is this the land of Kubla Khan, where magic dwells, and love is spawned?
to find this land of love and lust you need not drugs or pixie dust.
your heart it marks the pass of time
it swells with passion, joy and wine.
the beat that drives you marches on
there is no rest; there is no dawn.
yet still you smile and laugh and play
you smirk at what the neighbours say.
the nights are long,
the air is heady
intoxified your mind is weary.
one day, a month, it's all the same
you'll lose yourself; forget your name.
a phantom voice, from days of yore
beckons from behind closed doors.
lost between the maze of walls
you feel it's story; hear it's call.
you'll stand upon the mountain top
and wait for all the world to stop.
your body reels your mind is weaving
cause come the dawn you know you're leaving.
leaving this whole world behind
to join the rest trapped in real time.
but i'm not sad, i've no regrets
there is none other like Québec.
----------------
i'm a little behind on my blogging, i went to Quebec city a few weeks ago, here are my impressions.
btw, i was not drunk. the title of this entry will make more sense after i write my next blog.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Friday, July 14, 2006
out of range
i'm gonna be in the big QC this weekend checking things out. won't be able to reply to emails or post anything for a while so ya'll will just have to find some way to survive without me. i'll let you know the gritty details when i get back.
salut!
salut!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
has anyone noticed...?
that's a bit of a misleading title because everyone i've talked to here has noticed this interesting phenomenon.
why is it easier to understand the busted franglish of the anglo students yet très difficile to comprend le français of someone who is purely franco?
it's not that the franco's don't speak clearly,
they will enunciate and speak v..e..r..y ...sl..ow...ly- très lentment- because you are a stupid anglo.
No. that's not true.
they won't talk to you like you're stupid because you're an anglo...
they might stare at you as you walk through the town, but they wont talk to you like you're stupid.
it's far easier for them to just roll their eyes, plaster on a condescending smile and speak to you in english...besides, this way it takes less time.
(prepare yourselves for a random tangent)
prêt...
set...
go!
is it just me or are anglos the most linguistically lazy people on earth?
okay that's not entirely true. we've done a great job of spreading English around the world 1.
but seriously, why is it that everywhere you go people can speak mulitiple languages, even if it's rudimentary, except for in the Anglo West?
we're so monolingual...
it's terribly pathetic.
you'd think we'd get tired of people rolling their eyes at us,
but i guess we're too busy trying to keep our heads big heads and inflated egos from getting stuck in doorways to notice.
FIN
1. it's like herpes at band camp. encephalitis eat your heart out.
why is it easier to understand the busted franglish of the anglo students yet très difficile to comprend le français of someone who is purely franco?
it's not that the franco's don't speak clearly,
they will enunciate and speak v..e..r..y ...sl..ow...ly- très lentment- because you are a stupid anglo.
No. that's not true.
they won't talk to you like you're stupid because you're an anglo...
they might stare at you as you walk through the town, but they wont talk to you like you're stupid.
it's far easier for them to just roll their eyes, plaster on a condescending smile and speak to you in english...besides, this way it takes less time.
(prepare yourselves for a random tangent)
prêt...
set...
go!
is it just me or are anglos the most linguistically lazy people on earth?
okay that's not entirely true. we've done a great job of spreading English around the world 1.
but seriously, why is it that everywhere you go people can speak mulitiple languages, even if it's rudimentary, except for in the Anglo West?
we're so monolingual...
it's terribly pathetic.
you'd think we'd get tired of people rolling their eyes at us,
but i guess we're too busy trying to keep our heads big heads and inflated egos from getting stuck in doorways to notice.
FIN
1. it's like herpes at band camp. encephalitis eat your heart out.
je réfléchis
The problem with this program is:
when you just want to be alone and sulk you have no where to find refuge without looking like a loner/anti-social.
man i could use my room (in toronto) right now.
don't kid yourselves family, i'm not homesick.
i just want to lock myself in my bedroom, lie on my bed and listen to some english music. is that too much to ask?
i have a feeling the answer is ouais.
i know my current antisocial behaviour isn't gonna help my mood but sue me if i don't want to smile right now.
when you just want to be alone and sulk you have no where to find refuge without looking like a loner/anti-social.
man i could use my room (in toronto) right now.
don't kid yourselves family, i'm not homesick.
i just want to lock myself in my bedroom, lie on my bed and listen to some english music. is that too much to ask?
i have a feeling the answer is ouais.
i know my current antisocial behaviour isn't gonna help my mood but sue me if i don't want to smile right now.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Why ABBA sucks in both official languages
My first week in Quèbec has drawn to a close and everyone is dying to know what i've been doing in the land where froggies play.
learning and a lot of walking.
The most important thing i've learned - aside from the fact that the weather in Chicoutimi is almost as random as irregular verbs...and that ABBA will always suck- is that the Quebecois are much friendlier than the Torontois...at least in Chicoutimi.
Maybe it's the smalltown mentality, but everyone has a bonjour and a kind word (that you may or may not understand) for you over here. Even as i've been writing this a squirrel came over to get a closer look 1 .
The second thing i've learned is when you sing a song in a language you're not fluent in it sounds like garbled foolishness 2 .
Thirdly, it's easy to make friends when you have something in common 3 .
Fourthly, ( i swear this is the last thing...unless i come up with something else) living in a small town isn't as bad as you'd think...at least for the first week and if all your activities and social outings are planned for you.
Fifthly, (sorry) don't tell anyone you're allergic to nuts and food colouring; they won't let you eat anything good.
FIN
i mean it this time.
1.MAN! even the wildlife in Quèbec is nice, unlike our neighbourhood rabbit that will eat your plants, give you cut eye and even a swift kick for good measure.
2.the eldest son in my host family likes to "sing" english songs so i know this for a fact.
3.like not being able to communicate with anyone else.
learning and a lot of walking.
The most important thing i've learned - aside from the fact that the weather in Chicoutimi is almost as random as irregular verbs...and that ABBA will always suck- is that the Quebecois are much friendlier than the Torontois...at least in Chicoutimi.
Maybe it's the smalltown mentality, but everyone has a bonjour and a kind word (that you may or may not understand) for you over here. Even as i've been writing this a squirrel came over to get a closer look 1 .
The second thing i've learned is when you sing a song in a language you're not fluent in it sounds like garbled foolishness 2 .
Thirdly, it's easy to make friends when you have something in common 3 .
Fourthly, ( i swear this is the last thing...unless i come up with something else) living in a small town isn't as bad as you'd think...at least for the first week and if all your activities and social outings are planned for you.
Fifthly, (sorry) don't tell anyone you're allergic to nuts and food colouring; they won't let you eat anything good.
FIN
i mean it this time.
1.MAN! even the wildlife in Quèbec is nice, unlike our neighbourhood rabbit that will eat your plants, give you cut eye and even a swift kick for good measure.
2.the eldest son in my host family likes to "sing" english songs so i know this for a fact.
3.like not being able to communicate with anyone else.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
and now a word from our sponsors
salut!
je suis ici a Chicoutimi et mon dieu je ne parle pas le bon français.
but don`t worry mes petits mignons as each day passes my spoken french gets better and better.
when i first arrived i could hardly speak in english let alone french, (i blame this on sleep deprivation and a desperate need for a shower). all could say was: ''quand je suis très fatigue je ne comprend pas le français.'' (when i`m very tired i can`t understand french...or at least i think that's what it means).
this of course was not true, i understood most of what they were saying i was just too brain dead to formulate any real sentences of my own.
oh wait, i also said ''comment?'' (what?) a lot.
but this morning was a whole other story.
i had an hour long conversation with my host mother about les chinois, because as you all know i am the reigning authority on all things chinois. it was awesome, my housemate had no idea what we were talking about. it`s a beautiful thing when you can hold a proper conversation with someone .
now you must be wondering how a person can go from ''wha?'' to discussing the one child policy in two days. i accredit it to one of two things..or both...the first probably affected the other...but i digress.
it was probably my host mom`s eldest son Martin that got my mind dans le french mode. the first night the boy drilled me with 20 questions while his brother Oliver tried to talk over him about tennis...what they were asking me i still have no idea but being constantly barraged by young Martin is enough to get anyone`s mind going. the boy talks so fast it's like trying to talk to a flock of 15 year old girls à la meme temp.
now if only i could figure out how to use this universal keyboard.
BLAST!
je suis ici a Chicoutimi et mon dieu je ne parle pas le bon français.
but don`t worry mes petits mignons as each day passes my spoken french gets better and better.
when i first arrived i could hardly speak in english let alone french, (i blame this on sleep deprivation and a desperate need for a shower). all could say was: ''quand je suis très fatigue je ne comprend pas le français.'' (when i`m very tired i can`t understand french...or at least i think that's what it means).
this of course was not true, i understood most of what they were saying i was just too brain dead to formulate any real sentences of my own.
oh wait, i also said ''comment?'' (what?) a lot.
but this morning was a whole other story.
i had an hour long conversation with my host mother about les chinois, because as you all know i am the reigning authority on all things chinois. it was awesome, my housemate had no idea what we were talking about. it`s a beautiful thing when you can hold a proper conversation with someone .
now you must be wondering how a person can go from ''wha?'' to discussing the one child policy in two days. i accredit it to one of two things..or both...the first probably affected the other...but i digress.
it was probably my host mom`s eldest son Martin that got my mind dans le french mode. the first night the boy drilled me with 20 questions while his brother Oliver tried to talk over him about tennis...what they were asking me i still have no idea but being constantly barraged by young Martin is enough to get anyone`s mind going. the boy talks so fast it's like trying to talk to a flock of 15 year old girls à la meme temp.
now if only i could figure out how to use this universal keyboard.
BLAST!
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