whims

Montreal

I don't know how often I'll blog here. I don't feel like it's such a great adventure that I need to document the moments online. Most of what happens affects me emotionally, which, happily or unhappily for you, is reflected upon in my dairy, not my blog. :)

So, god, I've been here for more than a month now. I actually can't remember when I got here...a few days after Chistmas. Dad got sick, as always, and had to stay in the hotel, luckily he'd booked a suite and had a kitchen. Mom and I spent the majority of our time finding an apt., a bed, a desk, etc etc. Montreal's used scene isn't quite so hot as Lincoln's, this must be said. But, I did find an apt., near downtown and I have 2 rooms to myself: a bedroom and an office. We painted the office because it was this kind of pukey apricot...overwhelming to say the lesat. It's not white, which isn't ideal, but a big improvement. I live with a girl from Quebec and a guy from France. i'm the only student. I get on really well with the girl and the guy is friendly, but his english is preeety shaky (better than my french) so it's hard to communicate. The apt. is big and kind of empty. W e have a room to fill up and make a common room. We'll get around to that someday. Right now, everybody just kind of hangs out in his own room.

My classes are fine. I'm taking Intro to Development, Politics, Intro to Development, Anthro, Micro Econ, and French. The profs are generally good and the material is intersting. It's really nice to be studying what I want, finallyy!! No more calculus!! :) Often, the ideas and themes overlap from one course to teh next, which helps see multiple sides of the concept as well as cementing it in my head. the problem is, the classes are huge, lectures and it's impersonal. It's alos hard to meet people in a class of 600. Golly. Firth has 650 inhabitants, my poltics class has 612 students. Walla Walla had 20,000 inhabitants, McGill has 30-35000 students. What a change. What a change.

I've gotten involved in volunteering at the YMCA Covered Garden, which is a community program associated with a government residence for asylum seekers during their first month in Canada. If they arrive on the border, seeking asylum, and know no one in Montreal, they'll be sent there to live for a month. After a month, they get a welfare check so can get an apt. of their own. The Covered Garden is like the living room of the residence and doesn't deal so much with the technical procedures of the place, but helps the refugees get off on the right foot. I've been working witht he kids, whichis fun. I get to speak Spanish and am amazed at how respectful they are!! I'm also helping in a club called AIESEC, but this is a totally self-serving endeavour because it's an internship club and the point is to get an internship in the end. :) the people in the club are nice, though, so hopefully I can meet more people that way.

Montreal's a beautiful city and really laid back. I'm surpised daily at how slooooowwly people walk here! Criminently! haha. It's been super cold, so I haven't been exploring much, but I think I'll be here for the summer, so I have time. I am having a hard time getting myself to be here, though, to believe that I've actually moved here, that this actually is my lfe now. It's all so sudden. and I haven't had a lot of time to just get my bearings. I guess once i make more friends and get more settled (a job would help...) I'll start feeling more at home. Even my room seems a bit forgein,t hough, even though it's stock full of MY things. Anyway, I have to undestand that what I'm doing now does matter because I have 3 midtermns next week and htose grades do matter! :)

So, hm. Don't really knokw what else to say. Peace love and rock and roll.

posted by Marielly @ 3:08 PM