Festival de St. Jean Baptiste

Wow! Quebec is such a beautiful place!! I wish I could bring home a piece in my pocket and share with all my friends and family. I arrived in Quebec City on Sunday afternoon. It was raining when I arrived. There were no shuttle busses to the hotel, so I had to take a taxi, which I usually don't like to pay for. The taxi smelled like smoke and the old lady had such a thick Quebecois accent that I could barely understand her. After a five minute ride, she asked for $15. I walked into the hotel and it was not ready for me. I left my big pink suitcase at the reception and took off in the rain....somewhere...to discover the city.

I walked into a Dollarama!! Jackpot!! I will definitely have to come back. There are all sorts of flags, stickers, decorations, suckers, etc. with the flag of Quebec on them. My students would love this stuff. I looked at my watch and it was just after noon. The majority of teachers were driving up from the Univeristy of Maine in 3 big vans. They wouldn't be there until 3:00. I braved the rain again and headed to see what movies were at the theater. They were all the same ones that we have at home. I finally decided just to go back to the hotel. My room was ready at this time. I turned on the TV and it was fun to watch the channels in French.

At 3:00 the group arrived! I was a bit nervous, but the leader, named Ray, seemed so warm and friendly right from the start. We all sat down to meet each other. I traveled the furthest. Another girl came from Florida and most of the others knew each other from Maine. I didn't care, though, I like being different. Ray took us to a chicken restaurant, St. Hubert, for dinner and I got to meet the other 20 teachers that I will be hanging out with over the next 10 days.

Oh, there is so much to say and so little time. I couldn't find an internet cafe so I am borrowing the computer of a guy in our group, Christian. I have already learned so much. Yesterday we had some discussions on the differences between the French colonies in Canada and the English ones in America. The French ones were mostly for commercial reasons--to make a profit--while the American pilgrims came for religious freedom. When the French came, they originally came in contact with American Indians, but not realizing it, they contaminated them with viruses from Europe such as small pox and tuburculosis. By the time Samuel de Champlain arrived in Quebec, the Indians had mostly died out, so he had a peaceful colonization. Today, we went to some Indian reservations and met with some ancestors of the Hurons and Iroquois. They all had their story to tell.

Last night was the Eve of the Festival of St. Baptiste. This is a holiday in Quebec and all the teenagers got into it more than I have ever seen. They purchased Quebec flags, umbrellas, hats, etc. and stormed the streets calling out "Vive Quebec!" and blowing horns. Some of the young teachers (I am the youngest and the other youngest are 31 and 32) and I planned on staying and seeing the concert, but we saw so many drunk teenagers and changed our mind. They compared this holiday to our 4th of July, but I have never seen people get into our holiday as much as this one. Today is the actual holiday and the rule of the province is that everything remain closed. Even Walmart is closed!!! Can you believe it?

Tomorrow we are taking off for Montreal. I really hope to keep a log of my discoveries and what I learn here, but I guess it will depend on when I can find internet available. Quebec is a beautiful place. Today it has been so sunny. We rode out to the Island of Orleans, purchased fresh strawberries, hiked around a huge waterfall and really enjoyed the scenery. The teachers have been so nice. They love asking me about Utah and I love being the unique one.