyed.
Adaptation is an infinite process, every day you learn something new, you face new problems that you need to solve in some other way, not like you are used to. The most difficult thing in this is usually language. We arrived at a time when Covid restrictions were still in place. People were wearing masks, and communication in stores passed through plastic dividers. It was difficult for me to understand what people were saying, compounded by masks and plastic.
I came home and cried because I did not understand college teachers, people in shops, nor people I had to talk on the phone with. This is an area to which I still can’t adapt: In Ukraine, we could solve all the issues electronically, only in the most extreme cases you have to communicate with people on the phone. In Canada, almost all questions are solved by phone and every phone call is still stressful for me. On the positive side, I really enjoy the good public transport system, friendly people, and incredible nature.
Love for British Columbia
What I love most about BC is nature, of course. I like hiking, camping, and walking. I like that in Vancouver everything is green all year round and even in winter when it’s rainy and grey you can see beautiful green trees and grass everywhere. Also, it’s cool that within one day you can go ski in the mountains at the morning and then go and spend time at the ocean and beach in the evening. A combination of different experiences for all kinds of tastes – this I like the most about adapting to a new country.
I am proud of myself for doing my best. I’m here, and I’m alive. My family and friends are around even if a lot of them are on the other side of the planet. I’m happy even if I don’t feel it every moment.