I didn't know they had Kangaroos in Canada...

Well, I’ve been in Québec exactly one month today. Only 8 more to go! Not that I’m wishing the time away exactly, but I’ve been feeling homesick for St Andrews and all my friends because I know it was fresher’s week last week and I wasn’t there to join in. Having the Moulin Rouge soundtrack on repeat isn’t exactly helping. But then I remember I’m in Canada, it’s autumn and all the trees are blazing red and orange, I can have home-made maple syrup on my Weetabix and in a few weeks I’ll be waist-deep in snow. Life really is good.
(I just worked out how to add photos. Yay. This is where I live).

I’m getting into a routine now, going to school, teaching classes, sitting in the staffroom and wishing I understood what the conversations were about, or if I understand, wishing I could speak enough French to actually join in! School finishes at 4.20pm, then I come home, maybe go for a walk around the village, along one of the trails or down to the beach, cook something bordering on edible for dinner (I do miss my brother’s cooking!) and because it gets dark about 6pm now, I tend to spend my evenings in the house – I discovered some wonderfully trashy Québécois Chick-Lit on my last venture into a bookshop, so I’m ploughing my way through that with a French-English dictionary AND a French-Québécois dictionary. I do also watch a lot of TV, and with the exception of Coronation Street, which we get over here (Canadians must have such a warped view of Britain) it is all in French, so I can claim it’s educational! I think my French is improving, slowly. I understand a lot more, even if my speaking is still shockingly slow and laboured. I do quite a bit of lesson planning in the evenings too, with 27 classes every 9-day cycle, there’s a fair amount to do! I’m really getting the teaching bug though, it’s great when a class enjoys a lesson and really learns something from it. This coming from the girl who vowed she’d never go into teaching! I accompanied the year 10 English-specialism class on a school trip on Friday, which was really fun. We went to the Bodies Exhibit in Québec city, which was interesting, if slightly gross - all the models were real human specimens! In the afternoon (after a customary stop Chez Ashton for a lunchtime poutine, bien sûr!) we did a scavenger hunt around Vieux-Québec, so I got to know a bit more of the random bits of history of the city, which was nice. By far the best part of the day for me, though, was the journey to and from Québec on the yellow school bus. It was like being in a film, I loved it. And the kids thought it was funny that I enjoyed the bus more than the trip!

Some evenings are more eventful though, like the Friday before last, when we had a Fiesta Mexicana in the staffroom (because my school is officially amazing) and they opened up our bar. The head teacher bought all the staff the first round, and we had tortilla chips and salsa and a pretty cool party. The teaching profession is becoming ever more appealing for some reason! What with free beer and free trips across Canada and to the USA, (for educational purposes of course!) I think I can safely say I've landed on my feet!

The weekends are when I venture out of Beaupré to the city or further afield. This weekend I had brunch in the city with friends, and I experienced my first game of American "football". It was great fun, although I understood none of the rules and it poured down with rain the whole time. I even got a "Université Laval Rouge et Or" (the team) hoodie to add to my ever expanding collection.

I also took temporary leave of my senses and decided to climb Mont-Sainte-Anne this weekend.

Rachael 1 - Canadian Mountains 0. (Although after 2 asthma attacks, I was ready to let the mountain claim the victory). It was worth it for the view from the top though, I took some good pictures. I could see from Québec city across the Île d'Orléans and up the coast out to sea, as well as inland across to the West of Canada over the mountains.

And because it's autumn here (for now - winter ETA in 2 weeks) all the trees were red and gold and it was beautiful. The altitude may have played havoc with my brain, however, because after we came down the mountain, I could have sworn I had
climbed down to Australia. Ostrich and Kangaroo no less were on the menu for dinner. I tried both, although I think I can be forgiven for saying I'll stick with run-of-the-mill chicken from now on! That said, I am going further north next weekend, to go whale watching, so who knows what I'll end up eating next!

One final thing before I finish and go to try and plan lessons able to convince year 10 they really do want to learn English (blood, stone. ‘Nuff said). I discovered Lea and Perrin’s in the supermarket in Ste-Anne de Beaupré. So I introduced my landlord to cheese on toast with Worcestershire sauce, with great success. British food goes down well here because the alternative is usually bland and chemical-ridden American junk (not that I think all American food is bad, by the way. Just all the stuff I’ve come across so far). If you ever get the chance, get a francophone to try and pronounce Worcestershire sauce – it’s possibly one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard.

A bientôt!

Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.

Whoever came up with that particular saying had clearly never taught. Particularly teenagers - they are a handful! However, the majority of them are so keen and eager to speak English (and try and trick me into speaking French) that classes are great fun. There is such a range of abilities, even within the same class, that I am constantly challenged to find something where they will all be able to join in. One thing is for sure - I'll never get bored at work!

Their curiosity about me and about Britain is extremely endearing as well. I've had questions ranging from the normal (Where do you live) to fantastical (Are you friends with the Queen) to borderline offensive (Why don't you have children - do I look that old???) but I love the fact that they are so eager to learn anything and everything I tell them. I was playing a game about Britain with Sec 3 students (Year 10) this morning and I had a hard time convincing them that the Channel Tunnel really exists, or that we really do eat yorkshire pudding with roast beef! I found myself singing "Englishman in New York" after class, because I really think the kids believe I've come from another planet! I am indeed a legal alien here!

In other, non-Canadian news, I now have 3 new baby cousins. Congratulations to Stephen and Elaine, and Richard and Lindsey - I can't wait to meet Daniel, Hope and Clark!

Crossing the 3000 miles back to this side of the atlantic, and there is more going on in ma vie besides starting teaching. This weekend, there was a mass gathering of assistants in Quebec city for Nick's 21st birthday and much fun and laughter was had by all. I also realised I am developing an addiction to Poutine that is far from healthy. When you start having chips, squeaky cheese and gravy for breakfast, you know you have a problem! I can justify it though - it is Quebec's national dish, I'm merely immersing myself fully in the culture! On Saturday evening we all met up to go to the Moulin à Images, a huge light show on the docks in Vieux Québec depicting 400 years of the province's history. It was absolutely amazing how huge it was, and just how many people had squeezed onto the piers and roads to watch it. We spent the rest of the evening in various pubs and dancing at an extremely cheesy discotheque, where we ended up having a breakdancing dance-off, followed by the customary late-night poutine at 3.30am when the club closed. Sunday was a very relaxed and quiet day in comparison, lots of hanging around in coffee shops and attracting curious glances from the locals as we were all speaking English but ordering more coffee in perfect (ahem) French.

Anyway, that's enough from me for now, I have a class of English specialism year nines waiting for me.

A bientôt!

I will never complain about British public transport again.

Rural Quebec makes the most isolated parts of Britain look positively urban. Today I walked an hour and a half to get the the nearest bus stop. Then waited an hour for the bus. It's hardly surprising everyone drives over here when it's nigh on impossible to get anywhere by any other means. Especially when being a pedestrian means taking your life in your hands going head to head with the monster trucks that pass for cars. But still, I made it to the city, got me some free internet, and here I am, updating the chronicles of my life au Canada. It's been a pretty eventful week so far and the weekend is only just starting!

We had a long weekend here last weekend because of the Labo(u)r Day holiday on Monday, so on Saturday I went shopping in a real mall! Although lack of a Canadian bank account and not having been paid limited my spending somewhat. Boo hoo. Then on Sunday my landlord took me with his family up to their chalet in the mountains, to get everything ready for hunting season, or if we're going to be all franglais about it, la chasse. I got taught to fire a crossbow (in case of bears - they especially like to eat English people apparently) and drive the quad bike around the forest for a while, before we all headed back down to the village for a barbecue with yet more of my landlords extended family (they make up most of the population, so it seems). The barbecue was great, wasps and midges aside, we had home grown corn on the cob - freshly harvested and complete with complementary caterpillars, and hot dogs washed down with barrelfuls of beer. As it started to get cold the kids decided to see which items of rubbish would burn best on the campfire, with such success that we all had to stand back several feet to prevent serious burns!

The rest of the week has passed without much worthy of note, I met some more classes at school, worked out where the photocopiers were and how to use them (exciting, I know) and I walked round the village a lot to get my bearings. It didn't take long! One thing worthy of a mention perhaps is my initiation into Canadian society (and no, not just eating poutine, although this is a right of passage in itself). I got my social insurance number and opened a bank account on Thursday. And I managed the whole process in French, so I left the bank feeling pretty proud of myself and my prowess at languages. Only to be brought back down to earth when someone asked me for the time and I hadn't a clue what he wanted. I blame the accent, not my undeniable mastery of the French language.

Now I'm taking advantage of the free Wifi in the youth hostel in Old Quebec, before heading out to meet up with the other assistants. In times of celebration, we all converge on the capital for much banter and swap experiences of our respective outposts. Somewhat ironic (or perhaps inappropriate) as this weekend the Quebecers are "celebrating" the anniversary of the defeat of the city (and consequently, the whole of Canada) by the British. A strange thing for French Canadians to celebrate? We'll see. I'll let you know soon!

A bientôt!