I'll never look at elbows and knees the same way again.

Hello alls you peoples!

Three and a half days until I get to come home, not that I am counting or anything.  :-)  I’m actually not feeling well today (heat exhaustion/dehydration/stomach pain) so I’m sure that my longing for home is more acute than it would be normally.  I’m eating soup and drinking water and laying low… a few of my comrades have also been afflicted with something similar, so perhaps it’s just the FRENCH we are learning, haha.

I hear that there is a pretty extreme heatwave at home, too.  I’m sure that my apartment is rather unbearable right now.  The poor cat.  The poor Ted.  We really need some A/C for those 10 days of the year… ;-)

On Friday we went to the Chute Montmorency which is a large waterfall on the Montmorency River.  It’s quite a sight to behold, and a little bit of a trek to walk the whole trail that goes around it.  I looked at some photos of it in winter, and it looks amazing.

Another popular winter/spring activity is to go to the “cabane à sucre” which is a sugar shack.  After the falls, we went to a sugar shack and had a tour involving all things maple.  Then we sat down and had a traditional Québécois meal consisting of mainly maple syrup, but also ham, bacon, potatoes with homemade ketchup, beans, sausages, pickles, meat pie, and “oreilles de crisse” (ears of Christ), which is basically deep-fried pork rind.  Now you may be asking yourself, why did they name such a food after Christ’s ears?  I don’t even want to speculate except to hope that it was some sort of compliment.  :-)

Music!  There was music and dancing to be had, as there is in any good traditional Québécois establishment.  We played the spoons, we shook the tambourines, we made “les gigueux” (the jig dolls) dance!  The accordionist played and played and played, and we practiced our dances that we learned in our first few classes at the program.  Much joviality. 

And if that wasn't enough, we got to have “le tire d’erable” before we left – maple taffy.  It is as close to heaven on a stick that I’ve ever had.  If pork rind is Christ’s ears, then maple taffy has got to be even more important.  At least an elbow or a knee.  It is delicious, and sweet, and you can hardly believe it exists.  I had two. (Elbows and knees come in twos after all)

Friday was a long day.  I was determined to relax on my weekend (two free days), and I did, but I also didn't.  My roommate Paula and I walked around old Québec for 5 hours on both days.  It was exhausting, but it couldn't be helped – there is just too much to see and do here!  Old Québec is absolutely beautiful with little shops and corridors, street performers, artists, horse-drawn carriages, stone roads and walls, extravagant churches and historic monuments everywhere.  We rode the “funiculaire,” ate poutine, saw a glass-blowing demonstration, and shopped – sometimes in the pouring rain, sometimes in overwhelming heat.

If you have Facebook you might have already heard about the conversation I had wherein I told someone that I live in a raspberry.  That was not my proudest moment, however, I did have a conversation with someone that I am very proud about!  While waiting outside a store for Paula, an older man struck up a conversation with me that went on for quite a while.  He had served in the Royal Canadian Air Force.  I thanked him for his service, and we chatted about all sorts of things: how beautiful Québec City is, how expensive it is to live in Vancouver, what I did for work, why I was studying French, his visit to BC, and on and on.  I was gettin’ 95%!  It was so exciting!  Is it normal to be so proud and excited about speaking to someone, but terrified and wanting to run away at the same time?  That’s what it was.  :-)  In any case, I’m so happy that this program is making a difference for me.

The end of the Festival d’Ete was this weekend, too.  Bryan Adams, although not my super-fave, is an excellent singer and still really rocks it!  I was impressed.  Did you know that he also pursues a photography career now as well?  Anyways, when we got up this morning (Monday), and realized the Festival was over, many of us felt as if the program was over too.  :-P  What are we supposed to do with our evenings now?

Today after classes we visited the museum at Place Royale.  It was good, but I came home early because I wasn't feeling great.  Still to come this week is visiting the National Assembly, and the goodbye cruise!

Until next time,

Xo

E!

p.s. – check out this amazing French dancer!  No words – just dance.  It’s so good.
Guillaume Côté - “Lost in Motion”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OR-n3Rg6E8