We had a small encounter with the police! We were crossing the street, ignoring the cross walk, similar to how we walk around on campus. There were two police officers on the other side of the street watching us as we weren't paying them any attention. They proceeded to start talking to us in rapid French. Fatima, Chloe, Julia and myself just kind of stood there and looked at them. Luckily Florian was able to talk to them and we all walked away with a mild scolding.
As we walked, we stumbled upon a street performance that was simply intoxicating. It was around 20 people doing different sorts of acrobatic dance moves. We wanted to go to a festival in town, but we didn't know how to get there. Therefore, we walked around Montreal for about two hours until we finally just gave up. We were all hungry and we begrudgingly decided to eat some McDonald's. I didn't want to eat there as I haven't eaten at a McDonald's in the States for a very long time. Unfortunately, it was going to be one of the cheapest options and also the quickest. The menu was very similar, just small cultural changes in choices, like offering poutine as a substitute for fries. We had been lugging our backpacks around for several hours by this point and were ready to be rid of them. We dropped our stuff off at Florian's apartment and went back out. We met up with someone that Fatima knew by association, a someone who got us into the VIP section of a night club for free. The club was very crowded and also very smelly, an awful combination. Upon leaving the club, we must have taken 10 different buses to get back to Florian's apartment. Florian did not happen to have any extra towels, so we had to use our sleeping shirts as towels when we showered in the bathroom that he shared with 4 other people. Quite the experience. To top the night off, we slept on a concrete terrace. Literally, it was approximately 6 feet long and 5 feet across with 4 people sleeping there. We only had a blanket underneath us, nothing on top. It gets pretty chilly here at night, so we had to cuddle for warmth.
In the morning, we were as tired as tired can be. We got up early and made our way into town. Florian deposited us at the bus station where we were left to our own devices to get around. We made our way to a festival that showcased different countries of the world and their culture. Had it not been so hot and had we not been so tired, it would have been a really awesome place to be. At one point, when we were walking out the exit of the Metro station, there were 4 or 5 men standing there, shouting at the crowd, "Is anybody selling? Is anybody selling sex or drugs?" In Chloe's words, "That was either a really bad sting operation or those guys are just idiots." I'm still not sure what to make of that little occurrence.
We boarded the bus to come back at 1pm. We ran into some traffic on the way back. The 2.5-3 hour bus ride turned into a 4 hour ride, because it just wouldn't be my life if there wasn't some kind of problem. We tried to sleep most of the way, or as best as possible on a bus. Once we arrived back in Quebec, we couldn't have been happier. Never in my life have I been so excited to be back in familiar territory, where I actually knew where I needed to go and didn't need public transportation to do it.
As a result of our exhausted mental and physical states, we spent the night in, the first night of the entire trip, as we try to go out and do something every night. James cooked everyone dinner and we just relaxed and enjoyed each others company. Sometimes that really is just the right medicine.
Yesterday was a mostly normal day for us. We had class in the morning and spent the afternoon walking around the lower city. While we were walking around, an older, creepy man asked us if we were tourists. I don't think that we look that obviously like tourists, aside from when people hear us speaking English. Anyways, we weren't really sure what to say so we just smiled awkwardly and kept walking. Sometimes we just pretend that we don't speak English. It can work surprisingly well.
As part of our grade, groups of three of us go out to eat with our teacher. We go to a fancy restaurant and have to speak French the whole time. Most importantly, we don't have to pay. Well, we do, but the cost is included in what we paid to come on this trip. It was our turn last night, Fatima, Chloe and myself. We were very excited about this. Any food that we don't have to pay for out of pocket is pretty much a miracle. We spent three hours at the restaurant and each got a three course meal, successfully filling our perpetually empty bellies.
The 8 of us, myself, Fatima, Chloe, Julia, Ashley, James, Claire and Laura, hang out most of the time. We really don't have much of an option, but we genuinely enjoy each others company. I've found 7 new best friends! Like always, none of us really want to just sit around the hotel when we have the option to go out. We had a "family" excursion to a local bar and sat around and talked. We ended the night by going to Chez Ashton, our favorite place for poutine. Fatima and I made friends with two people eating there. We spoke in French the whole time, as their English wasn't very good. They were impressed that we were speaking French so well because they said that most Americans just don't try. A good time was had by all, as always.
It's a rainy and somewhat cold day today. Who knows what we're going to get into. I think we all need to catch up on some sleep and just relax. Then again, we always say that and then we end up staying up late, doing whatever comes our way.
Yesterday, the father of my childhood best friend passed away. I will always remember him for his big laugh and bigger beard. My parents have been friends with the family for more than 30 years, and he even drove my Mom to the hospital when she was giving birth to my brother. Today, my heart goes out to the Schilling Family.
Here's a photo of the waterfall that we visited the other day. It was so incredibly beautiful. We even walked across a bridge over it!
Yesterday was a mostly normal day for us. We had class in the morning and spent the afternoon walking around the lower city. While we were walking around, an older, creepy man asked us if we were tourists. I don't think that we look that obviously like tourists, aside from when people hear us speaking English. Anyways, we weren't really sure what to say so we just smiled awkwardly and kept walking. Sometimes we just pretend that we don't speak English. It can work surprisingly well.
As part of our grade, groups of three of us go out to eat with our teacher. We go to a fancy restaurant and have to speak French the whole time. Most importantly, we don't have to pay. Well, we do, but the cost is included in what we paid to come on this trip. It was our turn last night, Fatima, Chloe and myself. We were very excited about this. Any food that we don't have to pay for out of pocket is pretty much a miracle. We spent three hours at the restaurant and each got a three course meal, successfully filling our perpetually empty bellies.
The 8 of us, myself, Fatima, Chloe, Julia, Ashley, James, Claire and Laura, hang out most of the time. We really don't have much of an option, but we genuinely enjoy each others company. I've found 7 new best friends! Like always, none of us really want to just sit around the hotel when we have the option to go out. We had a "family" excursion to a local bar and sat around and talked. We ended the night by going to Chez Ashton, our favorite place for poutine. Fatima and I made friends with two people eating there. We spoke in French the whole time, as their English wasn't very good. They were impressed that we were speaking French so well because they said that most Americans just don't try. A good time was had by all, as always.
It's a rainy and somewhat cold day today. Who knows what we're going to get into. I think we all need to catch up on some sleep and just relax. Then again, we always say that and then we end up staying up late, doing whatever comes our way.
Yesterday, the father of my childhood best friend passed away. I will always remember him for his big laugh and bigger beard. My parents have been friends with the family for more than 30 years, and he even drove my Mom to the hospital when she was giving birth to my brother. Today, my heart goes out to the Schilling Family.
Here's a photo of the waterfall that we visited the other day. It was so incredibly beautiful. We even walked across a bridge over it!
Here's the most recent family picture, take on Île d'Orléans.
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