Published February 24, 2022 · Updated September 22, 2026
My First Winter in Canada
There are beautiful photographs from my first winter in Canada—snow-covered landscapes, winter activities and smiling faces.
But photographs don’t always show what someone was carrying when they were taken.
Canada was still new to me. Winter was new to me. And underneath the excitement of beginning a new life was the harder reality of trying to find my place in it.
Then came an invitation to spend Family Day with my JIL Scarborough North family at The ROC in Georgina.
If I had known exactly what we were going to do that day, I might have found a reason not to go.
Thankfully, I didn’t.
Because what I remember most about that day isn’t the tubing or even the snow.
It’s a tiny hand.
The Original Story
It’s my first winter and I’m afraid of the cold. I’ve been staying at home for 7 weeks now; I have been anxious and depressed. What on earth am I doing here in this strange country?!
Last Saturday, God cornered me. If I have known we’ll be winter sporting in one of Ontario’s winter tourist attractions, I should’ve made some excuses to not go. But He let me brave the strong winds and biting cold. He let me see things in a new perspective. He just simply made me appreciate the beauty of the season!
When I hurried back to the car because my hands were freezing, Yassi noticed and said: “Tita, your hands are very cold.” She reached her hand into mine and said: “Mine are warm.” Then I replied: “Yes, give me heat transfer, Yassi.” She nodded and let me held her hand for quite a while. Of course, we know it in science that heat transfer does happen (I’ve been teaching this for 12 years) but when you experience it, it’s amazingly magical. Rubbing my hands together by myself didn’t ease the numbness but with only Yassi’s one tiny hand (she was playing with her iPad on the other) in between mine worked extraordinarily. It’s God saying: “My child, everything heals, you are never alone, I got your back.” Truly, God is with me throughout this journey and Yassi’s hand symbolizes the hands of all the people taking care of me here in Canada. I am forever grateful to each and everyone of you! I will not tag you anymore kay basin samokan namo (baka sawang sawa na kayo sa pasasalamat ko)! And with this, may our hands always be as warm and as helping as those of Yasmine Gail’s!
Thank you so much to my JIL Scarborough North family for letting me experience The ROC in Georgina and for celebrating Family Day with me. More than the tubing, snow, and winter activities, what stayed with me was the feeling that I finally had a family to belong to here in Canada.
Visiting The ROC in Georgina
The ROC (Recreational Outdoor Campus) in Georgina offers winter activities such as tubing, skiing, and snowboarding. If you’re planning your own visit, check its official website for current activities, schedules, conditions, and ticket information.
Tips for Enjoying Your First Ontario Winter Outing
- Book tickets in advance when required.
- Check the weather and road conditions before leaving.
- Make sure your vehicle is winter-ready and has enough fuel.
- Bring snacks and warm drinks.
- Wear appropriate winter gear.
- Dress in layers and keep your hands, feet, and head warm.
- Most importantly, don’t let the cold stop you from noticing how beautiful Ontario can be in winter.
Years Later, I Still Remember Her Hand
It’s funny what survives in our memory.
I could have remembered the tubing, the snow or how painfully cold that day felt.
Instead, I remember Yassi noticing my freezing hands and quietly giving me one of hers.
“Mine are warm.”
Such a small gesture.
But when you’re trying to find your place in a new country, small gestures don’t always feel small.
That hand gave me warmth for a few minutes. What it represented gave me something much bigger:
I wasn’t doing this entirely on my own.
Yassi had already been part of one of my happy early memories in Canada when Glenda invited me to join them at Canada’s Wonderland. Months later, during my first Canadian winter, this simple gesture from her would mean even more.
→ Read: Canada’s Wonderland: The Joy of an Unexpected Invitation
That winter itself would become another important chapter—one of feeling uprooted, adjusting to an unfamiliar life and slowly finding my way back to myself.
→ Read: My First Winter in Canada: Dancing My Way Back to Myself
The Places Matter. The People Matter More.
The ROC gave me a beautiful winter experience, but when I think about that day now, I don’t begin with tubing or snow.
I think about the people who brought me there.
That’s something exploring Ontario has taught me again and again.
Beautiful places may capture our attention, but the people and little moments inside them are often what capture our hearts.
Georgina eventually became one of the places in my larger Ontario story.
→ Explore: 20 Beautiful Places in Ontario That Could Capture Your Heart
And looking back, I realize that some of the greatest gifts of my early years in Canada weren’t places at all. They were people—the ones who appeared unexpectedly and made this unfamiliar country feel a little less lonely.
Bob Schulz was one of those people, and his kindness became a story I would carry with me long after he was gone.
→ Read: Bob Schulz’s Last Red Carpet
What Are the Warm Hands in Your Life?
Maybe yours aren’t literal hands.
Maybe it’s someone who checks on you, invites you somewhere, listens when you need to talk or simply makes a difficult day a little easier.
We often wait for big things to make life feel better.
But sometimes what carries us through a difficult season is much smaller.
A tiny gesture can remind us that we belong somewhere.
And sometimes, that’s enough warmth to help us keep going.
Notice the Small Things That Hold You
This experience became one of the stories that eventually taught me something important:
Sometimes, we don’t need more. We simply need to notice more.
I explore that realization more deeply in When I Didn’t Care to Notice: The Years I Spent Waiting for Life to Begin.
And it’s also why I created The Beauty Around You: A 7-Day Journey to Slow Down and Notice More.
For seven days, I’ll invite you to notice the small things we can so easily overlook—a kindness, an invitation, a shared laugh, a beautiful detail or perhaps even a warm hand.
→ Begin the 7-Day Journey
Continue Your Journey
Explore Somewhere
Discover the Ontario places that became meaningful not only because of where they were, but because of what happened there.
Notice Something
Pay closer attention to the ordinary gestures and moments that can quietly make life richer.
Become Something
Reflect on the seasons, people and experiences that shape us while we’re finding our way forward.