Le vent et le rafting

My foot is asleep. It is all tingly and cold. That is what happens when you sit crosslegged, typing typing typing, for too long.

This morning, I woke up at 5:30am. It was beautiful. The wind was slamming against the house, and the aftermath of rain was splattered against the patio doors. The sky was gray and cold, and I was loathing the idea of being in a wetsuit. But I sluggishly prepared my delicious and nutrional lunch: a wagon wheel, a chocolate/almond/caramel granola bar (why even bother with the granola?), fatty yogurt, a carrot (yes!), and a sandwich. Mmm. Has anyone ever heard of milk bread? I think it may be something beyond just white bread, because white bread isn't indulgently unhealthy enough. That is what I made my sandwich with, that and a fat slice of processed cheese, black forest ham, and a few redeeming pieces of lettuce.

I showered much too slowly, then ate breakfast. Then I realized that I had been dawdling for too long, and had only seven minutes to get to the college. Which is a problem because, as I've said before, it takes about 30 minutes to walk there. And, usually, at least 10 minutes to bike. So, I raced out the door, and pedaled as fast as I could, then ran to the meeting place. And, I made it! Just in time. Thank goodness.

We took the buses to the rafting prep building, stood in line there for the washroom for 10 minutes, then were outfitted in stinky wetsuits, life jackets, helmets, and shoes. The shoes were the worst. Filled with sand and sopping wet and completely worn out. But, definitely a better option than soaking my own only decent runners. So off we went to La Rivière Shipshaw... or something along those lines, and were grouped into rafts, and given a safety talk. The guide giving the talk made a mistake while speaking and swore, then apologized, saying he had learned his English in BC.... hahaha.

The rafting was a lot of fun, though not quite as intense as I had been hoping. Although there were definitely a few good waves! The last rapid was the most exciting. In some of the other rafts, people actually fell out. Thankfully, the water wasn't that cold, and they all made it back to their boats. We stopped partway through the trip, and went cliff jumping. It is always so exciting to build up apprehension and expectation as you climb, then overcome your fears and just jump. And afterwards, when you have resurfaced and are floating in the water, with your helmet, shoes, and lifejacket all still attached to you, you feel happy, and want to do it again.

At the end of the trip, we had to carry the rafts through the underbrush to where the trucks would pick them up, then hike up to our buses. After that, we had some time to eat while everyone took turns changing. We left for the Cégep as the second group of rafters arrived, and made it back for 1:45 pm.

Now, what to do with a wonderful, windy Sunday afternoon? Bike of course! I was too tired to be social, and so decided to turn my ten-minute bike ride home into a thirty-minute leisurely period of exploration. The wind was perfect. It was forceful and cool, and blew hard against me, flattening my jeans to my calves. I love love love wind. I also think that Sunday is a sort of laundry day, because I saw a lot of clothes hanging out to dry at many different houses. There was one white house, with a blue and white flag of Québec flung back in the wind, that had blue and white laundry to match. C'était très agréable. I also found a house with a small watermill that had trees growing and hanging about everywhere. It made me think of mushrooms and dwarves and deep forests. I eventually headed home, and lay on the grass in the front yard for about an hour. Just feeling the wind against me. Thinking, not thinking, dozing, daydreaming.

Samedi le 17 juillet - Cap Trinité

So, this entry has been a long time in coming. I am terribly sorry about the wait, but here you have it.

What a wonderful, exhausting, beautiful weekend.

We left for Cap Trinité early Saturday morning. (Now over two weeks ago!) My friend Emily and I spent most of the 1.5 hour bus ride talking to one of the monitors named François, hearing about his various football injuries. One of these involved his calf muscle protruding from his leg. All I could think of was how glad I was that all of the descriptions were in French, because if I had thoroughly understood everything he was saying, I am sure I would have been a bit more queasy. Or maybe I am finally toughening up.

At Cap Trinité, we were left to find our own way up the mountain.

Having been told that some sort of statue and an incredible view awaited us at the top, we set off with our backpacks and cameras. It quickly became apparent that this was not going to be a simple stroll. A sign posted at the beginning of the trail told us that the hike up was 3.5 km, and that the trail's level of intensity was difficile. It definitely was.

The hike started off innocently enough, but soon led to flights and flights of stairs and trails that were all straight up the hill. Everyone was sweating within a few minutes, and the humidity was no help. After we had been hiking for a little over an hour uphill, the trail began to turn downwards. This was slightly disconcerting, because we had all thought that the statue and view would be at the very top of the hill. But, since there was only one trail, we trudged on for another half an hour, and finally made it to our destination.

(from left to right: Erica, Sarah, Emily, Anita, Myself, Morgan)

The view really was beautiful, and the statue was interesting, but not spectacular. Lunch however, was.

(from left to right: Myself, Bronwyn, Rong)

Once fed and rested, we headed back up, and then down, the hill. It felt so good to just sit at the bottom, and think of how much good we had done ourselves.

On the bus ride back, we talked with two of the monitors about everything from rabbits and fishing, to politics and abortion and music.

It was a very interesting discussion, one that left me feeling quite energized and excited about how much more French I had learned. Plus, good conversation is just energizing in general!

That evening, after a shower and short rest, Megan and I were ready to meet our respective friends for dinner.

Unfortunately.... it was pouring. Il pleut à boire debout - a Québecois expression for when it rains ridiculously hard, and which definitely applied in this situation! So... we wimped out and called a cab.

A few minutes later, I arrived at Le Barillet and met my friends for dinner, which was delicious! We were all feeling very hungry, and veritably gobbled up our food.

After dinner, we took a cab to a corner store, Le Corneau Cantin, and bought Nanaimo bars and something else that was delicious and sugary. Mmm!

We then walked to Anita and Erica's house, and watched 27 Dresses. When it came to watching the movie and actually eating the snacks, we were so filled by the sugary unidentified snack that we decided to save the Nanaimo bars for whale watching the next day. All in all, a most excellent day, and I'd have to say that the delicious dinner and snacks were definitely well-earned.

I also took a cab home after walking Morgan to her house, since it was almost midnight. First time doing that alone! Haha, exciting things happen here in Québec.

Val-Jalbert and Pédalos

I realized that I still have not written anything about last Saturday, which is a shame because Saturday was quite an enjoyable day.

On Saturday, (over a week ago now) we took an hour long bus ride through some of the most gorgeous countryside I have ever seen. Bright fields of yellow, beautiful forests... and, locals are proud of Lac St. Jean for a reason - as we passed it, there were audible gasps all along the bus aisles. It is a tremendous lake that stretches nearly to the horizon. Positively stunning, and just so... immense!

There was a little town, called Chambord I believe, that was situated on the lake. It was filled with white houses and pretty views and looks like a place where I would like to live for maybe a little while. Like a place out of a story book where a young teacher comes to work, and is all alone but then finds love and fulfillment with teaching the young children of the town. Something cute and cheesy and heartwarming like that.

Our bus ride took us to the historic village of Val-Jalbert, a now-abandoned town where the economy used to revolve around a pulp mill built at the foot of a waterfall. The town was built in the early 1900's, but was deserted after 25 years of occupation when the pulp mill was closed down.

It was a lovely place, with a beautiful waterfall, hiking trails, a télépherique (mini gondola),

and, of course, deserted buildings.

There was one house in particular that I would thoroughly enjoy living in. The house was filled with colours, none of which matched the others, and all sorts of old furniture.

An old school building also stood nearby, with somewhat ineffective period actors, although their presence did serve as a reminder that nuns were the teachers at the school.

I bought an overpriced iced tea, and looked in the recreated "General Store", where there were equally overpriced souvenirs. And large patterned furry coats for sale. I suppose those are appropriate to the time period... Overall the day was grand. I am reminded again and again of how much I love the outdoors. God is so beautifully displayed in His creation!

On the bus ride home, nearly everyone fell asleep. Back in Jonquière, my friend Emily and I wanted to go paddle-boating, but by the time we arrived at the rental shop, they told us it was too late to go out. Instead, with another group of girls from the Explore program, we met a funny elderly Québecois gentleman.

The conversation started as someone asked him to take a photo of our group, and he positioned the camera with the lens facing towards him. He looked taken aback, and exclaimed that he couldn't see anything. (In French, of course.) Someone helped him flip it around, and the photo was taken. We were all barely holding ourselves together, as it was quite the amusing display! We continued talking with him after, as he asked each of us where we were from, and how we were liking our time here, questions about the college, stuff like that. I somehow managed to explain to him in French how the educational system in the rest of Canada differs from the educational system of Québec. It was a bit of a challenge, but it felt so good to see him finally understand, to know that I had succeeded in saying something of use, using words outside of my normal vocabulary!

It was Sunday evening, after the Fjord en arbre, that Emily and I went down to the river (La Rivière aux Sables) and succeeded in renting a boat to take out on the river. We were with

three other friends, Sarah, Anita, and Erica, and as such, being an odd-numbered group of people, had to take out one pédalo (pedal boat) and one canoe. I sat in the bottom of the canoe while Sarah and Emily

paddled... :) .... and Erica and Anita took the pédalo.

The sunset from the river was gorgeous! I must say, I like the colours of the sky here in Jonquière. Or maybe I just like sky.

Afterwards, we went to a little place called Ici le café, and ordered delicious drinks that were more like desserts when you considered the amount of whipped cream that topped them. All in all, a very enjoyable day!

First Full Week, Part 1

Wow. I have been here for one week as of this evening, but I feel like I have been here for weeks, months maybe. It has been incredibly hot every day so far, except for Friday, and today. Friday was 25-30 degrees Celsius. A nice respite. Although the humidity index was still about 94%! The level of humidity here is insane, especially when coupled with thirty minute walks both to and from the college. It makes me incredibly thankful for the basement room with a fan that my roommate and I share! So, let me recount to you some of this week's events. First, the basic schedule is:

- Wake up at 7 am.

- Shower if I didn't the night before.

- Eat breakfast.

- Walk to school.

- Classes start at 8:30 am.

- Break from 10-10:15 am.
- Lunch at 11:30 am.

And then afternoons vary.

Monday

We headed to school for 8:20 am, and had a big group meeting, then were assigned to different classrooms to take placement tests. After that, we had lunch, then regrouped in the main meeting area. We were given an orientation, and then headed out for a scavenger hunt! It was a fun concept, as it took us all over the town so we got to know our way around, but it was incredibly hot. In the downtownish area, there are these lamposts with flags on them from countries around the world, and they have different stats, some on the Francophone

populations there. It is really interesting!

Megan (my roommate) and I walked home for dinner. And it started to pour. We were honestly drenched to the skin by the time we walked in the door.

Later that evening, there was a mandatory dance. I was rather nervous for it, because I had no idea what to expect. I had never been to a dance, as my school doesn't hold them. As it turned out, it was basically just fun mingling, and getting to know people. Not so bad! The basic conversation consisted of getting to know a person's name, and then asking where they are from. In my case, I usually say either Vancouver, or Kelowna. If I say Kelowna and the other person gives me a blank look (which is most of the time), thenI say, Je viens de Kelowna, c'est proche à Vancouver. I have said variations on that sentence many times now. Generally, the only people who know where Kelowna is are fellow British Columbians, and some Albertans. Of course it varies a bit, and it is always exciting when someone from across the country knows about my city!

Tuesday

Classes officially began, and I was placed in Intermediaire II/III. Right in the middle! It is perfect.

Our class at this point consisted of six boys and six girls. I got to know

one of the girls in my class named Emily, and since then she and I have hung out a lot.

In our class, we do a lot of discussion, and a bit of grammar. Each day, someone brings in a newspaper article and explains it to the class. We aren't allowed to write down what we are going to say. Every day, someone also finds a Québecois saying, and tells us what it means. Whenever we learn a new word, it is always explained in French, rather than just immediately translated into English. I love this, because it helps us really associate French with our thought processes, and actual actions, rather than just with an English word.

During class, we signed the "pledge", stating that we would only speak in French during the program. That pledge is proving rather difficult and inconvenient to keep! I have two friends here who are from Vancouver, Janice and Philip, and they have never taken any French classes. Until now that is. It is so incredibly courageous of them!

That afternoon, we signed up for activities, and got our photos taken for our student IDs. I have yet to discover a use for the ID cards.

Later on, I went swimming in the college's Olympic sized pool. With a swim cap. First time with one of those! I really appreciate the sanitary benefits they provide.

That evening, I went for a short nighttime stroll with Megan. I adore the colours of the night sky.