I took my oath of allegiance to Canada in Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Surrey. The invitation letter stated that the ceremony will start at 8:30am and that I should be there 30 minutes prior to the appointment time. Ford took a leave from work. Ang sabi ko pumasok siya after the ceremony kasi saglit lang naman yun pero ayaw niya. Bubuuin niya na raw na one day.
I knew that I will have a problem with this schedule. Ang aga! Nathan and I usually wake up at 11am so I sleep at around 2-4am. I knew na hindi ako makakatulog at nagkatotoo nga. I had to prepare na kasi by 5:30am so we could leave at 7am. Ayaw naming ma-late syempre. Mukha akong zombie sa ceremony tuloy, ang sagwa talaga ng mukha kapag walang tulog.
I was the second to get inside the ceremony room (that was where I also took my citizenship test). Maraming nauna sa aking dumating sa CIC (past 8am na kami dumating) pero nang magtawag na for the registration, nauna ako sa pila. Kasi nga nasa bungad ako.
Seat number 42.
"This is it," ang sabi ko sa sarili ko.
My audience.
The ceremony started at around 9am. An officer of court explained to us the flow of the ceremony and gave some instructions. She said we can freely take pictures of the event.
Then she introduced Judge Carol-Ann Hart who will preside over the ceremony and administer our oath of citizenship.
My first reaction upon seeing her: "Ang pretty naman niya!" I want to be like her when I grow up lol. Ang lambing din ng boses niya.
She spoke in both English and French. I wondered tuloy kung mandatory ba sa citizenship judges na nakakasalita ng French.
According to Judge Hart, there were 58 of us who took the oath that day. Fifty-eight new Canadians hailing from sixteen different countries.
After her speech, that's the time we recited our oath (both in English and in French). Akala ko noon tatayo ang balahibo ko, hindi pala.
It was when we sang the national anthem of Canada that I felt a bit emotional. There's a part of me na nakaramdam ng 'guilt' at 'lungkot', kasi nga hindi na Lupang Hinirang ang kinakanta ko. When I told my husband about this, I was surprised na ganun din pala siya. Sa singing of national anthem daw siya naka-experience ng goosebumps.
And finally, they handed to us na our Certificates of Citizenship. Graduation feels talaga hehe.
I didn't have any nice picture on my oathtaking. Ang palpak kasi kumuha ng asawa ko. Ewan ko ba, lalo akong pumapangit kapag siya ang kumukuha ng picture. Look at Judge Hart, hindi rin siya maganda sa picture eh super pretty talaga siya sa personal. She reminded me of Lorelai Gilmore of Gilmore Girls.
Oh well, don't sweat over small stuff na nga lang. Ang mahalaga, Canadian na ako. My husband and son were so happy, pare-parehas na raw kaming blue passport. But there's a part of me that's sad syempre (mixed emotions talaga). Hindi na ako Pinoy sa papel eh. I consoled myself na lang with the thought na sa papel lang naman yun. I will always be a Filipino. Saka magdu-dual citizen din naman ako eventually.
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Expectation versus Reality.
I envisioned a special meal to celebrate my new Canadian citizenship. Naghanap-hanap pa nga ako ng restaurant na hindi pa namin nakakainan. Kaso ayun, sa McDonald's kami bumagsak. It was too early pa kasi, wala pang 10am. Eh gutom na talaga kami tapos pupunta pa kaming Ikea. Saka kakakain lang namin ng espesyal sa labas four days before that (January 12) kasi wedding anniversary namin kaya parang parang umay pa kami.
Buti na lang din nagpunta kami sa Ikea because I was able to take a nice picture of my oathtaking-OOTD. I actually gained so much weight the past weeks kaya tinamad akong bumili ng bagong damit. Luma lang talaga ang sinuot ko lol. Coat -- Forever21 / Blouse -- H&M / Pants -- Walmart. My shoes and bag were new though. Bag -- Aldo / Shoes -- H&M.
They specified na business attire daw ang isuot kaya ganyan. Pero I noticed na hindi naman sila strict sa outfit, kahit smart casual ay ok na.
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