Ville de Quebec

So, just spend a lovely day and a half in Quebec City, exploring the Old Town and shopping in the many fun little stores. I will share my experiences via photos...

Here we are - five grey hound type bussess full of students - just arrived at Laval University where we spent the night. By the time we were dropped off in the city center, I had enough of travelling with 200+ people so I took off on my own to explore the old town of Quebec.

This is Porte St. Louis, one of the entrances to the walled Vieux-Quebec (old Quebec). Quebec is the only walled city on this continent, north of Mexico. One of many pretty streets that I explored. I had been told by several people that Quebec City is very European and they were right. I had to keep reminding myself that I really am still in Canada!

Before long, I ran into some of my friends from class so I hung out with them for the rest of the afternoon. When we decided that we were hungry, it took us two hours to find a restaurant. Not because there wasnt an abundance of places to eat - oh no, it simply appeared impossible to agree on a place with nine people! Oh well, at least we got to see a lot of the city as we walked past dozens of restaurants. When we finally agreed on a place that had space for all of us (and which we had already passed by earlier), I just had to take a photo. Besides, it was a pretty place: Capitole Quebec Resto.

The grayness in the background is not due to clouds but to haziness - it was 30 degrees plus!

This is the dessert that my friend, Joy, and I shared - some kind of chocolate mouse cake. Delicious! Taking photos of nicely arranged food is a habit I learned from my dad...

So, after dinner I was faced with a dilema - do I go out to the bar with everyone (probably get bored pretty fast as I dont drink and I dont really see the fun in bars and then get into bed really late) or do I take the bus back to the university (alone, at night, in a foreign city). As it turned out, one of the other girls who I had dinner with - Jess - said that she didnt want to go out to the bar with everyone either. In fact, she wanted to do exactly what I did: walk around to see Old Quebec at night and then go back to the university to sleep. Once outside the restaurant, she asked if I was a Christian cause she overhead that I said I go to Trinity and, since she has a friend who went there, she knew it was a Christian university. So it turns out that she also is a Christian! Besides our worldviews, we discovered that we shared many other commonalities such a travelling experiences, disliking the taste of beer, and intraverted personalities. Spent a fun evening walking up and down random little streets and having some good conversations. Meeting Jess was a huge blessing from God!This is the only night pic that sort of turned out - Chateaux Frontenc, the famous Quebec landmark.

This is Jess (red hair) and Joy (she is in my class). We went shopping together Saturday morning - found lots of fun and pretty stores! Then I left them to see a multimedia film on the history of Quebec. Not sure if it was worth the $5.70 I paid as I didnt learn much from it, but the effects were pretty cool. Spent the rest of the day exploring and shopping on my own.

Here is the Fairmont le Chateau Frontenac by day. It is one of the hotels built by the CPR to encourage luxury travels.

This is the little park where I ate my lunch, watched tourists, and took photos of flowers. Nope, this isnt another quaint street - it is a mural painted on the wall of a large building! The mural incorporates the four seasons and peoples of all eras of Quebec. One of the streets of lower old Quebec. The whole old town was packed with tourists on Saturday. I actually got fed up with hearing so much English and I started to hate tourists and wish that I wasnt one!

Yeah, so I would recommend Quebec to all of you - especially if you havent been to Europe. It is one of those places I would visit again.

Children

Last night was one of those beautiful evenings when I just couldn t resist going outside. So I took Paulines dog, Snoopy, for a walk around the neighborhood. Near the end of our evening stroll, we passed a house where two girls were playing in their front yard. As soon as she saw Snoopy - who happens to be a cute little black dog - the younger girl (around 6 or 7) ran across the street to take a closer look at him. Her sister followed right behind. They oohed and aahed and then asked me a question en francais. Oh uh, now I cant just smile and nod and pretend that I am a native of Chicoutimi. The younger sister said something about a name, so I answered with Je m appelle Miriam. When she looked at me quizically and repeated Miriam? I realized that she was probably asking about the dogs name. So I said Snoopy. And then they said Ah Snoopy! and oohed and aahed some more. And asked me another question... Finally, I had to admit: Je parl tres peu en francais! Now they really looked confused, but it didnt seem to bother them too much as they kept talking. Finally, I guessed that they were asking whether Snoopy was male or female. I said I didnt know (which, in retrospect is silly because Pauline is always referring to Snoopy as him).

I was sad when they gave Snoopy a final pat and skipped back to their play. How refreshing and how beautiful they were! I wish the family I am staying with had young children - I realized this week that I miss being around children. Perhaps I need this time to remember why it is that I am passionate about children so that I am geared up and ready to spend the next several months with kids!

My Current Life in Pictures

Okay, so instead of many words, this blog entry is going to be composed primarily of photos that I took this week with my new Canon digital appareil photographique.

Here is my class - class 6c (i.e. the beginners or the first - which ever way you choose to look at it). Our prof is the lady in the middle - Madame Ariane Tremblay - shes awesome. The other students are all pretty cool, too.

This is Nicole on our walk home from school. She lives in the same neighborhood as me so walked together. We live beyond that ridge in the background, pretty much on the edge of town. Its a bit of a trek walking into town or the university (about 45 minutes), but it is worth doing on a nice day like this.

And here is the view across the river from where Nicole and I are. Pretty, huh? It is the Saguaney River and it flows into the St. Lawrence.

And this is the house that I am currently living in. It is a pretty quiet neighborhood, pretty much on the edge of town like I said earlier - farmland is just around the corner a ways.

Thats it for now! Au revoir!

Life in Chicoutimi

Im sitting in the little computer room of Pauline (my host mother s) basement. (Yeah, I cant find the apostrophe on this comp, just funny è things - sorry!) I decided to take a break from trying to memorize french phrases like When is your birthday. Get this: our prof taught us three different ways to say that simple phrase. And then showed us how to chance each of those phrases from the informal to the formal. Aaaah! Too many different ways!!!! And then she taught us all sorts of different questions and answers and for each new sentence, the form of simple words like you and is and what changes pretty much everytime. Aaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!

Yeah, so I needed a break from this crazy language and decided to update you all on my life in Chicoutimi. Remember that vow of silence I thought I had taken earlier this week? Well, I have to admit I am surprised how well I can get by and how much I can say with my very limited French. I throw in an English word here and there and Im sure my grammar is completely messed up, but I can often get my message across. The other day I was even able to have a conversation with another student whose family is from Estonia (and Ive been there, too) - and we were actually able to talk about it! But usually the conversation revolves around comment ca va? And j mapelle Miriam. And Dou viens tu? Feels rather primitive after awhile, so, when my housemate Julie and I decided to walk home in the sunshine after school this afternoon, both of us quickly lapsed into English because we were dying for a more intelligent conversation!

But yesterday we spent the entire day at school so I was immersed in French all day. I think parts of my dreams last night were in French - or, at least, I had to speak French in my dream...

So, our mornings are spent in our French classes. Im in a beginner class, for the first time in my life Im in a class with more guys than girls, and our prof is the kindest and most patient prof youve ever had. Yeah, Ive been finding classes super helpful and, for the most part, interesting, although Im usually pretty tired by the end of it.

During the afternoons, we get to do various activities offered by the program that we had to sign up for. For example, for Wednesday afternoons, I signed up for danse expression - we had our first class yesterday where we were taught a modern dance. Was fun!

Dinner we usually have with our host families. Some of my friends (including Julie) have been going out in the evenings, but Ive declined everytime so far because Im pretty exhausted by the end of the day. Ive been in bed before 10 every night this week! Our prof said it is normal for us to be so tired because this language is so new to us.

Want to know an interesting fact re. Quebecois? Words connected to the Catholic Church - like virgin or tabernacle - are considered worse swear words than our f-word. Obviously theres some hatred of the church going on. Wow, these people must have some skewed up view of Christianity!

Speaking of which, this is the first time in my life that I have been fully submersed in a completely non-Christian culture for an extended period of time. Sometimes I forget that I all these students surrounding me arent familiar with Christianity and I have to remind myself that they wont understand my Christian lingo if I used it. But at other times, I am quickly reminded of the sad state that these people live in without Jesus - like when I hear people talking about how drunk they were last night or when swear words appear to be a normal part of their vocab. Or even worse and sometimes less obvious, a lack of purpose or direction in life. Im kinda seeing how different my life is from theres.

Okay, its almost nine - my bedtime. :) Bon nuit!

The Contract

As soon as we arrived at the university this morning (having been picked up from our host families by our trusty - although usually late - minibus drivers), we (nearly 200 of us) were hearded into the auditorium where we were given a sheet of paper to sign. A vow of silence. At least thats what it felt like as I took a deep breath, accepted the pen that the girl next to me offered, and signed my life away. Okay, not quite, just my priviledge to speak the wonderful language of English. From now on, till the end of the program in five weeks time, I may only speak en Francais. If I get caught speaking English, I get a warning and have to go to some ladys office. If I get caught a second time speaking English, I get a second warning and have to meet with several important people. If I get a third warning, theyre sending me home. No joke.

Gone are the relaxed mealtime conversations. Gone are the interesting conversations with young people from all over Canada (like the guy I met yesterday who said his girlfriend is from Czech, which prompted me to ask how he met her, which led him to tell me that he had studied in Germany and, in the course of the conversation, it turned out that his girlfriend is moving to Wurzburg, where I lived for a time - how cool is that! But no, no more of that.) You see: Je parle tres peu du francais. For those of you like me, a translation: I speak very little french.

So ya, I didnt think Id make it through the day, but its amazing how facial expressions, gestures, pictionary skills, my english-french dictionary, and simple drama all contribute to communication. It also takes plenty of concentration, willingness to make a fool of yourself (such as lumbering like a bear on all fours across the classroom floor to help your class understand what an ours is - yes, that was me today), people who are patient with you (my professor is amazing!), and the decision to accept that I will not understand everything that is said or is going on. By lunchtime, I was absolutely exhausted. I decided to walk home this afternoon instead of getting on the minibus - that seemed to refresh me.

I really ought to go memorize some french vocab, but I need to tell you about two exciting things that happened to me today. First, I met a guy from Trinity! Yeah whatever, you might be thinking, you see guys at Trinity all the time... But when youre on the other side of Canada and everyone you meet is from a secular university far from your own (and most arent anywhere near BC), than its pretty exciting. Its Victor - some of you might know him. He went to Lithuania last year (not at the same time as me) so I recognized him because I once talked with him about it. Apparently, theres another Trinity girl here - who I recognize as a Trinity face - but I havent met her.

Second piece of exciting news: Im going to Nova Scotia and PEI! After my program is done here, my friend AmyLou (yup, the one who I was in the Chilcotin with) and I are going camping in the Maritimes for a week. I just booked a flight home from Charlottetown, instead of Quebec. Seeing the Maritimes has been one of my lifes dreams so Im pretty stoked. I will be fly back to Vancouver on June 22.

So Similar, Yet Different

Its (sorry, cant find an apostrophe on this computer) a good thing that I know what the various options are on blogspot simply by where they are placed. Because I cant read them. Why? Ive just been immersed in a foreign language - French!

So I flew through the night and arrived in Quebec City to begin this Quebec adventure in a dazed state (airplane seats are simply not comfortable for sleeping - regardless of how many possitions you try!). My first impression of Quebec? Its much the same as BC. Everywhere I looked, I saw familiar restaurants or stores: Tim Hortons, Costco, Burger King, The Bay, to name just a few. If it wasnt for the French signs and the lights at the intersections being horizontal rather than vertical, I would have thought I was in some city in BC.

What surprised me even more was that the landscape that the bus drove through - from Quebec City to Chicoutimi - was surprisingly similar to what I had just left in Northern BC: Endless ridges covered with pine trees; dry, rocky ground; the occational clump of deciduous trees not yet green; and dots of blue lakes. Reaching Chicoutimi, I realized that I have, for the second time this month, gone back in seasons - most trees arent blooming yet and a cool breeze greeted me as I stepped off the bus.

While the place may look familiar, the language definately reminds me that I am in another part of the world. During the short van ride from the bus stop to the university, I began to feel rather intimidated when the Explore students (from all over Canada) began striking up conversation in French with the driver, laughing and talking. I felt lost. The staff that greeted us at the university were very friendly but they communicated entirely in french and sign language. If you havent guessed already, I dont speak french, except for je mappelle Miriam and a few other simple words. But its amazing how much context, gestures, and a single word will give me a good idea of what people are telling me. Its also amazing how much I miss...

Fortunately, I quickly met several other just as intimidated as me students and I felt a little better. Some of us played cards, speaking a mixture of french and english, while we waited for our host families to pick us up.

So, now here I am, at Paulines house. Shes a really nice lady, works at the university, and has four grown-up children. A lady from Morocco(whose name I cannot remember) is living with her for the summer - shes also super nice - she made dinner for us because Pauline had to go to the hospital. By we, I mean Julie and I - there are two of us Explore stduents staying at this house which is cool. Especially as Julie knows more french than I do so I have someone to help me understand what is going on!

Well, enough for now, dont want to bore you. Tomorrow morning we will be back at the university for info, a walking tour (I think, much of the info Im gathering is guess work at this point), and placement tests. Im excited to get into classes and really start learning - now that Im here, Im motivated!

Home Again

It's over. Yup, I've said my goodbyes and I'm back in Vancouver - never realized this place is so lush and green and colorful! Nothing like the dusty, stony, piney landscape I left this morning.

I'm happy to see my family and excited for Kathryn's wedding tomorrow but I was not ready to leave the school at Stone. I cried as AmyLou and I left the school this morning. It had been another one of those busy school mornings, complete with a mother's day tea in which the whole school took part in. During assembly, we were given cards and pens decorated with tiny beads, made by one of the Chilcotin staff. We had written cards for our students and taken numerous pictures of the beautiful children and staff. The sun was shining and warm, students were back in their classrooms where they belonged, and we were leaving... As we pulled out of the school parking lot and made our way down the dirt road through the reserve, AmyLou suggested we pray once more for these students that have so impacted our lives and touched our hearts. It was a beautiful way to end an amazing experience. I'm missing everyone already!

P.S. Sorry, had to take the pics of the children off my blog 'cause I found out that I'm not supposed to do that without parental permission. Just trust me when I say they are beautiful children!