A new adventure

To my dear readers:

As some of you already know, my time in Quebec has come to a close for now.  I will of course visit my new friends in Trois-Rivieres from time to time, but I am once again living in Upstate New York.

But I wouldn't want to deprive you all of the pleasure that reading my blog gives you.  I have decided to keep writing about my strange experiences, only this time, I will go out looking for them instead of letting them come to me. (Living in a foreign country is bound to bring more new adventures to your door than hanging out in the same town you suffered through high school in.)

I will start trying things that have never interested me, to see if I'm missing out on anything.  I haven't tried a lot of typical "fun" things because my own bizarre interests take up most of my time.  (How many yodeling, goundhog-feeding foreign-language enthusiasts do you know?)

On the agenda:

-Try World of Warcraft (I realized I shouldn't make fun of people who play it unless I am absolutely sure it is as lame as it sounds.)
-Camp out at a protest (I'm too moderate to be really "into" most political causes, but hey- people and their beliefs fascinate me.)
-Go "hunting" (I'm a strict vegetarian, so I wouldn't be able to do much besides sit in a tree stand.  But still.)

Please, if you know me and know what doesn't interest me-- or if you don't know me but know of something cool that I should try-- comment!  Who knows- you may just introduce me to something I'll end up adopting as a hobby!

I`m on the library computer

Yes, after all I went through to get my own internet connection up and running, I have now been cut off again and must use someone else`s.  Good Lord, I now have to leave my appartment to indulge my inner narcissist online.  Not cool.

And holy merde, I just found the question mark symbol.  I actually had to ask a girl in the library how to "faire le signe d`arrobe" so that I could make an @.  Well, to make up for all of my poorly punctuated questions on Facebook today, here you are: ???????????????

Well, I was wrong about the date of the placement test.  It was today.  And it was hard.  But I guess that`s kind of the point. 

I`m already making friends, too, which is nice--- and, I must admit, unexpected.  I particularly hit it off with Ana from Mexico, Chan from China, Ingo from Austria, and Jo, Hannah, and Marcus from England.  Things are going well here.  Everyone is so nice and patient when I try to talk to them.  And their stories are interesting.  Some people are at the school to learn French so that they can study toward an MBA, some are recent immigrants with families who need to learn the language to get a job, and others are exchange students with French majors, or whose universities require a semester or year abroad. 

Oh, and my groundhog has a name--- Boudoin.  It means "brave friend."  My mom found it and I love it!  I bought a pear for him at Loblaw`s today, and I watched from a distance as he peeped back out of his hold hole and then grew comfortable enough to eat the slices.  There`s probably some rule against feeding him, but law enforcement is pretty scarce up here, and as I told my dad when he asked about the legalities, it is a crime of passion.  My love of wildlife will certainly be mitigating.

Also, the British students think that groundhogs and possums are exciting, because they don`t get to see them back home.  So I`m not the only one.   I`m going to make a Boudoin fan page on Facebook.  Because he`s my man.  "Like" and give me your address and I`ll send you an "official supporter" hand-written certificate on notebook paper.  You know you want one.