Burlington, March 17, 2004.

Johan,

Please accept this as written in English rather than Dutch.
I was not exactly sure what you were looking for or expecting, but I tried to give you a general over-view of my experiences and feelings in Canada without going into a lot of detail. 1 have omitted a lot of aspects to prevent writing a book. These are only my opinions and feelings. Some might not agree with all of it.

The general conclusion I have come to is that we live in a much smaller world compared to 1957. Our lives are not that much different from yours.

Regards to All of Yours, Martin

 

 

 

Emigrating to Canada in 1957 at the age of 18 was a traumatic experience in many ways. It meant leaving behind family. friends, school mates, well-known and much travelled local neighbourhoods and the security of knowing one's place and situation. We were
part of a close family, parents, brothers, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins whom we saw regularly at different occasions. As the eldest grandchildren on both sides of the extended family we had the advantage of seeing our grandparents frequently for we lived
within walking distance of both sets of pakes and beppes. We could and did drop in to visit them often.

The first 18 years of one's life are the formative years and create impressions that last a life time. However these impressions often do not come to light or are not appreciated until later on and because of the separation of becoming Canadian immigrants one could
not always react properly to them or realize their significance. That left a void; a disconnection.

In 1957 Holland was still in post-war recovery. We did without a lot of material things, often unknowingly. We became part of the final surge of thousands of people who crossed the ocean in search of a new life; hopefully a better life. Most succeeded some did not. We were part of those who did. Did we improve our lives? That's debatable but we certainly changed it.

Nevertheless, part of one's person was left behind which, perhaps, explains the need to re-visit the old city, the old neighbourhoods, the old friends and family. Some ties are never severed and seem to get stronger with age rather than fade into the past.

I have often wondered if it had been better if we had left at a younger age. There would have been the same clash of cultures but adjustments to a different society would have been easier and much quicker and less apparent. There were some subtle
disadvantages to being an immigrant of an adult age.

Upon arrival in Canada we were immediately struck by the differences everywhere. Language was never a major problem but it was obvious that we were in another world.Young people our age were better educated , had much more freedom, had a different
outlook on life, more money to spend on cars, dates. activities, clothes etc. They had more mobility. They mostly accepted us without question. Assimilation was fast for those who accepted it. Some looked for the company of people of similar backgrounds,
ethnicity, religion etc. This is where churches and ethnic clubs played an important part. However, often what happened was the creation of another "little Holland". I never subscribed to this.Many decided to adopt Canada as their country and accept and live the Canadian way
of life and in my opinion, rightly so. The Dutch churches in Canada have few second or third generation members. Ethnic clubs now cater to East-European, Slavic and people of Asian origin.

I was fortunate to be able to return to school and continue my education in an entirely different and strange system. I had stepped off the boat in April and here I was attending school in September. I had been educated in Holland under the old rote system. Here it
was very much self-study, questioning, discussion, essay-writing. Students were taught to think for themselves and draw their own conclusions and then be asked to explain themselves. What a refreshing difference from the countless hours of the useless reciting
of lists of names and dates. I am sure that has all changed in Holland too, but that's how we were educated there then. Dad and I had many discussions about the merits of the different systems and he, of course, was a!ways impressed by the memorization of
insignificant trivia.

With the help of some excellent teachers and instructors, a lot of luck and sweat I succeeded in becoming a certified teacher within two years of coming to Canada and started teaching a grade 4 class in September 1959. 1 spent my teaching career in the city
of Hamilton at various assignments over the course of 35 years. One of my first-year supervisors, jokingly, suggested that my class was starting to speak with a Dutch accent.

I retired from teaching in 1993 with a full, well-earned pension and look back on it as mostly a learning experience. I have often wondered who learned more, my students or I. I guess I know the answer to that. Teaching after all is a learning experience.

The highlight of our first few years in Canada was Pake and Beppe deBoers visit in 1959. I can still see their faces as they stepped from the train in St. Thomas that Spring and remember driving them to several p!aces in my first car, a VW. They were both interested in my chosen career and asked some pertinent questions about it. One of them was if I ever thought that's what I would be doing here, and if I thought it possible. The answer to both questions was `no'.

On a personal basis, life in Canada has been very good to me. It has given me the opportunity to make choices. Some turned out well, some did not. That's life. I have been blessed with four healthy chi!dren who have made me a grandfather several times over. My wife, Beth, and I count nine grandchildren between us. We keep busy with them, enjoying visiting our out-of-town children, garden, and travel much more.We've been to Mexico twice, Antigua. Bahamas, California, Las Vegas. Alaska, Florida many times, and enjoyed cruises in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, and the West Coast of Canada. There are now trips we want to make in Canada. Recently we have
had to spend more time with Mem since she was sadly widowed in November 2002. She needs help looking after her affairs and her health, and counts on both of us. Beth and I will be there for her.

Since 1984, 1 have returned to Holland several times for different reasons. There's still a part of me there. It still pulls. To show my wife and children my roots, my two daughters and their husbands & family, accompanied us for Fryslan 2000. Our children and grandchildren are Canadian through and through. Although of Dutch ancestry, they don't speak a word or understand any of their father's native language. While in Friesland with them, we travelled all over the province, visited most of the Friesian cities, but they preferred to come back to Sneek."Dad's Sneek ", they called it.

However, every time leaving Holland and returning to Canada, I know and feel that I am going home.