Driving

Before I moved to Canada, I imagined thousands of difficulties I might encounter in this whole new country. But I never would have imagined I would violate a traffic law. I passed a stopped school bus! This incident was so traumatic that I can't remove it out of my mind until today.

This happened on the 8th day after I arrived in Saint John. I drove my own brand new car to take my son to school. After I dropped him off at school at 8:15 am, I planned to go look for apartments online and make an appointment to see them. This was the most urgent thing on my to-do list because I was still staying in a hotel.
About 1 km away from school, I heard a continuous harsh horn behind me, so I realized I might have made a mistake. As a green hand driver with no Canadian driving license in a new country, I was quite unconfident. (I was allowed to drive with my home country license within the first 6 months after arriving in Canada). I pulled over and so did the driver behind me. His words plunged me into the dark depths of despair. My tears were falling at once and I could feel my pale face and shivering heart. He said:" You just passed a stopped school bus, and the school bus driver definitely will report you. You will get a $400-$2000 fine soon, and lose 10 demerit points. The bus driver may suspect you disrespect school kids."

"No, no, no, I'm, I'm a newcomer, I swear I don't know these rules. Please tell me what I should do now?" I asked. He went away mumbling words in the wind. How was I supposed to know what he meant? I never saw anybody pass a stopped school bus before.

For the next 30 minutes, I did nothing except cry loudly in my car. Then I realized crying wouldn't solve anything. All I could rely on now was myself. "Come on lady, you must be brave!" a sound from my heart ordered me.
"Yes, the only one who could help me is the bus driver; I must explain to him in person with my honesty."I thought to myself.

So I decided to wait for the bus driver in the place where he stopped in the morning. Half an hour later, a car drove from the crossroad. She stopped and saw how upset I was. I explained what happened while I was trembling and asked how I could find the bus driver. The Canadian lady at once got out of the car and held me in her arms quite kindly. At the moment I felt I was a helpless little cat.

"I totally understand your feelings; it is not easy for anyone to start a new life here. But luckily, Tony is a very nice bus driver, he works in our district for many years. I promise you that he will forgive you for sure," she reassured me.

This "angel" who helped me get through this awful experience, I thanked her in my heart thousands of times from then on. In the end, I got my Canadian driving license one and a half months later and feel more confident driving every day until now.

The lesson I learned here: Every struggle you've had in your life has shaped the person you are today! I never regretted the original choice to move here to Canada. I am thankful for the hard times, which led me to share this story with ease today.