Published January 6, 2022 · Updated September 15, 2026
Looking Back at My First Niagara Falls Adventure
Some stories become more meaningful with time.
I originally wrote this post in January 2022, only a few months after moving to Canada as an international student. Reading it again today takes me back to a very different version of myself—someone still trying to find her footing in a new country while balancing school, work, finances, homesickness, and all the uncertainty that came with starting over.
And somewhere in the middle of all that uncertainty was Niagara Falls.
I visited Niagara only two weeks after finishing my quarantine. At the time, I thought I was simply going on my first Canadian adventure with Tito Tonet and Tita Lorna. I didn’t know that years later, Niagara would become one of the places I would remember when thinking about the beginning of my life in Canada.
That’s why I chose Niagara Falls as one of my 20 Beautiful Places in Ontario That Captured My Heart.
But rather than rewrite the story I told back then, I’ve decided to leave most of it as it was.
The excitement, the struggles, the exclamation marks, the looooooongest, the jokes and even the dream about a certain “special someone”—they belong to the Mae who had just arrived in Canada. And that’s part of the story too.
So here it is: my first Niagara Falls adventure, mostly through the eyes of the person I was when I first experienced it.
The Original Story — January 2022
Phew! What a journey it has been! From N Seoul Tower to CN Tower! I am now in Canada! Or should I say, I have been here in Canada for already 4 (now going 5) months!!!!! This is the looooooongest span of time that I’ve been putting off writing because I’ve been anxious in balancing school, part-time job/s, and how to save up for my tuition! Scrimping for my second semester tuition was really a great ordeal, all my life’s savings have been emptied, and now I am experiencing what they call as isang kahig, isang tuka (from hand to mouth)! My Philippine salary (because I am still working with La Salle University through online classes) cannot sustain me here. I’ve been doing different part-time jobs from time to time but the 20 hours a week is just enough for rent and groceries. But the great thing is, I never asked money from my parents and I never borrowed money from people! I am proud to say that all of these I am having and spending are my own and it is only God who is backing me up financially with the prayer support of my parents, aunties, and friends!
Since classes have been off for a week now (actually for almost a month already), I have the luxury of time to post something “Canadian”. So from my last post dated July 2021 about South Korea, here’s my very first post about Canada really hoping not to put this off for next year (but it’s already “next year” now. Haha!)! I became occupied with a holiday job, okay. It is school break so we are allowed to work full-time. As a result, I am sick at the moment due to overfatigue from long work hours, holiday partying, bad weather, and playing in the snow last New Year’s Day (I hope to be writing about this soon also). So without further ado, my dear readers (if you are still there), here’s Niagara Falls for you!
Never have I ever dreamt of seeing Niagara Falls in person! Well, I am letting you in a little secret; actually I literally dreamt of being in Niagara Falls perhaps in the year 2011 or 2013. In that vivid dream, I was with a special someone (whom I exactly know) putting his arm across my shoulder. We were both wearing raincoats and smiling to the camera with the cascading waters of Niagara Falls as our backdrop. I never knew where that dream came from because I do believe that you dream of things you are imagining and seeing on television before sleeping. But as far as I can remember, I did not imagine nor see on TV nor hear about anything Canada and that someone those days. So I just shrugged that dream off and only remembered about it when my student visa got approved. Shall I meet that someone here again? That I don’t expect! We’re 13,000 miles away and he’s long been let “go’ed”! Haha!!!! Anyway, though I never wished to see Niagara (and him) at that time, I was beyond blessed to be there in the flesh (even without him)! Thanks to Tito Tonet and Tita Lorna for bringing me there right after my 14-day quarantine!
Tito and Tita picked me up after lunch at Etobicoke, the first place here where I stayed for 2 months. We dropped by Mississauga first for something Tito to leave at their home and off we went to a long drive to Niagara! The highway drive was exhilarating! With a minimum speed of 80-100 km/h, I couldn’t imagine myself driving here in Canada with my maximum speed of 20 km/h! Lol! On our way, I saw vast network of roads and bridges linking to the US, vineyards and mansions, those I only see on TV. It was so surreal that I was on North American soil! I also didn’t dream of that though I admired the sights and feels of American films. As soon as we arrived, we said our prayers first at the Monastery of Mount Carmel Spiritual Retreat and Conference Centre. With the French Gothic architecture, it was like being in Montreal!
Soon after, we drove around the city and tried to cast bets at Fallsview Casino Resort. The slot machines were not friendly to us so we went around sightseeing and picture-taking instead.
Then we went down to the falls, did more of picture-taking and I was surprised that Tito and Tita were game for Tiktok! So we shot our Tiktok entries under the heat of 40-degree summer!
To cap off our adventure, we went down to the Floral Clock and Clifton Hill to see the night lights. I jeopardized my dancer pose at the upside-down house though. That was only two weeks after my arrival and I already gained a lot of weight here in Canada!
Never in my wildest dream to be in places I only saw on TV and postcards. Never in my wildest imagination to have come and see one of the wonders of the world! When God gives you surprises, surely they’re always grand and awesome!
To the coolest and swag couple, Tito Tonet and Tita Lorna, thank you so much! Watch our vlog, guys and see how we slayed Niagara Falls!
Looking Back, Years Later
Reading this story again years later makes me smile.
Back then, Niagara Falls impressed me because it was grand. It was a place I had only seen on television and postcards, and suddenly I was standing there myself—taking photos, making TikToks, laughing with Tito and Tita, and trying to take in the fact that I was actually in Canada.
Today, what I notice in these memories is a little different.
Of course, I still remember the falls. How could anyone forget the sound of that much water, the mist rising into the air, or Niagara glowing with lights after dark?
But I also notice the smaller moments.
I remember the long drive and my amazement at Canadian highways. The vineyards and houses I stared at through the window. Stopping to pray at Mount Carmel. Tito and Tita being game enough to make TikToks with me. Walking around Clifton Hill. Taking ridiculous photos. Laughing.
None of those things are as famous as Niagara Falls.
But together, they are what made the day mine.
And perhaps that’s something I didn’t understand when I originally wrote this post.
A Beautiful Place Can Hold a Meaningful Story
Niagara Falls is undeniably beautiful. But when I included it among my 20 Beautiful Places in Ontario That Could Capture Your Heart, I wasn’t thinking only about the waterfall.
I was thinking about beginnings.
I had been in Canada for only two weeks when these photographs were taken. So much about my future was still unknown.
I didn’t know the people I would eventually meet, the places I would explore, the struggles I would go through, or how much this country would slowly become part of my story.
And I certainly didn’t know that years later I would look back at this first Niagara trip and see more than a tourist attraction.
I would see the beginning of a chapter.
That’s one reason I’ve become more interested in noticing what surrounds the beautiful places we visit.
When you’re somewhere like Niagara Falls, the obvious thing is to photograph the waterfall.
But notice the other things too.
The mist touching your face. The people you’re travelling with. The conversation in the car. The flowers you pass. The laughter after a failed photograph. The way the sky looks at the end of the day.
Those little details may eventually become just as precious as the landmark you travelled there to see.
The Beauty Around You
Niagara Falls is the kind of beauty that’s impossible to miss.
It roars. It towers in front of you. It demands your attention.
But most of the beauty in our lives isn’t like Niagara Falls.
Sometimes it’s quiet.
It’s sunlight coming through a window. Flowers growing beside a familiar street. Coffee with someone you love. The sound of laughter. Or an ordinary moment you don’t realize you’ll miss until years later.
That’s why I created The Beauty Around You, my free 7-day mini-guide to slowing down, noticing more, and rediscovering the beauty hiding in everyday life.
Download The Beauty Around You — Free 7-Day Guide
One Line Still Stays With Me
When I first wrote about Niagara Falls, I ended with gratitude for a dream I never expected to experience in real life.
Years later, that feeling hasn’t disappeared.
If anything, time has made me appreciate it differently.
Some places capture our hearts because they’re extraordinarily beautiful.
Others stay with us because of who we were when we first stood there.
For me, Niagara Falls is both.
And perhaps that’s why this old story deserves to remain exactly what it is—a little snapshot of a young woman who had just arrived in Canada, still uncertain about so much, but already beginning to discover the beauty around her.
Continue Your Journey
Beautiful places are only the beginning.
My first visit to Niagara Falls became more than a travel memory. Looking back, it reminds me how the places we explore can teach us to notice more, reflect more deeply, and see our own stories differently.
If you’d like to continue the journey, explore:
Discover Everyday Beauty
Travel teaches us to notice. Carry that same sense of wonder into ordinary days through nature, changing seasons, quiet routines, and the little moments we often overlook.
Reflect on Meaningful Stories
Some experiences stay with us long after the journey ends. Explore personal stories about new beginnings, faith, family, hope, change, and the moments that shape who we become.
→ Reflect on Meaningful Stories
What place takes you back to the beginning of an important chapter in your life?
I’d love to hear your story in the comments.