Snow, torches, and finals

The past week has been relatively eventful in the non-weather related news, despite the final exams that have been breathing down everyone's backs. I was pleasantly surprised by my grade on my term paper (B+) in my class on the UN last week, as well by an A in my class on Eastern European politics. It doesnt look like I will be failing any of classes, which is certainly good news.

Wednesday, December 9th, was our first large snow storm. By the end of it, they counted 23 cm (about 9 in) fell in Montréal in about 18 hours. The snow preceeding and following the storm brought the total closer to 30cm, or about a foot. I got lunch midday with Guillaume, waiting for the snow to add up to a sufficient amount. I then headed up to Sarah's house for some playtime in the snow! On the way up there, I had to wait for the bus. I never really realised how snow really gets everywhere, and tries to fit into every corner of your being. Here is a video of me waiting for the bus!

A bunch of us went up the side of the mountain and did some sledding, along with snow angels and snowball fights. The creation of snowmen was not possible, as there are several different types of snows. This was was far too fluffy.

I am on the left, with Cameron and Max

Sarah, Lauren, and myself

The climb back down the hill

Sarah's balcony around 3.30pm


Me, Muong, and Camille waiting for the bus


Tara, Sarah's rommate, and I walking through the Village at night

Post-snow storm news:
I SAW THE OLYMPIC TORCH!!!!!!!!! The 2010 Winter Olympics are in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, and the torch is passing through every corner possible in Canada. Best part? The switch over was right in front of my apartment. I was trudging back to my place through the snow from my last class, when I saw a large crowd congregated outside the building. I saw the woman in Olympic gear, and heard murmurs of the torch! I ran up to my room to grab my camera, and I got the following photo, amoung others.


I couldn't believe my luck!!!! While I may not be able to make it out West for the games, I can at least say I saw la flame olympique!

I took my first final today, and what I think was the hardest one in terms of my knowledge of the material. Yet, I got very lucky and the essay question was on the subject about which I knew the most. Just got four more to go, and I will be home in Saturday night!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to see everyone, the dogs included, and to have a nice, big chile verde burrito. :)

Joyeuses Fêtes, AKA Happy Holidays, from Montréal!

One last hurrah before finals...

I would first like to mention that it is SNOWING again outside!!! -1 degree celsius was today's high. LOVE IT!

This weekend was a lot of fun. Thursday I had class all day, which is, of course, not entertaining in the least. Afterwards, I met up with Morris and we had phô (vietnamese soup) which he made and it was delicious. Then we met up with Sarah and her roommate and we all went to a magazine release party. The alcohol, snacks, and dancing was all free! It was in a loft, and full of hipsters. It was a fantastic night in which i barely spent a penny.

Friday I went grocery shopping, then did some homework. Lauren and I had dinner, then watched a movie called Green Fingers with Hellen Miren and Clive Owen. It was a cute, light-hearted film. Overall, I would give it a B+/A-. I then went out, unexpectedly, to a party with friends from school. That was a ton of fun, with activities ranging from dancing, to parisiens falling all over the place, to a healthy discussion on the status of Québec. Great night :)

Saturday, I woke up very, very late and went for a walk right before the sun went down around 4pm. I went over to Lauren's, and we cooked, baked, etc etc. We got all pretty, then went to Sarah and Cameron's joint birthday party. It was very pleasant, including the sleigh rides made by Lauren! Hot cocoa with peppermint alcohol = bliss in a mug.

Sunday was uneventful and homework filled. I will be home next weekend! Just have to get through these final exams!!!

First real snow

I have been looking back at all my previous postings, and I am noticing that with each passing post, the distance between them gets larger and larger. I blame this on finals and papers. When I look back at my finals-time work load in San Francisco, I realise that it was nothing. Here, I have 10 page papers in every class, and five finals in three days. Each final is essay format, so essentially, my right hand is going to have to go through rehab to recover.

Anyway, to the topic! November 30th brought Montréal its first snow of the year!! Here is a photo to prove it!

I went up near Sarah's house to play on the mountain as all the snow was more or less gone from downtown after a few hours. We even made a snowman! Or I should say snowwoman, as we named her Iva.

so YAY SNOW! It made my week! I was so excited, especially because November was extremely mild by Montréal standards.

Alas, December has arrived. As much as I love it for Christmas and the holiday décor, it also coincides with final exams, the least festive things on the face of the planet. I've been doing paper, after paper, after paper. I only have one left, on domestic partnerships in the US. After that, I will only have to study for my finals! I have a final on the 14th, two on the 15th, and two on the 17th. Then........I'm flying home on Dec 19th!!!! Right before Dad's birthday!!! I changed my flights, originally departing Dec 22nd, because there was no real need to stay another three days. Although my flight gets in at midnight on Saturday, the flight time is also shorter bcause the layover is in Minnesota, instead of New York City.

I'm off to go eat at the vegan bistro at the english-speaking uni, Concordia. Perhaps you might even see another post before Christmas comes....

Almost half way there

So I just came to notice that my last post was over two weeks ago! Shame on me! Granted, the past two weeks have been far less packed with goings-on as I am on a water-tight budget at the moment. Here is a round up of some of my recent activities:
1) too much homework. Finals is right around the corner, and i keep having to write paper after paper.
2) been to the Dollar Cinéma several times. I love the guy that works there because he is just so relaxed about everything!!!
3) went to a ROLLER DERBY match!!!! It was soooo sooo cool! plus I got to ride in a car for a wee bit. I miss driving :-/ I know that its bad for the environment.....but still.
4) Changed my flights to go home for Xmas. Going back on the 19 Dec! Not long left...and I will already be half way through my time in Canada.....can't believe it....

Club in the Clouds

Well this weekend was certainly interesting. Some epics nights out, along with a club on the 43rd floor of a skyscraper in Centre-Ville! Soooo cool! You can google pictures of "1 Place Ville Marie" for pics of the building, or "Club 737". Saturday was a great gathering. We all met up at Sarah's house and made MEXICAN! She lives a relatively short distance from Provigo on Avenue Mont Royal, so we walked over there and bought all the ingredients, including a pumpkin pie and ice cream!!! The conversation was riveting, including a game or two ;) All in all, a succesful and relatively inexpensive night for all.
Sidenote: I go home for the holidays in 6 weeks. And I have been in Montréal for 3 months. Jeeeeezus.

All Hallow's Eve

Last weekend was HALLOWE'EN! Ever money-smart, I did my cowboy costume again. Bought a cowboy hat, pink and fluffy for a fun effect, and borrowed a pink bandana. Got to say, I was a much more colourful cowboy compared to the other ones running around. Friday night we went to Club 1234. First off, never go there. The service is crap, drinks are costly, and too many people squeeze in. However, having fantastic friends makes a difference! We danced our way through the evening, along with some lovely time spent on the outside deck (with even an accident slip in a puddle by a few people *wink*). Anyway, late night homemade fries at Morris's was a great way to end a yet another lovely evening in the city. The day of Halloween rolled around, and in full collegiate style, I woke up around 3pm. Lazed around, studied as much as I could (hehe), then watched Johnny English :) Here is a piece of advice: ever sad? Watch some British comedy. The night was finished off with a feast of sorts at Cameron's, with "Corpse Bride" and "The Others" as company. Sunday was studying-filled. Monday, the start of a new week of school...Tuesday, a disappointing election for the LGBT community. Wednesday, I went for a walk up the mountain with Bonnie and Sarah, despite it hanging around 4 degrees Celsius (about 39F), then we got hot chocolate form Tim Horton's to defrost! Helped Bonnie with some french, then on my way home, I walked into a conference on Obama's first year in office. One of my prof's had mentioned it in class, and it was certainly intriguing. Obama's health care efforts were analysed, and clearly everyone on the panel was in favour of them. All seemed to rather positive of his job, but were expecting better in the future years. I find Obama to be a good president, regardless of my opinions on the issues. I do not line up eye-to-eye with him on several things, but he did pass the hate crimes bill last week, so its a step in the right direction regarding that issue anyway. Class tomorrow, so it is bedtime for me. Perhaps another posting soon :)

Quick let down

Just wanted to leave a quick message that Maine has let its LGBT community down. Those who voted to keep same-sex marriage are to be congratulated; those who voted otherwise, well aren't.

Snow in Montréal, Bus in New England, Rain in Boston

I will update you so far on the weather. It has officially snowed a few times lightly in Montréal, but on Thursday, it snowed rather heavily. I went to Métro (the supermarket) to grab some wine for dinner with Cameron and Lauren, and walked off the métro system to find it snowing! It was heavy enough to get my backpack wet within the few mins from the métro stop. I took a quick video of the snow from my apartment window!

Oh so I cut my finger trying to save a wine glass from an inevitable smashing. It went straight into my middle finger, and it was quite sore! I ended up pushing too hard to stop the bleeding, so I bruised it :/ Trust me!


Bruised finger in hand, literally, I left for Boston to visit Kendra on Friday morning. I took the greyhound, and the drive was fantastic! Not only did I cross an international border by land (a first), I also crossed three states in one day (also a first). Having never been to New England before, it was so cool to see Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. The trip took a little longer than expected, but I took enough photos to make up for it. I got into Boston around 6pm (10 hours since departure from Montréal). Kendra, her friends and I went to a restaurant called Dick's Last Resort, in which you get abused verbally by the staff. Its quite an odd experience. I then got my first cannoli, an Italian pastry. It was quite delicious! Saturday was a wee bit rainy, but I saw tons of Boston and took tons of pictures. The history is everywhere, and the British influence on the road layout is evident as there is no layout. The road were based on old cow paths, so they just go wherever they want and make random turns anywhere. Driving would be a nightmare! Oh and I also got to see HARVARD UNIVERSITY! It was soo cool and very, very pretty. Clearly the private university tuition pays off! No closed down library for them.
Sunday we went on a Duck Tour, in which you get a bus tour around Boston, with plenty of historical references to things you would otherwise not notice. After the bus part, the "bus" goes into the river! It was a converted WWII boat/bus, and the trip in the river was definately unique! Here is a photo I took from the boat of the Boston skyline, with the Autumn leaves along the shore.

It was great seeing Kendra, but I had to come back to Montréal eventually. The way back was much faster (7 hours), and I had the two seats in my row to myself for the whole way up. I really think I might do a day trip to Burlington, VT one of these days because its only 2 hours south of here.

Well, this is my school's reading week. On a positive note, I had no classes. Unfortunately, it also means that I have to write all my papers. Hallowe'en is at the end of the week, so I can't wait for that!! Who knows what I will dress up as!?

A visit from California

Mum and Dad arrived on Thursday. I went to class in the morning and took my first test, a quiz on the types and forms of sentences, then went to the first half of my Eastern European politics course in the afternoon. After a quick walk in the underground tunnels connecting l’UQAM to the métro, I got on the train, then the bus, and then another bus. An hour and fifteen minutes later, I arrived at the surprisingly small Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport. Compared to when I waited for Lauren the month prior, I only hung around for about half an hour before my parents were visible from my point in the crowd. Soon enough, we were in a taxi (what luxury!) on our way back into Montréal. Being relatively well established at their hotel room, we bought them some tourist passes for the metro, at a relatively good price too. We passed by my place, and I showed them my room. It is, as I have mentioned in the past, nothing grand but it works for me! We need grabbed some more public transport, during which they remarked at the heat of the metro stations. I had forgotten about it, as it is something that you just get used to after a while. We soon arrived at our destination, La Croissantrie Figaro, where Gabrielle works, in the Mild End. It is quite a cute resto, French and cute all at once! The lightening is a little bit darker than most people are accustomed to, but it adds to the atmosphere. We had a great conversation, and it a lovely seeing them again. We hoped on the bus back and called it a night.

Friday, I showed them as much of Montréal as I thought possible in one day. We climbed up the mountain, which was lovely with all the leaves having changed colours. It was raining rather heavy, but it was pleasant all the same. Lunch time arrived quite quickly, so we went to La Banquise for some POUTINE! I got regular poutine with hot dog slices mixed in, while Mum and Dad got mince with theirs. A walk around le Plateau Mont Royal, followed by another walk around Vieux Montréal ended the tourist part of the day. We then met up with Lauren and her mum for dinner at an Italian restaurant, then we called it a night because we were up early in the morning for the trip to Québec City.

Saturday morning consisted of our drive up to the provincial capital. It was really, really, really pretty. My favourite childhood pastime of walking through piles of leaves was fulfilled on numerous occasions. If you ever do the trip between Quebec City and Montréal, take Le Chemin du Roy. It takes longer, but is well worth it. The capital was similarly very pretty. We finished Saturday with a walk through the Upper and Lower Old Town and some calzone for dinner. It was a great day!

Sunday was a similarly fantastic day, albeit cold. We did some more historical visits around town, then we went to Montmerency Falls. The waterfall is 1.5 times the height of Niagara, and it was really quite spectacular. You get a gondola up to the top, walk over the falls, then you take the steps down the side of the cliff. The views were great. After the falls, I wanted to see l’Île d’Orléans, so we drove through that. The village of Ste. Pétronille is relatively well known for being picturesque, which is most certainly was. Our dinner back in Québec City was in the more locals-focused area, and the dinner was delicious. It also started snowing!!!!!!!!!!! It was my first snow in Canada, and I have a video uploaded to prove it!

Coming back was still a great drive, and we arrived back in Montréal around 5pm, as did the groceries and MICROWAVE that Mum and Dad got me! It has been put to good use, no need to worry! Tuesday morning included a lovely breakfast at their hotel, then some lunch at a quirky restaurant that I really enjoy in the Plateau. I continually forget its name, but I know what it looks like J They left on Tuesday afternoon, and I can’t wait to see them and the rest of the family at Christmas!

Here is quick photo to give you an idea of the leaves!

Canadian, Please

No matter your political opinions, please watch. Its quite funny. Just click 'play'!
N'importe vos opinions politiques, regardez s'il vous plaît. C'est très drôle. Juste cliquez PLAY!

Aussie say what? FRIENDS THAT'S WHAT!

Well, picking up where I left off in my previous entry...Saturday. To begin to describe my incredible day that was Saturday I must first start by saying that I spent the entire day doing homework. The end.


Actually, no, it was not the end. I did, however, spend the day doing homework. Not a problem necesarily, as I did get a lot done that I no longer have to do (which is making this week easier). Saturday night was different story all together. Got all done up, as is custom, and went over to Sarah and Ashleigh's place (the Aussie girls). Sarah got ready while I watched a slightly odd, slightly graphic zombie movie, and then we headed out to the CLUB! It was defined as a "hors-village club gai", or a "gay club outside the village". It was a cross between a bar and a club, and it was a lot of fun. People were there to meet people and make new friends, and the free drinks before 11pm was a fantastic bonus!!! Anyway, Mec Plus Ultra (the name of the event) was a definate success. More dancing, and we made a few friends, although the outgoingness of Sarah was hard to match. Alcohol may or may not have played a part. Jury is still out. Anyway, due to the fact that it was 3am, the club had closed, and we weren't tired yet, I bet you cannot guess where we went?? POUTINE OF COURSE! Lovely stuff. So, poutine-filled, friends-made, and sore-feet having, we made our way home. Great night, or morning. Depends on your defintion of the time after midnight ;)

Sunday - more homework, but this time I went to a café with Leah over in Côte-des-Neiges and had a café-au-lait à la homework. Really great time, and I find her neigbourhood quite pleasant to be in. As we discussed, its in Montréal, but has the feel of being its own seperate town. Homework complete, I jumped on the métro and went over to Lauren's. We made some pesto pasta dinner avec une salade, and watched Mambo Italiano. It's a movie set in Montréal, about an Italian family, and their gay son. Its really, really, really funny, and is only slightly homosexual. The Italian jokes are far more frequent, and you spent the vast majority laughing your butt off. I recommend it!

Monday- Class on the UN in the morning (although, it was on the League of Nations today. Great professor, bad time....pre-noon). Afternoon- productivity and shopping with Sarah :) We went to H&M (two of them actually, like 5 blocks apart). Then La Baie (The Hudson Bay Company, your standard department store founded in the 1800's...along the lines of Macy*s). Then Centre Eaton. Not only did I find my winter coat for the coming snow for only $80 (in which I look slightly like KGB officer or something because I am so puffy.....photo included),



but I also got my hair cut! It needs not be said that Mum was happy. Its shorter on the sides, but long enough on the top that I can do something with it. 4 hours later, I get home. I havent left since. My feet still hurt a wee bit.

Slowing down, to live and to reconsider

Wow. I can't actually believe that it has been almost a week since my last post!!!! This would clearly imply that I have been up to my usual antics and going crazy every night. I hate to be a large disappointment, but my life has been taking a turn for the less-expensive recently, and I am not partying it up in Montréal quite a much. I am taking this as an indication that I am beginning to settle in completely, and starting to form more permanent habits. Since my last post was last Saturday, I will do my usual résumé of the week.

Sunday - Biodôme with the Canadians (Leah and Alex) and Bonnie. It was an odd cross between a botanical garden, a zoo, and an aquarium, but all the better because it was free for international students :) I love all the student discounts in Montréal, an indication of the province putting education first, something lacking in the States. Anyhoo, Monday involved some class and rain. More rain. Lots of rain, rain, oh and did I mention, rain? It makes me slightly giddy everytime I wake up with the rain falling outside. I am definately more suited to living in a climate that actually has weather! Tuesday meant homework in the morning, and class all day. Wednesday meant doing homework also. Thursday was a pleasant day. I started it off in my french syntax course, a nice break for all my political science courses. I really appreciate the teaching style of my professor, she is neither condescending nor overly sensitive. If you make an oral error, she corrects you by saying what you said in the form of a question with the correct grammar clearly audible. I enjoy this because it keeps that mistake in your head, so that you do not make it again. I also enjoy that class due to the subject material, which I find oddly helping my french enormously. It is reminding me to slow down a little bit, and to not forget my grammar rules. I apply everything I am learning in my french courses to my other ones, not to mention outside life. After a month of school, the readings are not quite as difficult to get through, but my next challenge will be the writing. I know this is going to present more of a mountain than a simply incline of a challenge, but I am ready to improve my french to the same drastic degree. Thursday afternoon was my Central and Eastern European politics class. The professor has a very strong Québécois accent, in an endearing way. She's a petite lady, with big curly hair and a very pleasant personality. The other weeks I have been worried due to the lack of powerpoint, but beginning the other day and from now on, she will be using them! I am so happy because it allows me to understand the material so much more. 3 hours talking about democratisation and the Berlin Wall, then I am free for the weekend! I headed over to Lauren's house with Morris, another Californian, and we made steaks, salade, and mashed potatoes à la wine rosé. It was quite lovely, followed by another expedition to the dollar cinéma. This time we saw The Ugly Truth, and I loved it just as much as the first time (with the extreme price reduction a certain bonus). Friday- Woke up (interesting, I know!). Started on some homework, then went and saw an amazing documentary on separatism in Québec, Scotland, and Catalonia. All in french, no subtitles. It was very interesting, as it presented the movements as all related in almost sneaky, hidden ways. I enjoyed it immensely, and the thoughts running through my head on the walk home were plentiful. I ate a wee bit, then went to the library to open an account and work on homework. I have offically found my favourite library ever. Its very, very modern (glass lifts and a lack of dampness). It has a great movie collection, tons of CDs, and so many books! I grabbed a quick one, but I know that I am going to spend a lot of time in there. I would have placed some photos from it on this blog, but its forbidden to take photos inside. I dont want to risk my membership (which, by the way, is free to all residents of the province of Québec). I left around half past nine, having completed my homework quota for the day, but I did grab some items to check out on the way out, including a guide book for next week when Mum and Dad visit. I went over to my friend Cameron's house, and drank a beer and ate crisps with him, our friend Alex, and his french-canadian roommates. The girls asked about the American Dream, and we had a great convo comparing our visions of what it is and how they visioned it etc. Short walk home in the.........rain.......bet you couldn't have guessed that one.....and I was home. Great week overall, and I am ending it with some soft pop-ish québécois music I got from the Grande Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales. Getting some thinking done as well, just for fun!

Staying out late. Very late. Quite possibly ridiculous late. Verging on early...

This week, along with just about every week since I have gotten here, has been a lesson in staying out late. Vie à la Québécoise means that clubs dont start getting really busy until close to midnight, and you stay until 3am.....usually followed by some late night snack. Wedneday: grabbed drinks with some friends that I had met from Vancouver, BC. Thursday night: Same people, plus some Aussie and Americans mixed in - drinks + poutine though. Last night (Friday) - Same group as Thursday, plus more Americans and Québécois....only later and more poutine!! I got back to my house around 5am this morning.......therefore, I did not get out of bed until 2pm. What a weekend! Topping it off? I'm writing this, about to head out again! I am justifying it through extra studies next weekend. I think its equal, right? :)

Quick Montréal Rain Storm

I thought I would upload a quick video of the rain in Montréal today. I found it particularly interesting, largely due to the heat wave that has hit California. Only downside: it's ridiculously humid outside!

Autumn's beginnings

Wow! It has already been almost a week since I last wrote an entry. This week flew by, largely because I am officially in full-swing at university. My course on Monday morning was on international political organisations, with an emphasis on the UN. I am really fascinated by all the information, and the professor is either from Africa or the Caribbean, I can't quite place his accent, which is easier to understand than the Québécois one. So Monday was a definate success, along with a pleasant dinner with Bonnie and Lauren involving some lovely conversation. Tuesday started off with a run through the park, which is when I first truly noticed the changing of the trees. Although we are probably about three weeks away from the best of the colours, the yellows are definately appearing. Every tree has a least a bit of it dying, and the smell from the red leaves on the paths is amazing. I just want to find a pumpkin and carve it for Halloween, but it's still so far away! The autumn season naturally starts far earlier here than in California, or I think most of the West Coast of the US/Canada. Supposedly, by mid-November, winter will have started. Anyway, so Tuesday was alright, classes were relatively interesting but I did meet some really nice québécois people, who also happen to have largely similar schedules to myself! What a convenience! I can now ask people for help in just about all my courses. Wednesday was my day off, I slept in, did homework. O so very exciting, no? :) Thursday was a great day because it was my orientation day for the political science student association....I met a lot of other students, drank a wee bit, and played some interesting games. The day ended with a party at a bar, and a very late bedtime.

Friday!
NO CLASS! So I slept in, and I went up Mont Royal with Sarah, the aussie, and Lauren from CA. It was sooo nice! I took plenty of photos, had a leisurely walk, then we all headed up to Bonnie's for a Mexican food night! We all pitched in and bought ingredients for mexican food, then all cooked together. Followed by a bar, or two, or three......I had such a great night, despite the fact that I can no longer walk around in a tee-shirt at night. A jacket is required, because the seasons are changing! :)

Tests, of the alcoholic sort

So my last post was on Wednesday, so I figured that I would fill out another for your enjoyment! Thursday was a rather hectic day, from a mumbling-professor to filled-classes to finding out about new programme requirements. Essentially, I recall no mention of a french-class requirement to my study abroad programme, so I had to navigate the *bureaucrazy* to get to the right place, and take a placement test. The following morning, I went to the École des Langues at UQAM, and wrote 15 lines in french. Fairly simple. Proceeded to get a few errands done, and by the time I was done, I was quite shocked at how fast the day had gone. Of course, I did stop for lunch with Gabrielle on the Plateau, and had a hambourgeois (hamburger in Québécois). Followed by a walk around Le Village with Lauren and some quiche, all of a sudden it was 9pm and it was time to leave for a party!! We took the metro and the bus over to Bonnie's place, then walked to Esther's house. Such a cute apartment, it has to be said! It was certainly well decorated, along with the usual wood and steep staircase charm that is Montréal. We left a wee bit early, and then I called it a night because I was really tired from the week.

12 hours later, I woke up. Quite the sleep, non? :)
I got up, had breakfast in the afternoon, then read my book for a wee bit. THEN BEGAN THE FUN! As the international student department at UQAM is a relative failure, I have begun to latch onto the program at Concordia, one of the two English-speaking universities in Montréal. First of all, I showed up and it was just a little mixer, and I met plenty of people, whether they be from New Hampshire or New South Wales. Soon enough, the organisation had set up a pub crawl, with teams, leaders, chants, and colours and all! Me and one of the Aussie girls who also did not go to UQAM began our friends' fan club, and followed them around the bars :) We took plenty of photos, which I am sure will be on facebook within a week....largely not-flattering I might add. After a few hours at the pub crawl, and A ROLO McFLURRY from McD, we headed over to La Sociale for a few more hours of dancing. It was so much fun, had a wee bit to drink, and danced until about half past midnight. The club was slowly emptying out, which is a stark comparison to the norm here in MTL, becasue half past midnight is when the party is at its finest. Undeterred, the group slimmed slightly and those willing took the metro over to the village. After agreeing that a $4 cover charge was reasonable, we headed into Sky Lounge! So much fun! Danced for a bit, sat on a gorgeous terrace for a bit, then danced some more! Come 3am, we were all exhausted, and headed our different ways. Got to say though, that was one of the best nights in Montréal, and was most certainly epic.

Indirect learning

So I started my courses yesterday. My classes will be referred to as courses during my year here, because the word in french is "cours", so the translation is less confusing in my head. First off, Tuesday morning was quite the frustrating morning. I went to the registrariat to try and change my courses, because I had been enrolled in what appears to have been a masters course. Over one hour in line, only to be told that I was in the wrong place and that I had to go see someone for the political science department. Frustrasted at the lack of efficiency, I went to this woman who incidently was the most annoying person I have yet to meet here. She shall remain nameless, but she has a horrible attitude, and is extremely frustrating. Not only did she talk to me as thought I was stupid, but also advised me against taking a certain course. Best part? SHE IS IN THE COURSE; not as the professor mind you, as a student. Anyway, happy thoughts. I got two classes switched over, and I was then enrolled in US political system and the politics of Canada and Québec. Off to US Politics I went. My main motivation for taking this course was to see the way that the US is represented in Québec, and I am certain not to be disappointed. Within the first twenty minutes, I knew that I was going to the love the course. The prof is pretty young, probably born around 1980 ish, and he is passionate about his subject. Between that, and the way that people discussed parts of the US, I am extremely excited!! After that, I went to my Canada and Québec class. The subject itself is very interesting, and the workload is minimal. The main issue that I have, though, is that my prof's Québécois accent is extremely strong. I need to sit near the front to understand anything. Indirectly though, I should at least learn more québécois words. Today, I had a Political Thought course. Let's just say I am not keeping it and I am going to try and get that one changed right away. First off, I despise political theory, and political theorists. While intellectual thought of the abstract sort is great, if it is not applied concretely, I become very irritable. The lecture was entirely on the idea of an idea, not what is an idea, but why do we even call it can idea....Offfft. Oh well, I'm going to try and get into several other courses besides that one, so I will keep you updated. One aspect of all my courses that I am finding surprisingly pleasant is that they are all three hours long. While it can become naturally a bit boring, it makes scheduling life so much more simple. That, and the fact that you only have to do homework once a week for each class, and the system gets an A+ from me.

Less about school! I went on a walk this afternoon after meeting up with Guillaume in the Social Sciences Café. I took the métro up to Mont Royal station, then walked back down Ave. Saint-Hubert. It was largely residential the whole way down, then I turned into the Gay Village and grabbed a coffee while I read my book for an hour. Ô and the best part about coffee shops here, if you get it to drink there, which you should because people take their time here, you get a REAL MUG! None of the plastic/paper/cardboard Starbucks stuff, REAL MUGS! Imagine! Quick rush-hour ride on the métro back, and here I am, writing. And here I am, not writing anymore :)

Refugees in the land of the Gay Marriage

So another "quick" update, as I have noticed I keep beginning my blogs with. Whether or not they are actually quick is irrelevant, its the thought that counts. So my last blog was written at 9am on Saturday, and this is picking up from that point. Saturday, Lauren and I went to a run in Parc Lafountaine. It was rather lovely, not only due to the positive health benefits, but also because of the tangible summer atmosphere in the park. Mid-70's outside, and with humidity, perhaps around 80, had brought everyone, their children (Montréal being a very family-friendly city), the dogs, just about anyone really out into the parks for picnics, runs, walks, reading, sleeping, tanning, all around fun-in-the-sun activities. After our run, we went and had.........dun dun dun, more poutine! hahahah In all fairness, Lauren hadn't had any yet, and we walked right past a poutine place :) After our poutine délicieuse, we went back to Lauren's place. A quirky québécois film on the Radio-Canada channel later, and we headed out to get ready for the CLUB! Looking our best, cowboy boots included, we went to Club Unity for the DRAG BALL NIGHT :) The promise of free entry had brought out the queens and kings in force, with a large proportion of the attendees being in drag. Hours of dancing later, along with plenty of fun eye-candy, we headed back home. Fun night? Most definately

.

Today, a load of laundry and another run in the tree-lined streets of Notre-Dame-Des-Graces was followed by the first of hopefully several Californian dinners. We all met up at the Mont Royal métro station, followed by some Thai food. This was then followed by two bottles of wine, shared amoung 7 mind you, and some coffee and cake, quite a lovely evening. I felt very québécois/canadian (although the terms do not go hand in hand, I'll wait for another blog to go into depth about that). I would just like to take the time to mention that while all these dinners are great fun, on a more serious note, there is a definate freedom to living in Canada that I am learning to enjoy. Perhaps, and most likely, more conservative areas of the country are not like here, but overall, the liberty when it comes to homosexuality is astounding. Blink twice at two men or two women holding hands? Nope. Not required. Want to get married? Sure, why not. Want all the legal rights as everyone else, from taxes, social security (or the Canadian equivalent), to immigration? Sure! It really hit me how amazing it is and how lucky I am to be here after reading that some same-sex recognition laws are going to the ballots in WA and Maine, just like Prop 8. Its so relieving to be here, because even the supposedly most progressive 1/50th of the US can't get its act together; this whole country has had it together for several YEARS now. Rant is over. Thought I would provide inside to my thoughts.

On a far more positive now, Vive Montréal! Vive le Québec! Vive Canada :)

I'll have some groceries, international students, with some poutine on the side

So I have found a cheap grocery store! YAY On Monday I was out with Leah and we went to a place called Maxi & Cie (the & cie part apparently means "& Co"). I went back on Thursday, and got some fantastic savings! Buying generic is key, along with pleanty of fruit. So, thank you Maxi, you kept me in my food budget for August/September.

On Friday morning was the orientation day for the international students. Thinking it would be a day filled with activities, I was rather excited. Unfortunately, this was not the case to any degree. I spent two and a half hours listening to a lecture about the rules of UQAM, and why 95% of the time , international students are the ones breaking the rules. Then, afterwards, they said that it was done. Confused, I get out of my seat with the other non-French, as the French are about 90% of the exchange students at UQAM, thinking that I can perhaps make friends with a few people. Within 10 seconds, the wave of France is coming behind, and being able to make friends becomes impossible. Perhaps it is not my destiny to make friends with other international students at my school, so I will just make Québécois friends instead :)

Friday night was a lovely day, and not too wallet-emptying either. Leah and I went for a walk up Rue St. Denis, over Avenue Mont Royal, then down Papineau, all the time browsing the shops which had expanded onto the street for some sort of end-of-summer sale. I found a pair of shoes that I really wanted, but as the warm temperatures are only going to last a few more weeks, it would have been silly to buy them. After our walk, we met up with some friends from California, and one from Canada too, and went to a Scottish pub. I use the term Scottish losely, as the menu was filled with scotch, they had Scottish flags outside, and the décor implied Scottish, but the music did not. One cider, one spilt beer, and some good conversation later, we headed out and got late night poutine! POUTINE!!!!!!! It is amazing. I don't know if I have mentioned it before, but its fries, covered in brown gravy, with cheese curds on top. Its sounds awful, but trust me, it is delicious. Quick walk home later, and I am in my bed, ready for what turned out to be an 11-hour sleep.

Mont Royal

Today, with Lauren and her dad, we walked up to the top of Mont Royal. Who'd have thought, in the middle of the big city, there would be such nature?

Illness and Québécois seperatists, most likely not related.

Sorry about the lack of posts for the past few days. I have been rather occupied for the better part of the past week by a weak-yet-long-lasting cold. After Ottawa, I felt slightly ill, runny-nose, cough, and what not. So Thursday-Sunday did not include any overly exciting events. I hung out with Bonnie, and got Japanese Udon soup! YAY! Sunday night was quite pleasant. I went out with Guillaume and his girlfriend, Geneviève. Dinner in Chinatown first, followed by a FREE film for the Film Du Monde cinéma film festival. The film was a québécois film about the québécois band Les Colocs, filled with québécois seperatists en plus! Yet again without the aide of subtitles, I was able to follow the story quite decently, and it was a very good film overall. The soundtrack was filled with songs by the band, from odd rap to swing. Quite the pleasant evening.
Monday: Jour d'intégration pour la faculté de science politique, or science po, as its commonly known here. It was actually kind of a waste of my time as the hour was spent being introduced to heads of silly departments with even sillier speeches. In the end, the only useful thing was receiving my student ID. Followed by a nap in the afternoon, then dinner with Leah at her place in Côte-des-Neiges. Summary: finally starting to feel established in Montréal!

The Bilingual Capital, Poutine, and the occasional cross-provincial journey

So its been a few days since my last update. I have certainly been much busier this week than the previous, what with meeting people, shopping, sightseeing, and my trip to Ottawa. I've been going out a bit too much though I think. Yesterday was a new experience all together though. To start, I went out with Gabrielle and met her and some of her friends at a bar called St. Sulpice. Confused at first due to a largely vacant interior, I walked through the building and saw the prettiest bar I have ever seen. All outside, trees mingling with tables and chairs, vine-covered fences, and to top it all off, a fountain in the building. Between my drink and the garden lights, nothing could have been prettier. I also tried POUTINE at this same place. Poutine is fries, with a brown gravy, and cheese curds. It sounds kind of disgusting, but its oddly tasty. I have yet to meet a Québécois who dislikes it! Its soo gooooood! And I guess there is one restaurant that I should try where you can have poutine with chicken, sausage, peppers, lots of other ingredients too! Will keep you informed of all the recipes :) After this delicacy, we walked around the corner to the Cinéma Québécois du Quatier Latin, I think that was its name anyway. We saw a film about sky-diving, very much québécois and very much sans subtitles. I managed surprisingly well, and there was really only two points where I asked Gabrielle for a quick translation. Also, this movie was main stream in Québec, the adverts for it are all over the métro stops. That being given, imagine my surprise to find not only the normal, rather melodramatic heterosexual love triangle story, but also, A GAY LOVE STORY TOO! And not the kind of gay where its mentioned and you don't see any action, they went all out. And the cinéma was full of males and females alike, none of whom reacted negatively to gay making out in front of them. God I love Canada :)

Next topic! Ontario, Bus Rides, and the Capital, Ottawa!!
Up at 5.30am, bus at 8.00am. The Greyhound bus is surprisingly comfy, and the driver said internet was free on the bus too! Great for longer journeys I imagine. We left Montréal at 8am, and my entire group of 8 fell asleep almost immediately. Luckily though, the first hour was just traffic because of construction anyway. I suppose that its inevitable because they can only do road work 6 months of the year, and in a city of 3 million, you have to do lots of road work. Anyway, the drive through the countryside was gorgeous! Rolling hills and forests do not lack in this part of North America. Honestly, it looked just like Europe, but better because its CANADA! I might have started to tear up a bit. shhhhhhhhh
Anyway, so around 10.30 we pulled into Ottawa, which all of a sudden APPEARED. The autoroute, AKA highway, was in the middle of a dense forest, then all of a sudden, high rise building and you can see the parliament building. Canadians flags everywhere, which stirs pride even in non-Canadians. We walked through the downtown portion for a bit, seeing Scottish street names everwhere. Good sign, I think? We reached Parliament Hill, and then walked around a little bit. Up the Peace Tower we go. Its the tower that is part of the Parliament building, and the British influence is incredible. The view from the top is worth the price of the ticket, free! No I would have paid as the view is 360 degrees around, and you can see all the city and the landmarks from the top. After our lofty tour in the sky, we went down the lift with our bilingual tour guide lady, a symbol of Canada. Everything in Ottawa is in French and English, which I must say is rather entertaining. You can use either languge, and just about everyone will respond in your language of choice. We went for a wee walk, down the ByWard Market. Cheap restaurants are right next to cheap stalls, and cute streets are filled with buildings that remind you that, once again, Canada was so heavily influenced by British people. The houses are big, with a strong Victorian air about them. Next stop was a Cathedral, once again gorgeous with stained glass windows. Then, a quick 1km walk across the bridge (Kilometers) to the Canadian Museum of Civilisation. Two fantastic and very informative exhibits later, and we are on our way back to la Ville de Montréal. Long day ended, a lot learned, and overall, YAY CANADA

Brie à la Wasp

Yes, I know, another "short" blog update. Today I went to the Cuban Jazz Festival, which ended up being more of a short one-band concert than a festival but it was fun nonetheless. We each brought something for the picnic, and we had some lovely soda, bread, brie cheese, crackers, and various fruits for lunch.....perfect lunch for a gang of wasps too! They planned their attack, and formed lines of infantry! But nevertheless, the lunch was enjoyable, the conversation plentiful, and the music, pleasant. Me, Joanna, the german girl, and a new Danish friend, Esther, all went back to the Plateau and found a lovely café for dinner, quiche and soup :) Dinner was followed by yet another métro ride, and the DOLLAR CINÉMA! We watched De Père en Flic, a québécois film. It was really quite funny, and I tried my best to watch it without the subtitles running below. Ended the day with a walk on the wet ground, thanks to yet another summer storm. Vive Montréal!

Germans, Americans, and French, oh my!

So once again, I return late to my résidence. Just a quick update on the past two days, including several cultural discoveries. The first being that Old Montreal, AKA Vieux-Montréal, is highly tourist-filled due to its historic nature. While having been here for one week, I am still a tourist of sorts, and I enjoy my promenade through the Old City, including looking at the cathedral built in the 1650's! Beat that California! haha Another discovery of mine was that banks require that you make appointments, apparently a week in advance. I have an appointment at la Caisse Desjardins next friday, precisely one week at my first attempt to open an account. Oh well, eventually I went have a carte de débit canadien; this being particularly convenient so I can stop paying those pesky international usage fees.

In happier news, today was quite fun. I went walking around Mile-End near le Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood today while Bonnie was looking for apartments. I would love to live either in the Plateau or Mile-End as a permanent residence! Most of the building are two or three levels, with most apartments. They all have tree-lined streets out-front, along with slightly overgrown gardens in both the front and back. I wish I had had camera with me at the time, but I am CERTAIN that I will return to both neighbourhoods to take plenty of photos for your enjoyment. After our marathon, we hoped on l'autobus for a ride back to my house to hang out for a wee bit, check email etc. We then went on a spur of the moment trip on the métro to Walmart, which unfortunately ended in a slight failure, as said Walmart was closed for the evening.....at 7pm.....how odd.....o well. So then we hoped back on the métro, and half an hour later, we met up with some people at the Plateau Mont-Royal. Our very transatlantic group included two americans, myself and Bonnie, two Germans, and a french couple. O and did I mention that we ate at a Greek restaurant? Quite the experience, as either fireworks or thunder was passing by overhead. I still think it was thunder, but who knows in the humid summer climate. After a dinner filled with a menu of words neither french nor english, we went to a rather hippy-ish bar, or lounge, or more a mix of the two. Drums thumping away in the background, conversations from religion in the United States vs. France, to apple-tasting ciders vs. beer ensued. And now, here I am, writing this winded blog. Anyway, I'm up tomorrow to by some supplies for our picnic at the Cuban Jazz Festival! Goodnight all!

Markets, Rain, and Irish Music

Just a quick post tonight, or I guess I should say this morning. Today was rather enjoyable. Rather than the heat that has been pestering Montréal all week, today is RAINED! and POURED! It was quite a pleasant change, and the temperature is much more agreable. Oh but before that, I went to two markets. One, a local one called Marché Jean-Talon, was fantastic and I got all my fruits and veggies for under $15!! Then I went to the supermarket and got pastas, sauces, etc for far too much money. I am pretty sure that although IGA (the supermarket) is right down the street, I could save major dollars by hoping onto the métro to Jean-Talon. Lessons learned.

This evening was also very fun! I met up with a friend from California, and she brought along a German girl that she had met in her hostel. We all went to an Irish pub, and had a pint of cider each. Although the drink was expensive, it was soon revealed as being well worth the price, and a very good Irish-Canadian band struck up a tune. And so they played for over an hour, and then we left as we were getting tired. 20 mins later, I was back in my not-as-hot apartment. All in all, a very good Thursday :)

Mont Saint-Hilaire

Yesterday, 8/18/2009, Gabrielle, Fauve, and I went to Mont Saint-Hilaire, maybe half an hour from Montréal. I took some pictures of the trip, as well as a few on the hike and at the top of the hill. It was awfully humid, but definately cooler than in Montréal. Enjoy :)

First two days in Montréal

The flight: Air Canada is a lovely airline. My flight was scheduled for departure at 8.20am, and by my watch, we pulled away at 8.25am. Not too shabby if you ask me. I had a window seat, and come time we were pulling away from the gate at SFO, no one had sat in the two seats to the right of me. So I had a row to myself the entire way to Montréal :) Two movies later, and I landed in the heatwave that is Montreal right now. Normally you might think of an airport as air conditioned....well apparently not in Montréal. It was significantly cooler inside the plane than on the gangplank, the customs hall, etc....Speaking of the customs hall, I had some kind of a disastrous customs experience, but long story short, 1 hr 45 mins later, I was in my friend Gabrielle's car, on the autoroute heading into Montréal. Few minutes later, I was at the Résidences, in my apartment!!! I'll have photos up soon....its nothing fancy but I like it all the same...its close to my classes, I have my own room, its big but not too big, small but not too small. Just big enough to fit all my stuff :)

Well, after dropping off my suitcases, Gabrielle and I headed to her house where she made a lovely dinner for us and one of her friends. After a lovely conversation and a lovely glass of champagne, we went out for la FIERTÉ GAI! We got to the club, Parking, at around 1am...and we were right on time. The club was in the basement, and it was so hot inside that the floor was soaking from sweat, and the ceiling was literally DRIPPING with the stuff. Also, I can't leave out the fact that about 90% of the crowd was male, and about 90% of them were shirtless ;) We danced for a while, then we went up onto the outside terrace on the roof. It was still very hot outside, and we hung up there for a long time, enjoying the experience. Around 2.30am, we went back inside and danced some more in the basement. I was walked back to my house, and just after 3am local time, I crashed onto my bed and fell asleep immediately.


10:00am Montréal time.
Woke up. Finally unpacked, and put all my stuff away. That actually took me quite a while, but I finished sometime around noon, and went out on my way for some errands. First, I went to Walmart, which is odd in itself because its the same, just completely in FRENCH!!! After that, I went and paid for my health insurance, handed in copies of my immigration documents to the régistrariat, then went about my way to get a Carte Opus, otherwise known as a métro pass. Step One: Proof of identity. Two: Proof of status at university. Three: proof of résidence sur l'Île de Montréal. Once you have that, and have a completed application, off you to to SPEQ at Métro McGill to get your Carte. Another queue later, and I had my card in hand. Feeling truly Montrealer, I went and bought a cell phone! Between that and my Carte, all I have left to do is to open a bank account then I have all my logistical things done and I can start being touristique!

Well today was a BUSY day, but well worth it. With the humidity index well about 100F, Vive l'été à Montréal! I already love this city, and cant wait for the coming year!!

On commence!

Hey everyone. So I am starting this blog, just like so many other students studying abroad, in order to update everyone on my experience in Montréal. I will be writing most of it in English, so for my American friends, don't worry :)

At this precise moment, I am not sure about how often I will update this blog. I will certainly do my best to keep it as up to date as possible. So it is early on Tuesday morning, and I leave on Sunday, August 16th. I can't wait, and be ready to experience my life, à la Montréal.