Assignment #5- The Early Settlers

I'm responding to Assignment #5.

Canada. We all know it's freezing outside. But we have so many things to help us with the weather. When we're cold, we can go into a heated room, put on our warm boots, jackets, and gloves, and suddenly become warmer. But haven't you ever wondered how the early settlers survived? When it was cold, they couldn't turn on the heater, or go through the drawer to find the warmest pair of gloves. If they didn't have any of these amenities, then how did they survive?

Well, it wasn't easy. First of all, their houses were not very warm, as most were a "one-room structure made of logs, field stone, spruce poles or prairie sod". Sometimes, if settlers came in the winter, they would even have to make their house in the snow! All of the settlers had to go out, in the cold snow, and dig for a bit of wood to warm up their home. And sometimes, if it was really cold, the wood would be so frozen that it wouldn't even light. The women and girls almost always had to sew and knit clothes, hats, mittens and socks to keep warm. Another trouble that they had to live with was taking care of the animals. They would have to go outside every morning, get the chicken's eggs, and feed the animals in the freezing snow. They also had to go out and find a little food to feed their family, and there were also many illnesses in the cold Canadian winters like pneumonia ,scurvy and cholera.

But according to this website, even though life was hard in Canada, it was "better than they would expect in Europe". In Canada, people owned their own farms, had plenty of wood for heating and keeping warm, and lots of fish and wild animals for eating. They also had many social events with friends and family. So I guess that life in Canada wasn't that bad.

The reason that my parents came to Canada 21 years ago was because there was a war in the country that my parents were from. They decided to come here because there was no war in Canada, and it was a free country. They also wanted their children to have a better future in a country like Canada, and to get a good education. But even after they saw the cold Canadian winters, they loved it! There was no snow where they were from, and they loved all of the snow and decorations everywhere! It was really different from where they lived(Lebanon and Cyprus), but they didn't complain. The only part that they didn't really like was shoveling the driveway in the morning.

So overall, even though life in the cold Canadian winters has it's flaws, many people appreciate living in a free country like Canada.

Thank you for reading my entry!