ISU

I have many ancestors that have immigrated from different countries, although the country that I feel I am most connected to is Slovakia. For most of my life I have been taught all the ways of the Slovakian culture because both my mothers parents are Slovakian. The other side of my family comes from the Irish background, however my father was adopted and has never met his birth parents therefore I am unable to get any real evidence about anything about what life would have been like in Ireland because my father does not even know himself. My mother’s parents are both Slovakian, therefore I am partially Slovak. My grandparents were not born in Slovakia however both their parents were. I am not able to conduct an interview or phone call because my great grandparents are no longer here however I was able to talk to my grandfather about his parent’s immigration process and everything along with it. With what my grandfather explained my life would not have such a drastic change as I though if I lived in Slovakia, however some minor changes and added bonuses would be present.

My grandfather began the conversation with stating when his parents immigrated to Canada, which was in 1929. The reason being was because his parents were having a lot of trouble in the country. With the poor economy, and being the time of the depression they were having trouble searching for jobs and struggling to find a place to live. My grandfather specifically explained that his mother’s reason behind it was because “at the time, Slovakia was a communist country, and his mother was in desperate need for freedom”. Later they chose to settle in Saskatchewan because in Slovakia they were given a choice. They could go to the states and Canada; they chose Canada and Saskatchewan in particular because of the wide amounts of farmland available as well as the buying opportunities for housing. Several years later after my grandfather was born the family decided to move to Toronto for better economy purposes.

“I landed in France in 1929” by a train and then went through the whole process of customs there. Then they got onto a ship that then took them to Halifax, Nova Scotia. After this they got off and boarded the train to Saskatchewan. The journey was very long for them as my grandfather said. My grandfather explained that it was his mothers first time on a train and the experience was almost overwhelming. Passing Switzerland’s diverse and calm culture gave his mother hope for freedom after the great depression had passed.

My grandfather was not born at this time therefore is not considered anything other than a Canadian citizen, and was not able to find the papers of my great grandparents immigration forms from her passport but my grandfathers passport proves he was later born in Saskatchewan after my great grandparents had settled into there new homes.  

Realizing that the trip from Slovakia to Saskatchewan was very hard I asked my grandfather what his life would be like if he grew up in Slovakia. My grandfather, being born in Canada, always wondered the same thing. Although it was hard for him to explain, he believes his parents made the right choice by immigrating to Canada. My grandfather explained that things were significantly cheaper in Slovakia, and with this came room to use the extra money for other reasons, whether personal or not. However had my grandfather stayed, they would have much less opportunities for certain things as they do here.

From being taught the ways of the Slovakian culture I already knew a few things. A reason for the voyage to Canada was because of the lack of availability for home purchasing as well as job opportunity. If they were to stay the continuation of not being able to find a job let alone a house to live in would be passed to my grandfather. On this side of my family, it is sad to announce however cancer is present, my great grandmother passed and my grandmother recently passed. These health problems are hard enough to deal with; therefore having free health care has helped my family create longer and lasting memories that we could have been denied.

This was all a lot to take in at first yet after my grandfather explained how his life would have been harder in Slovakia, I took matters into my own hands to then go deeper and figure out what my own life would be like if I was to grow up a Slovakian citizen. Slovakia is known to be not only the geographical midpoint of Europe, but also a very culturally diverse and beautiful country. Slovakia is very encouraging of education as the citizens of the Slovak republic have a right to free of charge education while in state of primary and secondary schools. In contrast to some of the other countries around Slovakia, they provide free transportation, all you need is to sign up, receive your card and the train trips are free of charge. With all these added bonus’s the economy is still not quite up to par, and the health care and education systems still straggle with the same problem of finances. Due to this I feel like living there would limit my opportunities as well as making me feel that I have to be much to cautious in whatever I may do.

Overall as a teenager living in Slovakia, although I would have some added accessories with living there my possibilities and local authorities would be limited. I am grateful my great grandparents chose to make there way across to Canada. And I am proud of the journey they were able to over come along the way.

                                                                          Works Cited

                                              Grnak, Stephen, Telephone interview, 13 Jan. 2017.

                                  Kendle, Amanda, “Truth about living in Slovakia”. 28, May, 2013,

                                  http://www.notaballerina.com/2015/05/living-in-slovakia.html. Accessed 16 Jan. 2017.