Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night

Some of you may know that one of the great Goepferd family traditions is that my dad writes a holiday poem about our family.  Since I am not nearly as clever as him I decided to somewhat follow in his footsteps and write a list about Christmastime in Montreal.

You Know It's Christmas in Montreal When........

1) You can walk faster than most busses can drive.

2) Going to work is like a free trip to the hot and cold spa- you freeze on the 15 minute walk to work, sweat profusely in the subway, freeze on the 10 walk to your office from the subway and sweat once you get to the office.

3) Your eyes are the only visible part of your body when you go outside.

4) Parents bring their kids to school on a sled because it is less effort then shoveling out the car.

5) The beeping of the ice melt truck starts to sound like a Christmas carol.

6) The live models in the store windows are now wearing parkas.

7) The dogs wear just as many clothes outside as the humans.

8) Your face looks like the face of a boy who just shaved for the first time because you got so many cuts from the ice storm.

9) The chimney sweepers no longer look like Dick Van Dyke but like the abominable snowman.

10)  You go outside and hear this, "Where's the car parked eh?"  "Third snowbank on the right ya hoser"

Thanksgiving Surprise

Thanks to Forest's sister Joni we were able to go back for Thanksgiving.  Joni got us tickets to come home and surprise everyone.  It was really great to be back in Iowa for a couple of days and to see family again.  We landed late Wednesday night in Cedar Rapids where Sam and Steven came to pick us up.  On Thursday we surprised Forest's parents and the rest of his siblings.  It was really fun to see everyone's faces and to be hugged by family again.  On Saturday we went to Iowa City and surprised my sister and parents.  We had a wonderful time with everyone and can't wait to see people again for Christmas!

Snow

It is officially snowing in Canada.  About four hours after we dropped my sister and Julie off at the airport it started snowing.  I am guessing that it is probably cold enough to be snowing in Iowa and Minnesota so this might be a moot point.  I think that for Halloween I am going to wear my down jacket and be a cold American. 

I also feel like I am finally adjusting to my life in Montreal.  About two months ago all I could think about was leaving.  The city felt so claustrophobic and every weekend I wanted to leave, drive far away from the city that felt so much like a cage.  It is funny that something so big could seem so small.  Now I feel comfortable here, I know where I am going for the most part and I have discovered I am really good at speaking French when I just nod and point.   Don't get me wrong, I still miss all of my friends and family but I now feel like I will make it.  I have made some friends, knitted a really ugly scarf, navigated my way around the city, started to learn some French, joined a library, and eaten some really delicious food.  Maybe this catepillar is finally turning into a butterfly.

Irony

Some of you have already read this as an email and for that I apologize.  I wanted to post this because my one faithful reader (you know who you are) hasn't read it yet and I thought I would make sure that he gets a little giggle in today.

The following is meant to be humorous, not depressing.

Last week, I received an email from someone at Gilbert because they wanted to include a little piece in some newsletter about what teachers are doing now since they left Gilbert.  This is what I wrote;

I moved to Montreal, Canada with my husband in August 2010.  It has been hard adjusting to not having family and friends close by but I have been enjoying exploring the city, visiting new places and learning about a different culture.  In my immediate future I am planning on taking French classes.

What I wanted to send was this:

I am currently unemployed in a French speaking provice of Canada.  I am a looser.  Even Wal-Mart won't hire me, I've asked.  I can't bus tables, teach or work with people since I don't speak French (I am bilingual but sadly it Spanish is my second language).  Everyday I get up, sign on to Gmail to see what emails I have waiting.  Three minutes later, after I have answered those, I sign on to Facebook.  I leave these webpages up all day and anxiously await any news from friends back home.  I then proceed to play solitare, hearts, freecell and majong on the computer while watching Gilmore Girls.  At some point during the day I feed the cats, shower, and drink Pepsi.  When I am not feeling too sad and lonely I go out around the city and explore by myself.  I come back home when I get yelled at in French and start crying in public.  I have been to a nude beach, some "mountains" and lots of shops that I can't buy anything in because I am unemployed. 

Ironically, two hours after sending that email I was offered a job at McGill University.  My first day is Monday.  I will be working part-time as a Research Administrator in the English department.  I am pretty excited as the job will entail some event planning and lots of organization.  Also I am having a great week with my sister and Julie.  It is so nice having people here and showing them all of the places I have been and exploring new ones as well.

Our Super Canadian Weekend

This weekend Forest and I had a super Canadian weekend.  On Saturday we started our day by going to Canadian Tire and buying our snow tires.  It is a law here that every car has snow tires for the winter.  If you don't buy them you end up paying a fine for 150.00 everytime you get a ticket.  We decided it was in our best interest and safety to get the tires.  Taxes here are outragous and the tires cost us twice what we spent the last time we bought tires in Iowa.  After the snow tires, we went to Mount Royal (the mountain) and walked around where we saw our first mounty!  I included the picture of the mounty but you can't really see him that well.  It was pretty exciting though.  Saturday night we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving which was really fun.  Then yesterday, I said my first eh. 

7 Week Itch

Ok so it has now been about 7 weeks since I officially started dating the city.  My first date was disastrous but I recovered, the 2nd date was much better.  During our 3rd week of dating I was able to get a pass to a few museums to get in for free and that was pretty fun as well. I  learned about Montreal's history, architecture, and I learned about Saturn.  Then came the rain..... For two and a half weeks it rained everyday and somehow I happened to be out in it each time.

Then came the sniffles...... Last week I was sick with allergies, the rain flu or something else and now this week I am getting better but am kind of in a dating rut from staying in while I was sick.  I know that I need to get back in the saddle but guess what?  It is raining again, 2nd day in a row.  On a more positive note, I have been meeting more people and I think I can actually say that I have real friends now.

Bar Habor

This weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Forest and I went to Bar Harbor, Maine and it was awesome!  If you have not been there sometime in your life you have to go.  First, we went to the harbor and walked along the ocean.  It was really fun to hear and see the waves crashing up on shore.  We ate some lobster pizza for dinner and got super good ice cream.  On Sunday we went to Acadia National Park and again walked along the coast and then went to Cadillac Mountain. Everything was so beautiful and the leaves were just beginning to change which made it all the more breathtaking. 

Friday night, we were still in Montreal and went to a cooking class at this place downtown. There were about 8 people and we all made the meal together, it was delicious!  For the appetizer there was a mixture of apple, fig and pine nuts served over a piece of spice cake with foie gras and yes it did look like cat foot before it was cooked but was very tasty.  It was my first fig and my first foie gras.  For the main course we had pork chops served on top of potatoes galette with apple and bacon chutney and also green beans.  I tried to skip out on the beans since I don't like them but the chef wouldn't let me.  Desert was awesome as well, apple crostata with maple syrup caramel and vanilla ice cream.

Things are looking up! 

Back on Track

Well after a week and a half I decided to venture out on my second date and I must say that this time it was much better.  It was raining when I left but as soon as I got out of my car at my destination it stopped.  I decided to go to Westmont to the public library, walk down to Green Avenue and then walk around the shops, cafes on Sherbrooke at Westmont.  The Westmont Public Library is really great.  It is in a beautiful building next to a park and a green house. I was a little dissapointed in the DVD selection but other than that it was perfect, nice tables, couches and a reading room.  The downside is that I would have to pay for a membership since I don't live in Westmont and it would be 120.00 for the year but I can still go there and read books I just can't leave with them.

After perusing the library I walked through the green house, which smelled like a dirty locker room, and then walked around the park.  I headed to Green Street and walked around the shops and then went back to Sherbrooke and walked around the shops there.  I must say that walking around fancy shops when you are broke as a joke isn't the most exciting but it was still fun to window shop.  All in all, I am no longer mad at the city and am now willing to venture out again soon.   

My First Date

After many hours of watching t.v. and after coming to the realization that I actually live here I have decided to take some inspiration from one of my favorite t.v. characters, Carrie Bradshaw.  I have decided to date Montreal.  Our first date was Parc Jean-Drapeau and let me tell you as far as dates go, the city let me down.  The weather is still pretty hot so I decided on going to the beach.  I packed my bag and took the metro our to Parc Jean-Drapeau which actually consists of two islands.  I came out of the metro on the first island, Ile Saint Helene.  I walked around for about 45 minutes trying to find the plage (that's beach in French) and couldn't find it.  I did however come upon a very nice aquatic center only to find out that it was closed.  It was open everyday this summer including yesterday and is going to be open everyday for the next two months but was closed today.  It was beautiful and inviting and so hot outside that I almost cried.  On my way walking back to find a map I met a couple and their six year old son.  We all figured out that the beach was on the second island, Ile de Notre Dame.  We all decided to walk over there together.  After about another 45 minutes of walking we finally found the beach and it was completely empty.  I thought it was maybe because it was a Thursday but after stepping into the nice, cold, refreshing water I was yelled at in French to get out of the water and that the beach was closed.  I went to the picnic table to dry my feet and was yelled at in French because everything on the island is apparently closed.  Needless to say I had to walk another 45 minutes back to the first island to catch the metro home.  The silver lining is that my new boyfriend, Montreal, introduced me to a very nice family who suffered through most of my adventure with me.  I am really going to have to pick something great for our second date.

My First Post

Well, I finally decided to jump on the blog wagon.  Forest and I made it here safely. Our place is very nice and spacious and the cats are pretty fun.  Montreal is a nice city and there are lots of different neighborhoods to explore.  Forest started at McGill and is learning a lot while I on the other hand am unemployed.  I still have no friends but have started friend-dating.  So far I have made it two days now without crying.  We really miss all of our friends and family and would love to have visitors (hint hint).  I feel like I am selling the city a little short so I am going to write about all of the fun things we have been doing.  We have been exploring some of the neighborhoods especially Old Montreal which is beautiful.  There are cobblestone streets, a variety of restaurants and cool buildings.  We have been to park Mont Royal and walked up the "mountain" several times.  Yesterday we went out of the city to Oka Park and walked along the beach for about two hours, let's just say we are not in Iowa anymore. We have been exploring our neighborhood, Notre Dame de Grace, and found some great restaurants and shops.  The grocery shopping in Montreal is amazing, especially the markets!    Forest likes the coffee shops.  We took a trip to the botanical gardens with our parents and they were cool as well.  I am still not sure what I am supposed to write about on a blog so I guess this is all there is for now.