The Home Stretch ...

18 more sleeps till I am safe at home in Abbotsford. Ahh. Normally time flies the older you get, but I am sure these last four months have been the longest four months of my life. Don't get me wrong - I have enjoyed enough adventure these last 16 weeks to fill several years. It has been a dream come true for me to live on the East Coast in a French-speaking environment, and I have been pleasantly surprised at how warm the people here are to 'foreigners' (well, English-speaking Canadians anyway). I have made so many new friends and have experienced at least one new thing every week that I've never tried before. That being said, this semester has been a unique blend of difficulties that have sometimes made the days drag on. I have already complained enough about my hardships, so I thought it might be nice to focus on the really great things that have happened thus far.

1. New friends - Classmates in my program, friends in other classes, friends at a women's Bible Study and at church, at work, etc. I think in 7 years in Vancouver, I never met so many people.

2. New job - Having left ESL back in 2005 after seriously burning out, I was so hesitant to get back on the horse. Since I really needed the cash, I accepted the only job I could find, and it has turned out to be a source of great encouragement for me this semester. I have the most amazing class of students at Revenue Canada who regularly express their gratitude for my work. On days when I feel like the stuttering, shy little Anglo at Laval, these 11 'tax collectors' give me encouragement that all this emotional investment in improving myself and my French will one day pay off. It's a God thing, I'm sure.

3. New 'home away from home' - Sure, I cook everything in the microwave, but this dorm room has been an unexpected blessing. I was super hesitant to live in a dorm - I didn't even enjoy it so much back when I was 21 - but this little sanctuary has been a great place to come home to after a long day at school. It's super cheap ($250 a month), it's across the street from a giant grocery store and 3 malls, and now that it's winter, I have underground access to every building on campus. I only need to wear my jacket on the days I leave campus. How great is that! (like my mom would say :) To boot, my hall is super quiet, clean, well-maintained, and best of all, safe. Love it. Sure a step up from our slum back in South Vancouver ... :)

4. New direction - After months of agonizing about it, I finally decided on a thesis topic that highly interests me (issues of national security) and I have found a professor willing to supervise me and my work. Not only that, but he is also willing to have me write the thesis in English. When I planned to come here, I was very gung-ho about writing my thesis in French. Though I could probably write it in French if I really wanted to, I would go broke having to pay someone to proofread it constantly, and from my experience this last semester, I would also spend more time worrying about the French than I would worrying about the content. Writing a thesis in English is hard enough (so I've been told); I would hate to have the quality of my work suffer just because of a language deficiency. Surprisingly, now that I have decided to tackle that project in English, I feel much more inspired to work at French in other areas. My speaking needs a lot more work than my written French, so now I can dedicate all that freed-up time to practicing the things I really need to work on, like ordering Chicken McNuggets at McDonalds. ha. My students tease me about that all the time. They often ask me how school is going, and one day I explained to them that I have little difficulty speaking about academic topics (politics, etc.) in French, but it's the everyday little things I have no experience in. I told them that the few times I actually went to McDonalds here in Québec City, I really wanted Chicken McNuggets, but for the life of me could not pronounce 'Poulet McCroquettes'. Both times, I went to the counter, looked the cashier in the eye and said, 'J'aimerais le P-pp ... ... un cheeseburger.' :) My students think that's the funniest thing ever, and they have threatened to take me to McDonalds on our last day of class and have me order for all of them. I told them they were all getting cheeseburgers. :) ha.

5. New places - In my short time here, in between classes and other time consuming activities, I have had the privilege of visiting so many new places. Québec City has so much history and culture to explore when all I have is an afternoon and a valid bus pass. On our way here to Québec (and again this last weekend), we got to see Trois-Rivières and every little hick town between here and Montréal. A friend and I spent this last weekend in Montréal and took in as many of the sights as possible. In November, our prof from SFU who came to visit us took us on a road trip to l'Île d'Orléans just outside Québec. And last but certainly not least, I got to drive along the Atlantic Coast to see Rocher Percé. That was an unbelievable trip that I will not soon forget (seeing as how I took more than 600 pics ... who can forget anything? ha). Changes in scenery always do me good, and I am so thankful for every opportunity I've had to go see something new.

Well, life looks pretty good when you put it that way. In the meantime, I have 3 oral presentations, three 20 page projects and 2 final exams to finish in the next 2 weeks. I am praying for B- in everything (or more if the Lord is feeling generous), or the grace to take whatever mark I deserve. We'll see, and I'll keep you posted. Hope you are all well and enjoying the holidays so far. Miss you all lots, and hope to hear from you soon (and see some of you as well!).

KNL