Our Conversation with Christina McFadden

This month we are chatting with Christina McFadden.

Christina was born and raised in Germany and was living there when she met her husband, a Canadian Military member. She came to Canada to start a new life with her husband. 

In this conversation Christina tells us  some of the challenges she faced, and what surprised her about living in Canada and living on a military base. We also talk about:

• how  volunteer work helped Christina to meet people and improve her job skills;
• her advice for new Canadians;
• how pushing out of her comfort zone helped her to grow and expand her horizons; and
• how she has built a community of friends that help her to stay in touch with her German culture.

We also touch on winter in Petawawa, bears and the challenges of ordering at a drive-thru!

Transcript

[00:00:27]

Julie Hollinger:

Hello and welcome to military family life. My name is Julie Hollinger. 

One of the things that I like most about being a military spouse is the range of people that I get to meet. As military spouses, we're all sharing a very unique experience. But everyone's bringing something different to the table…. different backgrounds, different ideas, different life circumstances. 

There's something to learn from every one of us. 

Today, my co-host, Claudia Beswick and I are speaking with Christina McFadden. 

Christina was born and raised in Germany and was living there when she met her husband, a Canadian military member. She came to Canada to start a new life with her husband. 

Today she's going to talk to us about the experience some of the challenges she faced and what surprised her about living in Canada and living on a military base. 

 We hope you enjoy our conversation with Christina McFadden. 

Hi Christina and welcome to Military Family Life, thanks for joining us. 

To start off I'm going to let you introduce yourself.  Can you tell us a little bit about who you are, and maybe your connection to the military

[00:01: 25]

Christina:

Thank you so much for having me. My connection to the military is that I'm a military spouse. My husband is in the military, and we’ve been together for a little over 11 years. 

And I am originally from Germany. So, I moved to Canada for - for love. And that was about it's going to be 10 years this year. And you know what?  The Canada that I know, it has been Petawawa most of the time, so I moved to Petawawa directly and that makes Canada my home. 

Julie: 

So, it's Petawawa the only town that you've lived in since you've come to Canada? 

Christina: 

Yep. This is literally the only place where I've lived. 

I got to visit different places where my husband's been in the military. I got to visit him before I moved here. He was in Edmonton, and he was on different courses, or he was also posted to Valcartier for a bit, so we did IR and I got to visit. So, I've seen many different places. It was very lucky, but I've really only lived in Petawawa. 

[00:02:15]

Julie:

So, let's just take a step back. How did you meet your husband if you were living in Germany.  You’re from Germany - he's in the Canadian military. How do you guys meet? 

Christina:

He was traveling through Germany. He was there for about four days, and we actually met at an Irish pub and saw each other for a couple of days and then decided that we should Skype every day. And he came to visit me a few weeks later. After that, we did long distance for about a year and a half. Which telling that story sounds a bit crazy to a lot of people and my friends and family did think that was a bit crazy. But you know what, when I moved to Petawawa, and as I met a lot of military spouses that also moved across the world eventually across the country.  For the military spouse, it didn't seem so crazy after all. I fit in quite well. 

[00:03:00]

Claudia Beswick:

So, when you met your husband in Germany while he was traveling How was your English? 

Christina:

Well, I was lucky because back in Germany, I used to be an English teacher. So, my English was pretty good, and I was quite excited that I got to speak English to an actual English speaker. And when I found out he was Canadian, that was super exciting. 

I really didn't know much about Canada I had no idea I was - it's embarrassing to say that I didn't even know how cold the winters are. I also… I thought there's bears - I knew that - and maple syrup that was it and it's really terrible. 

So, when we first met I my English was pretty good. I was an English teacher which made moving here much, much easier, obviously when you already have the language. But the other piece of winter I was not aware of how cold Canadian winters can be. And especially in Petawawa how long they are.  

I mean, at least six months and so much snow!  Back in Germany where I used to live. Winters were pretty mild, mostly rain. A little bit out West I guess. And I remember what we entered was minus or minus 12. I didn't want to go for a walk with my dog because I thought people's dying. I didn't think one can actually walk outside and minus 10 or 12 degrees. And now you know what I can almost wear shorts in that temperature. So, I’ve become a good Canadian. 

Julie:

That's the thing about Petawawa. It's minus five and people are in shorts. Like it's exciting… we're outside in T shirts.  But you don't really understand what minus 40 is going to be - it's just a theory until you're outside in it. 

[00:04:40]

Christina:

I have to say spring has been the most challenging time over the past years. Back home spring starts. I mean February is when the flowers come out in the sun and seeing pictures and videos from family back home. I really don't want to see that. 

Julie:

You said you were a teacher. Did you live close to your family? Like were you in a community with everybody you knew or were you already sort of moved away from your community and your family? 

Christina:

I was about an hour away, but I would see them every weekend. That's really not a big distance and my family they're very close - it's just not really normal for my family members to move away. Like my mom lives two kilometers away from the house which she grew up in, and all my cousins live within like 20-minute drive.  My brother doesn't live very far away. 

So, me living one hour away was pretty big.  Like for German distances, that is quite a distance. When the thought came up that I'm moving around the world. Not everybody was that excited about it. And I mean as a military spouse, I've seen that in many, many fellow military spouses. That they have experienced similar reactions from their families because a lot of us moved away from home and family. 

Claudia:

But it must make it much easier for you when you go back to Germany to visit that everybody is so close. So, unlike coming to Canada have to going from one end of the country to the other, right.  If you have family all located there, you get to see them all on your trips home.

Christina:

 It’s true. Yeah, I usually schedule everything really well like and that may be like a German trait of mine that I like to be very organized and plan things out. So, when I go for the two weeks to visit my family every day has, you know meetings with friends and family scheduled to make sure I see everybody as much as I can quite efficient.

Julie:

And the idea of like having Skype and having Zoom and to be able to talk to people. It's a very different world, I imagine, than someone who moved to Canada from across the world, even 10 years - 20 years ago or even in the early 1900s. Like people got on a boat and they moved across the world never expecting to see their family again, like maybe getting news in dribs and drabs over the mail. 

My husband lived in Germany in the early 1990s. And back then I mean, there was a phone, but it was so expensive. You would never you are going to call it you know every time you had news you would call on Sundays after 8pm and take advantage of that low rate. It just wasn't an acceptable, accessible way to communicate. 

[00:06:55]

Christina:

Yeah, we're really lucky. 

Claudia:

I know when my mom came from Germany. When we were first settled into Canada. It was not it was not a thing that every German even have a phone. 

So, when my parents came to Canada in the 70s, the early 70s I think it was. There was no thing as Skype. Phones were even a bit challenging for making calls. 

Christina:

And it's really interesting. There's a group of German ladies that moved here in the 80s or 90s - back when Lahr was posting - and a lot of soldiers would bring their spouses from there.  Claudia, I'm not sure if your family's from there as well. 

Claudia:

No. 

[00:07:35]

Christina:

But there's quite a few - and it's mostly ladies that are the military spouses from Germany. They're kind of like my mom's age almost. 

But we get together. Usually once a month pre- COVID, and during COVID we did Zoom calls once a month to just connect and speak German and live a little bit of our culture. It's always - you always have that as part of who you are. 

Especially I mean, I moved here in my late 20s. So, I lived most of my life in Germany.  And being able to connect them and hearing the stories from them how it was for them to move here in the 80s and they wouldn't see their family at all for a long time. Like they would call them like you mentioned.  And I have been very lucky with Skype and Instagram and Facebook and WhatsApp and everything out there. I feel like I talk more to my family now than I used to when I lived there. 

However, it's never easy in the last couple of years have been a challenge for everyone obviously. But not knowing when other borders open when can you see family again, that really adds to worries with the pandemic.

Julie:

It must have been really scary for you especially I mean, you know, looking at the news and not being able to connect with family but also seeing the second-hand reports. 

You're not only watching the COVID numbers in your area but also for your family and friends and wondering what things are like for them Did you find that to be like a tough time for you? 

Christina:

It was. However, it was really interesting. I follow German news and I follow Canadian news. I read different news channels and from different countries and it's very interesting how differently news are broken down or reported.  And also how regulations are different, how numbers are broken down, how vaccines were available, how tests were available -- very, very different approach to things and just helps to set everything into a different perspective, and maybe also take a little bit of the worry away to see that something that is very important back in Germany's not even addressed here and the other way round. So, it actually helped kind of curb the fear and the worry about the pandemic a little bit and set things into perspective. 

But at the same time, not knowing when can I see them. Are they going to be okay, what happens if they're not okay? I can't just fly over like it's - that's always the big piece of if something happens. You have to plan ahead that can't just be there in a three-hour drive takes a day to three planning. And there's so much to it. 

[00:10:00]

Julie:

How often do you get home? Wait. How long have you been to Germany? You probably maybe this is home for you. How often do you get back to Germany? 

Christina:

Yeah, this is home, but Germany's also home. And I tried to usually go once a year, on average. I've had years where I went three times with a family member was sick or my niece was born for those family members. I tried to just make it work. 

I think a year and a half year and a half, almost two years was the longest time I've been and that was the pandemic time.  But I tried to make that a priority.  

Which that's another thing that I've talked to other military spouses before - when we have the leave and take leave and invest money and traveling - it's usually to see your family. It's not often that we have the time or the money to actually both. So, my vacation now is going back to my hometown. 

When I tell my friends here in Canada, they're like that's so great to go to Germany anyway exciting. Like it is because I see my family but it's also my hometown where no every corner and every stone, so vacation is going to happen in the future. 

Julie:

So, what did your parents think, I mean your parents and your brother when they came back to Canada when they saw Petawawa - What did they think of Petawawa? 

Christina:

Well, you know when you're new to Petawawa and your first impression of it, it kind of depends on the weather, I guess…

Julie: 

true story. True story. 

Christina:

So, I was lucky that they came in the summer, but I also lived in the PMQs for the longest time. And I remember the first time they came -they came on garbage day. So, I started apologizing. 

However, they really loved the area. They loved the nature, that we have beaches, all that kind of stuff 

Claudia:

and bears 

Christina:

…and bears. Yeah, we didn't see one, unfortunately. But that's the big expectation that they're everywhere. And they do exist a lot, but it's always a bit of a culture shock to it. 

But in a positive way, they really, really liked it and I'm very excited that they're coming to visit again this summer. 

Julie:

I had family come visit last weekend from across Ontario, and all they wanted to see was bears and we drove around it didn't see a single one. And they left in the morning, I went hiking in the afternoon and like we ran right into one. So, they're there, they just don't come out for company. 

You talked about when you met your husband being in the bar and hearing somebody speaking English and getting excited about having that opportunity.  Now that you're in Canada. If you hear somebody speaking German, do you get that same excited feeling? 

Christina:

Oh, absolutely. I'm so excited about it. 

And I don't speak German that much anymore, maybe on the weekends with my family. But my mom makes fun of me because my pronunciation is different. My sentence structure is not correct, and my German is getting worse. 

Claudia:

You have an accent

Christina:

I do I do.  The sad thing is I have one in both languages now - so I'm like halfway good in both. But I have to say…

Claudia:

That takes talent Christina - that takes talent.

Christina:

Oh, I appreciate it. Thank you. 

Julie:

And you speak other languages as well…

Christina:

Yes, that's I guess as a European it's normal. Like growing up, I learned English in grade five, French in grade seven, Italian in grade nine. I did some Spanish in university and it's just you can use it all the time because everything is so close. 

But yeah, when I hear people speak German here I will talk to them. Even if I kind of ... I was at Scotiabank in Petawawa a few years ago and the lady who was working there her name was very German, obviously German name and she had a somewhat German accent. Obviously, I'm learning to be very polite Canadian and not point that out. However, I did randomly mention that, and we ended up speaking German and she joined German ladies group and it was really nice and most German speakers are really excited to do that. 

In addition to that, there is a big German population, second or third generation in the area. So, you probably know about the Germania Club in Pembroke Obviously that was one of the first things I did when I was here I went to their Oktoberfest, and they ended up volunteering with them. And as much as most people do not speak German there anymore, they celebrate the culture or like a Canadianized version of the German culture from 50 years ago, which is very - it's very, very dear, and very sweet. And I really enjoy being part of that community. 

And I got the opportunity in my 30s to become Miss Oktoberfest in Pembroke. And I feel like I would have not had that opportunity in Germany ever. Like that would have not been a thing. 

[00:14:15]

Julie:

You talk about the Germania club and the German Wives Club. In addition to people who would be in in Petawawa, who would be here from like second or third generation. There's a number of people in this community in the military community who have been posted to Germany. So, it's not entirely unusual to find someone who understands Germany and German culture. Do you run into those folks a lot?

Christina:

All the time. And funnily enough, I work for the PMFRC, and I have worked with PFC for nine years. Half of my team speaks German or has lived in Germany or has a German parent. And that was before I joined the team. So, it's really interesting. There's a lot of people that were posted there, that were born there, that have the German passport, but don't speak German anymore. And it's always - it's really exciting and welcoming. So, I feel like yes, I'm a new Canadian, but I came to a very welcoming community and I was very lucky. 

As much as I didn't think that when we first had a posting message to Petawawa because I thought I was going to Barrie when I moved to Canada, and I thought that's a cool city. But in the end Petawawa has been really welcoming and wonderful for me.

Claudia: 

and you're within driving distance to Barrie.

Christina 

You know what, I’ve never really been there.  I’ve really learned to love Petawawa and I’m never leaving again. 

Julie:

You talked about what surprised you want living in Canada and the things that you didn't expect. Are there things that surprised you that you didn't expect about living in the military base? 

Christina:

I don't think I had any expectations really. In Germany. military has a little bit of a different standing. I think I didn't get in touch with it very much. So, I didn't think about it very much. And I had no expectations or thoughts about the military lifestyle, the military spouse lifestyle. 

I know people say oh, you knew what you were getting into. We don't know what we're getting into. Because you don't know. 

Julie:

There's a universal theme on this podcast and I think every guest has talked about that. We had no idea what we were getting into please stop telling us that!

Christina: 

Yeah, you don't know what you don't know. And then you learn about it.  And what I found really amazing living on Dundonald Drive, it was really amazing having wonderful neighbors, being close to everything and physically close, but also being able to you know, talk to the neighbors and they understand your lifestyle. 

And that's not only in the PMQs or residential housing units, I guess this term, I should use that. But it's everywhere in the community because now we live in a different subdivision, and we know that half the neighbors are military. My husband deployed I know that three other people on our street also deployed with him, and I know that their spouses are understanding of what we go through. And that is really, really helpful and that was actually something I didn't expect the support. 

Julie:

Do you think that made it easier for you being in in Canada not knowing a lot of people with your spouse traveling a lot? Do you think it made it easier for you living on base and sort of getting that sort of immediate community with that with your neighbors? 

Christina:

I think so. But I think what really made the difference - and I'm not saying that because I worked for the PMFRC - I'm saying that because it really was life changing - was that I walked into the PMFRC Community Center on Wolf Avenue and I started volunteering. 

Like the one example like I volunteered and all kinds of different programs but one month after I moved here, I was - I moved here in September and in October I helped decorate for the Halloween party. And I remember we were in Room One decorating the wall. Me and another volunteer - and we started talking. Turns out we were neighbors, and she knew my dogs from through the window and we never talked because we were both shy. But we became friends through that, and she ended up being my maid of honor few years later. 

So that really is such a good example of how connecting through the PMF - connecting to other spouses really made a huge difference. And there was only one small example. 

[00:18:00]

Julie:

You talked about the German Wives Club that you sort of you got in touch with. Um, can you tell us a little bit more about them and sort of who they are, and you know how you found them?

Christina:

I feel like they found me, and that's a weird pattern that keeps happening. Once people know that you're German or something about you, you're just getting connected, and maybe it's the small-town piece. 

People refer to me as German Christina and people don't know German Christina is it's a weird thing. But I learned to embrace it and kind of take advantage of it. 

So, a lot of the connections that happened happen through events or you know just talking to each other and it's - I do like that small town feeling Petawawa has. And as much as a lot of families are brand new every year, they're leaving every year. The military itself it's a little bit like a big family or like a small town. It's kind of hard to explain but paths always crossed again. 

[00:19:00]

Claudia:

So, Christina, if there was someone new coming to Canada, not German, or you know someone that is from a country where there's not a lot of support in their language, what advice would you give them where could they turn? 

Are there organizations that you looked into locally that could support someone trying to navigate you know, not just a new environment, but in a new language? Trying to make new friends, those kinds of things? What advice would you give them?

Christina:

So first of all, it is more challenging to be in a small town and in a big city. However, over the past years, things have changed a lot. When I came here, there was virtually no immigration support agency or anything here. I remember researching, looking for help. I didn't have a work permit. So, it was no matter where you come from. That was a real challenge in our area. 

However, now we have the local immigration partnership. They are located in Pembroke, but they serve the county basically, and they have a lot of resources they can connect you and also provide support for language training either English or French.  And the Government of Canada actually has a lot of initiatives to make living in the rural areas of Canada more attractive. And there is a lot of virtual resources right now. There's programs and employment initiatives. 

There's a lot more out there than 10 years ago. That being said the immigration process itself is still very challenging, complicated and backlogged. And I keep hearing that so I've met a lot of other new Canadians that are also military spouses through volunteering, and they can be referred to me as a peer that can support them through their adventure of becoming Canadian. 

Yeah, there are a lot of resources like that but in the end, it's about you know, putting yourself out there pushing through that discomfort out of your comfort zone, and really doing the things that are not comfortable and that is you know, reaching out to any volunteer groups have really everybody that's a great way to connect and learn the language. 

So, for me, before I started working at the PMFRC I volunteered for a year, pretty much every single day. I mean, I didn't have many other things to do because I didn't know many people, but it gave me a lot of good experience and how to behave more Canadian. I know how people talk about Germans being very direct and honest and that is never going to go away when it can modulate that a little bit, because doesn't come across very polite to Canadian necessarily. And then also workplace culture. 

So now I work in employment services with the PMFRC and when we have new Canadians come in and have trouble finding work, I always recommend volunteering as a first step of joining organizations something that interests you. So, for me, it was the OSPCA. I have dogs. I love animals. So that was very helpful and it's after years looking back all these steps have helped so much to get to a happier and more successful place in that journey.  And like the Christina that came 10 years ago was much more scared and insecure. It didn't really know what was going on and it only like you only grow through pushing yourself through those discomfort zones. 

And one of those uncomfortable things is ordering at a drive-thru when English is not your first language, because you don't see the person. You barely hear the person and then they asked me a bunch of questions after you just order a coffee and they give you many options. And in Germany, you don't get options. You have one thing that you ordered so drive thru took me probably years to actually use Drive thru. 

Claudia:

Funny story. I'm married to a British guy so going through Tim Hortons asking and for a croissant asking for croissant. He never gets a croissant. They don't understand what he says. 

Yeah. Christina just, I just want to throw out there that for callers - or our listeners who may not be in the Petawawa area - your suggestions and recommendations would work anywhere.  Whether you're near an MFRC or whatever organization that is open to volunteering has the same outcome. It's about getting involved and, like you said, putting yourself out there the best you can. And check out the immigration locations whether it's virtually or if it's in your area or depending on if you're settled in a rural area. What is the closest one for you? I think a lot of information is it's accessible, both online and in person. So highly recommend that you know people look into that because there are some supports out there. 

And any MFRC is there to help I'll throw that out there. 

Julie:

Can you imagine what it would have been like 20 years ago like there's no websites. So, like you're writing away for information you're sitting on hold how different life is now for people who was sort of what it would have been coming over. Maybe after the war or like after the Germany years. Like coming to Canada now is a whole different adventure than it would have been back then. 

[00:24:00]

Claudia:

Well, like I said, my mom, married Canadian soldier and my sister and I came you know with them, and our first posting was Winnipeg. So, you want to talk about shock during the winter. They don't call it ‘Winter Peg’ for nothing.

Julie:

did you speak English? 

Claudia:

You know, we were kids. I think kids pick it up a lot quicker than adults do and we kind of went with the flow. 

I don't necessarily remember those early years. I do remember mum always telling us you know, off to Winnipeg we go, and then I don't think that we were in our PMQ for very long before dad had to go away on training.

So that is welcome to your world and not a lot of access to information virtually, you know, and Winnipeg city too. So, it's definitely a lot different now than what it was back then. But no less challenging for the new Canadians going through that. 

And then of course as children you know, we were enrolled from a German school to an English school, but we found it okay. 

Julie:

I can't imagine nowadays going somewhere without having looked at on the internet, seen 1000 pictures, knowing what hotel I'm staying at. Just sort of like go and I'll see it when I get there. 

I think there's a different level of brave involved in that

Claudia:

But like Christina said, look at self-confidence and how far she's come right.  Putting yourself out there and just really wanting to get settled and integrate into the community and you know, selfishly speaking, we're very lucky to have you on the PMFRC team in the many roles. 

Christina:

Thank you. I appreciate that.

Julie:

You've built a community here and you've talked about Canadian Christina, what do you do to preserve your German traditions and those German cultures? Are there things that you do to incorporate that into your life here? 

Christina:

Well, I drink a lot of beer obviously. No, just kidding. I don't actually.  I used to drink much for being back in Germany and here I can’t afford it. 

So no..  to continue that it's…  Clearly, I have a great sense of humor, that Germans are known for … 

But yeah, mostly it's finding a good balance between realizing who you are culture -wise for like my German background, and then also adding the best of both sides to who I am. 

So, it's really leveraging that in my everyday life and embracing it as much as I can. I still teach German. I did it as a volunteer and then with the college and just a little bit on the side to stay on top of those things. And I always put the cultural component in my classes. I really enjoyed that part. 

And I mean, I had my dog with me when I moved here, and she speaks German so I feel like that makes a big difference.  It entertains the neighbors quite a lot when I yell at her in German, but…

Julie:

She must have learned some English by now. It’s been a few years

Christina:

She's fully bilingual. She's very smart, and she's pretty strong too. So yeah. 

Claudia:

can you talk a little bit about what Job Search looked like for you?  Like how you got into the workforce.  Which I can imagine, is a definite question that Canadians are looking at, you know, were there any barriers or bumps along the way? 

What recommendations would you have for someone that's going to be in that boat that you were in 10 years ago? 

Christina:

So it was a little bit challenging because I came as a visitor to Canada. I didn't want to get married just for the sake of getting married and leaving the country. I really didn't want that. I wanted to come here, see how it is to live here and obviously see what it is to be in a relationship with a person that I only knew remotely in a way.

Julie:

There are reality shows about that but that and it looks very terrifying. 

Christina:

Yeah, the 90-day piece I couldn't have done that. That's like, I'm not adventurous enough for that. But I mean, it has worked. So I'm not judging here. 

But I came without a work permit. So that wasn't helpful because a lot of the programs that exist to support new Canadians don't work. It is an option, but you got to be prepared to wait quite a bit to then have very long breaths and patience and be resilient. If not, you’ll learn that. However, if you have a work permit or if you already have residency is really depending on your immigration status, I highly recommend using all the government programs that exist because they are actually quite a few.

I work for Employment Ontario now, there are programs that can support finding work, there's coaches that can support you in finding that work. And not only those programs, but in general, the Canadian government and the provincial governments are desperate to get people into those, fill those positions that are available right now. 

So, I really highly suggest researching what programs are out there and then really looking at what backgrounds you're bringing in certain professional backgrounds are in high need and you'll find a job right away. For others, education is always helpful, especially the language piece. So, investing in that before you go into something is really helpful. 

When you start off you may not go into a job that is, you know, your dream job which that is true for pretty much everybody. So be willing to gain new experiences that you maybe didn't expect - or do work that you maybe didn't think you were going to do. And that can be frustrating, but in the end, you'll always learn to make a community connection. You come up with a new skill and maybe you'll even find out that is actually the career I want to pursue. 

[00:29:30] 

So, for me I like I mentioned I volunteered a lot to learn about the work culture here that made a big difference and helped me in the interview process. But I also got interview, prep a mock interview with employment services.  Funnily enough, it's the team that I work with. But I remember going in there and we practiced my first interview in English and it was so nervous because before I only had interviews .. I didn't actually have any interviews…I just kind of got jobs before. So sitting down and having to do an interview in English. I was sweating. I was nervous, but it was the most helpful thing because I was well prepared and actually got the job, so it was great. 

I'm kind of happy that you know it circles right back around. Now I get to do it to meet up with new community members, new Canadians, anybody who needs said help, and it's really amazing to see what a difference it can make. 

Julie:

Because when you came here, you said you were a teacher. So, I mean, are there jobs like that? That just certification, the licensing, the education just isn't portable? 

Christina:

So, some things are. I never really worked as a teacher in Canada, so I never went through that process. 

Quite often the problem is that those - and that's not only for new Canadians, but it's also just people coming from a different province. So a lot of military spouses may be posted into a new province are dealing with the exact same challenges that whatever education you have may new mean much in a new province. 

So, you may have to pivot into something else and you may have to pay a lot of money to get accredited or to be part of the college of … Ontario College of Teachers or whatever it may be there. 

So, when you're new to the country, often money's a little scarce. So you really have to decide like what's worth it right now. 

Claudia:

But listen, huge shout out to your hubby because taking his vacation in Germany meeting you, and all of the steps that brought you here to us today. So yeah, you can thank him for us because we're happy to have you on board. 

Christina:

He's pretty lucky too so. 

Claudia:

Oh, yes, definitely lucky. 

Julie:

Absolutely. One last question that we asked us a lot. When we talked to people, somebody coming into … a military spouse moving to a new community, or maybe someone just becoming a military spouse was the best advice you give. 

Christina:

Allow yourself to feel that way, but also see it as a great opportunity to reinvent yourself. 

More than likely you go to a community where nobody knows who you are, and you can actually find out who you are - or you could be. So, you may surprise yourself how much stronger you are, the less you how much you have to offer that you maybe didn't dare to do in the area where you came from. 

So, like for me, I started weightlifting. I'm a CrossFit coach on the side just for fun. I never thought there was a thing- I couldn't climb a rope when I grew up. 

I am involved in so many community organizations. I fostered a dog and have two dogs. I never thought I would do that. Like all these things that had happened because I went through very uncomfortable times. And I'm so grateful for that. 

So yeah, if you're new to community and you feel like you can't make it and it's devastating and it's scary, that's okay. You're allowed and it's part of it. But put yourself out there and make the best that you can out of it and it's maybe much better than you ever expected. 

Julie:

What do you think Christina from 10 years would think she met you now?

Christina:

I think I'd be impressed and that sounds really kind of …

Julie:

you should be 

Christina:

and it's very interesting are a couple of years ago I saw somebody that I knew only for my first four weeks in Canada and then she moved away, and I saw her again after eight years. And I just broke out in tears because it was such a throwback to who used to be then. And like I’m still the same person, just not as scared and like seeing the things you can overcome it's really great to see that and I think everybody can do that. 

Claudia:

And I think the Christina I knew eight and a half years ago - because that's how long we've been working together - but Christina from eight and a half years ago to what she looks like now has grown so much. And I think it's that self-confidence piece and everything that you have every effort that you put into not just your professional career, but all of the community stuff that you're doing as well. It really shows and it's reflected.  And whether you feel it or not, other people see it and whether our listeners are from Petawawa or not, Christina is easily reachable if you have any questions.

Christina:

And maybe one last thing the funny thing is, the more I grew into like Canadian version of Christina I guess, the more I'm resembling my mother, and the things that my mother does. So as much as I don't know if it's an age thing but as much as you know far away and I'm growing into who I am but really, it's like well this was.  So yeah, preventing yourself would actually becoming who you can be is really exciting and can happen far away. 

Claudia:

I think it's called filling your shoes right like you you're not really reinventing yourself, you're just maximizing out all the traits that you were born with and showing everybody what you are now, so I think that's pretty amazing. 

Christina:

Thank you. 

Julie:

It's been a really interesting chat. And I think that that your experience is unique in some ways because a move from Germany to Canada is not something that we can all relate to. But we've also had been in that spot where we've in a new community, and you don't know where to go next. 

And maybe the idea of reinventing yourself isn't the first thing that comes to mind. But be reminded of that. Instead of opening up fears, it really opens up possibilities. So, I'd never thought of it that way. So, I think that's a really nice lesson to leave behind. 

Christina:

That was fun. Thank you. 

Julie:

Thank you all so much for joining us. We will meet you again next month. In the meantime, if you have any stories or if you know anybody in the Canadian military community that you think would be a good story to tell, we are always open to new stories and giving military family members the opportunity to have a voice to talk about what they've learned along the way - and to share those lessons the same way Christina has. 

So, thank you all for joining us, and we'll see you next month.