This last Tuesday we heard from one of our newest members, Anna Syrianou, whose classification is Beauty Consulting. Anna came to Canada from Greece when she was fifteen years old. She said that while in Greece she really didn’t have any idea what Canada was like. She assumed that it would be very much like New York and other American cities which she had seen on television in Greece.
When she landed in Halifax, she thought they were in the wrong place. It was quite a culture shock for her to get used to Halifax, a much smaller place with wooden houses, when she had come from Athens, a very large city of five million. In 1976, she married and moved to Toronto, and then across Canada, ending up in Saskatoon. Her husband had a restaurant and she had a salon business. Anna’s business did very well. She entered and won many competitions and awards. She also did make overs on the local television channel, which were very popular.
After fifteen years of marriage, when her husband wanted to move on again, they decided to go their separate ways. Anna remained in Saskatoon and became a single mother. When her daughter started University at the U of A in Edmonton, Anna decided to move here. She opened a new business in Edmonton. Two years ago she closed her business and now works out of her home.
She now has more time for her daughter and her grandchildren, and also to enjoy oil painting. She is glad to now be able to the things she loves, and to do them unconditionally.
We welcome Anna to our Rotary club and look forward to getting to know her better.
