An infrastructure engineer's stay in Canada - After the 3-month training period -

Hello.

My name is Takajo and I am a heavy worker at Beyond Co., Ltd. (belonging to the Osaka Office System Solution Department)!

Actually, for three months from the end of November last year, I went on a business trip to the Canadian office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

In this article, I would like to write about living and working in Canada, and what I felt there.

1.What is Canada Office?

The Canadian office was established in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada as a wholly owned subsidiary of Beyond in November 2020 due to business expansion, but from February 2022 it has been relocated from Mississauga to North York.

The main work at our Canadian office is the same as in Japan, where we provide operational monitoring and support for our customers' servers.

Since there is a 14-hour time difference between Toronto and Japan, it seems like the Canadian office will handle the night shift work in Japan!

By the way, Beyond is currently recruiting members to work with us.

Of course, we are also recruiting at our Canadian office, so if you are interested, please our recruitment page ! !

2.Living in Canada

temperature

To begin with, the three months I spent in Canada after arriving in Canada were during the extremely cold winter season, so I guess it can't be helped, but when I look back on my memories, all I remember are things like ``It was cold...'' It was freezing cold.

There is no doubt that it was the strongest winter I have ever had.

I have fond memories of waving a wet towel around on the balcony in the middle of the night, suddenly remembering a project for a certain TV program. (By the way, I was surprised at how well it solidified.)

 

Hand towel turned into a weapon

Also, due to our geographical location, we are affected by the westerly winds, so the winds are very strong. Especially when walking downtown, we are exposed to the wind from the buildings and our body temperature drops rapidly, so we have to shake our bodies many times before we reach our destination. I was looking for a cafe to buy some hot coffee to warm up.

If I have the chance to go next time, I would definitely like to go during the spring/summer season!

meal

Regarding food, as I had imagined before going to Canada, there were many restaurants selling ``hamburgers,'' ``pizza,'' and ``kebabs,'' and as one of Japan's biggest junk food lovers, I thought it was heaven. However, let me just say one thing.

"There's a lot..."

Even for someone like me, who has undergone special training and puts my stomach through rigorous training every day, it feels like a lot.

To be honest, I couldn't help but think, ``Well, if I eat this much, my body will become stronger.''

At the famous Fish & Chips@Kensington

However, there are not only disadvantages (not that they are bad, but I'm sorry...), there are also too many good points to mention here, one of which is that you can eat cuisine from many countries. is.

Canada is a country where many immigrants live, and the cultures of many different countries are mixed together to create a single society, so there are many situations in our daily lives that make us aware of this. there is.

Just like the types of restaurants, there are many types of supermarkets depending on the culture, and there were many stores selling Chinese, Halal, Korean, Dominican, and Greek ingredients.

You may not be aware of this in Japan, but I think it's great to be able to feel these differences.

price

I felt that everything was a little expensive.

For example, if you order a set at McDonald's, it will cost you about $12 to $15, depending on what you order. It's about ¥1100~¥1300 (as of March 2, 2022).

Whether you think this amount is ``expensive!'' or ``Isn't it?'' depends on the individual, but I think it was a bit of a hurdle for me in terms of my financial situation, so I often cheated while cooking for myself. I was living a life of deception.

Also, although this is just my feeling, I feel that many people prepared their own lunch every day.

The area around the shared kitchen gets busy around lunchtime, so I also staggered my break times a bit!

If you are thinking about traveling abroad, it may be a good idea to improve your cooking skills as well as your English skills. .

3.What I felt through this business trip

As I mentioned earlier, I had never had the opportunity to stay overseas for a long time, so I didn't feel anything special about living somewhere other than Japan. I thought it was just that things had changed.

However, after this business trip, I think this mindset has changed considerably.

Among the members currently working in the Canadian office, all of the non-Japanese people have lived in Japan for a long time and have a deep understanding of Japanese culture. I didn't really feel like I was overseas, probably because I continued to work as usual, just like I did when I was in Japan.

However, there are times when I suddenly feel cold when I hear English being spoken, when I interact with people outside the company, when I go out alone on holidays, and when I meet people in a town who are incredibly friendly in Japan, It was a truly stimulating day, with many things appealing to my five senses, such as the scenery of buildings that don't exist in my everyday world.

To be honest, it was my first experience there, and I was only there for three months, so I think I only saw the good things.

However, I didn't have the attitude of ``trying to enjoy and overcome difficulties even if just a little bit'' before, and I don't think I would have encountered those feelings if I hadn't gone to Toronto.

On Lake Ontario in the middle of winter

4. At the end

If I had to summarize it in a business-like way, I would conclude that it was a business trip that I learned a lot.

I experienced so many emotions and scenery, and I think that these three months allowed me to not only grow as an engineer, but also to gain new values ​​and new values ​​as a person.

I can't predict what my life and career will be like from now on, and to be honest, things are uncertain.

However, I was able to think, ``I'm going to use this experience to survive!'' It was because I came to Canada, and thanks to all the people who supported me during my stay. Yes.

Please allow me to take this opportunity to express my gratitude. Thank you so much!

pull niagara