Arrival in Canada
For Pat, life in Malaysia living and working as a teacher had brought her many rewards. She enjoyed teaching young students and helping them to improve their lives while contributing to the future of their country. 
She earned a steady salary and held a position that was respected in the community. In spite of these successes and joys, there was still something more Pat yearned for in her life. She wanted to travel. She wanted to see the world. And she wished to learn what life was like outside the traditions and restrictions of her Malay-Asian culture. As a woman in a traditional culture it was hard for Pat to express herself and pursue her dreams fully.
After working hard and saving money from her modest teacher’s salary, Pat decided to visit a Malaysian friend who had earlier immigrated to Markham, Ontario. Malaysia was now a member of the Commonwealth of nations and this allowed her to obtain a visa to travel to Canada, which was also a member of the Commonwealth. In April 1969, Pat boarded a plane headed towards a new adventure in a place called Markham, Ontario.
After travelling for many hours, Pat finally arrived in Toronto’s Pearson airport. As she roamed the streets of Toronto, she was at first disappointed by what she observed. It was early spring and the trees had not yet bloomed. To her, the trees and bushes looked “dead”. The highways were covered in dark drifts of melting snow. It was still very cold. But soon Pat’s impressions changed when as she admired the modern and imposing buildings and the orderliness of the city. 
The people she met in her first days in Canada were friendly and seemed to accept her, even though she was an outsider. Life in Canada, she thought, was going to be alright.
Pat’s original plan was to visit Canada for a only a short period of time. It was not long, though, before her friends introduced her to a handsome man with a Scottish accent named Edward Noble. Pat and Edward started dating and within a few months fell in love. Soon afterward they married in November of 1969. Within a couple of years, Pat and Edward decided to move to the west coast to Victoria, BC to be closer to Edward’s parents.
Eager to see the world together, Pat and Edward travelled to Australia where they lived for a year in Perth. They found after a short while, though, that they missed their family and friends in Canada. Longing for home, Pat and Edward returned again to Victoria. A few years later,
Edward became ill and unexpectedly passed away in 1981 leaving Pat a young widower at the age of 42.
After Edward’s death, Pat remained a widower during the next five years years. Moving on with her life was not easy. Finally, at the invitation of a neighbour, Pat decided to attend the services at a local church- St. Mary’s. At St. Mary’s Pat met Robert, the man who would become her second husband. In time, Pat and Robert fell in love. They were married a year later in 1986. Pat and Robert had much in common including enjoying going out to eat, gardening, sharing long walks and travelling to distant countries.
