My husband and I lived in England. One day in 1981 we decided Canada was a good place to live. We had a friend of a friend of a friend in Edmonton. So, Edmonton would be for us, as well. I immediately looked up the atlas and remarked to my husband doubtfully: “It seems awfully close to the North Pole. Are you sure we want to do this? Why are we doing this again?”
We boarded a plane on a fine day in September of 1981. It was a direct flight to Edmonton. Full of anticipation, excitement and some anxiety we sat on the plane wondering what our new life would bring. I was reminiscing how much I had loved London. We had so many friends; we both loved the London theater district (we never missed a show) and the restaurants. Most of all, we loved going to Heathrow airport and watching planes take off and land. This was our favorite pasttime. How much we would miss all that? What would our new home be like?
Finally, we landed at the “Edmonton International Airport” and I looked around to find, astonishingly, that the International airport had one plane on the tarmac -- a British Airways Boeing 737 (ours)! I was alarmed and asked my husband: “It is really the North Pole, isn’t it?” The airport was so small and there was no one around – very different from the Heathrow I was used to. I became even more doubtful about our venture to live in our chosen city /country.
Now, 28 years later, I cannot imagine any other place I consider as home. I have lived most of my adult life here in Edmonton. Like most Albertans, several times, my car has been stuck in the snow in -30C weather. I recall eight-month long winters with bone-chilling cold. The snow would pile up in front of the house so much we had to shovel our pathway to get out of the house, let alone the drive way. I would walk our beautiful dog Jessie, a rough Collie, diligently, even on the coldest day, thinking all the time, it must be the intense love for my dog that made me venture outside.
While in the beginning I was put out that Edmonton was not London, we made very good friends here. We recognized this is a perfect city to raise a family. It had a low crime rate, community support was high, and people just cared about each other. Edmonton was a “city” without the large city problems. Soon, my daughter was born and then there was no time to think about nightlife and theater. London became a distant memory.
I love Edmonton. I love the mountains, the rivers and the parks of Alberta. I loved those days when the Oilers were #1, when we were truly the City of Champions. Gretzky, Messier and Fuhr were my favorite. I have all the Stanley Cup playoffs from the ‘80s recorded in my old VHS tapes. Those were the hockey golden years.
Through the years, I held many jobs in big and small firms in Edmonton, but the one I am proud to say I found worth sticking with is my current employer - ATB Financial. I joined ATB nine years ago. We are and have always been a community-oriented company. I learned that ATB cared for its people – not only its associates, but neighbours in even the province’s smallest communities. It shows in what we do.
Living and experiencing life in Edmonton has tested my endurance, helped me grow spiritually and made me the well-rounded person I am today.
London is just another place to visit on holidays now. Edmonton is home.
-- Nalina Kumar
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