25
Jul
“On 25 July 2022, I visited the “Little Tibet” region of Toronto, Canada for a lunch with Phurba Futi Sherpa, Mingma Diki Sherpa, and Nima Tenzi Sherpa, Toronto’s Tibetan community seems vibrant with numerous shops and restaurants. We were all in high spirits because it was a beautiful but noisy day in the bustling Queen’s Street neighborhood. Our restaurant had crispy chili momos that were delicious.
Phurba Futi Sherpa has been in Canada the longest (about one year) and has enjoyed her studies. She lives in the Little Tibet neighborhood and is not currently attending classes for four months which will end in September when she returns to classes. In addition to studying, Phurba Futi works as a waitress and host at the Little Tibet restaurant. This job starts at 4pm so her schedule consists of classes in the mornings and early afternoons and work in the restaurant in the late afternoon and evening.
Mingma Diki Sherpa has been in Canada for about six months and lives in Brantford which is a one hour train ride from Toronto. Her studies are going well and she is feverishly working on the final project for her semester. In addition to her classes, Mingma Diki is working at Wendy’s where she has mastered the complexities of being a drive-thru server. She likes her team at Wendy’s but she is very excited to finish here classes in September and start doing work in her field of studies. Her classes and neighborhood are crowded Indians to such a degree that she is learning Hindi on the side.
Nima Tenzi Sherpa has been in Canada for about five months and lives in London which is a two hour train ride from Toronto. He is currently studying Construction Project Management which will end in September so he is busy on his projects. He anticipates that in the Autumn, he will move to Toronto to start studying Supply Chain. While the other two are 100% committed to Canada and want to remain here long term, Nima Tenzi is a bit homesick and sometimes wonders if this is the right choice for him. He likes his school and impressed by the real world experience that his professors bring into the classroom. He is enjoying adding new knowledge and skills to what he already knows and excited to learn about supply chain processes.
All three say that they must work in addition to doing their studies to make ends meet. They are happy that their wage-to-expense ratio is much more favorable in Canada than it was in Nepal. They say that in Nepal one could go for months without working and not starve but in Canada everyone needs to work. One of the hardest things is to find quality lodgings which takes time and they must commit to yearly leases but all of them have been successful so far. Lots of people from India fill their neighborhoods and classes and all said they were learning more Hindi than they expected. All of them like the cleanliness of Canada particularly the parks which are well maintained and relaxing to visit. They are starting to explore their surroundings so Mingma has visited Port Colburn and Nima has visited the mighty Niagara Falls. They all expressed gratitude to the Foundation for making their new adventures possible. They all love their Auntie Fabienne. It was so fun to see them surviving and thriving in a new vibrant environment. I have high expectations.”
