Field Trips, Events, and Festivals: Montreal, the City that NEVER sleeps

Wow I have not been keeping up with this blog... there just isn't enough time to write it! Days pass by so quickly in this city. There is so much to do and to see that the days just fly by! We had a class field trip to Parc La Fontaine. Our teacher had prepared a french song for us to learn. Then she asked a group of people in the park who had some instruments if they would play the song for us to sing! So we all sat on the grass and sang french songs! By the time we had finished we had gathered an audience! It was a lot of fun and a really good and memorable time!

Singing at Parc La Fontaine (our french teacher Alicia, and my classmates singing "Les Champs-Elysees")

On the weekend my roommates and I visited the "TamTams" on the edge of Mont Royal. Tamtams was a must see in Montreal. It happens ever Sunday afternoon, anyone with a drum can go and play and dance all day long. There also happens to be a section of the park dedicated to jousting. This was interesting to see and definitely an activity reserved for those who are not afraid to publicly wear a shield and sword. As we were watching the action, the sky decided to rip open and not pour but dump rain upon our heads! As you can guess the action on the jousting field increased and mud was sprayed everywhere. We had to run for cover from the rain but enjoyed the thrill of the sudden storm!

Jousting in the Rain

Last week we had class trips to the Biodome and Montreal's Underground city. The Underground city sounded really cool, but it turned out to be just underground walkways connecting buildings in downtown Montreal. One of the evening events was a show at the Notre-Dame church. The show demonstrated the history of the building and of Montreal in general. We've found here that Montreal makes a big deal about it's historical background (and probably rightly so), it is difficult to find any event that doesn't celebrate Montreal's past.

Notre-Dame, Montreal

Last Thursday night a couple of the other students in my french class hosted an ethnic food night. The event turned into a party and there were many people there! And lots of food! My french class had a test the next morning at 9 am, but regardless of that fact 10/13 of the people in my class attended the party (including myself!). And we managed to get most of us into a class photo!

My french Class! (Graham, Evelyn, Erin, Me, Sarah, Ben, Alison, Sarah, and Sonia)

On Friday night, 2 of my roommates and I went out dancing at a swing dancing studio that was recommended by our french teacher! It was a fun time and learned another skill! Then this last weekend I went on another school trip to Rivere-du-Loup for whale watching and to Quebec City just in time to celebrate Saint-Jean Baptiste day! This was one of the largest celebrations I have ever seen in my life! Almost all of Quebec gathered on the Plains of Abraham to drink, dance and party all night long! Somewhere around one hundred thousand people were there! This week we've gone to 2 museums for class field trips. One was about the history of Montreal, and had an actual archeological site in the basement of the building and was very cool! The other Museum was about the history of the South Centre neighbourhood of Montreal, and also showcased artwork of young artists. At both of these museums the guides spoke mostly in french for the duration of the tours and amazingly I am able to understand a vast majority of what they are explaining! Also, at lunch on Tuesday, my friends and I spoke french most of the time... not that we intended to, we were just able to and so we did! (This fact is amazing to me!) Last night was an outing to the Old Port of Montreal to watch the Fireworks Competition and tonight the Montreal Jass Festival has begun! My residence is one block from the centre of the festival so we are able to hear jazz from our rooms! C'est tres cool! The fourth week is almost over and there is just one week left in Montreal. I am definitely happy to be here, but it sure will be nice to come home again soon! A Bientot!

nuit blanche festival the grand prix
La Chute-Montmorency (with the base at the bottom where we got soaked!)
Parliment building in Quebec City (over the doorway it reads: The Capital of Canada - which is clearly incorrect. Ottawa is acknowledged as the Capital of Canada by everyone else. This just illustrates one aspect of the Quebequios mindset.)
Dinner in Quatier Chinois (aka: China town)

Living in Quebec

I cannot believe that more than a week has passed! Time is moving so quickly here in Montreal. It is a very busy city and everyone is always on the go! Last week we went to a street festival called "Nuit Blanche sur Tableau Noir". En francais, to have a "nuit blanche" (a white night) it means that you never got to sleep. This festival started at 10 pm and continued way into the night. At first there we little tents and shops all set up along l'avenue du Mont-Royal. Then they were all cleared away for the artists to begin painting on the pavement of the street. Evidently all of the pieces, when seen from above, create one large comic strip! C'est tres cool! Then on Friday the events for the Formula 1 Grand Prix began. The city became one big crowded party. Interestingly enough, the city decided to begin major road construction on this same weekend, so the city became even more chaotic with the added amount of people plus the construction. Saturday and Sunday was the big over-night trip to Quebec City. We were required to get up at a very early hour for a Saturday in order to meet the bus for the trip. After a short 3 hour ride to Quebec City we met our tour guide who had an eye patch over one eye. He showed us some very historically important sites for Canada: the plains of Abraham, the place where general Wolfe died, etc... He explained why the Quebecquois feel the way they do about separating from Canada, and how it is in fact related to this historical events. Later in the evening, we were given time to eat dinner. Some friends and I went to a very modern restuarant called Cosmos, the atmoshere and decor were the highlight -- in the washrooms they had a waterfall for you to wash your hands in! Then everyone on the trip met up at the Napoleon Bar. This bar was unique in that they had a performer who would play the guitar and sing songs for the whole bar to sing along to! All of the songs were in french, so most of us did not know any of the words. But it was really neat to see how involved all the french people got in singing the songs! It was a fun time! The next morning we were taken to Chutes de la Montmorency (a waterfall!). We all took the long staircase up the side of the cliff next to the waterfall. There were 2 paths at the base of the waterfall, one that lead to the mid-section of the staircase, and one that went so close to the base of the waterfall that there was no way NOT to get drenched! Everyone, except myself and the tour guide, opted for the safer route! We had to run as hard as we could towards the base of the waterfall because the blast of the water and wind would blow us back! We rounded the corner at the base, fully drenched by this point, and started for the staircase that lead up the cliff! It was quite the experience, and well worth getting soaked! Then we spent the rest of the day in the old part of Quebec City. We went shopping on the Blvd du petit-Champlain, where all of the products had been MADE in Quebec alone. We took the ferry-boat across the St. Lawerence river (and back!), then rode in a glass elevator up another cliff (very Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). We walked around the city for hours and enjoyed it, but we were also happy when it came time to go home (to Montreal). This week there have been classes everyday! There was a definite improvement in the level of comprehension in my class over the weekend. I guess all of the french needed time to sink in! On Tuesday my class went on a field trip to the Jean-Talon Marche (market)! This was amazing! Booths and booths of fresh produce as far as the eye can see! I definitely am planning a trip to the market on the weekend to buy my groceries for next week! Some of us in the class decided to walk back, unfortunately we did not know at what a great distance we were from the residence, but it was nice to be outside and get a chance to see more of the city. On Wednesday, our class field trip was to Mont Royal. There was a lookout point with a breath-taking view of the city! Again, we walked home from that -- lots of walking going on here! In general, most people are either walking or biking in the city. I've seen more bikes here than in Edmonton for sure! I realized on my walk home that I am no longer a visitor in Montreal, I consider myself a resident now! And how did I determine this? None of the locals pay any attention to the walk/don't walk lights on the streets. They just look both ways, if it is clear they walk (mostly against the light), and if it's not, they wait. So now, after almost 2 weeks of influence, I have adopted this trait of the residents. As we walk out into the street, we smirk at the (most obvious) tourists! Today for our afternoon field trip we went to the Museum of Comtemporary Art. It was really unique! Our museum guide wasn't afraid to bring up any topic in her description of the artwork! I cannot relay all of the exhibits because my description would not be able to do it any justice... the best option, come to Montreal and see for yourselves! I'm really enjoying this "Explore" program: learning french in class, and getting a chance to see the city and use our french in reality. Je suis contente! A la prochaine!

Montreal

I arrived in Montreal on Sunday. The trip was off to a shakey start: I accidentally slept in... I didn't miss my plane or anything too extensive, but... I hadn't packed yet... for a 5 week trip! So, basically I just emptied my closet into 2 suitcases and ran out the door. When I got to Montreal, I was pleasantly surprised by the accommodations in Rez at UQAM. I get my own room! (after the cramped living arrangements in Ossaia, this seems luxurious!) All of my roommates are really nice and we all get along really well! I spent Sunday evening grocery shopping and setting up my room! We have to shop and to cook for ourselves! First thing on Monday morning was the placement exams! And we got some time to explore the campus and surrounding areas (which includes Rue Sainte-Catherine (an area well known for shopping!). Classes began on Tuesday. We have classes from 9 am in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon. I'm really enjoying learning french and my background in latin is helping SO much! yay! (see! useful for something! haha!) This evening I am going to play some squash! I haven't had the chance to play in a while so I am excited to play again! I find that I can definitely tell that Montreal is a Canadian city and the environment is not that much different than what I'm used to in Edmonton. I will be going to Quebec City this weekend and an art exhibit tomorrow, so many activities have been planned!Au revoir!