I’ve been in Montréal now for about two days and things are going very well. The weekend was spent with lovely Tom and Amanda who hosted me at their place in le Plateau (insert ooh! aah! here! This neighborhood is trés chic). We talked about anything and everything during the entire weekend – I had a blast. I hope they did too! They gave me tours of le Plateau, cafés, bookstores, and gave me the lay of the land in terms of what to do and how to deal with the language politics. I’m not even entertaining the language politics: I know no French and besides asking “Parlez-vous anglais?” I’m out of luck. I’d love to be “with it” and speak exclusively in French with everyone, but since it’s not really an option at this point, I really need to resist punishing myself for it. This is a completely new experience because everywhere I’ve been to study, I’ve been at least proficient, if not fluent, upon arrival. And now I’m like trés débutant, and honestly, it does not feel great. I’m even feeling delayed sympathy for classmates in Argentina and DR when I did study abroad there. I took the placement test today, and while I know I’m not supposed to know anything, which is the reason why I’m here at all, it felt really uncomfortable to be one of the first people who “finished” (stopped) the written portion of the test. I kept thinking “just remember you know lots of things….just not this one.” The oral exam was even worse! Tom and Amanda introduced me to their teacher (advanced class) yesterday at the park, and she was the one who administered the test. It was kind of embarrassing because she was pretty surprised at my level of sheer ignorance, even though she knew I’m a beginner. I mean, she was nice. She did nothing to make feel ill at ease. But I did wish I had another person evaluating me so that I could save a little bit of face. Oh well. I must embrace discomfort and just tell people I don’t know.
I moved into the dorm last night. It’s a good facility – the only not-so-nice thing is the lack of air conditioning. I mean, I get that the priority here is to make buildings that will stand up to the dreadful cold in the winter, but the window barely cracks open. There is a ceiling fan, which definitely does its job, so it’s not so bad. Amazingly, the bed is not an extra-long single like the beds in most U.S. dorms. It’s a bona-fide double. Whoo-hoo! No coffin here – yay!
This morning, I went to the orientation meeting for those participating in my three-week session. As Tom and Amanda told me, the group was very mixed – no preponderance of undergraduates, though 4 of the 10 of them live in my suite. It’s like living with my own students – c’est trés magnifique! NOT! Whatever – I should not be a twenteen hater – I’ll try not to be – but it feels so right. This morning’s orientation started off mysteriously, suspiciously: when I checked in, I was told there was another Javier Jimenez to whom they had already given my registration packet. They thought that it was a computer error that my name came up twice, so they just printed out one packet. I think the implications are clear then: I am in a program with my very own doppelganger (apparently, there is a Javier Jimenez in the English department at Berkeley), which means that I’m going to be wondering the whole time if I’m the real one or the fake one, whether we’re actually the same and we’re supposed to fuse in some metaphysical way in order to restore balance to the galaxy, or if, instead, we have to fight each other and blot one or the other out of existence. If the latter scenario is the appropriate one, I seriously hope I can take him – I like existing; it’s the only thing I know, really, and I’m not keen on going through to the other side. As you can see, this is going to be very tricky indeed. I will make sure to keep everyone appraised as to what happens on that front.
For today, I am planning a rigorous itinerary of sightseeing. No class and no assignments means “hit the streets” and get to know the place. There is a lot to see and do here, so it will be a challenge even coming up with what to do exactly, particularly since Karen and I did some sightseeing here last year. That experience should make it easier for me, but it makes it even harder because Karen and I went to the easier locales and I don’t know if I feel quite up to the more far-flung places yet.
Since this entry is up, it means that my internet is on, though at the time of writing, the connection isn’t live yet. That means then that I am free to receive and send e-mail, as well as chat and skype (hint hint). I hope everyone is having a nice summer – and let me know what’s up in your particular part of the world when you get a chance!
Love to all!
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