fin du contract

It was my last day of work as an English monitor today, and I couldn't be happier.

Okay, so being an English monitor is actually a pretty great job. Go in, do activities with the students, and take no responsibility for anything. For the majority of people who work as monitors, this is a great deal. And you get a chance to experience life in another part of Canada, and improve your other official language. The pay is pretty good, and the benefits aren't bad (i.e. not having to deal with disciplining students, not having to deal with administration, not having to deal with parents, not having to be at school when there are no students, free trip to Québec City for "training", money for your flights home, etc.). And then there's all the other people who find themselves in the same situation, living away from home in a second language and looking to speak their mother tongue.

I feel almost like I didn't experience the intended purpose of the program. I already lived in Québec when I applied for the job, and will continue living here now that my contract is finished. I have a lovely apartment, a boyfriend, and a (small, too small for my liking) social network here, and my French was pretty good even before I started the job. So I didn't go out of my way to get to know my students, the teachers at the school, the community. I don't even live in the community where I was working*, so I didn't spend a lot of extra time there. Which is hugely different from my experience in Japan, where I may not have gotten to know my students either (what can I say -- I'm lazy, and they all had funny names, were they French or Japanese), but I became much more a part of my community. Let's put it this way -- there was not send-off for me today, and nobody cried.

So somewhere between the differences in culture, linguistics, and my personal living situation, I didn't have quite the same Odyssey as other participants on the program. But then again, I don't think I went in with the same expectations. I think I'll miss the steady paycheque most of all.






*This made it awkward to prepare a guide for whoever takes over my position next year. No, I'm sorry, I can't give you practical ideas about community activities you could join during the year.

la session achève!

I can't believe I haven't updated in such a long time! What can I say -- the end of term does that to you, especially when it makes you write long paper in your deuxième langue. It was an excellent challenge for me, and really gave me the boost I needed with my French, not to mention a good kick of the old confidence.

Well, I won't go bragging about my mad skillz yet -- I had a lot of help, and I had to ask for an extension for said term paper. Thank you gentle professor.

Not only has university finished for the year, but I'm also two weeks away from the end of my contract as an English monitor. A contract that has gone by extremely fast. I've been doing a lot of thinking about this past year, because eventually I'd like to write a juicy tell-all book about the strangeness of pretend English teaching abroad and nearly abroad (hey -- Québec is almost a foreign land -- they talk funny, and have whole other government institutions for my taxes, because everyone loves to do two tax returns).

Next up, I'll be -- hey! look over there! The patio is open and the 5 à 7 is about to start!
Bonne fin de semaine!

Three days in Kingston with Option Anglais

It was 5am, and I was up and getting ready to go for the day. Usually, I'm a late sleeper, but today I was getting a ride to Shawinigan to get on a tour bus with 59 students and three other teachers. Destination: Kingston, Ontario. Canada's first capital, home of Queen's University and known for its many penitentiaries. We'd be spending three days there to give the students a chance to visit a real anglophone community, and hopefully learn something along the way*.

Our departure was timed so that we would arrive in Montréal to pick up our guide** just in time for the morning rush hour. Oh joy! Having requested an anglophone guide for our English speaking tour, we were a bit surprised to find out that our admittedly very nice guide was not terribly comfortable in the language of Shakespeare. Nor that of Molière, according to the francophone teacher. Ouch. You know its not good when the tour bus of Secondary 2 students is snickering when the guide tells them when it is time "for to go" somwhere or asks them "are you understood?".

We had a very full schedule though: a tour of Upper Canada Village (a collection of turn of the previous century houses manned by guides in period costume)***. Like Heritage Park in Calgary, but on the shores of the St. Lawrence. After that, a quick cruise through the Thousand Islands, and finally on to the hotel for supper**** before a Haunted Walk of Kingston. Ooooooo... scary stuff kiddies!

The evening was less fun. Our hotel was out in the middle of fast food wasteland, so after the haunted walk, two of the teachers volunteered to take interested students to McDonalds for a snack. I stayed with another teacher to keep an eye on the students who opted for swimming in the hotel pool -- much to the consternation of the guides. Understandably, they were concerned about liability and accidents, having had a death in the past. We were more concerned with the students having something to do for the three hours before lights out. No mishaps, and we were off duty at 11pm when a security guard arrived to keep an eye on things.

The next day it was up bright and early again. After breakfast we were off to Bellevue House, and then on to a guided tour of Kingston. The students were less than energetic, and there were a few we caught sleeping during the tour. Not that I blame them. It's hard work travelling in another language!

Our last stop for the day was Fort Henry, where we were signed up as soldiers in the British Army, circa 1867. Uniforms, muster, inspections -- the works. Including guided tours and a scavenger hunt. And another evening of ghost stories... It was a great visit, marred only by the presence of a pack of princesses in our ranks. They lamented the "icky" food, the lack of showers, and the humidity (we had some light rain) that curled their hair. And do you believe it, there were no outlets for them to plug in their hair straighteners! They had to wait to plug them in on the bus the next day! Seriously. During the ghost tour they almost injured themselves (and my ears) with their screaming and panic. I (and the other teachers) was ready to slap them. Especially the ones who refused to eat because the food was "gross". They reminded me of the group of Alberta students who did a homestay in Japan while I was there, and reacted much the same way (much to the distress of their Japanese hosts). I guess it just goes to show that spoiled adolescents are, well, spoiled.

The evening was rounded out with a big show put on by the students, my favorite part of the trip I think. The students were given free reign to do whatever they wanted, and came up with some highly entertaining skits, songs and other entertainments. Even the teachers (myself included -- I gave an improptu Japanese lesson) participated. The evening wound down with a game of telephone, and then it was time for everyone to go to bed.

We slept in the "schoolroom" between the two girls dormitories. Well, I slept. The two other teachers didn't do so well what with the grandfather clock that chimed every 15 minutes and the heater that made noise every other 15 minutes. At least there were no ghosts!

We ended the trip with an hour of free time in Kingston and a quick tour of the penitentiary museum, before lunch at Swiss Chalet (holy nostalgia batman!) and getting back on the bus. Where we once again arrived just in time for rush hour in Montreal.

In all, it was a great trip and I think the students had a lot of fun (and maybe even got some English speaking in). In the words of our guide, "it was very fun to trip with you".

*One parent complained there was no reason to go to Kingston -- what was there to do there? Wasn't there more to do in Boston or New York? Keeping in mind that this is a group of Grade 7 and 8 students. Because you really want to be crossing international borders and dealing with passports with that age group. I blame a lack of knowledge of Canadian history (and tourism). I heard much the same question from francophone friends.

** No, the guide didn't come with the bus to Shawinigan. It's much more fun to go through the middle of Montréal to pick them up. Weird.

*** Another bump in the road here -- UCV wasn't actually open yet, so the buildings were all locked. So instead of a free visit, we had a guide. Not a grave problem, but not something that speaks well for the tour company organizing the trip.

**** Another problem: hungry, cranky teens; small hotel lobby; and not enough food for everyone. Well, according to the guides there was enough, but there were only drinks for half. If they understood drinks for 30, wouldn't there be food for 30? Hmmmm...

but we didn't stop for ice cream

It was a very spring-like weekend around here. The weather on Saturday was warm and sunny, and we were at the Jardin Botannique in Montréal with la belle-soeur and her chum. In an effort to help people forget that there are still big ugly masses of snowbanks everywhere, covered in sand, dirt, and a winter's worth of garbage, the Gardens hold an annual "free flying" butterfly exhibit. Despite the crowds, it was good to get out and see some green growing things. The butterflies, despite being the main attraction, were the least fun part of the day. Due mostly to their being surrounded by people: parents and children with strollers, amateur (and not-so-amateur) photographers with their miscellaneous gear, and of course, the blathering idiots who make you wonder who let them leave the house without a brain. Well, it was to be expected for a Saturday afternoon. Next time I go to the Jardin Botannique, I'll pick a less crowded event.

Now I'm all ready for spring to hit those of us who don't live inside a greenhouse...

Icebreaking in Trois-Rivières

Unfortunately, you also have to listen to Rick Mercer. I find him extremely annoying, and fail to understand his popularity. But you can also see the Canadian Coast Guard hard at work, keeping the St. Lawrence clear of ice.

Ice breaking action. Yes.

The Martha L. Black is stationed just across from our apartment, and the "bridge" (better known as the Pont Laviolette) is visible just about everywhere in town. It's huge.

Last winter, they opened the ice breaker up for tours by the public for a few hours. I took some photos, and you can see them here, on my flickr site.

re-enact this!

I swear, if I hear one more interview about the cancellation of the re-enactment of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, I am going to scream.

Possibly for ice cream.

Which is difficult to get this time of year.

perfectionism + second language = grrrrr

My first hand-in assignment / take home exam this term is for my course on legislative aspects of the environment. We had a week to work on it, and I was really good about getting a good head start on things so that I wouldn't be leaving it all until the last minute, as I am wont to do... So that part went relatively well. I found all of the necessary information, had all of the answers, and was not terribly concerned.

And then it came to the writing.

For starters, the assignment was not taxing in and of itself. A take home exam with all of the answers to be found in the course notes? The course notes that we had read together as a class? A grand total of four questions?

Ordinarily I'd be laughing. But then again, ordinarily, I'd be writing in my native tongue. That one where I can pull a four question regurgitation take home exam out of my ass in under an hour. Unfortunately, my French is not nearly up to the task. Oh sure, I can read, speak, understand, and all that useful stuff. But I avoid writing as much as possible. Well, that and answering the telephone at school (I think that's a hold over from Japan, where I answered the school telephone a grand total of one time over a two year period). It's one of the reasons for my doing a Certificate in French in the first place. I want to improve my writing and having to write for a course is a sure-fire way to force myself to write.*

So I wrote. Most of Sunday afternoon, and a few more hours on Monday evening. Which for me, marks probably the first time I haven't been frantically writing and revising up to the hour before the paper is due.

I had my in-house editor read it over, and asked specially that he not correct all of the errors, but highlight them so that I could fix them myself.

Terrible idea**.

Not that the help with the language wasn't wonderful and greatly appreciated. It was more that it made me feel like an illiterate idiot. I think the problem was and still is more that I know I'm not an illiterate idiot. At least not usually.

So, while rationally I understand that I will have to work hard and suck up that perfectionist streak to improve my writing and accept that no, I am not able to write perfect prose en français***, I really don't like it and it does not make me very happy.






* I tried setting up a blog in French to practice, but it was no fun! I never wrote a single post. Which defeats the purpose.

** Another terrible idea? Asking him to read over my stuff while the Flames of Calgary were kicking the asses of the Canadiens of Montreal. Hm. This could prove problematic if my dream of seeing both of these teams in an all-Canadian Stanley Cup final match-up comes true...

*** YET!