A Mexican student who visited Olds as part of an English as a Second Language (ESL) program this summer says he's so impressed he may come here to live.
Ricardo Garcia Galindo, 24, was one of 30 Mexican post-secondary students and instructors who came to Olds College (OC) for the program. It was created by the Mexican government, which hopes to have 10,000 people take the program in Canada by 2018.
They arrived at Olds College earlier this summer and stayed for about a month, living in residence at OC.
Galindo admits he didn't know much about Canada or Alberta -- much less Olds -- before coming here.
"I Googled Alberta and Olds and I see that it's an oil state, a province of oil with cowboys with farms, little farms," he says. "Actually that's the only thing that we know before that I came."
Galindo and his translator, Maria Escobar, say at around 9,000 residents, Olds is much smaller than their hometown of Toluca, a suburb of Mexico City. It has a population of 489,333, according to a 2010 census.
Galindo knew that Canada was colder than Mexico, so that was a concern.
"That's the first thing that crosses your mind when you're thinking Canada. It's polar bears and snow everywhere, but it's a very warm time now," he says.
Galindo says when he first arrived here he was wary of First World countries like Canada. He felt that First World residents only want to tell Third World residents how to live, claiming their way of life is better.
But after coming here, he's changed his mind.
"I break a lot of judgments that I feel about the First World," he says, "Because we feel that it's a big dinosaur who wants to eat everybody but no, it's people who want to survive the same way that we try to survive; who want to get a better life, who want to enjoy the life, who want to spend his weekend with his family or travel."
Galindo graduated this spring with a bachelor of science in public administration.
But he really wants to be a writer and to make films, and he's impressed enough with Canada that he might come here to do that in the future.
"It's not only about money. It's about the chances (that) the land offers you. It's more easy travel, people from other countries," he says. "Canada is (multicultural) in all the senses of the word. So it's a great opportunity for people (from) other countries to come to Canada and learn."
He also likes the contrast between Canada and the United States, now that Donald Trump is the U.S. president.
"Before that I came here I know that OK, Donald Trump is not the same as the prime minister of Canada, because no one would want to be Donald Trump," Galindo says with a laugh.
Galindo says there's a lot of anger amongst his countrymen about Trump's pledge to build a wall to keep illegal Mexicans ñ and other Latin Americans -- out of the U.S.
"There are many people who are living there or they want to travel; that's a problem," he says.
Galindo says one major impression of the country ñ and one which may also bring him back ñ is the friendliness of the residents he met.
He notes during the flight to Alberta, he met a couple who were so kind they not only helped him figure out where to pick up his bags, but also offered him accommodation at their place.
"Mexicans are warm people. We always talk and make jokes and everything, but we don't offer that kind of kindness to the people," he says.
Galindo was also amazed by the size, space and beautiful landscapes he found in Canada.
"Northern lights; it's a very beautiful thing. It's like see the skies singing and dancing at the same time. It's really beautiful," he says.
"You have rocks and great rivers and great land everywhere. So in that point you see that you are a piece of nothing, a piece of dust in this amazing world."
"That's the first thing that crosses your mind when you're thinking Canada. It's polar bears and snow everywhere, but it's a very warm time now." RICARDO GALINDOMEXICAN ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE STUDENT
