It's been a few days since I updated. I'm just gonna breeze through with a (hopefully) brief list of what I've done:
Monday
Went to see Yellowcard play at Festival d'Ete with Katie and Elisa. So much fun, even though none of us really are big fans of the band. After, the three of us met up with a few others at a place called Sacrilege. It's a bar, but those places are the best to practice French, believe it or not. Ne me jugez pas. That means "don't judge me," but you see what I mean?
Tuesday
After class, Katie, Amanda and I went to the mall. We got rained on a bit, but that's okay. We got there and the darn place was closed! The bus ride and walk there were good, though, because we familiarized ourselves with the route and everything. I did get to get laundry detergent and some Spray N' Wash, though, which were needed because I was running out of clean clothes (also, I had a HUGE mud spot on my shirt and shorts from when I landed in that muddy water while crowd surfing at the Festival d'Ete before). Then we got back to the hotel and sat on the balcony to watch The Image Mill (or la lumiere spectaculaires), which is basically a huge light show on these mills very close to our hotel. It shows the history of Quebec and is really gorgeous. It's difficult to describe, but it's great. Look it up.
Wednesday
On Wednesday I ate entirely too much junk food. I had poutine, Tex-Mex (which was AMAZING, by the way) and McDonalds all in one day. Goodness. Also, I did laundry and my homework while waiting for the clothes. I later went to the Coheed and Cambria concert with Andrew, which was great! I only have a few of their songs, but they were fun to watch. After that, I met up with some people at Sacrilege again. It was packed this time, but we found a place to sit. Conversing with native Quebecois people is fun, but kind of scary at times. Ha. They generally will try to speak in English to me and I don't have the guts to ask for them to speak just in French. Oh well. I'm trying!
Thursday
I had a very difficult time getting to sleep on Wednesday night, so today was awful. I got some sleep, but I still woke up at like 6. I couldn't fall back asleep, so I showered and studied for the quiz we had. My stomach was killing me. I figured it was from all of that junk food I'd been eating. Not sure, though. Anyway. Amanda gave me some Tums and those kind of helped, but it took many hours for the pain to pass. Later, Max, Elisa and I went with Katie to study for our test tomorrow while she did laundry. That was fun, in its own way. After that, we got back to the hotel and I skyped with Claire and Shaw for a bit. Man, I needed that. They both have a way of making me feel better, in general. I hope to skype with them more often. After that, it was Max's, Allie's and my turn to go to dinner with our instructor, Drew. (Drew is taking a four groups of three students out to eat at a really nice restaurant throughout the trip. he said it'd be better for our French if there's a small group each time.) We had a dress up. I must say, even though I got ready in like seven minutes, I was looking snazzy. We went to La Basse-Ville (the lower part of the city) and went to a really great restaurant. It's called Restaurant L'Echaudé, which kind of means "scalding" or something to that effect. Put simply, it was AMAZING. Our meal was free since it was planned ahead of time and the fee was included in the total fee. I can't fully describe what I ate with full details of all of the ingredients, but I know I ordered escargot, lamb confit and crème brulée. All of it was SO GOOD. I was stuffed. We left around 6:10 and got back past 9:15. We were out for a while. The restaurant is more like a French restaurant because it's laid back. And now here I am. I'm about to study a bit more and then hang out with Drew on the balcony, as everyone else is out and about. Some people are at the Avenged Sevenfold concert, others are at the midnight premiere of Harry Potter (OMG) and others are at a place called La Drague. Yeah, it's a gay bar/drag show. I don't think it's as scary as that sounds. Ha.
Anyway. Blog complete for now! Tomorrow, as far as I know, I'll take the test and then we'll go on a ferry ride across the river to get a good view of the city.
A bientôt!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Allons-y!
Since my last post, plenty of fun stuff has happened. We saw Elton John perform from afar on Saturday. We were on a hill and could hear him well and see him on the screen. Yesterday, however, was much more entertaining. We met at noon and went to La Universite Laval and walked through the campus. It's nice and quaint, although not nearly as pretty as Mississippi State. It's a very prestigious school, though, so they're mainly focused on academics instead of aesthetics.
We then went to a mall near the university. It's amazing and really huge. I ate Thai food in the food court, bought a hat, a shirt and toiletries, and then walked around until 4:30, when we left. (There's also a grocery store inside of the mall! How neat is that?)
Max, Tracy, Allie, Candace and I went mad early to the Festival d'Ete. We got very close to the front. We saw Cage the Elephant, Girl Talk and The Black Keys. Put simply, TOTALLY AMAZING. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen. I had my doubts about Girl Talk because it's just one dude on his computer, but it was amazing. My dancing skills are about as awful as one's can be, but I sure as heck danced my butt off last night. It was raining on and off, but that was totally okay. It felt so great outside when it was raining. We met a group of four people - three guys and a girl. They're from Montreal and were really nice. We hung out with them for the entirety of the three shows. The girl, Raphaelle, was very eager to help me with my French. The others in my group left to go to the bathroom after Girl Talk, so I was left with our new friends. During then, I met the people standing behind us. They also were very nice. One guy said he loved the States and visited often. It was nice hearing someone outside of America have nice things to say about the United States, for sure. When The Black Keys were playing, the three guys we met (Yan, Matt and Sebastien) lifted me up randomly and threw me into the crowd. Yeah, I crowd surfed. It happened twice. It wasn't for long each time but it was quite an interesting experience. The last time, I kinda fell and landed upside down on my shoulders. Hurt a little bit, and I landed in a pool of dirty water, but that's okay. I rocked it.
After the festival, we walked to Chez McDo (McDonalds) and ate there. I felt much more comfortable talking to the cashier this time, but there were still some language barriers. After we ate, we hung out outside for a bit and then went back to the hotel.
Today has been a relax day. We had out first day of classes, which was nothing amazing. No ground-breaking discoveries in the French language were made today, let's put it that way. After class got out, I worked on my homework a bit and then went to a nice cafe called Paris Croissant for lunch. After that, I came back and finished my homework, skyped with my friend Shaw for a bit and now here I am. It's currently raining a little bit, but I bet it'll relax later today.
I still need to upload pictures to my computer, so I'll either do that or take a nap or read...or something.
We then went to a mall near the university. It's amazing and really huge. I ate Thai food in the food court, bought a hat, a shirt and toiletries, and then walked around until 4:30, when we left. (There's also a grocery store inside of the mall! How neat is that?)
Max, Tracy, Allie, Candace and I went mad early to the Festival d'Ete. We got very close to the front. We saw Cage the Elephant, Girl Talk and The Black Keys. Put simply, TOTALLY AMAZING. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen. I had my doubts about Girl Talk because it's just one dude on his computer, but it was amazing. My dancing skills are about as awful as one's can be, but I sure as heck danced my butt off last night. It was raining on and off, but that was totally okay. It felt so great outside when it was raining. We met a group of four people - three guys and a girl. They're from Montreal and were really nice. We hung out with them for the entirety of the three shows. The girl, Raphaelle, was very eager to help me with my French. The others in my group left to go to the bathroom after Girl Talk, so I was left with our new friends. During then, I met the people standing behind us. They also were very nice. One guy said he loved the States and visited often. It was nice hearing someone outside of America have nice things to say about the United States, for sure. When The Black Keys were playing, the three guys we met (Yan, Matt and Sebastien) lifted me up randomly and threw me into the crowd. Yeah, I crowd surfed. It happened twice. It wasn't for long each time but it was quite an interesting experience. The last time, I kinda fell and landed upside down on my shoulders. Hurt a little bit, and I landed in a pool of dirty water, but that's okay. I rocked it.
After the festival, we walked to Chez McDo (McDonalds) and ate there. I felt much more comfortable talking to the cashier this time, but there were still some language barriers. After we ate, we hung out outside for a bit and then went back to the hotel.
Today has been a relax day. We had out first day of classes, which was nothing amazing. No ground-breaking discoveries in the French language were made today, let's put it that way. After class got out, I worked on my homework a bit and then went to a nice cafe called Paris Croissant for lunch. After that, I came back and finished my homework, skyped with my friend Shaw for a bit and now here I am. It's currently raining a little bit, but I bet it'll relax later today.
I still need to upload pictures to my computer, so I'll either do that or take a nap or read...or something.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Bonjour, Québec!
So…after two flights and a cab ride, we 12 students and 1 instructor are in Quebec now!
The flight from Memphis wasn’t too amazing. I sat in the very back of the plane next to a slightly creepy guy. He had a British accent yet was an American citizen (from Memphis, he said) and kept reading about EKGs. He was nice, though; don’t get me wrong. Maybe he was just as aggravated as I was about being put in the very back of the plane next to the lavatory (maybe he’d have called it “the loo,” haha). Anyway. After we waiting for what seemed like eternity on the tarmac (it wasn’t actually that long, relatively speaking, but it was kinda hot on that plane at first), we got in the air. A family of four sat in front of us, so I was kind of blocked in: creepy guy on my left, annoying family with 2 young kids in front of me, and the malodorous potty to my right. After that flight landed in Toronto, we had to try to rush to our next flight because we didn’t have much time. We went through customs. Unfortunately, we had to speak in English because they don’t do customs in French there. (I was nervous but still looking forward to trying to speak in French to the customs person). Anyway. After going through customs, we got our bags, put them in another conveyor belt thing to make them go where they needed to, and went through security again. We got to our gate and had time to sit around for about 10 minutes. When we boarded, I got to sit next to Allie, another student. She and I were on the exit row, so we had quite a huge responsibility of opening the emergency exit doors should we land unexpectedly (and therefore saving ourselves first, I guess?). I just liked having extra foot room; it beat being in the back of the plane SO MUCH. This plane even had a screen on the back of the seat in front of me that I could watch a movie or tv or whatever. I watched 2 full episodes of Modern Family (LOVE THAT SHOW) and got a little bit into another episode before we landed. On the flight there, though, we ran into just a slight bit of turbulence. Wasn’t a huge deal to me. I just liked that we could see lightning in the clouds! It was so nifty.
When we landed, I called both parents (remember, I have that international phone plan. Holla.) and informed them that I’d made it. Then we all went to get our bags. After that, we went to a currency exchange kiosk thing. We gotz our moneyz and then hailed a few taxis. We took about 4 in total to the hotel. (It’s called Hotel Manoir Des Ramparts, by the way. At least, I’m pretty sure I’ll have to check). It was so funny seeing places like McDonalds (the sign says McDonalds but we call it Chez McDo), Burger King, H&M, etc. on the way over. When we got here, it was just glorious. The hotel faces part of the city that’s lower in elevation so you can see a bunch (at least, I’m hoping! It was dark outside). There’s a light show on these silos across the way from the hotel. So amazing. Drew (the instructor) said they tell the story of Quebec, but I didn’t have time to sit there and see if that’s true. Maaaaaybe tonight. We got our keys, (Max and I are in room 304 in a building that has no elevator. Oh, and that’s technically on the 4th floor. The first floor counts as the floor above the main floor. I know it’s that way in France too.) unloaded our stuff and met outside at midnight to go walk around. We all walked around a bit in Vieux-Quebec mainly down Rue Saint-Jean. Most of the group was hungry so they went inside McDonalds to eat, while Drew, Elisa, Katie and I kept going. We walked down to just outside the walled part of the city and then came back to get the rest. We had about 10 minutes until the group was going to meet up outside, so I went in and got some food. Yay McDonalds! They don’t use nearly as many preservatives in their cooking, so it actually tasted a lot better to me, though. It was starting to sprinkle a little bit so we went back to the hotel. I hung out with Allie and Max for a bit and then we went back to our rooms. Max and I watched some awesome Quebecois television for a bit and then went to bed.
When we landed, I called both parents (remember, I have that international phone plan. Holla.) and informed them that I’d made it. Then we all went to get our bags. After that, we went to a currency exchange kiosk thing. We gotz our moneyz and then hailed a few taxis. We took about 4 in total to the hotel. (It’s called Hotel Manoir Des Ramparts, by the way. At least, I’m pretty sure I’ll have to check). It was so funny seeing places like McDonalds (the sign says McDonalds but we call it Chez McDo), Burger King, H&M, etc. on the way over. When we got here, it was just glorious. The hotel faces part of the city that’s lower in elevation so you can see a bunch (at least, I’m hoping! It was dark outside). There’s a light show on these silos across the way from the hotel. So amazing. Drew (the instructor) said they tell the story of Quebec, but I didn’t have time to sit there and see if that’s true. Maaaaaybe tonight. We got our keys, (Max and I are in room 304 in a building that has no elevator. Oh, and that’s technically on the 4th floor. The first floor counts as the floor above the main floor. I know it’s that way in France too.) unloaded our stuff and met outside at midnight to go walk around. We all walked around a bit in Vieux-Quebec mainly down Rue Saint-Jean. Most of the group was hungry so they went inside McDonalds to eat, while Drew, Elisa, Katie and I kept going. We walked down to just outside the walled part of the city and then came back to get the rest. We had about 10 minutes until the group was going to meet up outside, so I went in and got some food. Yay McDonalds! They don’t use nearly as many preservatives in their cooking, so it actually tasted a lot better to me, though. It was starting to sprinkle a little bit so we went back to the hotel. I hung out with Allie and Max for a bit and then we went back to our rooms. Max and I watched some awesome Quebecois television for a bit and then went to bed.
The next morning (this morning), we met up outside around 10 a.m. and walked around a bunch. I got some pretty good pictures. I haven’t decided if I’ll upload any onto here yet, but they’ll definitely go on Facebook.
Anyway. At about 11:30 we had free time so a lot of us walked around. Drew and I went to get bus passes but the place was closed until noon. I had to be ready for lunch at noon, so I went and bought a polo shirt from American Apparel and went back to the hotel. We all changed and met Drew at the bus stop. He gave us day bus passes and we all went to eat lunch at a really awesome restaurant called Graffiti. Anna and I got beef tartare and it was pretty interesting. Not terrible. After about 2 hours, we left and walked around more. We saw a bunch of interested restaurants and bars and whatnot. We also saw the stage where Elton John will be playing tonight, so I’m glad to be knowing where I’ll be going. He’s playing at 9:30.
Well, now I’m just sitting in the hotel room, just relaxing for a bit. I’m gonna check my e-mail and everything like that and wait for Max and Allie to get back to the hotel. I think then we’re gonna go out in the city until Elton plays.
I’ll update again soon, hopefully. Our day has mostly been structured, but I expect we’ll get more free time like I have right now.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
À Demain, Québec
Alrighty. I'm at my cousin's house in Arlington, TN. Tomorrow, I'll be driven to the Memphis airport. All of my stuff is packed and ready. My only worry is that my check-in bag is over 50 pounds. (I know I shouldn't have packed those bricks and free weights!)
I gotta be at the airport no later than 1:30 p.m. My flight leaves at 4:15 p.m. and lands in Toronto at 7:30 p.m. Then the flight from Toronto leaves at 8:55 p.m. and lands in Quebec City at 10:20 p.m. I'm sure we're all gonna be really tired by the time we land, so I expect we'll get to the hotel and just crash.
If anyone wants to contact me, here are the ways to do so:
1. Call me! I got an international plan so it doesn't charge me a bunch to talk. I won't always be available, obviously, though.
2. Text me! I can receive an unlimited number of texts but can only send 100 while I'm gone. If you wanna text me, feel free to do so. I'll get back to you (most likely not with a text) later.
3. Skype me! My skype name is mwm143, I believe. Haha. I'll be most likely to be on at nights.
4. Facebook me! This is obvious. Write on my wall or send me a message.
5. Tweet me! I'll be very less likely to see this, though. You've been warned.
I'll update either tomorrow or Saturday, hopefully.
Jusque-là, au revoir, USA!
(Until then, goodbye, USA!)
I gotta be at the airport no later than 1:30 p.m. My flight leaves at 4:15 p.m. and lands in Toronto at 7:30 p.m. Then the flight from Toronto leaves at 8:55 p.m. and lands in Quebec City at 10:20 p.m. I'm sure we're all gonna be really tired by the time we land, so I expect we'll get to the hotel and just crash.
If anyone wants to contact me, here are the ways to do so:
1. Call me! I got an international plan so it doesn't charge me a bunch to talk. I won't always be available, obviously, though.
2. Text me! I can receive an unlimited number of texts but can only send 100 while I'm gone. If you wanna text me, feel free to do so. I'll get back to you (most likely not with a text) later.
3. Skype me! My skype name is mwm143, I believe. Haha. I'll be most likely to be on at nights.
4. Facebook me! This is obvious. Write on my wall or send me a message.
5. Tweet me! I'll be very less likely to see this, though. You've been warned.
I'll update either tomorrow or Saturday, hopefully.
Jusque-là, au revoir, USA!
(Until then, goodbye, USA!)
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Préparation
It's been three days since my last (and my first) post. In that time, I've gotten a few things taken care of for my trip:
- I've called my cousin Amy, who lives in Arlington, TN, which is close to Memphis. I had to double check with her to make sure that I could stay at her and her husband's house on Thursday and if she could drive me to the airport on Friday. Everything's okay with that.
- My mom got me a new plan for my phone so that I can make and receive phone calls without any stupid charge. I also can send 100 text messages while I'm there. Haha. Really cool. I send so many texts in a day. I'm going to have to watch out for that. I need to figure out what will happen if I use the internet or anything, though. (I'm mainly wanting it so I can use Google Maps on my phone)
- I deposited my MGS check in the bank and withdrew a bunch of cash for my trip. Also, I talked to the Vice President of that particular branch and made sure I could use my check card at ATMS and whatnot while in Quebec. She said that gas stations and pharmacies for some reason or another won't take it if I spend more than $100, but that shan't be a problem, I expect. I mean, I won't need to fill a bus or anything with gas and unless I have a huge medical emergency, I don't expect to need to spend that much at a pharmacy. The lady I talked to said that should I need to do that, I should call. She gave me like 4 phone numbers I could try. Let's hope I don't need them.
- I've bought a few things that I didn't have that I needed, like a small umbrella and a carry-on bag and stuff like that. Nothing huge. All I have to get now is a notebook and a few other things.
Now all I have to do is pack my bags and go, really. I'll be stopping in Starkville to check on my apartment (to see if the AC has been fixed) and to grab a few resources (my French-English dictionary, a French verb conjugation book, etc.) and a few articles of clothing and the like and then I'll head to Memphis.
I kinda haven't been feeling terribly well lately. Some stomach issues and fatigue that I really can't explain. I'm trying to get plenty of rest, drink water, eat healthily and take vitamins, though. Hopefully it'll just pass.
So yeah, that's it. Nothing terribly exciting going on at the moment. I'm just still a bit terrified about this trip, but in more of a good way now. Anxious to get there and start this whole thing. I'll update on either Thursday or Friday, hopefully.
Fin.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Ce Blog N'est Pas Une Blague
Salut!
This is my first post (obviously) of my Quebec blog. I wanted to make this blog so that I can describe my days in Quebec City both for myself and for anyone else interested enough to read 'em.
My flight leaves from Memphis on July 8th (in 6 days). I'm going to be staying the night at my cousin's house in Memphis on the 7th and then getting a ride to the airport the next day. I still need to pack and figure out what I'll do in terms of money (will my debit card work, how much cash I should carry, etc.) and in terms of communication (will my cell phone work and if so, how much would it cost and what capabilities will I be able to use). That sort of stuff.
Anyway. I'm going to give the tentative itinerary for the trip:
This is my first post (obviously) of my Quebec blog. I wanted to make this blog so that I can describe my days in Quebec City both for myself and for anyone else interested enough to read 'em.
My flight leaves from Memphis on July 8th (in 6 days). I'm going to be staying the night at my cousin's house in Memphis on the 7th and then getting a ride to the airport the next day. I still need to pack and figure out what I'll do in terms of money (will my debit card work, how much cash I should carry, etc.) and in terms of communication (will my cell phone work and if so, how much would it cost and what capabilities will I be able to use). That sort of stuff.
Anyway. I'm going to give the tentative itinerary for the trip:
Fri. 8 July Departure: Memphis Int’l Airport (4:15 p.m. CDT)
Meet at Air Canada Check-in no later than 1:30 p.m.
Arrival in Québec City (10:20 p.m. EDT)
Check-in: Hotel Manoir des Remparts
Sat. 9 July Walking tour of Québec City, purchase bus passes, visit general store.
Dinner together in the Old City
Sun. 10 July Orientation-area mall, university, purchase classroom supplies
Festival d’Été
Mon. 11 July Classes Begin
Tues. 12 July Class
Visit to Museum: Musée de la Civilisation
Festival d’Été
Wed. 13 July Class
Free time
Thurs. 14 July Class
Dinner Together
Fri. 15 July Class
Sat. 16 July Guided bus tour of Québec Area- Ile d’Orléans, Chute Montmorency,
Beaupré Coast (Ste. Anne de Beaupré)
Sun. 17 July Day of Rest/ Free time
Last night of
Mon. 18 July Class
Free time/Dinner together
Tues. 29 July Class
Ferry ride across St. Lawrence River to Lévis
Wed. 20 July Class
Visit to Université Laval in Ste. Foy
Free time
Visit to Museum: Musée de la Civilisation
Fri. 22 July Class
Movie: Film Francophone à Ste. Foy
Sat. 23 July Evening cruise in the St. Lawrence River
Sun. 24 July Free time/Bus ride to La Rivière Chaudière
Free time
Tues. 26 July Class
Free time
Free time
Thurs. 28 July Class/Visit to class by Mrinal Ray (local university student)
Fri. 29 July Final exams/Oral presentations/Local excursions
Sat. 30 July Free time
Sun. 31 July Depart Quebec (9:00 a.m. EDT)
Arrive in Memphis (3:44 p.m. CDT)
So that's that. Also, I wanna include this: http://www.infofestival.com/Line-up/
Take a look at that. It's the line up for the Festival d’Été. It's a summer festival (as it says in French) and it's from the 7th to the 17th. I'm going to miss the 7th and the 8th, unfortunately. Gah.
Anyway. That's definitely long enough of a post. I might post a time or two again before I leave.
Au revoir.
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