I Would Be…
Before starting this assignment I didn't know much about my family's background and where they came from. I found out from talking to my Grandfather and my Mother that they are from Slovenia ( former Yugoslavia ). Both my great Grandparents lived there on a farm with 3 boys. My great Grandfather was supporting the family, my Grandpa said,” when soldiers came knocking on the door for men to go to war my great Grandfather had to hide in the mud with the pigs to stay and keep his family,”(Josef Kajin 2016).
My Mother's side of the family comes from Slovenia (former Yugoslavia) , my Grandfather and Grandmother both immigrated to Canada on May 10th, 1960, on a boat called the Seven Seas. Both my Grandpa and Grandma decided to immigrate to Canada for a better life, where they could start a family and obtain jobs. On October 30th 1960, the boat went on a special voyage to Australia and New Zealand and upon return stopped in Europe, that is where my grandparents got on the ship and then traveled to Quebec, Canada. That is when they first got to Canada, from there they made their way to Ontario and found jobs and started their own family. My Grandpa Josef Kajin said, “ It was a hard decision to leave my parents and family behind but I did it for a better life,”( Josef Kajin 2016 ). He was 25 years old when he decided to leave and was born December 7th, 1935, Valentina Kajin was my Grandmother and she was born on May 11th, 1940 and she was 20 years old.
Seven Seas Boat 1960
Map of Slovenia
If I were living in Slovenia my life as a teenager would be slightly different. Education is free, and they have Primary school, Secondary school and University, Primary school consist of kids starting at the age of 6 and will stay until the are 15 for a nine year program or the can be enrolled at the age of 7 and stay until the are 15 for a 8 year program. Then 98% of kids will go onto to General Secondary school from 15-19 years of age. School attire is mainly casual wear and some conservative wear. Kids 15 years of age and older are able to work. Only 3.5% of teenagers aged 15-19 years old who are from Slovenia are not in employment, education or training, compared to other OECD countries (including Canada) the average is 7.1%. The minimum wage per week in slovenia is $183.95 euros, which is $256.75 cad and that is roughly what I make in a week. Health care in Slovenia, health is provided through the public health service network and is a public service. Health insurance in required for all citizens who have a permanent residence in Slovenia, Everyone living there is required to pay contributions under the solidarity principle. Popular team sports are Football, Basketball, ice hockey, handball, ski jumping and skiing. Popular individual sports are tennis and cycling. The legal age in Slovenia to purchase alcohol is 16 years old but the drinking age is 18. 71% of the people are Roman Catholic and the primary language is Slovenian, they also learn one foreign language and one native language.
Hospital
Work Cited
Kajin, Josef. Interview. Dec. 2016.
Zero, Ground, editor. "Slovenia." Wiki Voyage, en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Slovenia.
Accessed 15 Jan. 2017.
Goossens, Reuben. "Ms Seven Seas." Ssmaritime, Reuben Goossens,
www.ssmaritime.com/sevenseas.htm.
Boarini, Romina. "How's Life in Slovenia ?" OECD, Oct. 2015, www.oecd.org/
statistics/Better%20Life%20Initiative%20country%20note%20Slovenia.pdf.
"Education System in Slovenia." Class Base, Foreign Credits, 2012,
www.classbase.com/Countries/Slovenia/Education-System.
WanderBat. "Slovenia." WanderBat, Graphiq, 2017, etiquette.wanderbat.com/l/42/
Slovenia.
"Slovenia." ICLG, Global Legal Group, 17 Mar. 2016, www.iclg.co.uk/
practice-areas/employment-and-labour-law/employment-and-labour-law-2016/
slovenia. Accessed 2017.
Hey Patrick O'Neil, Your grandparents story of how they came to Canada is very interesting. They decided to move at such a young age, they were only 20 years old and 25 years old. They must have been very brave people willing to risk leaving everything behind to find a better life. I also find it very interesting how you are able to by alcohol at the age of 16 but are not aloud to drink it. Seams like a very pointless law that would be very hard to enforce. Other than that law Slovania seems very similar to Canada and it seems like you life would be very similar to what it is like here in Canada.I would love to learn more about your families history it seems very interesting
ReplyDeleteGood stuff PJ. I liked reading about your families past and your grandfathers stories of his time in Slovenia, like the great grandfather having to hide with the pigs. It's good that they came to Canada with the hope of having a better life, with work and family. You covered a variety of different rules and customs of Slovenia. It is funny how the legal age for purchasing alcohol is 16 but the legal drinking age is 18. You used some good pictures and you had good resources.
ReplyDeletehey pat, your blog post was very interesting. The part that i found crazy was the sacrifice your grandfather made for a better life. It was a very selfless act as he improved the quality of life for you guys now a days. I was also very surprised to hear the many similarities between Slovenia and Canada regarding life as a teenager. there are also other advantages to living there too like being able to purchase alcohol at a younger age. Although it seems like a great place to live i am also amazed with the progress your family has made from living on a farm in Slovenia to living a prosperous life in Canada.
ReplyDeletehey pat, your blog post was very interesting. The part that i found crazy was the sacrifice your grandfather made for a better life. It was a very selfless act as he improved the quality of life for you guys now a days. I was also very surprised to hear the many similarities between Slovenia and Canada regarding life as a teenager. there are also other advantages to living there too like being able to purchase alcohol at a younger age. Although it seems like a great place to live i am also amazed with the progress your family has made from living on a farm in Slovenia to living a prosperous life in Canada.
ReplyDeleteWow i thoroughly enjoyed reading this blog Patrick. It is so interesting that your great grandparents moved so young, that is a few years older than you are now. I bet that you are happy that they moved since you arr so interested in snowboarding and you would not have been able to in Slovenia.It is interesting that at 16 you can purchase alcohol but can consume it at 18.I admire your grandfather for choosing come although it was not easy for him. Does any of your family still live in Slovenia? Would you ever want to travel there? Again great story thanks for sharing your family history.
ReplyDelete