Pre-Flight Feelings - 4/25/24
Today, I am preparing for my flight in the middle of May. Having studied abroad all of last year, I am a mix of excited and already missing home.
post #1 - 5/23/24
I arrived on 5/17/24 and worked the weekend to set up my apartment. I live in a very central location with European-style bars along the street next to me as well as many convenience stores (depanneur) and grocery stores within a 5-minute walk. Although I know Quebec is a bilingual province, I was impressed that everything governmental was always written twice, once in English and once in French. This week I stayed near my apartment, setting up and establishing my schedule for the coming summer!
post #2 5/30/24
I have spent a lot of time at home due to the fact that I do not have a laptop. However, I have made an effort to explore the metro stations around me. Specifically, I spent a lot of time in "Place des Arts" and around "Atwater". I have also been attempting to practice my French at the depanneurs, which are convenience stores.
post #3 6/6/24
Life is more comfortable now and predictable. I have been going to Mcgill once a week to participate in a research group and pass through campus every day to go to the gym. Sadly, I have not had much time to explore this week because of how busy my days have been with research, cooking and other basics.
Post #4 6/13/24
This week my friend from the US came to visit which motivated me to become a better tourist. We explored the downtown bar scenes and went to visit Toronto next weekend. I learned that Montreal is known for their speakeasy style establishments. Specifically, walking through St. Laurent (where much of the night-life is located), it is easy to find doors with graffiti and no signage that are actually bars or restaurants.
Post #5 6/20/24
This week, I took some time to reconnect with some acquaintances that have been living in Montreal their whole lives. These friends were Anglophones, meaning their primary language is English, making them a minority in Quebec. They told me that from their perspective, too many resources were being used to ensure French remains the dominant language. These language politics become deeper when concerning the First-Nation people living on reserves near the city. According to my friend, who lives in Kahnawake, a reservation on the south shore of St. Lawrence River, the French education on the reservation can be subpar putting him at a professional and academic disadvantage in Quebec.
In addition, I attended a large, free music-festival that took place last weekend called Les Francos de Montreal. Within a 15 minute walk from my apartment, I stumbled upon the weekend-long event where Francophone artists are promoted. Personally, listening to music in Quebecois French was a delight as it felt that my French practice revealed a part of Quebecois culture that would otherwise be inaccessible to me. Since then, I have added bands that I heard there to my regular playlists.
Post #6 6/27/24
I was connected, early this week, through my mom, with two francophone people (main language is French) my age that grew up in Montreal, Quebec. Many of the people I have encountered so far are considered Anglophone, meaning their primary language is English. I found their mastery of both languages really impressive. In fact, their schools require fluency in both to be competitive in Quebec at all. In addition, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, also known as Fête Nationale du Québec occurred on 6/22 - 6/23. This holiday is celebrated by Canadian Francophone communities across Quebec and is celebration of everything Quebecois. I went on Monday to Parc Maisonneuve, crowded with Quebecois proudly wearing their colors (blue and white) in every which way. The venue was relatively small but the crowd was extremely passionate and I spent the night singing culturally Quebecois songs (like tunes from Les Cowboy Fringantes).
Post #7 7/4/24
Similar to today's July 4th celebration, Monday July 1st was Canada Day. Mostly, people gather in parcs to watch the fireworks and eat on their day off. I refrained from activities that day to complete some research. In addition, I am finding out that Montreal is very well known for its large live-music open-air events. The last weekend was also the 44th Montreal Jazz Festival, one of the largest Jazz festivals in the world, right in the middle of the city for free! I visited the festival on Saturday and Sunday where I saw lots of local upcoming talent in a variety of genres, including rap. The fact that this was put on for free at such a large scale is a new concept to me, coming from Gainesville, FL.
Post #8 7/11/24
I went again to the Jazz festival this last weekend with some friends. I was slightly disappointed from the legendary stories I have heard about past Jazz festivals. However, it's grandeur aside, there were some amazing local talent that was a joy to listen to.
Post #9 7/19/24
I was lucky enough to travel to Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada where I met up with some relatives and went to the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the largest folk festival in Canada. This really diversified my experience from Quebec as it almost felt like a different country. French is still encouraged relative to a city in the U.S, however most people did not speak French fluently and there was a large Ukranian population. Also, the Canadian accents that I imagined before coming was much more pronounced here in Manitoba, relative to Quebec.
Post #10 7/26/24
This was my last weekend here and I am feeling emotional that I have to leave in tomorrow. In the true Montreal fashion, the city gave me one more music festival to attend called La Festival International Nuits d’Afrique which promotes Francophone music from Africa. I have never had a more culturally impactful summer and I have SUIRP and the City of Montreal to thank.
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