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| Photo credit: bcxs.com |
Important documents
These documents need to be kept with you the entire way until your arrival in Canada. Do not loose these documents under any circumstances. Please keep these documents and an easily accessible place for you. Passport, Visa, Acceptance letter, Financial affidavit, Passport sized photo (not compulsory), Airline ticket (boarding pass- will be given at KLIA before departure. Contains all tickets needed till arrival in Canada. Contains transit tickets too.
And, apply for US visa as well. Read How to Get Your US Visa and Why You Should Get One to find out more.
Drivers License and your National Identity Card
These are not compulsory but there are certain benefits in having them with you.
Weather
The weather during the months of August and September is autumn. The daily average temperature ranges between 22 and 24 degrees Celsius. The temperature can reach 18 degrees on a cold or rainy day. During the day it is sunny most of the time with mild winds.
Clothing
As this country experiences the four seasons, it is important to dress accordingly. Hence the most important things in terms of dressing that need to be looked at are, proper shoes, light jackets (two at most, try not to add too much weight to luggage). Not advised to bring winter jackets because it will be about 2 to 3 months before it snows. Bring 1 if you must. Other winter clothing and accessories can be purchased in Canada. Make sure there are enough of proper clothes to cover body well, along with thick socks. During your studying period your will be staying at hostels and university residences. Some residences provide comforters and some don’t. Those that do sell it at a high price. Your option would be to buy one here or bring one from home. It is advised to bring from home only and only if there is space and the luggage weight is not exceeded.
One of your senior wrote a post about clothing and weather. Read it Buying Clothing in Canada.
Electronics
Be advised that there is a voltage difference between the power supplied to sockets in Malaysia and Canada. It is advised not to bring any electrical appliance like iron, cooker, and etc. For those of you who already have laptops and hand phone do not be worried. All you need is a adapter to allow you to fix the three headed plugs into the types of sockets in Canada. It is best to buy adapters in Malaysia for they are much more expensive in Canada. The only other thing you have to make sure is, if you are bringing a phone from Malaysia make sure the band is supported in Canada. Most of the latest phones that are tri-band or quad-band need not worry. You can check the GSM of the phone in the manual. Besides that, when you sign up for a phone line in Canada, they sell you the phone at a cheaper price, which means you can purchase a few models of phones cheap here. Don’t he harsh and rush to buy phones in Malaysia before you leave.
Remember, No Pirated Software!
Pre-prep
Now, among all of the thing you do to get prepared to come here, there is nothing more important than to revise your books and syllabus before coming. For those of you who think University is going to be easy like ICPU forget that dream. University life is tough and challenging. Thus it is suggested that you prepare well in terms of math, physics and programming, as well as all the other subjects you have covered before. This includes SPM and ICPU. It will serve as a plus point for you when you are here.
Recommended readings:
- Coping with University Life Surprises
- A Brief First-Year Survival Guide
- Adjusting Life in Canada for Newcomers
This will be the first time that you will be traveling out of the country on your own with no escort but your friends. Hence there are a few things to keep in your mind. In terms of safety, you should be very careful. There have been cases of theft reported before. This can happen even when you are in KLIA, in Canadian airports and during transits. Hence keep you money, passport, important documents and valuables safe. It is understood that JPA give your first 3 months money in the form of travelers cheque. Even so, be very careful. Always check and make sure you have everything. Next please look after your friends. Beyond the checkpoint in the airport you are on your own, so learn to take care of each other. Always have a head count to make sure everyone is there. Don’t wander away alone. Make sure your friends know where you are going. Be careful of hand luggage. With the outbreak of the H1N1, please be extra careful of people who are around you. Cleanliness is very important.
Rules and regulations
There are rules that needed to be followed when traveling. These rules include baggage weight, materials that can be transported, software and pirated merchandise, drugs, medication, liquids, and sharp objects. It is strongly advised that you survey the airport before your departure. This includes KLIA, the Canadian Airport you land at and the transit airport. Be familiar with the position of the terminal and gates as not to get lost. Check your flight manifest to make sure that everything is followed. When checking in baggage, please ask for direct check in. This means that the bags will be removed only when you arrive at your destination. You do not have to remove your bags during transits.
Recommended reading: Travelling by air and Step by step to Canada
Arrival at the airport
You will arrive at terminal 3 if you land at Pearson International Airport, Toronto. Then you must proceed to the immigration center to obtain your visa. Prepare all the necessary documents. After going through immigration, you will be allowed to collect your luggage. Then move onto customs where they will scan everything and go through airport security. In case of lost baggage or late arrival of baggage, you will have to fill up a form at the counter near luggage collection. After completing all of the above, exit the airport and meet up with the senior who will be waiting at the airport for your arrival.
Most of you will be arriving a few days before the check-in day for your residence
Hence the seniors will put you up at hotels or motels depending on prices and places of availability. It is advised that you bring a minimum of CAD 300 cash to support yourself for the first few days. This cash will cover your stay, bus ticket into the city, meals. Please do not bring too much cash at hand because risk of theft or loss will be high.
If you're living off campus, it might be a good idea to read Of Tenants and Landlords.
Bank, Phone line, University Card
These are three things that are very important when you are in Canada. These things will be explained to you by your seniors upon your arrival in Canada. Hence do not worry about these things for the time being.
For more information about banks and phones:
Scholarship and Awards
If you are eligible for entrance scholarship or any money given to you by the university or any external body either than JPA, please inform JPA and ask their permission if you wish to keep the money.
We have more information for you. Click Coming to Canada.
Welcome to Canada :)
Posts
highly informative. level 4+
For Muslims:
1. Praying in Flight:
If you are taking MAS, there is no problem about performing a prayer. But the space is limited and only for business class. Ask the steward and stewardess about the availability of prayer space. They will guide you the space to pray and give you the Qibla direction. If you are unable to do so, you can pray at your seat. If you need to know the time to pray, ask the steward and stewardess. Remember that the prayer time is different at different locations and it varies, you may get confused. You need to know whether you are going to the West (The time is delayed) or going to East (The time is moving faster). Make sure you are well aware of this.
2. Always prepare ablution
Before you check-in for flight takeoff or ready for a long journey, please prepare ablution. The washroom in airplane is limited and always full.
3. Foods:
If you are taking MAS, please be careful, check the ingredients before eating to make sure you are not eating something that is prohibited. For AirCanada, it is better for you not to eat anything except for veggies because someone told me that their halal is not verified (their halal is not in accordance with Islam’s definition of halal). Once you step out from Malaysia, pay attention to the ingredients of each food you want to eat. Nobody can verify for you the authenticity of every food you eat. For more information, you can visit these websites and do some research or ask an authorize people about Halal foods:
http://www.soundvision.com/Info/halalhealthy/ingridient.asp
http://www.eathalal.ca/
http://www.zabihah.com/
4. You can pray anywhere:
Life in a Non-Muslim country is different from Malaysia, you don’t need to pray in Surau or Masjid, you can pray anywhere (except for washrooms and dirty places). If you stuck at airport because of a long transit hour, find a suitable place to pray. You need to make sure that you bring Qibla Compass to find the direction of Qibla.
Extra:
1. Revise cara nak buat solat ketika duduk.
2. Revise balik pasal cara solat jama’ dan qasar, hukum2 berkaitan dan cara perlaksanaan.
3. Revise dan baca tentang pendapat2 mengenai solat di dalam kapal terbang, solat hormat waktu dan sebagainya, sila rujuk pakar.
p/s: Segala silap dan salah tolong betulkan. Sekian.
Bagus bro!
Jazakallah, br terpk..
alhamdulillah. cool stuff! thanks a lot ...
I can see you guys have enough preparation to fly high.
For students coming to Ottawa(Carleton U n Ottawa U),I'll email you guys personally once I get the details from Kak As from JPA.
If there is any Mara students coming to Ottawa,also please contact me or any Ottawa students spending their summer in Malaysia.
WIsh you guys best of luck.
1 more addition.
don forget to load ur luggage with baju raya. when it comes to raya festive, you'll no need to ask ur family to post it 4 u as the courier charges would rise during that period.
hahhaa
told by my fren in ireland
1 more addition.
don forget to load ur luggage with baju raya. when it comes to raya festive, you'll no need to ask ur family to post it 4 u as the courier charges would rise during that period.
hahhaa
told by my fren in ireland
I guess it is much preferable for me to write everything here.
1. When you open a bank account, for Muslims, make sure you don't take any plans that will lead you to get an interest.
2. The 100CAD notes that JPA has given to you, convert that into 20CAD or 50CAD notes at banks in Canada when you arrive there. If you try to convert RM into CAD here, try not to accept any 100CAD notes. We never use any 100CAD notes when shopping here in Canada. People use only 20CAD and 50CAD notes.
weyh. mintak tolong edit this post please. change the email adress. dont put alias in the address since people will use this to spam the emails. instead, use [at]
Change the email to xxxxxx[at]provider.com
thanks