I want to say “HELLO” to everybody today.

My name is Dobrinka Nikolova and I’m originally from Bulgaria. I’m textile engineer. I’m married and have two daughters- 13 and 5 years old.

I’ve been in Canada for almost 7 years. Bulgaria is a former communist country. After the changes economical situation there became very unstable- big unemployment, prices were rising.  There were no opportunities for young and educated people.

Many Bulgarians immigrated between 1990 and 2000. Sad thing is that not much has changed for these years and people continue to immigrate.  For this I blame Bulgarian politics who are unscrupulous, greedy and detached for ordinary people’s life.  It’s especially hard for younger and older people. There are many retired Bulgarians with university degree who worked for more than 30 years and their pension is about 50 EURO.

When we came to Canada, we wanted to prove our knowledge and skills as specialists. We wanted better future for our children. Well my husbands succeed to fulfil this plan. He was computer engineer in Bulgaria. Now he works for IBM- Canada as software developer.

As for me things turned out differently. My younger daughter was born year after we came to Canada and I had to stay at home to take care of her. We don’t have any relatives here and we don’t get any help for raising our daughters. I realized that it’ll be very hard to find a job on my specialty, because all the clothes we buy here are now made outside Canada- China, Bangladesh, India and even Bulgaria. I plan to start college and to find job in healthcare field.

I like many things in Canada.

1.       Beautiful nature! There are many things you can do and many places you can go.

2.       Most people are open minded, kind, friendly and willing to help. There is very strong civil society.

3.       Free healthcare.

4.       Many activities for kids and adults.

There are some things I don’t like. Main two are:

1.       Elementary education (Grade 1 to 8). There is different teacher every year who teach almost every subject (except gym) and not accurately fixed program- only highlights. Program depends of the teacher. If he/she is not strong enough on math (or other subject- English, Social study, Science), he/she won’t present material with needed depth. If teacher is ambitious, precise and knowledgeable children will get good education. But if not, parents have to pay attention and have to fill this gap at home.

2.       Canadian experience. If you live at least few months in Canada, you will understand what I’m talking about. It’s very hard for newcomers to start working in Canada for the first time, even if their English is good and they have required education.

If you want to immigrate to Canada, first and most important thing is to speak very good English, without strong accent!!! When I first met Yun, I was surprised how well she speaks English for only six months in Canada; even she started to learn it still in China.

Other thing is to have friends or relatives who will help you in the beginning, when is hardest for newcomers. They even can help you find a job and recommend you to employer. When you have their recommendation, it’s easier.

Listen to advise to your friends who already are in Canada. But be careful! If you are married, advises of your single friends not always will be precise. They just have different point of viewJ. It’s always harder for families, than single people.

For me was a pleasure to join this blog!I wish you all a happy and prosperous year and successful Olympic games in Begin 2008! I can’t wait to see Opening Ceremony and its artistic performance, which I’m sure will be spectacular and magnificent not only for me but for millions other people around the globe.