~ Sceopellen ~

Guess what! I’m blogging from the Greyhound, on my way to Toronto! I was going to blog from the coach station too, but it felt a little dodgy to get out the Macbook! The coach stop in Montreal and some of the stops in-between have looked so American, as though they are sets for all those 70’s movies and diner-shots i’ve seen from England! Even down to the white and red tiled floor and the plastic benches! Depressingly however, the food was also authentic.

Regardless, the experience of traveling across Canada by bus was well worth doing, despite the hassle. We’ve passed absolutely gorgeous countryside, ranging from autumnal forests to reed swamps, and of course, the open lakes. The colours here are incredibly vibrant, but certainly different to the tones of England – far more golden and yellow-green, rather than the rich emerald tones i’m used to. Ended up sitting next to a lovely (but ridiculously chatty) older lady on the coach out, who delighted in recounting her entire life story, her daughter’s life story and telling me that she was a great-grandparent. This was charming the first time, sweet on the second and incredibly tedious by the sixth. Unfortunately, in a bus journey of 8 hours, there were not only 6 recounts. She did, however, have much to say about the countryside around Montreal and managed to fill me in on the history of Canada thusfar. Lovely as this all was, luckily, she vacated at Kingston.

The next lady is absolutely lovely, and a current doctoral student in Bio-Chem at UofT, coming from Iran. We swapped details and plan to meet for coffee next week sometime, perhaps during “Frosh”. I’m anticipating some of Freshers’ Week, such as the “Bed Races” and boat ride, but dreading others, namely the “Group Cheer Practice” and “Cheer-off”. I asked a Canadian friend of mine what exactly a “Bed Race” was, and she replied with amusement, “It’s a bed. On WHEELS. Go figure.” I’m not sure I want to, but it certainly sounds fun!

Montreal was lovely, but not quite my cup of tea. I was always missing the real elements of France it was trying to copy, and often the people were (almost certainly unintentionally) frosty if fluent Quebecois was not spoken. I understand and speak some French, but not Quebecois. Many people were reluctant, even angry, when required to speak in English. Ironically, this temperament is depressingly similar to that of many Belgians, although this may be a biased opinion.

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I just caught my first glimpse of the CN Tower with Show of Hands’s “Cousin Jack” in the background. What an amazing life! I need to be pinched.

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Finally in Toronto! Loving it already! Just got to the little hotel i’m temporarily staying at, and already i’ve discovered a kinder and more open city than i’m used to. As soon as I ended up in the underground system (sorry, subway), I had three people within the space of 5 minutes ask me if I knew where I was going and if I needed any help. Then a bus driver took me three blocks for free, gave me several maps and gave me a wad of metro-bus transfer tickets. I love this place! This was followed by one of the best pizza’s i’ve ever eaten at a tiny pizza place in Midtown, and an imminent sleep in a lovely comfy bed. Tomorrow i’ll pop by the university, sort out money stuff and hopefully go for a dip in the university pool, which is, incidentally, free.

Finally in Canada! And heavens, is it weird.

Left England at stupid-o-clock, cleared baggage, was searched, prodded and eventually got onto a rather crowded plane. The usual inconveniences of travel ensued. Loved the turbulence coming into land, but that’s just my sense of humour! Arrived in Montreal 7 hours later, and ended up in queue after queue attempting to get baggage, go through passport control and get the scrap of paper that allows me to actually study in the country. This takes about 4 hours, standing in a rather extended line. Then public transport all the way to the hotel.

The hotel is lovely, if a little disorganised. We’re staying in the Hotel de l’institut, which is actually the hotel attatched the University of Hospitality! It is lovely, but with students learning the ropes, the service is a little patchy. Some of the battles we’ve had have been hysterical, namely the “Battle of the Thermos Flask” (Don’t ask)! We went out to eat at a little resturant, which again became a mini-disaster (again, don’t ask), went back to the hotel and collapsed into a small heap. At which point my fold-up bed collapsed and I hit the wall with a thump.

The next morning was an improvement, and after a lovely breakfast we headed out into Montreal. We ended up at the Oratory of St. Joseph, which was interesting but a little disconcerting, and then travelled to the Old Town and went to the most amazing little street market, complete with stocks! Actually quite touristy, but if one avoids that, it’s pretty nice! We ate in a rather horrible place in the end.

The next day was better, but we didn’t do much. Went to the antiques quarter, which was incidentally closed, and then drifted towards the harbour and had a Canadian beer on a little terrace.

To be honest, i’m not enjoying Montreal half as much as I thought I would. It is a lovely place, with character in parts, but the French aspects here just makes me miss the reality of France itself! Also, Quebecois is not French. Part of the issue has been the heat here – it’s reached up to 32 degrees and 90% humidity, which is far too hot for city visiting. It’s not really a problem for me, but my family are all struggling a little.

I’m looking forward to getting to Toronto and starting university already!

With thanks to The Library Princess, I give you:

Facebook Shakespeare.

I fear…

I am, as usual, a disgrace. I apologise.

Much has occurred. For the last weeks, I have been working near flat-out at a Berlitz Language School, as an English teacher. It was amazingly fun, but at the same time, completely exhausting. The only disadvantages of working at this particular school are the rather obsessive business people who want to learn perfect English in one week. It is perfectly possible to improve someone’s spoken English in a week. Fluency, however, requires a little extra. Further, the pay is terrible, but still significantly more money than I would be able to make in a waitressing or till job.

But, all work and no play makes for no holiday! So, WOMAD and Stokes Bay festivals were my “holiday times”, and both were amazing fun. WOMAD was many degrees hotter than expected and somewhat less muddy than it was last time! But to an extent, that actually made it worse – some of the community spirit that makes W so special had gone. Also, many of the “regulars” hadn’t returned after last time’s shambles, so much of the music was more popular. It was entertaining, but certainly not from the depths of the earth. I did, however, come across two amazing artists emerging at the moment: Sa DingDing (China) and Hotel Palindrone (Austria). Do check them out!

Then Stokes Bay, which was also great fun, although rather different. I went with a lovely group of friends and absolutely adored seeing Bellowhead and Show of Hands. Most of their songs have been stuck in my head ever since! I am looking forward to the world music scene in Toronto, although I am certain that I won’t find material to rival any of the above!

About Toronto – I have only just confirmed my accomodation, I haven’t confirmed my courses and have no idea where I will be staying until the university starts. I don’t have a clue how to pick up the university cards, don’t know how the food system works and still don’t have an e-mail address. Oh, and i’m staying with some rather lovely nuns. How incredibly medieval! (Sorry… The academic world will thwack me for that…)

I’m sure I shall be posting more interesting stuff reasonably soon – although my next posts may well be in Toronto! Wish me luck!