An update from Quebec

Sorry I didn't post anything last week, I really was going to, but then I was kinda busy with ACTUALLY WRITING MY QUERY LETTERS!! *ahem*. I need to control myself. But seriously! I finally stopped putting it off and just did it which was awesome. I'm waiting for a reply from the agents I sent it to, and am trying to find new ones all the time. Part of me says I should wait and see if any of these agents tell me how I can improve my letter so that I can send a better one to my next batch of agents, and another part of me says the odds of that happening are quite slim so I should just send out what I've got and hope for the best.

While I'm figuring all that out, I thought it might be fun to do a little list of things I like, and things I don't like here in Quebec.


Things I don't like:

1. Being introduced as English (See last post)

2. Humidity. I'm pretty sure this speaks for itself. It's funny how since I got back from Mexico nothing's really seemed hot or humid like it did before, but humidity still sucks. Especially when you're trying to sleep.

3. The fact that I can't stay here for long. This essentially means that as much as I want to make deep connections with friends here, and I want to love all the kids that come to camp, I know that it's going to end all too soon. I've already gone through this a few times, and it's not fun. Have you ever tried explaining to a four-year-old that "No, I probably won't be back next year" and "Well... maybe I'll see you again soon...." It makes you feel awful. I hate doing it. Friends are a little better, but it still sucks to know that the likelihood of seeing them again soon is slim.

4. No piano. No flute. No bassoon. I'm not really sure what I was thinking when I decided "Ummm... the bassoon really is kinda big, and I'd have to pay for extra baggage with it. I'll just leave it in Calgary!" Idiot. I miss playing the piano so much. I don't have any instruments here except my laptop, but c'mon, that's not an instrument that's just a piece of technology that can mimic what an instrument can do. It's just not the same.

5. No public transit. I didn't expect this to be on the list of things I'd miss before leaving Calgary, but I really do miss my alone time. It's not like I don't have any alone time any more, I just have to get it when I can. In Calgary my life was very pleasantly predictable and scheduled. I knew when I'd be alone, when I'd be with friends, when my work was (always the same time), and even where I had my 'wiggle room' spaces. That basically means I had a spot in the schedule for unexpected, or pre-planned unique events that would change from week to week. Here, I kinda just do spur of the moment stuff. "Well, I could  go do that, or maybe I could do that, or..." But this kind of freedom isn't liberating for me. It's immobilizing. Being able to do anything means I do nothing. Weird, I know, but that's kinda just how I work.


Five things I love about being in Quebec

1. I'm finally able to practice my French again. I really do love French as a language, and I love speaking it. It'd be great to be bilingual one day, but I don't imagine that'll happen anytime soon. It's kinda hard to be immersed in a language when you're working at a camp teaching English five days a week.

2. Getting Francophone children to say my name.
"Hi, what's you're name!?"
(child giggles) "insert child name here."
"Oh! Cool, my name's Seth!"
"Set?"

If I'm being nice, I'll say "Yeah, that's good!"
But some days I really just want a good laugh.

"No no, it's SeTH."
"Ooohh. SeTSH." (spit flying everywhere)
"Okay, put your tongue here" (I demonstrate)
(child giggles, then puts tongue where instructed)
"TTTHHH"
"PBTHSHTHPBT" (spit flying again)
"Good! Okay, now SeTTTHHH"
"Se- (a sound that is like a cross between sneezing and drowning... not sure how to represent that with letters.)"
"Perfect!"

Need I say more? This is basically one of the best ways to spend time talking to children I've found. Adults usually just laugh awkwardly and don't try to say it, or say it once, laugh, and then never say it again or stick to Set. They're no fun. :P

3. POUTINE. 'nuff said.

4. The kidlets. I've always loved working with kids, it's really fun, and sometimes rewarding. There have of course been a few kids I would have rather not had to deal with, but there are others who honestly just made me say "Can I adopt you, please? Like, right now?" And then they'd look at me, and say "QUOI??" (What) and then I pick them up and run around with them. It's kinda tiresome to be doing it so week after week, but it's still good. I'd much rather be doing this than mowing lawns or roofing.

5. Chillin' with my sister. I haven't been able to do anything with my older sister for a really long time, so having the summer to just do all kinds of stuff together (mostly watching Heroes and sitting around) is really great.


 So that's my life in Quebec! I hope all my friends and family across the country are doing well. Can't wait to get back to Calgary, but in the meantime, I'll enjoy my time here. It's hard work juggling camp, writing, and down time, but I'll manage. For now, I'll hopefully post again soon, but if I'm not posting, you can basically assume I'm busy doing some other writing duty. Maybe my next entry will be less about my experiences in Quebec and more about writing.... ya, that might be a good idea. :P