We're from Mississippi. We don't wear shoes!

I gave someone directions! I was walking back to the hotel and a woman stopped me and asked how to get somewhere. I asked her to talk a little slower to make sure that I knew where she wanted to go. Once I was sure, I gave her some simple directions and pointed her off in the right way. I had walked into the street to point somewhere and the woman and her two daughters followed me. As she was leaving, a car came speeding around the corner. Cars aren't really on the street in front of our hotel much, much less speeding. One of her daughters ran to the side that her mom was on. Fatima and I grabbed the other one and pulled her to the sidewalk. There's nothing like a possible car crash to start the day. The excitement is truly never in short supply here.

We went to a neat museum yesterday. It was about the history of Canadians and how the people came to North America. The main focus of the museum was the French language and its evolution here. It was really interesting. Everything was in French and English, so if we didn't understand a French word, we were able to look at the English translation to fully understand.

Before I came here, when I would tell people that I was coming to Quebec to speak French, many people would tell me that it was kind of a silly idea because, after all, it's Canada. After being here for almost a week, I'm so glad that I decided to study abroad here. Most people speak French and English. Most things, like signs and menus, are in both as well. It's surprisingly very helpful because it's easier to gain complete understanding. If I was somewhere like France, I'd kind of be lost in translation, to a certain extent, because I wouldn't be able to clarify or double check things. However, it also means that people here are going to speak to us in English when they hear our accents. It's perhaps the most annoying thing. If we're persistent, though, they'll usually continue in French.

Oh, that reminds me. From my interactions here, I've come to the conclusion that many people do not like Americans. We were at the grocery store in line at the check out. We had been there for a little while so the cashier had been listening to our conversation and he was fluent in English. He asked if we were Americans and when we responded yes, he had a look of pure disgust on his face. I just don't understand how people can hate an entire group of people based on generalizations. I guess that's just life.

Unfortunately, my feet are getting torn up. They're swollen from so much walking. They're riddled with blisters. A pair of my shoes rubbed the first layer of my skin off in a few places, so sometimes my feet just start bleeding. On the bright side, I think I'm losing some weight. The combination of walking everywhere and not eating as much as normal is boding well for my legs and backside.

Last night we went to a bar that played live Latin music and was accompanied by salsa-type dancing. Most of the people there were from Middle or South America. Fatima let me borrow a pair of her high heels. I'm 5'6" and I was wearing 5 inch heels, therefore I was taller than most of the people there. I felt like a giant on the dance floor.

Tonight, Aerosmith is playing at the music festival. It's interesting how much Canadians love American music. Everywhere we go, American music is playing. I even heard Sweet Home Alabama! We stick out like sore thumbs because we start singing and it becomes obvious where we're from. I don't really get it though, because they don't even know the words to the songs. They just sit there and listen, not even singing along with the chorus. It's not like I can blame them though, incredible musicians come from the States.

I think I've discovered my new favorite quote. It's the one at the top of the page, under "Allons-y!"  (Side note, "Allons-y!" means "Let's go (there)!") Anyways, the quote was on the wall of the museum that we visited. For those of you who don't speak French, it means something like, "If we are marked for going somewhere, we cannot prevent life from taking us there." But of course, just about everything sounds much better in French than English.

We've decided to go visit Montreal this weekend. Fatima has a friend who lives there and is going to show us around. I'm really excited to get out and see some more of Canada. Monreal also speaks French, so we'll still be using the target language. We have to take a bus, so we'll be able to look out the windows and enjoy the sites of this beautiful country.

In conclusion, I'll be moving to Quebec one day.

Here's a photos of us at the bus stop last night. The guy on the far right is a friend that we've made here. He asked Julia out on a date! Left to right: James, Chloe, myself, Fatima, Julia and Xavier.