Arrival
I’m here! I made it and have had a fun time getting to know the city. Hopefully I’ll get internet in my apartment in a week or so, I’ve posted some photos on facebook. Click through to read the happenings of the past few days.
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9/30/10
Montreal is doing its best to make me feel at home and has welcomed me with Vancouver weather. I’m doing a lot more walking here than I would at home so the rain is actually bothering me. How have I gone two years without owning a rain jacket or umbrella? Oh and I guess they call this weather fall as where I would call it winter.
Arrival was tricky. My red-eye flight was all around a horrible experience; I would doze off now and again only to be woken up by a sharp pain somewhere in my body. But five hours later we landed at 7:03 a.m. Montreal time. I got my luggage, and headed to a phone booth the phone the only number I was given. Answering machine! Although a little unsure of the situation I carried onto the bus, which to my surprise was just a normal city bus, defiantly not equipped for luggage! I took a little nap and then kept myself awake (it’s 3:30 a.m .B.C. time) by looking for familiar sights and running through scenarios in my head like being stranded in Montreal with no home.
I arrived at the Bus Depot and to rest my worried soul someone was there to receive me! Kelly was a sight for sore eyes, this doll of a girl ushered me to my ‘new home’ and gave me a few details of the upcoming days. She’s American, a DTS aluminums, and now lives in Montreal with her husband from France.
I’m living in a ground level apartment with 4 other girls, at some point to be 5. My room has French doors and some beautiful details. We have our own laundry machines (yay!). The Parc Metro Station is a five-minute walk. I’m sleeping on a top bunk bed.
I was the first to arrive and spent most of the day sleeping. Arriving early is always interesting. My life back home is fast paced. Even when I’m not working I feel the need to be doing something. I almost feel guilty when relaxing. It’s not the case here. The last two days have been total write-offs. There’s no schedule, I don’t know anyone, don’t know where anything is, and the language intimidates me. Everything is new to me.
Ah, language, everyone’s first question. My French is a lot better than I thought and it isn’t a major issue. For us girls English is more dominate then French, but for the boys French is more dominant. Tomorrow “classes” start. I have no idea what I’m in for.
1/10/10
Today was exhausting, I’m glad it’s the weekend. Really it started with last night, I just couldn’t sleep. This was partly due to jet leg, flying red eye, and apprehension about the start of school today. It felt a little bit like a reality show yesterday, we returned home from our adventures to find a note to meet someone at the Parc Metro at 7:30 in the morning. So I tossed and turned until 2 a.m., got up at 6 a.m. and was off for the day.
To continue the reality show theme we were went on a photo scavenger hunt all day in pairs of two. This kinda of backfired when half of us joined together and ended up hanging out. So we lost, but did get to know the city a little and got to know each other. Here’s the round up of students:
Girls:
§ Two from Switzerland (one will arrive in a month), both French speaking
§ One from Quebec, English and French
§ One from Ontario (my roommate), English
§ One from North Carolina, English and some French
Boys
§ Two from Holland, English speaking with a bit of French
§ Two from France, French speaking
§ One from Brazil, some English.
It’s a good mix of people and I’m loving the languages. Although it’s hard to speak in English because my brain has switched to French. I’m dead tired, so off to bed I go.
2/10/10
I’m constantly reminding myself that this home is only temporary. Not all my books, shoes, clothes and hairbrush have to have a place. The architecture and finishing is beautiful, but I’m not becoming to attached to it. I know it’s going to get colder than I’ve ever experienced in a few months, but I’m okay with that because I can see an end. I know that there are going to be hard times, but they are not going to destroy me because in the near future I will return home to the ones I love.
Should we not always have this outlook about our very life here on earth? There are going to be struggles, hard times, and things are going to suck, but we can always have faith that there is an end to suffering. There will be a time with no more tears, a time when we can be with someone who’s love is more intense than we can imagine. Oh how our lives would change if we held to his outlook.
3/10/10
Ah, Sunday, the day of rest. Yesterday was more walking, so my legs are appercaiting less walking today. I got some internet time but did not get around to posting anything or doing much else than skyping my parents and the fiancé. We went to Mont Royal, the best shopping area apparently, and bought some curtains. We did some grocery shopping, we have $150 to last us five girls a week.
Last night we had our first big meal together, and something didn’t sit right with me. Food is always a problem for me. I ended up waking up at 4 a.m. with a huge headache and my stomach did some gut wrenching moves and spent about an hour on the bathroom floor. No one else got sick so I don’t know what it was.
I think I’ve found a church to attend tonight. I want it to be a bit of a sanctuary away form school, but I’ll have to sacrifice that. I should also get on top of this “homework” I’ve been putting off, go to the office to respond to some wedding emails, finish grocery shopping. So much for a day of rest? But tomorrow school starts and I’m stoked.
1 year ago