Memoirs of Pake and Beppe

We weren’t there very long at all off the plane when we all began to sweat.  It was much warmer in Canada than it had been when we left Schiphol in the Netherlands.  We were all wearing our warm coats and I had put on an extra pair of pants that didn’t fit in my suitcase.  Mother and the kids took their coats off and felt much better, but the matter of taking my pants off was a little trickier.  I thought I understood English fairly well but boy did the people here talk fast!  We later found out they were also talking in French. 

How hard it was to find a bathroom without asking for directions.  Finally, I found the restrooms and went in to take off my extra pants.  I felt a little cooler which helped but as I was leaving the bathroom a woman came in and gave me a dirty look.  I could see something wasn’t right, but I had no idea what she was saying to me.  I shrugged my shoulders and left the bathroom.  As I was leaving, another woman met me in the doorway.  She shook her fist at me and pointed to the sign of a woman on the door.  I had accidentally gone into the women’s bathroom instead of the men’s!  Well, no harm done.  Mother and I had a good laugh over it. 

An immigrant agent in Montreal phoned the neighbours of Uncle and Tante to let them know that we had arrived in Montreal safely and when we were hoping to arrive in Port Hope. 

We had to wait a little while for the train that would be taking us to Port Hope to come in.  We settled ourselves in to wait, taking in all the strange sights and sounds around us.  The confusing chatter of many voices in foreign languages, the hustle and bustle of strangers busily moving around, and the knowledge that we were far from home kept the children close to us.  Their eyes were wide as they watched the sea of people passing by the bench we occupied. 

After a little while Mother suggested I get some sandwiches for us to snack on.  We had received $175 from the Netherlands government for our traveling expenses so we had money to pay.  I found the restaurant all right but what words came out of my mouth made no sense to the man behind the counter.  We had taken English lessons in Dokkum last winter and I thought I had done pretty well at learning the English language.  I was quickly finding out however that it was not that easy.  English is not Canadian. 

I was beginning to feel a little desperate.  I looked around at the confused faces surrounding me.  No one seemed to have any idea what I was asking for.  I took a deep breath.  I was the manof the family.  I was going to get my family something to eat!  I shoved my hand into my pocket and grabbed a fist full of cash.  I flung my hand high into the air and said in a loud voice “Kaassandwiches aub!” and pointed at the sandwich in the hands of the man at the table beside me.

“Well, then.  Cheese sandwiches are what you be wanting!”  the salesclerk chuckled to himself.  “Why didn’t you just say so?”

In no time at all I had seven cheese sandwiches packaged up and “ready to go”.  I returned to my family, cheeks flushed with pride and handed over the meal. 

After everyone had eaten, we settled in to wait for the train.  The little ones snuggled close on my lap and drifted off to sleep.  Our train ride was uneventful, and we safely arrived in Port Hope in the early evening. 

I would be dishonest if I didn’t tell you that we were overjoyed to see Uncle waiting for us as the train pulled into the train station.  A familiar face at last!  It made no difference that it had been a very long time since we had last seen Uncle.  We hugged him and held him close with tears in our eyes.  I saw him wipe the tears from his own eyes as he turned to introduce us to his friend Lammert vanDyk.  There was nothing like seeing family in a world of unfamiliar faces.

We piled into Uncle’s car and tried to take in all he was telling us as he drove us to his home.   I answered his questions as well as I could and then settled back in my seat to take in the sights.  I sighed deeply. 

Little Leni snuggled on my lap and I reached over to squeeze my wife’s hand.  She met my eyes and smiled.  We were exhausted, but we had made it.  Peterborough Ontario:  the new home of our family.