I find a certain comfort in my religion; it brings me closer to a much larger community that I find to be like a home. I lived in Pakistan for a major chunk of my life, where I was exposed to a mostly Muslim population. It was easy for me to practice my faith there and blend in with the crowd, because fasting and praying were a norm. Eating halal meat was never a concern, nor was having alcohol around (both dietary laws in Islam). But when I moved to Canada, I was actively exposed to other diverse groups that made a mixed majority of the country. I did not hear the call to prayer nor did stores close at certain times during Ramadan. I still had to continue going to school and function as a student even though I had other duties as a Muslim. It was interesting for me to learn about other faiths and it became even more interesting for me to teach other people. I had to face little difficulty while fasting in the month of Ramadan when people would openly consume food and drink, then offer me some. To break our fast we have to eat something at sunset but if I am at work or I am at school then I have to wait for my break to eat properly. We have an app on our phone that can tell us the exact time of sunset these days.
The biggest contrast in my culture is eid. Another issue I found in Canada is that there is no holiday on our special day, we (Muslims) celebrate eid twice a year, but Christian and non-Christian people have a national holiday on Christmas. I have to request special permission to take my day off. If I compare eid here to eid in Pakistan, there is a huge difference, over there you celebrate at least a whole day or typically three days but here only for three hours because we have to go to prayer then resume normal life. I have to wait for weekend so I can make plans with family and friends.
At Ryerson, I consider myself really lucky because I have found a proper place to pray and I made friends with a lot of Pakistani people so we all share same culture.