This is a story about second chances

There were a lot of people taking the course in Chicoutimi. I heard estimates of 250 students at least. We were all students so we had a lot in common and it was easy to talk to everyone (even in French). I met a LOT of people. Obviously I got closer to some than others but in general everyone was really nice. However, there was one guy who just rubbed me wrong from the start. The school was split into classes from 1-6 with one being the highest. Each level then had two or three classes (A, B, C) I placed in 4A and while I admit I did feel out of my depth some days, it wasn’t totally horrible. So one Sunday night Ashley and I met up with a bunch of people at a local billiards place. There was the first time I met “Richard” (pronounced with a really bad French accent. Think Rocket Richard but not, cause he wasn’t that cool.) Another quick aside, at school and during school functions we HAD to speak French. Signed a contract and stuff. On our own time, some people did speak French but a lot just reverted to English. Well the night I met “Richard” he insisted on speaking only in French and then when I stumbled to keep up (this was only the second week) he asked “what class are you in? 6?” Meaning – “you suck, you must be a beginner”. Now maybe I was being sensitive but I found him rude and arrogant. I confirmed with one of my friends later and she had gotten the same vibe. For the rest of our time in Chicoutimi I generally avoided him. I just didn’t feel like dealing with the attitude.

Fast forward to nine days after the program ends. I’ve been on a grand road trip of the Maritimes (hence the lack of blogging. The only times I’ve been online I’ve been uploading photos to Facebook and I’m behind on those). So I pull into Fredericton, New Brunswick around 4:30. I locate my hostel but I can’t check in until after 6 so I drive downtown to get my bearings. Downtown is...well...gridlock would be an exaggeration. It is Fredericton afterall, but it was really busy and traffic was moving very slowly. We’re crawling past the Legislature (which I hope to visit tomorrow before I leave town) and I see what appears to be a tour group. (five or six people but one is obviously doing all the talking). So I decide to take a chance. Instead of sitting in traffic I pull off and parallel park. I put an hour’s worth of coins into the meter and approach the group. They are doing a walking tour of downtown Fredericton. It’s nearing the end and the guy delivering it is just in training but I’m allowed to join.

45 minutes later the tour ends. I chat with the guy who was delivering it and his supervisor for a few minutes and then cross the street to try and go back and locate my car. As I am waiting to cross the street again I hear a tentative “Heidi?” Keep in mind I’ve only been in this province once before and that was last week on my way through to PEI. I’ve never ever been in this city. I turn around and who’s standing there? Richard! Of all the people in the world he is who I meet on a street corner in a random town. He is here visiting his parents, who actually live about 30 minutes out of the city. So we chat a bit (in English and French – the first French I’ve really spoken since leaving Quebec but it is Richard after all) and he ends up walking with me back to my car. At my car I show him a map of where I’ve travelled and then say that I need to head back to the hostel soon. (I had dinner in the car as well so I was planning on eating that) He mentions that he had a ticket to a show by a group that he saw once at his school in Newfoundland and invites me to come. I figured, why not. I don’t really like this guy but at least I “know” him and I have nothing better to do this evening. I did go back to the hostel, had a quick nap and a shower and then met him at this pub in downtown Frederiction. We had a great chat (in English, I think he’s nicer in English) for awhile before the show and then watched the show together. It was really good. Not something I would have ever done on my own but I really enjoyed it. I headed out shortly after it was done because I have another long day tomorrow but now I have a memorable evening to leave with. A random evening what with the tour and running into Richard but memorable. And I’m glad I gave him a second chance.

Halfway

Today marks the halfway point of the program already. Crazy. I'm trying to upload photos but blogger isn't cooperating so for now I'm just going to type. I left off on the morning of our first Saturday here. That afternoon my roommates, Ashley, Museb and myself went downtown to explore a bit. We ran into Steve (who lives across the street) and his girlfriend Courtney just after we arrived and together we all headed down to a chocolate/ice cream shop that had been recommended to us. We got our ice cream (vanilla soft serve dipped in milk chocolate for me) and Steve and Courtney headed home for dinner. Ashley, Museb and I took advantage of the beautiful day and went for a walk along the river front and about 3/4ths of the way over the foot bridge that connects Chicoutimi to North Chicoutimi. (there is a car bridge that runs parallel) When we came back to the Chicoutimi side we decided we were ready for our first Chicoutimi poutine so we got some at a place by the water. By the time we got back to the shops in downtown most of them were closed so we just came home and worked on homework.

Sunday was a school sponsored trip to Parc National du Fjord-du-Saguenay. It was a beautiful day for a hike. Clear but not too hot with a nice breeze to keep it cool. Here is where the description would be better with pictures. Anyways, suffice to say it was a lovely day. My new hiking boots were great. I didn't get any blisters but I was VERY tired by the end of the day. We had an early night again.

Monday was a statutory holiday. Victoria Day in the rest of Canada, "Journee national des patriotes" here. I was just happy to have the day off. We ended up having a girls day. Ashley, Victoria and another girl, Beth, who lives one street over, and I went exploring. It was a miserable grey day. Our goal was to drive the 256kms around Lac-St-Jean but we only made it less than a quarter of the way. We stopped when we felt like it at places like a micro-brewery that was actually closed but that we got a brief tour of anyways. At a "fromagerie", a cute little town with a waterfall, and whenever Ashely wanted to take pictures. Just before we got back home we stopped for ice-cream again (you'll notice a recurring theme in these posts: cheese, ice-cream and beer for Ashley and Victoria. We've consumed beaucoup de each.) That evening Ashley and I again met up with a few people at La Tour. We were celebrating our "one week of being in Chicoutimi anniversary" :)

Tuesday morning were classes and in the afternoon my group (4) had our first introduction to "Danse folklorique et chanson Quebecois" The dancing was a lot of fun (it makes me miss square dancing even though it's quite different). The "chanson" unfortunately put me to sleep. It's a lot of really interesting history about the Quebecois music scene presented by the extremely dynamic music "teacher" but it's right after lunch in a dark room and I nodded off a few times.

Wednesday was classes but our teacher was absent. I'm not sure what was going on that week, something personal I think because she seemed close to tears a few times. Wednesday it got the better of her and we had a sub for the day. It was good. We focused on oral activities which I need. That afternoon we had other activities. Everyone is assigned to different things. We were given all the options, asked to rank them according to our preference and then we were placed according to availability. I'm not totally sure how it all works bust some of the choices are: rock climbing, canoeing, gigue and/or gumboot (both forms of Quebecois dance), general sports, media, improve, etc. I'm in gigue, "losir creatif" which is essentially arts and crafts and the choir. Wednesday I had choir and losir creatif. We made cards. Something I'm familiar with but I realized quickly that I didn't know how to say "may I borrow your scissors" in French so it was good for my vocab :)

Wednesday night we had dinner at school again and then the two upper level classes did improve. It didn't contain as much talking as when the animateurs did it the week before but it was still hilariously funny. One of my favourite moments was when they were pretending to give a safari at a "bilingual zoo". One of the people was a cow and on cue she mooed in English "Mooooo" and in French "le mooooo" LOL

Thursday was the full day of classes. In the afternoon for the Quebcois culture part my class had cards with significant events in Quebec history. The teacher read out the year "mille-neuf-cent-quatre-vignt-quinze" or 1995 for example and whoever correctly identified the card first got to read out the event. That one was the latest referendum regarding Quebec soverienty. That night Ashley and I ended up back at La Tour for a bit. She wasn't in to whatever we were served for supper so she wanted a snack. Of course the restaurant in the pub was closed by the time we got there :P

Friday after class instead of taking the mini-bus home, Museb and I joined Steve, Courtney and a bunch of others for lunch at a coffee shop downtown called "Cafe Cambrio". Then Museb and I walked to the car rental place where he picked up a car so he could go back to Montreal for the weekend for a conference. The rest of the weekend was free with no scheduled activities. Friday night along with a bunch of people from school, Ashley and I went back to Cafe Cambrio to the "bar" they have in the basement. I put bar in quotes because while they did have a bar, that wasn't really the feel of the place. They had live music that night, a blues cover band called "ExcaliBlues". They were really good. French guys who mostly sang in English but it was really fun.

Okay, I'm fading. That's another week. I'll fill you in on the rest of the weekend and our other adventures another time. Hopefully with pictures!

Week One

Hard to believe that a whole week is already done. This post won't have many pictures because I haven't really taken very many yet.

I arrived Sunday around 6:30pm after a fairly uneventful drive. It never fails to amaze me that little towns exist in all sorts of random spots and that people actually live there. When I got to the school, University of Quebec at Chicoutimi or "UQAC" (pronounced you-kack) I was ushered into the "Centre Sociale", the big area on the bottom floor where we start and finish most days. I was given my welcome pack and had my picture taken for my student ID which they printed off right there. Then I waited while my host family was contacted and came to meet me. I spoke with a few other students and some "Animateurs/Animatrices" aka, the hosts.

My host family, Gilles and Nicole, are an older couple. They have three grown children who have six grandkids between them. Nicole babysits two of them, Mayson and Shawna on a regular basis. Shawna is 8 months and adorable. Mayson is three and a little stinker. Cute as anything but really rotten. The frustrating thing is he has a better French vocabulary than I do!!! It's hard to get him to stop doing something stupid (like climbing on the bookshelf) when you don't really have the words to communicate. I think he understands, he just likes to pretend that he doesn't :P

I wasn't expecting it but it turns out I have two colocataires (roommates) from the program. Ashley is my age and Museb is 22. We're a bit of an odd combination but we've totally bonded. We each (obviously) have our own bedrooms and we share a bathroom. We eat breakfast and supper with the family and lunch at school at the cafeteria.

Another student, Steve, lives across the street and Beth lives one street over. The school sends a "minibus" (15 seater passenger van) to pick us up each day along with the other people on our route. Even though I have my car (Ashley and Museb took the bus up here so I'm the only one with a vehicle) I take the minibus as well because it's a great time to chat with the students and animateurs (in of course). Having the car is great though because we're up on a hill and kind of far from anything.

Someone coined the term "Chicouti-mere" and "Chicouti-pere" for our host families. I refer to Ashley as my "Chicouti-soeur" and Museb as my "Chicouti-frere". Since Steve is the only student in his house along with a dog we refer to that as his "Chiciouti-chien" LOL. Basically it's to distinguish from our real parents.

Monday morning we wrote our placement tests at school. Both written and verbal. There are six levels with two or three classes each. Six is for people who haven't been exposed to any French. One is for those who are "advanced" or basically fluent. I'm in 4A. Museb's in 4B (we're still trying to figure out how much of a difference there is, it appears that A might be slightly more advanced than B but I might just like to think that :P) and Ashley's in 5A. She's fluent in Spanish as well as English so a lot of her words (especially the numbers) have Spanish pronunciation but she's awesome and really confident at just trying to speak. It's great. Museb actually lives in Montreal (he's from Toronto) so he's just learned French from hearing it. He's the best at communicating with and understanding our host family.

Monday afternoon we had a walking tour of downtown Chicoutimi, in the cold and the rain. It was a horrible day. Since then it's thankfully cleared up which has been great. For that evening we heard that people were going to a pub called "La Tour a Biere" it turned out that close to 50 students were there and we had a great time getting to know people from all over the country and celebrating our last night of speaking French.

Tuesday we were assigned to our classes and met our teachers. We had the afternoon free so Ashley, Museb and I picked up Victoria, another girl on our minibus route, and went to the mall. I forgot my hiking shoes at home so I had to buy a new pair. Tuesday night we went to bed pretty early which we needed after our late night on Monday and trying to speak French all day on Tuesday.

Wednesday was our first full day of class. My teacher is great. She's Quebecois and really big on proper pronunciation but we have a lot of fun with it. This week has been a lot of review but somehow I feel like this time around it's actually sinking in. It's great. We've had people leave our class to go down a level and to go up but I feel like I'm really in the right place. I understand the teacher for the most part but I still feel challenged by the coursework.

Wednesday night the Canucks played the Sharks so we went out to the "Bistro" across from the school. It was $2 beer night so the place was pretty packed. They have a project screen so it was a great way to watch the game, and again talk to people. Pretty much everyone is a student back home so we all have a lot in common and lots to talk about.

Thursday was class all day. Usually we just have class in the mornings and activities in the afternoon but Thursday's we have "culture" classes in the afternoons. This week in my class we made posters advertising a local tourist attraction. My group did one for a bike trek around Lac St. Jean. Others in our class did Nouvelle France and La Pulperie de Chicoutimi both of which we'ell be visiting in the next few weeks. La Pulperie is at the bottom of the hill that we live on as well and we pass it every day. I'm looking forward to visiting.

Thursday was another relatively early night. Ashley and Museb actually went over to Steve's (he has a pool table and a hot tub) but I was having an allergy attack so I just stayed home.

Friday was class in the morning and activities in the afternoon. Group 4 actually had a free afternoon so I just worked on homework and there is a LOT of it. It's great exercise but it takes awhile. I want to make sure that I stay on top of it so I get the best experience out of this.

Friday night was our "Soiree Bienvenue" at the school. They transformed the "Centre Sociale" into a night club complete with a bar and we partied there till about midnight when we moved over to La Tour again. I was home around 1am and slept in today.

Tomorrow we go for a day trip to Parc National du Fjord-du-Saguenay. And now you're up to date! It's been really busy but really fun.

My day in Ottawa

What a wet miserable day!!! Yesterday was muggy and hot. During the night it finally started raining and today it didn't stop. It was warm though so I didn't have to dress up and I just made do with wet feet. Despite the rain I managed to cover a fair bit of ground. My main stops were the Parliament Building and the Canadian Museum of War. I also went over to the Museum of Civilization (which is across the river in Gatineau, Quebec) but only to watch an IMAX show. I finished my wanderings at Chapters where I picked up a better French dictionary (I bought one in Quebec City in January but it's intended for French speaking people so it's hard to use) and a verb book.

I called my parents when I got back to the hostel and Dad asked if Ottawa is what I expected. It's an interesting question. I found when I was in Washington, DC that, while I didn't know where things were located, I recognized most of the buildings and monuments. Here (in my own country, ironically) I really only recognize the Parliament Building, and only the Centre Block at that. Everything else has been all new.

Spring is here so there are lots of pretty flowers around to enjoy and since Ottawa is right on the river, it's a very pretty city. Even if it is overcast. There is so much to see here and it was a nice break before starting school on Monday (I have to keep saying that so I don't forget that's what this is all about!) It's been interesting to be right on the border of Ontario and Quebec as well. Most of the tour guides here are bilingual and many of the people in the shops. I keep rehearsing French in my head but when I talk it's all English. It's very annoying. I suppose it's a confidence issue. And the fact that I'm obviously Anglophone. Hopefully when I'm in a community where they don't SPEAK English, I'll use more French. That's the goal anyways.

Friday the 13th Road Trips

April 13, 2007 I was dodging tornadoes on my way between San Antonio and Dallas, Texas.

May 13, 2011 on a beautiful day I drove from Waterloo to Ottawa, Ontario.

Gotta love Friday the 13th road trips!!!

The drive itself was rather uneventful. I drank a lot, I stopped for a lot of bathroom breaks. I listened to music and day dreamed. I took a twenty minute nap in a parking lot in a town called Smith Falls and woke up so sweaty that it took me an hour to cool down properly. I still felt gross when I arrived in Ottawa and after climbing the six flights of stairs up to my room I had a sponge bath too cool down. I was going to take a full shower but I didn't really have the time.

My hostel was recommended by the trip coordinator from the History Students Association. The same guy who planned our Quebec City trip in January. The HSA has stayed here in previous years and enjoyed it so I knew it would be good. It took a different route up than what is typically suggested by Google Maps and it wound through the country. Rather unspectacular scenery but pretty in the fresh springness. There was very little traffic that way as well which was nice.

Arriving in Ottawa I hit rush hour/construction so by the time I finally found the hostel and parked I admit I was a bit rattled. After being lulled by quiet country roads all day the bustle of the city was a bit nuts. After my aforementioned sponge bath, I took a quick walk over to the Parliament Buildings just to check them out. I intend to take a full tour tomorrow. I wanted to be back at the hostel for 7pm when the tour started here.

I've uploaded all the photos to Facebook. Is anyone here not a friend of mine there? Because frankly I'm tired right now :P I may double up some posts (like the ones from last weekend) but to me the blog is for the narrative of my activities. Posting pictures is separate. I have a lot of people on Facebook who don't read my blog. Or I don't know if they do. I'm okay with that. I've said all along, I blog for me...and for scrapbooking. I've chosen not to tell people about my blog so I can be more open with what I put here. What I upload to Facebook I know everyone and their dog (yes I have dogs as friends :P) will see it and that's okay too. Anyways, I guess I'm ending this post on a bit of a philosophical note. I want to try and do more blogging because I like having the record and Facebook doesn't always cut it. I need to find a balance so I'm not spending hours on both though. If you have any comments or suggestions please let me know :)

Grand Haven

Sunday was a beautiful day so we decided to drive out to Lake Michigan. It's on my list to see all five great lakes and since we were only about 45 minutes away, this was a good time to see Michigan.

First though we started the day with my first visit to Panera Bread. There are rumours that it is coming to Canada. We'll see. I hope it does. It was delicious! Speaking of firsts, I also got my first piece of Vera Bradley! Diane gave me the ID case in Mediterranean Blue which just happens to fit my BlackBerry perfectly. I love it!

We weren't at the lake all that long. Just enough time to walk along the waters edge to the pier down to the end and back. Still, in that time we both came home sporting rosy arms and cheeks.

It was a perfect day. The sun was shining warmly and the sand was almost hot but the breeze kept us cool. We took our time walking and chatting and just being together again. It's been too long!

We stopped at Starbucks for Frappy Hour on the way out of town and then at the grocery store. When we got back to the house Jim bar-b-qued hamburgers and we had a lovely dinner.

Monday Diane had to work so I slept in a bit and left around 9. I hit Target on my way out of town and found a really cute pair of sandals. All in all a successful weekend :)

Kenny Chesney 2011

I could have sworn I posted this but it's not showing up so I'm going to try again. Sorry if it's a repost.

This weekend I finally made it over to Michigan to see Diane. Being able to do this of course is one of the reasons I moved to Ontario. I feel like now that school is over, I can do the things on my list! Diane and I have always wanted to attend a Kenny Chesney concert together...after all, he's the reason we're friends. Kenny played Grand Rapids on Saturday night (his first show here since 2008) and we went together. Uncle Cracker opened the show and I really enjoyed his set. I don't know very many of his songs but it was fun to listen to him sing in his home state. Of course he did do "Smile" which I love so that was enough for me :) He also did a fun cover of Kenny Roger's "The Gambler" which he prefaced with a story about how when he was eight or so, you couldn't tell him that he WASN'T Rogers :) And then how a few years ago he actually got a call from Rogers himself, but he hung up on him LOL. This was my first time seeing Billy Currington in concert. It was alright. He's not my favourite singer by far but he is easy on the eyes ;) He sang most of his singles and a few new tracks. For "People Are Crazy" he changed the line to "women are crazy" which got a big cheer from the crowd. He sang Must Be Doin' Something Right, That's how Country Boys Roll, Pretty Good at Drinking Beer, Good Directions (my personal favourite of his) and a few others including a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" We had floor seats in the third section back so it was easy to go up closer to the stage to get a closer shot. Between sets we had a lady behind us take this picture of Diane and I. At one point Kenny said “I believe music is the most powerful thing in the world. It can take you back to a certain place in your life like nothing else.” That is a theme he often visits with his music but I have to admit, I wasn't prepared for the emotional roller coaster that this concert took me on. I was telling Diane afterwards that I've been a fan of Kenny's for awhile, starting in earnest after she and I started talking. Each of his songs literally took me "back". Back to Pennsylvania in 2005 when we were riding around through Amish country in The Barge and all I wanted was Starbucks and a Walmart where I could pick up "The Road and the Radio". Back to that night in December 2005 when Diane and I met for the first time and got lost in Seattle. Back to 2006 when Erin picked me up from Dulles airport and our first stop was Target for LIVE. Back to working in various offices. Back to certain times, people and situations. To my trip out here and looking forward. It was amazing. Very emotional. The rather drunk guy beside me was a little worried when I sat down during a few of the slow songs but I needed to collect myself!!! As I had predicted, he opened with "Live a Little" and then worked through Hemingway's Whiskey, Somewhere with You, Never Wanted Nothing More, Everybody Wants to go to Heaven, Out Last Night, Beer in Mexico, Anything But Mine, Young, Big Star and more. During "Living in Fast Forward" I reached over and gave Diane a big hug when he sang the verse: My friends all grew up and they settled down Nice little houses on the outskirts o’ town They work in their office And drive SUVs They pray for their babies And they worry ‘bout me He ended with "Summertime" which he brought Uncle Kracker back to duet on and then they did a cover of David Allen Coe's "You Never Even Called Me By My Name". The final song was "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" which Billy Currington came out to help him with. The encore was "Boys of Fall" and clips of the documentary were playing while he signed things from the stage.

Quebec

Woohoo! Final French marks are up. I pulled a B- over all. Not bad considering I failed the first midterm [insert blushing smilie here] That makes me feel beter.

Actually I basically improved over all.

First Semester
Latin C
Geography A-
Canadian History B
North American A

Second Semester
French B-
Medieval History B-
Canadian History A-
North American A+ (!)

It should be noted that my second semster North American Studies class was a second year course as well. So not only did I bring up my grade from my first semseter NA class but I got an A+ on a second year course when I am just a first year student. Yeah me!

I'm really, really happy with that. Even with the learning curve of first semester, second seemed harder in a lot of ways and I didn't think I'd do that well. I'm glad to see that I was wrong.

So, French. The course I completed was "Introductory French 102" I was technically over qualified for the course and definitely not allowed into 101 because I have grade 11 high school French. However I contacted the course advisor and explained that grade 11 was over 10 years ago so they let me take 102 this year. As you know I was also part of the French club which helped a lot with my comprehension levels.

(forgive me if I've blogged any of this before. I'm going to launch into my little "30 second commercial" so that anyone who doesn't know, gets a better picture of why I'm doing what I am doing. I feel like I have said this a million times to people but I doubt I've blogged it so here it goes)

My goal after school is to get a job with Parks Canada or a similar organization. I'd like to work in a National Historic Site, or any historic site, preferably as a costumed interpreter...at least to start. Every SINGLE person I have mentioned that goal to always asks "how's your French"? Basically, to work for in tourism for a federal agency in Canada French is a huge bonus. Now I like French and I would love to speak it more fluently so it is something I'd want to do anyway.

Because Canada has two official languages, English and French, the federal government has designed a "Five-Week French-Language Bursary Program". They describe the opportunity as: "Discover another region of Canada while learning French. Enjoy five weeks of learning and adventure, friendship and discovery!" Program is called My Explore or, "Explore" and the official website is here: Explore Sessions run in the spring and summer at a variety of campuses around the country. You select the campus and time frame, apply for three and they see what they can do for you.

I spoke with many people (at historic sites during my trip to ON, fellow students and French Club members and professors) and they ALL suggested being outside the big cities (like Montreal and Quebec City) because they are too used to tourists there and it will be difficult to practice French when out and about. My top three choices were Chicoutimi, QC, Saint Anne's in Nova Scotia (where you also can't practice French but apparently it's beautiful and I really want to go to NS) and Trois-Pistoles, QC. The three I selected also offere university credits, accomodation with a host family and spring sessions (mid-May to mid-June).

As you know, I was awarded my first choice, Chicoutimi! I know of at least four other students at my school who were wait listed for the program (and from what I've heard, haven't been admitted) so I consider myself VERY lucky.

The course is five days a week for five weeks. You're in class every morning as well as Thursday afternoons and doing group cultural activities, in the remaining afternoons and evenings. It will be very busy (and exhausting because it's all in French) but good. There's also a "three strikes and you're out" policy. If you are caught speaking English three times you can be sent home. Now obviously if you're just trying to work out French words and you're giving the English equivilant, that's find but if you're just speaking English instead of French? That's a no-no. It's meant to encourage the use of and development of your lanugage skills. I think it's great.

Chicoutimi is about a 12 hour drive from Waterloo which is doable in one day, but boring. I have to be there on Sunday, May 15th so I decided to leave two days early and spent a bit of time in Ottawa on the way. Ottawa is about halfway and another place I've always wanted to visit. Two nights and one full day won't be nearly enough time but it will help me get a bit of a feel for the city.

So, there, that's what "Quebec" is all about. My goal while I'm there is not only to further my understanding of the language but to also imerse myself in the cultural side of things. The French classes I'll be taking in the coming years at school have a large component of French culture. My Canadian History and North American Studies classes all talk about Quebec-as-a-region-of-Canada extensively and I feel that I'll have a better understanding of what they are teaching after being there for awhile. It's fine to learn from an English Canada - text book point of view, but it's not the full picture.

Next year I will be applying for summer jobs in my chosen field and by listing "Explore" on my resume, I know it will float it higher to the top of the stack.

I'll do my best to keep you updated on my progress when I am there :)

Reflection on First Year

One down, several to go. In some ways it felt like it would never be over, and now my first year of university is complete.
8 months
8 classes
8 final exams
8 midterms (which is weird because two classes didn't have midterms but two had two so it still comes to eight)
7 papers
6 different profs
countless new friends and memories.

I'm tired. Mentally and physically exhausted. I am already enjoying the break. Enjoying being able to read what I want and watch what I want or just hang out online or with friends without feeling guilty because I have readings to do or papers to write. I leave for Quebec in three weeks and that will school as well but different. I'm also looking at the classes I want to take next year so even though I've only just finished this year, I'm getting excited for September. Still, I'm glad it's four months away.

I'm excited for Quebec and all that will hold (by the way, if any of my readers don't know what I'm referring to, please comment and I'll recap it) but I'm really, really looking forward to July and August when I'm back home in Waterloo and able to explore more. Between now and when I leave I am working a fair bit, which is nice. I need the money. It's tiring too though. Especially the eight hour days. Starbucks is very physical and I come home very tired each night. I am enjoying that as well though.

But this is supposed to be a post about my first year, not what's coming. So what did I take?
Latin 101
French 102
Geography 102 (Intro to Human Geography)
History 102 (Middle Ages 1100-1350AD)
History 111 (Canada Before Confederation)
History 112 (Canada After Confederation)
North American Studies 101 (Intro to NA Studies)
North American Studies 202 (Narrative, Place and Identity)

I am a declared History Major. I've really, really enjoyed the North American courses though so I actually recently changed it to a double major in History and North America with the Canadian focus. I'm meeting with the NA advisor next week to make sure that I'm on track but for now that's the way I want to go. I'm also considering a minor in French. My time in Quebec will really help me increase my knowledge and I can make a better decision after that. It compliments my other courses and will really help with future job opportunities though so I'd really like to continue with it.

I've learned a few things this year about taking languages. (this is the reflection part of this post) For History and NA all I had to do was keep up with the readings, attend lectures and write papers. For languages a lot more practice is required. Showing up isn't enough and I know I didn't put enough effort into it. My plan next year is to engage with the prof a lot more. They have office hours, I plan to use them to help me establish proper study habits. The biggest reason I procrastinate on anything is if I don't understand or don't know how to approach something. I know that about myself yet I let the year slip by without really doing anything about it. I did a bit for Latin near the end but it was too little too late. Even with my time in Quebec I intend to work on this.

As for how to do better with my other classes, getting and reading books or research documents earlier will really help. Other than that, I have room for improvement on study skills but I know I did even better second semester than first. Mostly I just want to have fun again and enjoy the ride, cause what a ride it is!

Wednesdays

Last semester Monday's were my favourite day of the week. This time around it was Wednesday's. They were pretty busy. I had French, Medieval History and Canadian History all back to back. Then I had an hour break and my Canadian History Tutorial. After that I headed home for a few hours before going to church. I also had Thursday's off. You'd think Thursday's would be my favourite day but I really did like being in class and knowing that I had a whole day off the next day. Thursday's I often worked so how good a day it was varied. Wednesday's were like a fake Friday but I wasn't as tired as I was by Friday. This week I'm looking forward to Wednesday because I will be entirely done my first year of university. I have three exams between now and then but I am really just ready to be done. Wednesday I will be. That's all I care about right now.

Rebellion or Destiny?

Picture this. It's near the end of the year, grade nine. I'm in sewing class (Room 222!) talking wiht friends. The last dance of the year is coming up. I've asked my parents if I can go and, not unexpectedly, they said no. I'm lamenting this to my friends and somehow in the course of our conversation the concept of the extra-curricular Student Leadership class comes up. They're taking sign-ups in the main hall right now and they host the dances. If I joined Student Leadership I'd have to go to the dances! I'd be "working". Sweet! Iget permission to go to the "bathroom" and go immediately and sign up.

I was very active in Student Leadership (and yes, attended my share of dances which got old *really* fast) for grades ten and eleven. In grade twelve I was getting lazy and didn't want to have to be at the school for 7:15 am anymore so I didn't sign up. My teacher called me during the summer to convince me that he wanted my name on the list even if I didn't attend all the morning meetings. (Free credits! Sweet!) That year he also took me along with a few other kids to two separate leadership conferences. The provincial one at Silver Star and a local valley one.

Since then I've been on multiple committees and boards including my most recent appointment, as a "Directrice" of the French Club for the 2011/12 year. And it all started with "tricking" my parents into letting me to go a silly high school dance.

15 Places

My friend Erin shared this article on Facebook: 15 places kids Should see by age 15
Click the link for the full article. I'm almost twice their suggested age of 15 (and a Canadian to boot) but of the 15, I have only seen four of the places on the list. I am interested to see how many more of these places I'll be able to knock off my list in the coming years. Numbers 3, 4, 7, 13 are near the top.

1. Grand Canyon - Arizona
2. Redwood National Park - California
3. Monticello - Virginia
4. The Freedom Trail - Massachusetts
5. Niagara Falls - New York
6. The National Mall - Washington, D.C.
7. Williamsburg - Virginia
8. Walt Disney World Resort - Florida
9. Independence Hall - Pennsylvania
10. Alcatraz Island - California
11. Ellis Island - New York
12. Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming, Montana and Idaho
13. Fenway Park - Massachusetts
14. Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve - Idaho
15. San Diego Zoo - California
    

Not the "Change" I had in mind

I moved to Ontario because I wanted a "change". Today it snowed more than five inches (and it's still falling) plus it's really windy and blowing the cold wet snow everywhere. It's one of the most miserable cold weather days we've had since I arrived...and it's March 23rd.

This is NOT the "change" I had in mind.

I get that the weather here is different than in BC but this is getting ridiculous. Spring was here. The geese were all back, the snow was all melted, the mittens and gloves were put away and BAM! Yi yi yi!

Good thing I don't have to go anywhere until 5pm when I work, and for that I can catch the bus. Hopefully the wind will have stopped by then. In any case, getting to the bus stop is better than digging my car out again.

Le Salon Gastronomique

Our latest homework assignment for French Class was to pic a country, find a recipe typical of that country or region, prepare it and present it at the "Salon Gastronomique" on Friday afternoon.

I did my last project with a girl named Tyanah and we paired up again for this one. She decided that we should do dessert crepes. I admit the concept scared me but she was so confident that I just agreed to go along with it. Her mom jumped on board big time as well. Mrs. T, with Tyanah's help, ended up making almost 100 mini crepes (about 5" in diameter), cutting up tons of fruit and providing us with all sorts of syrups and toppings (icing sugar, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, syrup, and the ever popular nutella). Tyanah even borrowed soccer jerseys from her brother so we could be wearing a "costume" from France.

My help came in with assembling the poster. Tyanah came over to my place with some poster board and we used my scrapbooking supplies to create a pretty awesome looking poster. I freehanded the outline of the Eiffel Tower and cut "Paris, France" out using my Sizzix. Then we printed all the other requirements (map, recipe, history of the food, pictures of famous monuments) and matted them on cranberry paper. I think it turned out pretty darn good.

The day of the Salon, our booth was one of the most popular. Lots of peole had two or three crepes, and we STILL had leftovers! The diversity of food there was incredible. It was supposed to be French speaking countries. A short list includes: Switzerland, Morroco, Madagascar, Tahiti, Some-island-that-Survior-was-on...Vatanu?, Quebec, Canada, other regions of France like Breton (they made the most yummy cookies) and so many others.

My friends Kinsey and Heather made to-die-for truffles.

Maria and Heather dressed up as French maids.

When we first got the assignment it seemed daunting but in the end it turned out to be really fun and I think we all did really, really well on it :)

This IS my home now

As the school year draws to a close I find I'm getting lots of enquiries about my summer plans. I wish I could tell people what they are, but that's another post. The big question though is if I'm going "home" to BC. No, this (Ontario) IS my home now. Most people don't realize that the idea of moving came WELL before school. They think I moved here to go to school. It's an easy mistake. The thing is, I didn't. I moved here because I want to live here. I have so many things to see and do in my new province. Now that the weather is getting warmer, and when school is over, I'll be able to get out and see those things. Even if I'm working. At least I won't be stuck at home doing homework and writing papers.

And I don't have a "home" to go to. I know I'd be welcomed at my parents if I really wanted to but I'm not about to make the reverse road trip this soon and I'd go crazy without a car. The home I had (my apartment) is no longer mine. I gave it up when I moved.

Even though BC will always be my "back home", Ontario is my home now, for now. For better or for worse.

Apparently God is British

I have a few different radio stations that I listen to regularly. If I am home during the week, at 7pm, the local Christian station plays "Adventures in Odyssey", a children's show I used to love. Now it provides a nice break in the middle of an evening of studying. Depending on the night (I haven't listened enough to figure out the exact schedule) different shows follow Odyssey. One is an older gentleman who plays a collection of what he terms "music for the soul". Old hymns, new ones, old ones re-done, lots of music from Salvation Army bands and a few marches here and there. He also plays clips of audio scripture. Right now the excerpt is from the book of Exodus where Moses is talking with God on Mount Sinai and getting the ten commandments. It makes me giggle because the guy who plays "God" has this big booming, authoritarian sounding voice...and a British accent! Apparently God is British. Who knew?

Waiting for the slam

I was listening to Keith Urban's song "But for the Grace of God" today. It's kind of scary how exactly like my life these lyrics are. Sad too.

I can hear the neighbors
They're arguin' again
And there hasn't been peace on our street
Since who knows when
I don't mean to listen in
But the shoutin' is so loud
I turn up the radio to drown it out
And silently I say a little prayer

But for the grace of God go I
I must've been born a lucky guy
Heaven only knows how I've been blessed
With the gift of you love
And I look around and all I see
Is your happiness embracing me
Oh Lord I'd be lost
But for the grace of God

It's not neighbours, it's my landlord and her on again, off again boyfriend. They were off, for good, a few weeks ago and we had peace for a bit. She's told him that he can stay until he finishes school in May though. That means that they're "trying to work it out". Today it all blew up again. There's nothing quite like waking up to angry shouting :(

They go through periods of not talking to each other (my favourite) and getting mad over every little thing. It's amazing how angry words can make you feel even when you're not involved in the situation. I have a new appreciation for any child who survived the divorce of their parents. My parents fought occasionally but not like this couple, and not with the swearing. Usually when it blew up with my parents it would end fairly quickly with a slam of the door as Dad left to go cool off. He'd go for a walk or a drive and then come back and they'd work it out. The people upstairs just stay and fight. I wish one of them would leave! I'm not saying it's a good way to deal with conflict but it would sure make the house a lot quieter.

Usually, like today, as the song says, I "I turn up the radio to drown [the shouting] out". Sometimes I leave the house. The other day they got into it a while before I had to leave for work so I grabbed one of the books I'm reading for class and headed out early. Dad called just as I pulled in and I told him what was going on. I told him "I liked the way you handled it better" which made him laugh a bit.

By the grace of God a bit of yelling is all I had to witness as a kid (which is healthy, no one gets along ALL the time) and now. I'm so thankful that there's no physical violence :( I can still pray that the shouting will stop though. Or that someone will just leave!

Version Francaise Incluse

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a HUGE Disney fan. Well, Disney movie fan. I have yet to make it to the mecca of Disney fans (Disneyland/world) but I love watching the full length animated movies. Before I moved, while I was packing, I watched almost every Disney movie my parents own (and that was a lot). Recently I started visiting the kids section of the library (where I get 98% of my movies anyways, the library, not the kids section) and started renting Disney DVD's. I've seen them all many times so for the most part I just have them on in the background while I'm studying or scrapbooking.


Lately, to make them really interesting, I've been switching the language track to French! I know these movies by heart so I know what they're supposed to be saying, but the French version is great. It's not just dubbed either. It's totally redone, songs and everything. You think the Cheshire Cat is trippy in English? Try him in French! Or Jafar from Aladdin? (which I'm watching right now) He's sinister in English but down right scary in French. It's great! So far I've watched (in French) Sword in the Stone (my favourite Disney movie next to Beauty and the Beast), Fox and the Hound, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio and now Aladdin.


C'est bonne!

Winter Walk

I walked home from the school today. I didn't technically have to go but one of my profs invited me to a guest lecture on border issues so I thought I'd go. I don't have classes on Thursdays so I'm not usually at the school but it meant that I had lots of time to walk home after the lecture. It's still cold outside but the wind died down today so it wasn't as bad as it has been. I did bundle up (winter coat, boots, mittens, scarf, ear muffs) and I was fine. I can't wait to walk without all the layers though! Walking takes me around 40 minutes. I did it a lot last fall. I look forward to doing it more as the weather warms up now.

I broke my bra

How does that happen? I'm not talking about underwires popping out the end. That happens. I get it. But this one? The underwire actually snapped, mid cup. How??? And the most annoying part? It's my only light coloured bra. Which means I can't wear light coloured shirts until I get a new one (because I refuse to wear a dark bra under a white shirt. I just don't get that look. Sorry.) AND these bras are only available in the States. I've got to find out if Lane Bryant ships to Canada. That or it's another trip to Buffalo in the very near future. The good news is it's still freaking cold outside so I'm wearing lots of layers and dark colours, but Spring *IS* coming (or so I've been promised) so I NEED a light coloured bra. Preferably sooner rather than later.