February 7, 2025 • 13 mins
Click here to text me your thoughts about the show!
Embark on a heartfelt journey of resilience, adaptation, and self-discovery as I share my personal experience of moving to Canada as an international student in 2018. From studying media strategies and advertising to facing job search struggles during the pandemic, my path was filled with challenges. But through it all, I found strength in community, networking on LinkedIn, and overcoming imposter syndrome.
In this episode, I sit down with Dilyana to discuss the immigrant experience in Canada, from cultural shocks and language barriers to embracing new traditions like poutine and maple syrup ice candies. We reflect on the power of curiosity, the importance of building trust and community, and even share fun insights—like what superpower we’d choose to help others.
Join us as we explore what it truly means to find belonging in a new country, celebrate Canada’s diversity, and encourage listeners to stay inspired, adapt, and make a difference in their own way.
Follow the host and the podcast on Social Media channels below:
- My Thick Accent on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mythickaccent/
- My Thick Accent on Threads - https://www.threads.net/@mythickaccent?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
- MyThickAccent.com - https://www.mythickaccent.com/
- Gurasis's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/iamgurasis/
- Gurasis's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamgurasis/
__________________________________________
To contact Dilyana:
- Dilyana's Social Media Links - https://linktr.ee/dilymileva
- Dilyana's Website - https://menopausesupportacademy.com/stresstobest/
Want to share your story? Or know someone I should invite next on the show? DM us or write to us at Hello@mythickaccent.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Gurasis (00:02):
so, before we get into the final segment, I have
introduced this new segment tothe second season of the podcast
and I call it know your host,where I give my guests an
opportunity to ask me anyquestion they might have.
Dilyana (00:15):
Yeah, I'm curious now to know your experience in with
immigration and how you come inthe canada and what bring you
here and what your story.
What is your story?
Gurasis (00:27):
wow that that that might take another episode
briefly, okay, the main, themain point, yeah no, I'll tell
you very briefly, of course.
So I came to Canada in 2018 as anational student.
I came to study this amazingprogram called media strategies
and advertising and that waslike a one-year program I came
(00:48):
to do.
And one of the questions youmight be thinking that why
Canada?
Sometimes I think about it.
Even I don't know again, Ithink it was just destined to
come here and but I think, if Ireally think about that, I think
it was because there's a lot offamiliarity being an Indian in
Canada and you do have certainrelatives and certain friends
(01:08):
and family to you know, look upto in case of any downfalls that
you might have throughout yourjourney.
So I think that's what made myparents a little more
comfortable to send me to Canadarather than any other country.
So I would say that's why itwas Canada to send me to Canada
rather than any other country.
So I would say that's why itwas Canada.
But once I finished my program,I was also, just like many of
(01:29):
our listeners, internationalstudents or immigrants.
I was starting to find a job.
I also tried everywhere.
I tried multiple interviews.
It took me, I think, two yearsto finally get the job which I'm
doing right now, becausepandemic was also the added
pressure and since I studied forjust one year, I got the my
postgraduate work permit forjust one year and because of
(01:50):
that I had very less time tofigure my things out.
You know, getting the maximumpoints that's possible for my PR
, the best permanent residency,and I think for that I even had
to go to a different provincebecause in Quebec I could not
get a job, being just anAnglophone.
I had to be bilingual and Iwasn't.
So I ended up going to Halifax,nova Scotia, for some time.
(02:13):
I stayed there and I tried tojust navigate the life here
because I was all just like yousaid, moving to Vancouver was
like a second immigration.
It was for me as well.
I was just starting fromscratch again, with no friends,
no acquaintances, nobody.
I didn't know anybody at alland that's how I think I somehow
find the jobs and the newpolicies came in.
(02:35):
Life did work out somehow.
The other things just work outand I think I was very positive
throughout.
Not always I've had my downfallsas well.
I've questioned myself.
I have questioned my skills andmy abilities.
I have also fallen into thatimposter syndrome pit which took
me some time to get out of it.
But I think LinkedIn communitywas really helpful for me.
(02:58):
I took on this like a 30-daychallenge to post at least like
a 30-second video for 30 daysand that gave me a lot of
traction and that helped meconnect with a lot of people and
that gave me the courage andI'm not alone in this journey.
There are a lot of people whoare kind of going through the
same struggles as an immigrantwhich how the same way I am
going through it and yeah, Ithink that's how further things
(03:22):
work out.
Eventually, after a couple ofyears and I got my permanent
residency and I was like I thinkit's time for me to lend a
helping hand to the people whohave, who are sort of in the
same boat as I was, and I'm surethose guys I needed help at
that time and I'm sure there aremany more current immigrants or
(03:43):
aspiring immigrants who wouldneed that help as well.
So I was like I think it's timeand I think podcasting I felt
like would be the right mediumfor me, because it required less
resources than a YouTubechannel and that's why I took on
this journey to also breakthose stereotypical modes that
we immigrants are asked to fitin, which made us, which made us
(04:03):
us, which made me actuallyquestion myself, and I don't
want other people to fall, uh,under the same trap of
questioning themselves.
That's why I was like, fine,this podcast is, is a medium,
will be a go-to resource foranybody who's trying to navigate
a life as an immigrant here,and that's why I bring on people
just like yourself to unfoldtheir personal journeys of
(04:24):
struggle, resilience and thewhole process of finding home
away from home.
Dilyana (04:29):
So, yeah, I actually want to congratulate you and I
admire you for the willing tohelp others, to show them what
it's possible for them, becausenot many people are going to do
that and when that's reallydemand a lot of courage and also
strength to to be able, whenyou struggle, to help others who
(04:53):
struggle too.
Yeah, that's I admire andcongratulation for, uh, what
you're doing no, thank you.
Gurasis (05:00):
Thank you for asking this question as well, and thank
you for your kind words.
I never knew knew I couldsummarize my five fears in such
a small, in just like a fewminutes.
I don't know how did I do that,but I think I did a good job it
was all right.
Yeah, you did a great job, butI'm sure there are a lot of
details that I would love toshare.
You know, maybe eventually inthe upcoming episodes.
Dilyana (05:25):
But yeah, thank you for that question thanks a lot.
Gurasis (05:27):
We are very welcome.
Okay, so they are now being inthe final segment of the podcast
.
I call it beneath the accent.
I'm gonna ask a couple ofquestions.
You can answer them in one wordor a sentence or howsoever you
feel like.
The idea is just to know moreabout deliana.
So so, first question is whatadvice would you give to your
younger self, and at what age?
Dilyana (05:51):
Actually, I can tell myself, like six years old or 10
years old let's say a littlebit in this range that never
stop to be curious as you are.
Explore new things, learn newthings.
Never stop learning from life,from people, not only from
(06:16):
school and from books, but ingeneral.
Maintain this curiosity andlearning because it's helpful.
The more you know about theworld, the more you know about
the people that can help you inyour life in general.
Gurasis (06:31):
Tell us about a time when you experienced a
significant cultural differencethat surprised you a lot in
Canada.
Dilyana (06:38):
When I was in France.
It's just the same, the onlyone culture.
It's just the same, the onlyone culture Mostly.
Mostly they have otherimmigrants there also, but not
so much like here.
So my first encounter was withLatin American people and I find
them very.
I always find something thatit's similar to Bulgarian as a
(07:00):
culture, as a character, as ayou know, psychology, and I love
this.
Their desire for life andeverything, maybe the more
different and difficult tounderstand for me.
Even I'm curious and acceptingand everything is maybe Chinese
(07:21):
culture.
It's kind of for me it's very,very different in like they were
to think they were to livetheir way to from everyday life,
like psychology even.
It's kind of for me it's alsoChinese, it's a bigger, how to
(07:41):
say like ethnos.
But they have also difference.
After a while I started to findthe difference between the
Japanese and Singapore and HongKong and China, china.
I started to see slightlydifference, but still for me
it's very kind of likeextraterrestrial, I don't know.
(08:04):
Yeah, that's that's for me.
It's very, um, kind ofunfamiliar, yeah okay, great
answer okay.
Gurasis (08:11):
And are there any funny stories related to your
misunderstanding around theaccent or the?
Dilyana (08:16):
English.
Yeah, many times people don'tunderstand me, even in French.
I don't know why my teacher inyoga doubt that I want to.
I'm going to be good teacherbecause of my accent.
But what I found maybe inEnglish is not so pronounced,
(08:40):
not so difficult to understand,because English in general is
not so difficult, in French alittle bit more.
You need to have a little bitspecific pronunciation
Especially with the R's, youknow.
Gurasis (08:55):
Yeah, r's, yes, it's very different with the R's,
yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, sometimesthe nuance, they can think
about something else, not what Imean yeah, I think, I think it
happens with the many of us,because I think for me, for
example, people coming fromindia, they speak like multiple
languages and our ways ofpronunciating, pronunciating see
(09:19):
, but right now I just messed itup pronunciating pronunciations
or, uh, you know, how weenunciate words is very
different how we do that in ourlanguage, like, for example, in
punjabi or hindi and like whichis which are languages which I
speak along apart from english.
We have a very specific way ofemphasizing on certain
characters, but here it'ssomething else in english yeah,
(09:41):
yeah.
Dilyana (09:41):
Yeah, it is um, if they are not so familiar, for them
it's strange, but if after thatthey get familiar with the
accent, it's absolutely.
Gurasis (09:50):
I always say it gives a little bit of time to get
accustomed to each of thoseaccents.
Dilyana (09:53):
Be a little patient and everything will get better yeah
, yeah, don't uh don't frustrateabout this and don't uh kind of
think inferiority something,that's something wrong with you?
Gurasis (10:05):
no, tell us about the first friend that you made in
canada and how did you meet them?
Dilyana (10:11):
oh, it was in my um.
Because I didn't know what todo until I'm waiting to start
the school or university or finda job.
I went again to improve myFrench.
So the first friend was, Ithink Colombian, and then
Peruvian, yeah, and then I thinkMexican, but, yeah, definitely
(10:37):
Latin American, one Colombian,one Peruvian, yeah are you still
in contact with them?
no, it was contact,unfortunately, but when I was in
quebec the first five years,yeah, we was very much in
contact uh, what's somethingthat you ate for the first time
in canada, and did you like it?
Quebec uh, in, uh, you havethis, um, pudding, pudding.
(11:02):
And then the other thing wasthe maple syrup from the tree,
and then they put in the snowand they make it like ice cream
with the maple syrup Ice candiesyes.
Yes, ice candies.
Yes, that was very, veryinteresting for me.
Gurasis (11:16):
And did you like the poutine.
Would you try it again?
Dilyana (11:18):
Not much.
The sauce not much, Not really.
Gurasis (11:29):
It's too heavy If you had to describe yourself as an
animal or any creature.
Dilyana (11:31):
What would it be?
And why I like horses?
Because of the freedom thatthey represent, sometimes ego,
because when they fly, I feelthat it's freedom also so you
would describe yourself as ahorse or eagle yeah, there's
something forceful a force whenthey the horse run is beautiful.
They have strength.
Gurasis (11:48):
Also, they're very friendly in same time if you
could have one superpower, whatwould it be to be?
Dilyana (11:53):
able to move with the speed of light in different
parts of the the world.
So not be reliable othertransportation, but superpower
with um to be able to reallyhelp people who struggle in a
way that sustain their life.
Gurasis (12:12):
I also would be very helpful if you had to create
this one law that everybody hasto follow, what would it be?
Dilyana (12:19):
maybe fair exchange in everything, uh, so you trust
everybody without doubt, andthen you know that you will be
paid in some how, some way.
Don't, don't be afraid that yousomebody gonna.
Why just just be.
You trust each other more andexchange in in a fair way.
Gurasis (12:43):
I love, love that Beautiful answer.
Okay, so describe Canada in oneword or a sentence.
Dilyana (12:49):
Diversity, freedom, independence.
Gurasis (12:54):
And, lastly, if you could leave me with one piece of
advice, deliana, what would itbe?
Dilyana (13:00):
Keep the inspiration that you have for the work that
you do.
It's so educational and goodand, uh, yeah, I think you're
you.
What you're doing, as I say, II like very much and, yeah, you,
you want to help people.
That's more important.
Gurasis (13:18):
So keep the good work, thank you and finally, how would
you describe your experience ofbeing on the podcast?
Dilyana (13:26):
I like, like very much this kind of curiosity and
learning from other people,right From their experience,
from their knowledge, what theyhave to say and what advice they
can do for others.
I like this educational part ofpodcast.
Gurasis (13:45):
Perfect.
Thank you, Dharana, for beingon the podcast, sharing your
story and adding value to mylisteners.
Thank you.
Dilyana (13:51):
Thank you so much to invite me.
so, before we get into the final segment, I have
introduced this new segment tothe second season of the podcast
and I call it know your host,where I give my guests an
opportunity to ask me anyquestion they might have.
Dilyana (00:15):
Yeah, I'm curious now to know your experience in with
immigration and how you come inthe canada and what bring you
here and what your story.
What is your story?
Gurasis (00:27):
wow that that that might take another episode
briefly, okay, the main, themain point, yeah no, I'll tell
you very briefly, of course.
So I came to Canada in 2018 as anational student.
I came to study this amazingprogram called media strategies
and advertising and that waslike a one-year program I came
(00:48):
to do.
And one of the questions youmight be thinking that why
Canada?
Sometimes I think about it.
Even I don't know again, Ithink it was just destined to
come here and but I think, if Ireally think about that, I think
it was because there's a lot offamiliarity being an Indian in
Canada and you do have certainrelatives and certain friends
(01:08):
and family to you know, look upto in case of any downfalls that
you might have throughout yourjourney.
So I think that's what made myparents a little more
comfortable to send me to Canadarather than any other country.
So I would say that's why itwas Canada to send me to Canada
rather than any other country.
So I would say that's why itwas Canada.
But once I finished my program,I was also, just like many of
(01:29):
our listeners, internationalstudents or immigrants.
I was starting to find a job.
I also tried everywhere.
I tried multiple interviews.
It took me, I think, two yearsto finally get the job which I'm
doing right now, becausepandemic was also the added
pressure and since I studied forjust one year, I got the my
postgraduate work permit forjust one year and because of
(01:50):
that I had very less time tofigure my things out.
You know, getting the maximumpoints that's possible for my PR
, the best permanent residency,and I think for that I even had
to go to a different provincebecause in Quebec I could not
get a job, being just anAnglophone.
I had to be bilingual and Iwasn't.
So I ended up going to Halifax,nova Scotia, for some time.
(02:13):
I stayed there and I tried tojust navigate the life here
because I was all just like yousaid, moving to Vancouver was
like a second immigration.
It was for me as well.
I was just starting fromscratch again, with no friends,
no acquaintances, nobody.
I didn't know anybody at alland that's how I think I somehow
find the jobs and the newpolicies came in.
(02:35):
Life did work out somehow.
The other things just work outand I think I was very positive
throughout.
Not always I've had my downfallsas well.
I've questioned myself.
I have questioned my skills andmy abilities.
I have also fallen into thatimposter syndrome pit which took
me some time to get out of it.
But I think LinkedIn communitywas really helpful for me.
(02:58):
I took on this like a 30-daychallenge to post at least like
a 30-second video for 30 daysand that gave me a lot of
traction and that helped meconnect with a lot of people and
that gave me the courage andI'm not alone in this journey.
There are a lot of people whoare kind of going through the
same struggles as an immigrantwhich how the same way I am
going through it and yeah, Ithink that's how further things
(03:22):
work out.
Eventually, after a couple ofyears and I got my permanent
residency and I was like I thinkit's time for me to lend a
helping hand to the people whohave, who are sort of in the
same boat as I was, and I'm surethose guys I needed help at
that time and I'm sure there aremany more current immigrants or
(03:43):
aspiring immigrants who wouldneed that help as well.
So I was like I think it's timeand I think podcasting I felt
like would be the right mediumfor me, because it required less
resources than a YouTubechannel and that's why I took on
this journey to also breakthose stereotypical modes that
we immigrants are asked to fitin, which made us, which made us
(04:03):
us, which made me actuallyquestion myself, and I don't
want other people to fall, uh,under the same trap of
questioning themselves.
That's why I was like, fine,this podcast is, is a medium,
will be a go-to resource foranybody who's trying to navigate
a life as an immigrant here,and that's why I bring on people
just like yourself to unfoldtheir personal journeys of
(04:24):
struggle, resilience and thewhole process of finding home
away from home.
Dilyana (04:29):
So, yeah, I actually want to congratulate you and I
admire you for the willing tohelp others, to show them what
it's possible for them, becausenot many people are going to do
that and when that's reallydemand a lot of courage and also
strength to to be able, whenyou struggle, to help others who
(04:53):
struggle too.
Yeah, that's I admire andcongratulation for, uh, what
you're doing no, thank you.
Gurasis (05:00):
Thank you for asking this question as well, and thank
you for your kind words.
I never knew knew I couldsummarize my five fears in such
a small, in just like a fewminutes.
I don't know how did I do that,but I think I did a good job it
was all right.
Yeah, you did a great job, butI'm sure there are a lot of
details that I would love toshare.
You know, maybe eventually inthe upcoming episodes.
Dilyana (05:25):
But yeah, thank you for that question thanks a lot.
Gurasis (05:27):
We are very welcome.
Okay, so they are now being inthe final segment of the podcast
.
I call it beneath the accent.
I'm gonna ask a couple ofquestions.
You can answer them in one wordor a sentence or howsoever you
feel like.
The idea is just to know moreabout deliana.
So so, first question is whatadvice would you give to your
younger self, and at what age?
Dilyana (05:51):
Actually, I can tell myself, like six years old or 10
years old let's say a littlebit in this range that never
stop to be curious as you are.
Explore new things, learn newthings.
Never stop learning from life,from people, not only from
(06:16):
school and from books, but ingeneral.
Maintain this curiosity andlearning because it's helpful.
The more you know about theworld, the more you know about
the people that can help you inyour life in general.
Gurasis (06:31):
Tell us about a time when you experienced a
significant cultural differencethat surprised you a lot in
Canada.
Dilyana (06:38):
When I was in France.
It's just the same, the onlyone culture.
It's just the same, the onlyone culture Mostly.
Mostly they have otherimmigrants there also, but not
so much like here.
So my first encounter was withLatin American people and I find
them very.
I always find something thatit's similar to Bulgarian as a
(07:00):
culture, as a character, as ayou know, psychology, and I love
this.
Their desire for life andeverything, maybe the more
different and difficult tounderstand for me.
Even I'm curious and acceptingand everything is maybe Chinese
(07:21):
culture.
It's kind of for me it's very,very different in like they were
to think they were to livetheir way to from everyday life,
like psychology even.
It's kind of for me it's alsoChinese, it's a bigger, how to
(07:41):
say like ethnos.
But they have also difference.
After a while I started to findthe difference between the
Japanese and Singapore and HongKong and China, china.
I started to see slightlydifference, but still for me
it's very kind of likeextraterrestrial, I don't know.
(08:04):
Yeah, that's that's for me.
It's very, um, kind ofunfamiliar, yeah okay, great
answer okay.
Gurasis (08:11):
And are there any funny stories related to your
misunderstanding around theaccent or the?
Dilyana (08:16):
English.
Yeah, many times people don'tunderstand me, even in French.
I don't know why my teacher inyoga doubt that I want to.
I'm going to be good teacherbecause of my accent.
But what I found maybe inEnglish is not so pronounced,
(08:40):
not so difficult to understand,because English in general is
not so difficult, in French alittle bit more.
You need to have a little bitspecific pronunciation
Especially with the R's, youknow.
Gurasis (08:55):
Yeah, r's, yes, it's very different with the R's,
yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, sometimesthe nuance, they can think
about something else, not what Imean yeah, I think, I think it
happens with the many of us,because I think for me, for
example, people coming fromindia, they speak like multiple
languages and our ways ofpronunciating, pronunciating see
(09:19):
, but right now I just messed itup pronunciating pronunciations
or, uh, you know, how weenunciate words is very
different how we do that in ourlanguage, like, for example, in
punjabi or hindi and like whichis which are languages which I
speak along apart from english.
We have a very specific way ofemphasizing on certain
characters, but here it'ssomething else in english yeah,
(09:41):
yeah.
Dilyana (09:41):
Yeah, it is um, if they are not so familiar, for them
it's strange, but if after thatthey get familiar with the
accent, it's absolutely.
Gurasis (09:50):
I always say it gives a little bit of time to get
accustomed to each of thoseaccents.
Dilyana (09:53):
Be a little patient and everything will get better yeah
, yeah, don't uh don't frustrateabout this and don't uh kind of
think inferiority something,that's something wrong with you?
Gurasis (10:05):
no, tell us about the first friend that you made in
canada and how did you meet them?
Dilyana (10:11):
oh, it was in my um.
Because I didn't know what todo until I'm waiting to start
the school or university or finda job.
I went again to improve myFrench.
So the first friend was, Ithink Colombian, and then
Peruvian, yeah, and then I thinkMexican, but, yeah, definitely
(10:37):
Latin American, one Colombian,one Peruvian, yeah are you still
in contact with them?
no, it was contact,unfortunately, but when I was in
quebec the first five years,yeah, we was very much in
contact uh, what's somethingthat you ate for the first time
in canada, and did you like it?
Quebec uh, in, uh, you havethis, um, pudding, pudding.
(11:02):
And then the other thing wasthe maple syrup from the tree,
and then they put in the snowand they make it like ice cream
with the maple syrup Ice candiesyes.
Yes, ice candies.
Yes, that was very, veryinteresting for me.
Gurasis (11:16):
And did you like the poutine.
Would you try it again?
Dilyana (11:18):
Not much.
The sauce not much, Not really.
Gurasis (11:29):
It's too heavy If you had to describe yourself as an
animal or any creature.
Dilyana (11:31):
What would it be?
And why I like horses?
Because of the freedom thatthey represent, sometimes ego,
because when they fly, I feelthat it's freedom also so you
would describe yourself as ahorse or eagle yeah, there's
something forceful a force whenthey the horse run is beautiful.
They have strength.
Gurasis (11:48):
Also, they're very friendly in same time if you
could have one superpower, whatwould it be to be?
Dilyana (11:53):
able to move with the speed of light in different
parts of the the world.
So not be reliable othertransportation, but superpower
with um to be able to reallyhelp people who struggle in a
way that sustain their life.
Gurasis (12:12):
I also would be very helpful if you had to create
this one law that everybody hasto follow, what would it be?
Dilyana (12:19):
maybe fair exchange in everything, uh, so you trust
everybody without doubt, andthen you know that you will be
paid in some how, some way.
Don't, don't be afraid that yousomebody gonna.
Why just just be.
You trust each other more andexchange in in a fair way.
Gurasis (12:43):
I love, love that Beautiful answer.
Okay, so describe Canada in oneword or a sentence.
Dilyana (12:49):
Diversity, freedom, independence.
Gurasis (12:54):
And, lastly, if you could leave me with one piece of
advice, deliana, what would itbe?
Dilyana (13:00):
Keep the inspiration that you have for the work that
you do.
It's so educational and goodand, uh, yeah, I think you're
you.
What you're doing, as I say, II like very much and, yeah, you,
you want to help people.
That's more important.
Gurasis (13:18):
So keep the good work, thank you and finally, how would
you describe your experience ofbeing on the podcast?
Dilyana (13:26):
I like, like very much this kind of curiosity and
learning from other people,right From their experience,
from their knowledge, what theyhave to say and what advice they
can do for others.
I like this educational part ofpodcast.
Gurasis (13:45):
Perfect.
Thank you, Dharana, for beingon the podcast, sharing your
story and adding value to mylisteners.
Thank you.
Dilyana (13:51):
Thank you so much to invite me.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.