Imagine.

Hello blog fans! Well. After a crazy day today, some mild panic stress calls to the US late last night, and being 3/4 through Legally Blonde, which always makes me feel better (say what you want, it is a story of triumph, just like Cool Runnings), I shall to settle down and tell you a story with some pictures, especially for our friends who do not have access to Facebook.

Yesterday I went to the Musée des Beaux Arts de Montréal, where an exhibit on John Lennon and Yoko Ono was closing.

Now, I have always been kind of intrigued by the relationship of John and Yoko, mostly because their relationship was so strong, so immediately, which is fair, but it was also kind of at the expense and destruction of other things (namely the Beatles's collective career and John's first marriage and consequently relationship with his son Julian, about whom "Hey Jude" was written). So to say the least, I was really curious about this exhibit, and what they would show about the Lennon/Ono connection.

What I found at this exhibit was that a lot of her/their earlier work, heavily-laden in obscure symbolism, was pretty indicative of the use of Yoko as a derogatory term towards people who divide solid unions. But then the exhibit continued (concluding in the Imagine era), and I was more convinced that Yoko and John really believed in love and peace and were, at their core, radical and kind of fun.

This is fair, but I still am not past the fact that Julian Lennon and Mrs. John 1 lived a scorned life because of John being swept up in Yoko Fever. Might just be from where I come, but when Paul McCartney is writing your son songs to get you through your divorce, maybe you should evaluate your relationships. The other thing I like about the song "Hey Jude" is that it is also applicable for Jude the Obscure, a British lit favorite. The other thing about John Lennon is that I have a really hard time looking at pictures or videos of him, especially frappant while watching "A Hard Day's Night," because I always look at the date and think, "In x years, you'll be...gone, and you have no idea." That's true of anyone who dies, obviously, but it always gets me with John Lennon for some reason. Don't know why that is.

After the museum, Karen, Carla and I continued on a nice walk downtown, stopping at a dép (short for dépanneur, convenience store) for cool beverages and enjoying the sun that had been away for a while. Then I came home and made myself nachos for dinner (om nom fiesta nom), and it was great. Aside from a minor housing crisis (which is averted, إن شاء الله), things are doing pretty well. This place is really becoming my home.

So I guess in the spirit of things, we should all give peace a little chance, especially since on our way back home, we saw people en manifestant about Iran at the gates of McGill. While I was talking to Sally last night, I said that I felt like I had gone through enough bad to deserve good things, but not necessarily put out enough good to deserve them. Just thinking about such things.

Anyway, nachos are delicious, I've been taking lots of walks in the evening, and keeping up with mes études québécoises. Best to you all.

As Seen on TV

Another week in the life of an American Girl in Canada, which was mostly rainy and full of letter-writing, but so it goes.

On Monday, I had three friends from class over for dinner and felt like quite a lady. We wined and dined and talked about Montreal and how it really is the best city in Canada. What's weird here is that the three major cities in Canada are Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal, and then there are the minor ones (province capitals, etc etc), but other than that, it's all about those three. In the US, there are the big big cities, but then there are big cities, then baby cities (like Tallahassee, I'm pretty sure that Miami is more major, but Tallahassee is still the capital), but there are no shortage of cities to move to. But that just means that more cool people stay in Montreal, which is great because it means that there are cool people in Montreal.

After not having class on Wednesday (which was delightful, by the way, I spent most of the day in bed in my underwear watching The OC and emailing Cecilia long epic emails about love, the world, and the universe and then I went for an evening walk and came across an outdoor fashion show), we spent Thursday and Friday in class talking about feminist issues in 20th century Québec, which is a narrow subject and not too different from feminist issues in the US, but still interesting and we had a good discussion group on Thursday. A lot of the students in my class are actually McGill law students, so they are really good thinkers about equality issues and things of the like. It's also in their best interest to take this class, to speak French better and also to understand Québec so they can practice here. They're an interesting bunch, from all over Canada and at very different points in their lives.

With Thursday and Friday a little rainy (and today even overcast), I've spent a lot of time inside in my bed, which is nice, but I'm looking foward to it getting nice again. Last night I went to the class outing at a pub in the Quartier Latin, and then out and about (note: must be read oot and aboot, since this is coming from north of the border, eh) with Carla and Karen on Rue Saint Laurent, which is a great main street of restaurants and cafés and stores, and there was a spring street festival with lots of vendors selling t-shirts and dresses and things, as well as restaurants grilling on the street for cheaper than eating inside. The most interesting vendor was a whole tent of a guy selling ShamWow. Literally, dozens of ShamWows that people were actually buying on the street. I really wished that the guy had that annoying little over-ear microphone and doing a demonstration, but no such luck.

Ater that, we came back to my apartment, drank some wine, did some henna, and watched Sleeping Beauty, which is always a favorite, especially my favorite. I hope the weather clears up tomorrow so that I can go to the park and listen to drum circles and maybe find some Midieval reenactors in the woods swordfighting.

The Jazz Festival approacheth, as does more time I've spent in Montreal. I'm doing well, but missing friends and places. Hope this finds you all well.

It's not that easy being green...

...but Montreal is rocking it. This is where I live, by the way. Green, even downtown.

It is so hard to find a plastic bag in this city! They have seriously phased out plastic bags to the point that one must pay 5 cents for one, and it is so passé to not bring one's own bags to the grocery store. Even at the McGill bookstore, I would have had to pay for a plastic bag, so I bought a reusable one for a dollar, which now I use for groceries. If you say you need a bag, they say "Oh." like you hate the environment and shoot puppies. So no more plastic bags, which is sad because I use them for my trash. It seems paradoxical, because if I can't reuse plastic bags, then I'd have to buy plastic trash bags, which seems silly. What to do?

There's also very little litter on the streets, and the new bike share program, Bixi. The bike terminals are everywhere, and I see people riding them everywhere in the city. Apparently, the first half hour is free, and then it's $1.50 for each subsequent half hour, unless you do a subscription of sorts. People are very excited. One of the guys in my class rode a Bixi to our class outing on Friday, and everyone was so curious about how it had gone. Montreal is a really good city for bikers (many bike lanes and the roads are pretty linear), so I hope systems like this really keep appearing in other cities.

I made some friends in class and we went out on Friday, and ending up dancing at a Sco-like place with a new gay friend to some excellent Europop, which eventually became a retrospective of music from Motown through funk. All in all, a great night, and last night I went to this event run by my friend Annie, and her work is in slow, precise movements to be aware of one's body and get in touch with internal things that are hidden by the rapid pace of life. It was kind of difficult following directions on body movement in French, but I certainly learned a few new words, like pelvis, and did my best. I'm really loving the Montreal hippie crowd, and went to another Contact Improv jam today and felt right at home with people that in another life were certainly Obies.

After a week, I feel like I've lived here for several, so I'm looking forward to continuing to settle in. Hope all is well where this finds you.

Oberlin meets Montreal, Volume 1

On Sunday, I went to a Contact Improv jam at a studio about 10 blocks away from my apartment. The space was really cool, there were all these studios that were leased by different groups. It appears that also, within this one, they teach Modern Dance and Capoiera, as well as Contact. It's like Oberlin in one little studio.

Before the jam, I met this woman who is in her 40s named Annie, and then the rest of the people in attendance, with the exception of a 20-something Australian dude, were all far older than Annie. There was one guy who was clearly elderly grandparent age. It was CRAZY seeing all these dudes with gray hair (including one with a Euromullet) rolling around like people in their 20s at Oberlin. It was also really awesome that stuff I learned at Oberlin, like scoops and how to roll someone over your body, was known by all the people here too. It just made me believe in the possibility of world peace, if only just a little bit, if that makes sense.

Today I started class and it was slightly overwhelming, but nothing a grocery trip couldn't fix (I find grocery shopping to be bizarrely therapeutic. I don't know why that is). The class has 20 people in it, from all over the US and Canada, but today we just sat still and listened to three hours of French at us. It was challenging, but after having done a big chunk of the reading for tomorrow, I believe it will be different tomorrow and beyond.

What I realized while I was sitting in class was that it's been a long time since I've had to put myself out there and try to make friends. In Oberlin, you just build off of what you have and it grows and grows, and then I realized that I've never really been alone in a new place. When I came to Oberlin, I had Sally's friends (and Sally herself, to be sure), who I love, but it was just this little safety net. A big task, to be sure. Not only a whole class, but a whole city. Oh well, no big. I have more reading to do tonight, and hopefully I'll take a walk later.

I'm a huge fan of the fact that so much of what I want to do is within walking distance. I have yet to explore the Metro, although I'm sure I will because Annie invited me to a lecture that she's giving on Saturday (she's a physical therapist of sorts) and Australian dude (Jonno) invited me to a theater performance next week. Adventures are always forthcoming.

Also, a gift for the French speakers:

Je vis désormais dans la mémoire ainsi que dans l'espérance. Mon âme court entre deux amants qui prennent chacun en main une partie de moi. Je me raconte des mensonges sincères, de même qu'aux autres, pour que je ne les abandonne pas et ne sois pas abandonnée. Je ne saurais vivre sans l'un ni l'autre.
- L'errance, Ying Chen.

Montreal for Beginners

What a long and satisfying day! (Also, most of this is probably for my Mum, so I'm sorry if it bores you, who might not be my Mum).

So, as it turns out, I will not have a roommate, which has its ups and its downs, but mostly it's kind of great to not deal with anyone else's stuff. But I will admit that I don't feel like I have enough to fill all this space. But so it goes.

After moving in my things (with the valiant help of Pop and our family friend Danyelle), they took off and I unpacked at ninja speed. The girl from whom I am subletting went out for a few errands before her plane, and was astonished that when she got back, I was moved in, for all intents and purposes. After that, I went grocery shopping and supplemented the pasta supplies that I brought from Vermont, as well as the usual, yogurt, milk, fruit, etc. I was fortunate that they left like, rolls and rolls of toilet paper. Also, this grocery store delivers for free, and my groceries got to my apartment in like, 35 minutes. This was an awesome realization.

After I unpacked my groceries and went and bought my books for class and some McGill merch (okay I cracked and bought a sweatshirt I'm sorry), I went to a place called Dollarama and got a dish drain and other such plastic things. Finally, I showered and made dinner, for which Conrad came over, which was nice for the company. He told me about a dining coop in the city that has an open meal on Thursday nights, which we'll check out at some point soon.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to take it easy, but there's a Contact Improv jam at 11:30 am, which might be a really fun way to meet some people. I might hold off until next weekend, especially if I'm really really sleepy tomorrow (a possibility, to be sure). It's within walking distance, so that's really tempting.

I have really been enjoying the cool air that comes in from my balcony. It really keeps the apartment cool and full of breeze. I think I shall spend many a night out there.

I'm finally settling down a little after a crazy-long day, which feels pretty okay for me. There's plenty of room, visitors are always welcome. Tomorrow I will probably write many letters, so send me your address! by email if you can. So much love to the States, I miss you all.

Goodbye, red, white and blue.

As I bid the United States farewell for two months (which really isn't that long, let's be honest, but the summer is when I imbibe the most pop culture), what I find myself most glad to leave behind are the trivial things, such as the incessant coverage of Jon & Kate Plus 8, which I swear, if I see one more magazine cover with them on it, I will lose it. The premise of the show is just not wise. No one really cares about the quotidian issues of this family that favors fertility treatments. I guess I should be more diplomatic and just say that I don't. If I had it my way, TLC would broadcast What Not To Wear and Say Yes To The Dress forever. But the world is poorly made.

Cecilia left this morning, and I definitely am feeling the void. I made her bed (in which she thrashed), and realized that tomorrow I will wake up without her alarm going off fourteen times. Having her around, she had become better than a habit, a custom, a way of living and laughing. However, before she did, we left an entry in our guest house's guest book, including an exquisite corpse, which I will leave here. We wrote two lines each and could only see the one above us, since there were only two of us.

We found ourselves floundering, seeking
some thing that did not make sense until we
closing our eyes saw
every light inside our heads each candle
gleaming promiscuously, wanting for no
more than the comfort of the other
heart a pink quartz blooming
with its denseness and its please
oh please stay, let this feeling, let this
friendship, let it stay past our separation
a throb a knot a stem
among the acres of this summer.

It was so blissful spending all that time with her. Once she has returned home and put up our pictures, don't worry, I'll put some up of zombies and eskimo kisses, which comprised most of the excitement of our trip. Yesterday we did venture up to Burlington where Elijah showed us the lay of the land and it became the seventh place of interest that Cecilia had seen on her trip. Such excitement.

The world will be exciting for me this weekend, what with moving in. I saw my apartment briefly, but long enough to see that I have a sweet balcony out of my bedroom. Also, it is blue. Thus far, I am a fan of all of these things.

So the time has come for me to trade in my being as an American Girl and become a Canadian Woman of Mystery. I will be in touch, by email, by Skype, in some emergent emotive states by phone. I am afraid of a lot of things, like suddenly, I will forget my French, which would not be the worst thing ever because one is always greeted with "Bonjourhello" to determine language preference. I fear being alone in this world that I have built for myself after so much tough stuff, I fear the loss of those I have come to love so much. Suffice it to say, this is my epic journey, and I will miss you all, and hope if you are in Montreal, you know you are nothing but welcome to stay. Love.

Canadian Test-Run

Today Cecilia and I embarked for Montreal, just for looksies, just to see. We were up almost before the sun and a little bit chilly and grouchy and overcast, but some French toast took the edge off.

We took the family GPS unit (who we have named Fiona, for future reference) with us, and usually she is pretty reliable. Usually. But we cannot disobey, because she just gets so cross. Nothing is worse than a cross GPS lady. So fast forward to Cecilia and I, 8 AM, driving along, wanting to get to Montreal as quickly as possible, and we're leaving Stowe in a weird way. But I go with it. Then all of the sudden I realize that Fiona is taking us OVER A MOUNTAIN (Smuggler's Notch, to be precise) to get to Canada. Which distance-wise, might have been closest, but was certainly not time-wise. We are ascending this mountain and it was CLOUDY this morning, so we have driven into a cloud on a mountain and there are no road lines and we have never been collectively so scared. At first, we thought it was so romantic, like sneaking off to see your lover in the misty mountains, but that got old fast as we drove into the cloud and could see no more than ten feet in front of us. But we got to Montreal unscathed, never fear, and had lots of fun stomping around McGill taking care of my legal/immigration issues, housing things, and eating delicious Lebanese food. We also enjoyed the fact that the weather really cleared up and we met up with our old friend Conrad from Fairchild for chat and ice cream, and realized how much we enjoy Oberlin people outside of Oberlin.

We the three (Pop, Cecilia, and me) are all stuffed to the gills with dinner and being horizontal is mostly the only direction that is working for us. Tomorrow we are contemplating a trip to Burlington to find some other Oberlin friends and also just to explore another city.

My apartment in Montreal is sweet, there is a balcony and I feel pretty solid about it. Cecilia and I found a magical grocery store called Eden and they are not kidding. It is pretty eden-like for me. Sadly, I live west of Eden. It would be really great if I lived east of Eden (har har har oh literature jokes).

The next few days will be busy, but exciting. Montreal for Beginners to follow.

Also, avoid driving over mountains to get places. Especially in the cloudy times.

VERMONSTER

So, Cecilia and I find ourselves in Vermont, snuggling and eating and looking at mountains.

Before that, we were in Boston on Saturday for some excitement and it was a day full of B-list celebrity and ZOMBIES. We were just walking along (with Mum and Pop and Matt too), and we saw Mary Murphy, female judge of So You Think You Can Dance, which is, in case you were wondering, Mum's favorite show and summer obsession. She was in town doing auditions for the fall season, and was just out walking on her lunch break. She was really nice and Mum was glad. A minor brush with fame, I suppose.

THEN THERE WERE ZOMBIES. We were listening to this cool kids play guitar with flowers in them, and also there was a teeny girl with dreds hoola hooping (in another life, or perhaps this one, these people were from Oberlin), and then all the sudden there's this dude in a doctor's outfit with like fake blood all over him. We were confused, and then as we went to go back the way we came, there were literally, 250 ZOMBIES walking towards us. Like HUNDREDS of people with blood and guts and eyeballs hanging off of them. Cecilia, naturally, went for the camera to capture this precious moment, but mostly how EXCITED we were that there were zombies. There was a zombie in a banana costume, which was probably the best zombie. Add in a Mexican feast that Cecilia and I cooked later and an ice cream rendez-vous with Justin, and Saturday was a fantastic day.

Now that we are in Vermont, we are pretty well-fed and into mountains. We woke up this morning and looked out the window and it was really lovely, and we went to see some cider mill and did a good hike this afternoon. Basically, we're just glad to be out of topographically challenged Ohio or urban NYC, respectively. Also, we snuggle and eskimo kiss a lot.

Tomorrow we are up to Montreal to check out my future stomping grounds and get some administrative things done and mostly just have CC's first trip to Canada! We are stoked.

Seriously guys, 250 ZOMBIES.