If you haven't yet noticed, there's been a wave of new refugees who have come to Canada to call Thunder Bay their new home.

"In the last year or so, we've had the influx of the Syrian refugees ... and right now we have a lot from Eritrea and we're going to see a lot from out of Malaysia," Thunder Bay Multicultural Association's RAP (Refugee Assistance Program) coordinator, Michelle McKenzie Lander told CBC News.

"For Thunder Bay we've accepted some from Eritrea, Sudan ... we have one from Gambia and we have a few from El Salvador, Columbia ... and a few Jamaicans."

She said a lot of the refugees from Eritrea are single men, ages 19 to 32, who have "gone through a lot" to eventually arrive in Canada.

"I know for them, it's a lot of mental health," Lander said, "I mean, we listen to a lot of clients when we ask for certain documents, they say, 'well how could I get that, my house was on fire, I just left with the clothes that I had on,' so it's a process ... but I think they are happy to be here."

An influx of refugees arrived in northwestern Ontario this winter, around November and December, she said, and they are currently attending school at the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association to learn the new language and get accustomed to their new life in Canada.

"They all come to school everyday, they do not miss school. They get really upset if we have to take them out of school for something, so they have been very productive," she explained.

'Not accustomed to' Canadian winter

"The big influx that came in at Christmas, oh my gosh, these are ones that have not encountered snow before," Lander explained, "and of course between Christmas and January, we had that 40 below. It was extreme, extreme cold."

She said because many of them are "not accustomed to snow for months," they had to "adjust."

"A lot of them came with one bag, so it was a thing of getting them warm clothes and saying 'you have to wear this otherwise your ears are going to freeze,'" she said, "so it was an adjustment having to wear so many layers of clothes, but they did it because it was to keep warm."

Enjoying the 'cold city'

30-year-old Yonas Habtegiorgis Ghebregziabheir and 26-year-old Frezgi Yowhanes Abrha both arrived in Thunder Bay, from Eritrea, during the coldest time of year.

"I like Canada, but Thunder Bay is a cold city, but I'm really happy to come to Canada," said Habtegiorgis Ghebregziabheir.

He said the first day he arrived in Thunder Bay, he "couldn't see anything" because of the white blanket of snow that covered the city, but with the spring weather, he's seeing "how beautiful it is in Thunder Bay."

Both of the men have never experienced extreme cold temperatures, they said, and it wasn't until they stepped out of the Thunder Bay International Airport that they realized what minus 40 feels like.

"I couldn't see anything and I couldn't move anything," Yowhanes Abrha said about his experience on the first day in Thunder Bay.

Currently, both of the men have been focusing on learning English, but they've also been able to enjoy some new activities like bowling and skiing at Loch Lomond.

For them, they say the biggest difference between their home country of Eritrea and Canada "is freedom."

"You can't do whatever you want over there, but here there is freedom and that's the most important," Habtegiorgis Ghebregziabheir explained.

"Every person that goes to school, after you finish school, you become a solider ... and I don't like this," Yowhanes Abrha said.

Be 'patient and empathetic'

Everything is new for these refugees, Lander said, from taking the bus, to paying for groceries, taking their children to school and making doctor's appointments, life in Canada is not only a new home but a new experience as well.

"We're always always looking for volunteers that are willing to work with the families," Lander said.

Simple things like "cleaning the burner of the stove," are things that they need to learn as well.

She said for volunteers to simply invite refugees into their homes for dinner and let them watch as they operate around the kitchen "would be beneficial for them."

"The most thing too is to be very patient and very empathetic," she added, "I know if you are in a long grocery line and they can't remember their pin number ... and sometimes I see people in the line going 'Oh my god, what are they doing,' well yes, because they are learning how to use the debit machine."

"So it's just being patient and being helpful where you can."