From A to Z: An Immigration Story

Allenna Tang

Guangzhou, July 1999

Cyclists riding down Zhujiang Street

Lulled by the warm, muggy air, a young woman closed her eyes and hugged her young husband’s arm as they strolled down Zhujiang Street, past convenience stores and upscale clothing boutiques. Lin Tang and Aiqing Liu were both fresh graduates from Guangzhou University, as well as newlyweds.

Lin nudged Aiqing with his elbow. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Check this out.”

She looked up, bleary-eyed. They were passing by a sleek, glass-windowed office building that towered above the shops beside it.

“So what?” she grumbled. “You want to become a fancy business man and work here?”

“No, look at that.” Lin pointed at a poster plastered on the window. Free consultation for immigration to Canada.

“Canada?” She raised her eyebrows.

“C’mon, let’s go see. Hey—” he smiled with a flash of his teeth, “There’s air conditioning!” With a playful tug, he dragged her through the revolving door.

A few minutes later, Lin was engrossed in conversation with a man in a business suit. Aiqing found her mind wandering… She looked out the window down at the city and saw a sea of grey buildings, dotted with splashes of greenery. The city grew faster every day, but so did the smog in the sky. In her head, she could hear her grandmother scold her: “Xīn bù zài yān,” or “Heart was not there,” she would’ve said, shaking her head.

A jab in her side made her jerk her head back to Lin, who was grinning.

“Yes, a job in IT gets a top score,” the man in the suit was saying. “It’s very much in demand there.” Lin looked at her with his eyebrows raised, as if to brag, Did you hear that? I’m very much in demand.

“You would have to pass their English test. There’s a training course I can recommend—Here, take this flyer.” Aiqing raised her eyebrows back at Lin.

“Only one of us needs to take it to apply, right?” he asked.

“Yes, only the person applying for citizenship.”

I’m glad I married smart.

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273 Pharmacy Avenue, Scarborough, 2001

Aiqing and Catrina enjoying the fresh air

“Have a good day.” Aiqing gave Lin a quick kiss before he left for work. After he left, Catrina started wailing. Aiqing sighed. “Oh, sweet girl,” she cooed, “You are so noisy.” She fed her a bottle of milk, and the small, dark haired baby immediately quieted. Relieved, Aiqing gave Catrina a squeeze as she relaxed onto their sofa, which they had bought for $100 from the apartment’s previous tenant. The apartment was strewn with toys, clothes, and formula wrappers. A boxy, beige coloured Windows computer sat on their desk-turned-dining table, with a search for what to feed 4 month old baby—and its 5 126 000 results—faintly glowing on the screen.

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Catrina stares blankly

Aiqing frowned. “What if our baby is stupid?”

“She’s not stupid.”

“Look! She doesn’t make any sounds!” Catrina was 6 months old now, and she looked up at her parents with a vacant expression. Her small limbs were splayed out on their sofa like a starfish. “Aren’t babies supposed to make sounds?”

“She makes a lot of sound when she’s hungry.”

“I think she’s stupid!”

Lin went into their bedroom and brought back a small, rubber ball along with a mischievous smile. He waved the ball in front of Catrina’s face. Her big, round eyes followed it back and forth. Spurred on by her attention, he made sound effects as he tossed it between his hands. Aiqing laughed, and so did Catrina. Soon, the three of them were all laughing, and Lin picked up their baby and squeezed her into a hug.

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“I’m good, thanks. How are you?” Aiqing formed the words slowly, with the sounds feeling foreign to her mouth. The class was made of immigrants from all different parts of the world, each person carefully sounding out the phrases laid out in their textbook lesson for that week.

After the class, Aiqing hurriedly gathered her things and went to the daycare in the neighbouring room. Her throat went dry. The older kids, around 4 or 5 years old, were laughing and throwing their toys into the playpen, where there sat a small, quiet dark-haired baby. To Aiqing, each toy that narrowly missed felt like a bomb exploding, but the daycare teacher was busy talking on the phone. As quickly as she could, Aiqing scooped Catrina up and hugged her tightly as she rushed out of the daycare.

She stayed at home the next week.

The days dragged on into weeks of little contact with anyone other than her baby and her husband. Lin came home late, kissed her good night, then woke up early and kissed her good morning before leaving for another day of work. His English improved drastically as he talked to customers on the phone and tried his best to sell cable plans and meet his quotas. The weeks dragged on into months, and Aiqing stayed at home.

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45 Grenoble Drive, North York, 2003

Aiqing and Catrina in their new apartment

“Come look at this, Aiqing,” Lin said with a strangely somber tone. Their new apartment was slightly larger and had room for a dining table, making it feel like a real home. She walked over to the table while carrying an almost 2-year-old Catrina in her arms. Seeing the headline, she silently covered her mouth with her hand. Man jumps off 25 Bay Mills building roof. She kept skimming. Paramedics say he died on impact… Immigrant family… Unemployed for more than half a year…

“What?” asked Catrina, straining to see what had made her parents go quiet. “I wanna see!” She started to flail her limbs and whine when her mother wouldn’t show her.

A few months later, the headlines appeared again: Man jumps off Highway 404… Immigrant… Unemployed…

Those years were filled with headlines.

Eventually, like clockwork, Lin had lost his job. Aiqing watched his face get wearier with each failed interview and job application left unanswered. He holed up in their bedroom, much like he had when he would wake up early to study English back in Guangzhou, but this time he pored over a Yellow Pages book. Starting from A, he cold called every business to ask if they were hiring.

“Are you really going to call every single company?” Aiqing’s face was pained. “From A to Z, if I have to.”

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16 Martell Gate, Aurora, 2006

When Aiqing set foot into their first real house, she felt a rush of butterflies rising in her stomach. The clean white walls, the smooth ceramic tiling, and even the dust-covered window sills were all their very own.

After going to a job training class, Lin had found a permanent position that allowed them to breathe easier for the first time since they had landed in Canada. Their second daughter had been born, and the amount of wailing she did certainly let them know she wasn’t empty-headed at least.

While unpacking their boxes, Aiqing came upon a familiar yellow book. She dusted off the cover and flipped to an ear-marked page. Circled in blue pen, she saw that fateful listing that had brought her family hope once again. Aiqing remembered another cheng yu her grandmother used to tell her: Shuĭ dī shí chuān. Water droplets pierce stone. She flipped backward from the listing all the way to the first page and closed the cover.