27 Sept 2009

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!

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