The honeymoon is over ...

I'm so glad this week is finally over. By about Tuesday, I was ready just to lock myself in a closet and wait out the rest of the week, but sometimes getting back in the saddle is the thing to do to get past whatever's bothering you. And many things decided to bother me this week ... :)

Monday started OK. My research methods class was first - it is probably my favourite class because we get help developing our thesis, but I have trouble with the class discussion groups. The class is pretty packed, and with that amount of people talking at once, I can't understand anything that is being said. I was in a group with 3 other people, and a few of them were giving me pointers on my thesis subject. I was grateful for the help, for sure. One of the girls told me that I should ask the teacher about something in my topic, and I agreed that that would be a good idea - even though I really wasn't sure what she was wanting me to ask the teacher about; it was just easier to agree with her than to constantly keep asking, "What did you say?" "Could you repeat that?" every two minutes (noise problem, not a language problem). Then, lucky me, the teacher came around, and my new friend, trying to be helpful, told him, "Kristen has a question for you." He looked me straight in the eye, and I panicked - not only did I not want to ask him a question in front of so many people, but I had no idea what question she was wanting me to ask him. I told them it was OK and that I would talk to him later, but I must have come off looking like quite the weirdo. I got pretty flustered after that, but instead of being able to leave class and go de-tox in my room, I had to straight to my next class where I was supposed to do a 10-minute oral presentation on ... I can't even remember now, it's been that kind of week. ha. Anyway, that went surprisingly better than I thought, except that I had to do it in front of the guest speaker the teacher invited to our class that day. I still have no idea how I did (as far as a mark) because that teacher says very little, and mostly just lets us take over debate in that class. That worries me. Our oral participation in debates in that class is worth 30% of our final mark - being quick on my toes is definitely not a gift of mine, so that is a constant stress for me every Monday as well. Our teacher is also the program director who decides if we graduate or not - I wish he would just react to my work every once in a while so I know where I stand. Anyway, I went home after 6 straight hours of class, thinking the worst part of the week was over.

Tuesday morning, I got a phone call on my dorm phone telling me that (what I thought was) the Registrar's office had something for me to pick up, and that I should just ask the person at the front desk for an envelope from the "Bee-cee Meeneestree of Ejookayshee-on" - that should have been my first clue that a language kerfuffle lie ahead. I have found that many people in the Registrar's office can't read English, and this has majorly complicated my BC Student Loans application - I still have received no funding because of mistakes at Laval, but more on that later. Anyway, I went to the Registrar, waited in line, and asked the lady at the front desk about my envelope. She had no idea what I was talking about and was unnecessarily rude to me. Fine, whatever. I asked her if she could guess where that phone call this morning came from (since, evidently, it wasn't them), and she was quite sure that the Political Science Department had what I needed. I walked over to that building, and eventually found the right person to talk to. I retold her the whole story of where I had been this morning, and she had no idea what I was talking about. I asked her if she could guess maybe who ELSE may have called me about that. She thought maybe it was the Financial Aid Department. So, discouraged even more, I headed clear across campus to Financial Aid. I waited in line and re-retold my tale to the lady at the front counter. By this time, I am pretty stressed out and nervous, so not only is my French deteriorating, but I start to stutter a lot through it. She, too was quite rude as well and had no idea what I was talking about. She told me that I should go to the Registrar's office. She clearly was not listening to me. I said, "I went to the Reigistrar. She sent me to the Poli Sci Dept. She sent me here. Is there a FOURTH place you think I may have gotten this call from?" By this time, I am practically crying. Some kind soul behind her took a little pity on me and took me aside to call around to see what he could find. He wasn't able to find anything, but he tried to comfort me by saying, "Well, I guess if it was really important, whoever called you will call you back." I laughed a little, thanked him for his help, then went to the washroom to have a little meltdown. I walked back to my dorm room and saw a huge red puddle under my fridge. I opened the door, and everything had melted, including the strawberries I had frozen in little Glad containers. My fridge must have come unplugged yesterday somehow, and now everything smelled funny. Another meltdown on my bed. I had to throw everything out, and all I had was a small can of beans for dinner.

Long story short, I called BC Student Loans (for the relief of being able to talk out my problem in English), and they told me that Laval had somehow messed up on my paperwork, and that I should take the loan form in myself, have the Registrar stamp it, then fax it to Student Loans on my own. I agreed to do that Friday. I went back to the Registrar (which closes for 1.5 hours at lunch), and just made it in the door before they locked up. I gave her the form and asked her to stamp it for me so I could fax it in and get my long-overdue Student Loan money. She took it, and told me she would fax it off in 3-5 business days. Completely exasperated, I gave her my best, "Are you kidding?" look, but knowing that she would do nothing to speed it up, I thanked her and left. I know this is no one person's fault, but maybe the 'administration' doesn't realize that while all my paperwork is being delayed, I am feeling hungry (for not having my loan money, and for losing everything in my fridge), that I can't pay rent on Sunday, or my phone bill, etc. I get that there are always procedures to follow, but I have been in Quebec more than a month - I really thought I would have money by now. Fortunately, the "Bank of Dad" has come to my rescue and offered to lend me what I need to get by. I am so grateful for that, but frustrated that my financial woes have spilled over onto my parents' shoulders. It looks like I SHOULD have my loan in order by about October 15th, and in November, I can start this whole process over again for the Winter Semester loan. Sigh.

Well, all is not lost. This is getting long, so I'll keep it brief. Even with my Student Loan, I still need some extra money to get through the semester, so I decided to get a job. I was hired this week at "l'École des Langues de l'Estrie" - an ESL school that works mostly with French-speaking public servants and business people who need to learn English for work or who need to pass a public servants' language exam for a new job. I was hesitant to get back into teaching, but so far, this is what I have found for work so I will teach until something more political comes up. I'm grateful for the job, and hopefully, they will have a contract for me soon. I am hoping that somehow, in teaching public servants English, I will meet people who will be looking to hire at their government office, and since they will know me already from English school ... who knows? Maybe this is the Lord's roundabout way of getting me my dream job, whatever that might be. At this point, I would be satisfied with a positive income instead of constant loans from so many people. God does provide, though, even in this way, so I should be grateful. When I finish school, I would really like to financially help out others who struggle with funding school - it's just so crazy to worry about money when school has so many stresses of its own.

Anyway, speaking of school, I have lots of work to do, so I better go. My French friend and I are leading a 3-hour class discussion on Monday (in that same class) on the legitimate use of violence by the state. Yeah, I don't know what that means either, but whatever. We'll put on a good show. :) Miss you all.

KNL

Fall in New France

Well, fall is finally here in Québec. I have to say, though, that we have had the most wonderful weather this last month: not too hot, not too cold, sunny and when the rains come, they last only hours instead of weeks. Who knew that there was good weather outside the Lower Mainland (just kidding - I miss Saskatchewan weather a lot more than I let on) :)

I'm slowly starting to get a little more confortable with life here. My classes don't seem quite as overwhelming as they did initially, although my oral presentation on Monday is still scaring the be-jeebies out of me. I have another one next week (with a French-speaking partner, thankfully) that will last about 3 hours - ! - one giant hurdle at a time. Every day, as I try something new that scares the stuffing out of me, things get a little easier. What I keep forgetting is that a lot of these new social situations would be terrifying for a shy person like me even at home in Vancouver where I could fall back on my English. Who knows ... maybe I will be a completely different person when I come home ... or maybe I will just need that many more hugs from loved ones when I land on the West Coast in December. ha.

After church today, I was talking with someone who asked me where I was from. I told him Vancouver, and he said, "Wow, the culture here in Québec must be SO different from home." Not wanting to stir the pot, I said, "Yes," but it got me thinking a little. I have noticed, so far, a few subtle cultural differences between the average Québecker and the average Anglophone Canadian. We Anglos tend to be a little goofier and a little chattier with strangers (especially the girls) on average. But all things considered, there is FAR more in common between me and someone from Québec, than, say, me and someone from Chinatown or Little India back home in Vancouver. If one didn't know better, we Anglos look like the average Québecker, even if an Anglo can't speak a lick of French he/she can read every French sign (unlike stores in South Vancouver where I can't even make out what they sell), most Canadians share a common history with the average Québecker that we don't even share with people from our homeland of England (here on the North American colony), and the food is generally the same except for a few regional differences (which we would find in any province, English-speaking or not). Funny how both Québeckers and English Canadians can get so hung up on what divides us but don't want to admit how much we have in common.

Speaking of things that never change from culture to culture, the other day when I was in the mall with Sarah and Ashley, a (MUCH older) man made a pass at me, sort of. We were standing at the Telus counter, trying to get Sarah's cellphone woes solved, when a man who looked about 70 years old, came up to me, interrupted the Telus lady and said, "I just want to tell you how wonderful your red curly hair is. I have two sisters who also have red hair, and I gotta say that I just love it - we never see that anymore. I have no ulterior motive for telling you this - I just wanted to let you know that I think it is so beautiful." I was taken aback, but managed to thank him for his kindness and eventually he left. When I used to candystripe in the Nipawin Hospital, very elderly men often told me that, too. How frustrating that these men are three times my age ... why couldn't 30 year old men be approaching me instead? Well, at the very least, I will be the most eligible spinster in the old folks home in 2048. haha.

Anyway, I better get back to work. Miss you all and would love to hear from you sometime.

KNL

Meeting her Excellency, the Governor General of Canada

It has been a full week, to say the least. I really should have been blogging every day since Wednesday, but I will try to sum everything up in this post (so it may be a bit long - get yourself a hot chocolate and a warm blanket, here we go! - ha).

Anyway, I will begin with the most obvious ... I spoke with the Governor General today. (For those non-Canadians out there, the GG is appointed every 4-5 years to stand as the Queen's representative here in Canada. She officially has more powers than the Prime Minister, but rarely uses them. Mostly, she travels around handing out awards to outstanding Canadians, and also entertains dignitaries who come to Canada on official business). Anyhow, I had heard that she was going to be in town today at her residence in Vieux Québec, so I invited Sarah and Ashley to come with me to see her. I have always wanted to meet the GG, but never had the chance in Vancouver/Sask. After getting completely lost somewhere on the Plains of Abraham in the rain and wind, walking up and down hundreds of stairs and climbing battlefields for about 45 minutes, we finally found the GG's residence. We walked inside, and knowing we were late, I was sure we had missed her speech and everything. We got a tour of the dining room, and then we went upstairs to the ball room where there were displays of the GG's work all over Canada and the world. We went into a smaller sun room to sign a giant banner that was to be sent to our troops in Afghanistan. We continued on back into the ball room, which isn't very big at all - maybe 80 people were in there - squished together. We couldn't figure out why so many TV cameras were converging on a smaller group of people in the middle of the room, so Sarah got a little closer. She said, "I think she's HERE" ("She" being the Governor General). And there she was, in the middle of the room, talking to all the visitors. She had two tall men in uniforms beside her and two older women in red suits acting as 'social directors', kind of guiding her to who she could talk to next.

We stood nearby for about 3 minutes when one of the red coat ladies said (in French), "There are some young ladies waiting patiently here to speak to you, your Excellency." She approached us, and said hello in English, then switched back to French when she figured out we understood her. She asked us where we were from, and I think I said Vancouver :) . Sarah did most of the talking, and told the GG that we were in a French political science program back home in Vancouver, and that we were here for a year to study at Laval (well, Ashley and Sarah are in that program, I was too nervous to tell her I was in another program ... small detail she probably would soon forget anyway). She said that she had noticed on a recent trip to BC that there were so many people there wanting to learn French, and she thought that was wonderful. We must have said something else, but I was a little starstruck to remember what it was - ha. We did ask to have our picture taken with her, but she said no because it would cause a bottleneck in the 'receiving line' of sorts. Her red-coat assistant said it was OK for us to take pictures of her as the GG "moved around" - so we did ... lots, in search of that elusive perfect photo. I felt bad using the flash in her face, but I guess she must be used to it.

Shortly thereafter, she and her husband made short speeches welcoming us into their home and outlining what events were happening there during Québec's 400th anniversary. When that was over, we made our way out, but not before coming upon a room that was serving free refreshments. There were freshly picked apples, dried apple rings with chocolate, honey and chai tea spices, and freshly squeezed apple juice - I think the apples were from the gardens at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. It was the coolest accidental meeting ever - it will be a long time before I forget today. :) She was such a warm person - she seemed genuinely interested in what you had to say, and she chatted with us like any normal person would at a dinner party. Some visitors from Columbia were introduced to her, and she began chatting with them fluently in Spanish. After she moved on from us, she saw a small child, and said, "I saw that cute little face across the room, and I had to come see him!" Then the baby began to cry, but the GG laughed and spoke sympathetically to the baby's mother.

As we were walking around the house, and before we even knew we would see the GG at all, my friends and I were discussing how lucky we were to live in a country where our government buildings are open to the general public, and without intense, obtrusive security at that (although I am sure that there were as many security and staff there today as there were guests, but most of them smiled, talked with you and were there mostly to make sure you had a great time with the GG). It got me to thinking a bit about Christ, especially when we were in the crowd vying for a chance to even see the GG face to face: kind of like those friends of that paralytic in the Bible who did everything they could to bring their friend to Jesus for healing, and eventually cut a hole in the roof to lower their friend right into Christ's presence. Now the GG is no Saviour, of course, but she is essentially the highest ranking Canadian; yet, we were invited to her house, she listened to us, and she let us stay and enjoy just being in her home (with food and everything!). God is not obliged to even give us the time of day, but He welcomes us anyway; He listens to our requests and praise even when we must seem awkward and less revering than we should; He shares His wealth with us in food, shelter, etc. Having grown up in late 20th century North America, I can't say I fully understand the kingly analogies in the Bible that explain God's majesty and position over us, but for a few minutes today, I started to "get it." It was a great object lesson I will never forget.

On second thought, I will explain my birthday and other things of the week in another blog entry. Too much to say ... in a good way. :) Miss you all - talk to you soon.

KNL

Finding God in unexpected places

("The Christian and Missionary Alliance of Sainte-Foy -
One church ... one family")

Today, I made my first venture out into Québec City`s community of faith. Thanks to Dad's work connections, I heard about this church somewhat near the university so I decided to try it out this morning. I got off the bus, and across the street was this giant cathedral-like chapel. I stood there in awe for a second, but as I got closer, I noticed that it was not the church I was looking for. I glanced across the street and saw a much more modest sign outside an older community centre. Voilà, the church I was headed to ...

A little hesitant, I made my way in and was greeted by several friendly people who seemed about my age and who coincidentally (well, I guess coincidence is impossible in a church - ha) also work on campus at Laval. I found myself a seat on the side (there were probably 60 chairs available) in a room not unlike the gymnasium at Alex Wright Elementary School in Nipawin. As I waited for the service to start, I got to thinking about churches back home in Vancouver: How strange to come from the Fraser Valley, a veritable smorgasbord of church choices and preferences when it comes to music, preaching and community activities, to a little congregation in a temporary facility amidst an ocean of Québécois culture which has collectively given up on religious authority of any kind. That the church exists at all from year to year is an achievement.

The music started, and surprisingly, I recognized most of the songs (the lyrics having been translated into French). Younger members of the congregation played all sorts of instruments such as the cello, fiddles, electric piano, drums (I think), etc. It`s funny - you can sing the same song in Vancouver and Québec, but each culture puts its own spin on it. Here in Québec, church music sounds remarkably similar to the little square dancing songs Mme Nyuli used to teach us in music class - it was so cool. Later in the service when people were sharing about what God had been teaching them, a lady in the front row started saying the Lord`s Prayer (in French, of course). My thoughts went straight back to my French Immersion days where all our Catholic teachers (in a public school, mind you -- long live the 80`s) had us recite the Lord`s Prayer in French after singing the bilingual version of O Canada every morning. Had our English-only school principal spoken a word of French, we may not have 'gotten away with that'. Funny, too - most of us weren`t even Catholic (and only a handful of us were regular church goers), and I don`t ever remember it being a problem. How things have changed. To this day, I still do not know the Lord`s Prayer in English - good thing God speaks all forms of Canadian :)

Anyway, I came away from that service feeling silly about the way I had drawn up my list of must-haves in my 'church-shopping' adventures. Fantastic modern music? Well, heartfelt music by ordinary people wins out. Great looking facility? An affordable, safe place to meet for a couple hours on Sunday is good enough for me. Large, diverse congregation? A few well-chosen (by God, of course) people who live out their faith in a culture of historical opposition to Christ are the kind of friends I am looking for. What a refreshing reminder of what truly makes up a church - God`s people.

KNL

Bonjour!

(Top photo: "Welcome to Quebec City, the National Capital" - funny. And so it begins ...)

Hello from the east coast! Sorry it has taken me SO long to update this. I was without internet for 8 days, and it felt like an eternity. Today, I finally got things hooked up in my room, so I am back to being connected to the world! What a relief. It is very hard to start in a new place without the internet - maps, bus routes, store hours, etc ... my SFU buddies and I were hit and miss all last week. :) Even though we were on campus here at Laval, we had no communication with the school because it is mostly done by internet - isn't technology great? ha.

So far so good. Life here has been surprisingly enjoyable. The dorm I am in is old school, but really clean and equipped with all of the modern conveniences of home - a sink in every room, all the furniture we could possibly need, showers and bathrooms just a few doors down, a 3rd floor view of the courtyard, a TV room downstairs with a big screen TV, a grand piano in the lobby, kitchens, laundry rooms, ice machines, pop machines, candy machines, coffee machines, tunnels to everywhere on campus (for those frosty winter days to come), etc, etc, etc. Two of my SFU buddies and I are in the one residence (all girls) that is separate from the three others (further from classes, but right across the street from the grocery store and three malls). I am so thankful to be in this one - you can see pics of it on Facebook if you like. Four other SFU students from that cohort program I used to be in are here, too - I never realized how much easier it was to move somewhere new with someone else. Most of my life, I have done these giant steps alone, but it has been really great having them here to go through all these firsts together. I am in a completely different program than them, but hopefully, we will run into each other from time to time. I start classes on Thursday -- I'll keep you posted on the academic front.

As for the French, I think a lot has changed since I was here last. Part of me thinks Quebeckers are a little warmer towards anglophones than they were back in 1994 when I was here last (they were only months away from that nearly fateful referendum back then). Part of the difference is that my French is exponentially better than it was back in the day, although I still have so much to learn. Thankfully, it hasn't been as difficult as I imagined. Or rather, I haven't been as traumatized as I envisioned. :) I understand most everyone, but my speaking could really use some work. The other day, the registrar had me in her office to register me in classes, and she told me three times that we were done before I understood and responded appropriately - I was nodding and smiling, thinking she was telling a joke; she was actually telling me to leave. My bad. :) God has been gracious in giving me a newfound confidence in speaking even in situations that would make me nervous in English. I even made casual conversation with a complete stranger today in French. I don't know how other people move from their homeland to another country without being thoroughly equipped in the new language (like immigrants who come to Canada without English). I am having enough difficulty, and I have spoken French for 24 years (though never outside of school). I have a newfound appreciation for what my former students went through. :)

Well, I better get to applying for a few more jobs. I still don't know if I am approved for a Student Loan, so I am here in faith hoping things will work themselves out. Please pray for both the loan and a great job. Miss you all, and hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Talk to you soon.

KNL