Living in Canada

When I first arrived in Canada, I stayed at Laurier Hall, a female only hall of residence. Windsor university was founded by the Roman Catholic Church, and the rules about boys visiting girls in the hostel was very strict.

If he was a casual guy friend, he would have to make a prior arrangement for her to come to sign him in. If she had a private phone, he could call from the front desk, and she would come down. But many like me, who were as poor as church mice, and didn't have a phone, we either were stuck with no male visitors, or the guys would really had to make prior arrangement. Our visitors would be given a ordinary pass.

If a girl had a boy friend, she could request for a permanent pass with his details recorded in the front desk. He could come and go without registering, but he had to leave by mid night. But we know that the security guard who sat at the booth infront of the door did not normally go and bang at the doors of our rooms. On my floor, was a girl from America. She had a permanent boy friend who was so permamnent that he didn't go back to his room in the boy's hall. Her poor room mate had to be as discrete as possible, or was it the couple who was discrete?

I arrived at around mid night when my friends P. K and W brought me from the airport. I had thirty hours flight from Singapore, and was quite tired. I was glad to have a bed to lie down.

When I told this to my dad, he didn't quite believe me. In fact, nobody believed me. Finally some time in the 2000s, a Canadian friend, a fellow faculty wife in NTU verified my story. She too had studied in Windsor University.

If you think this story is too far fetched, please bear in mind that this was 1970s.