Lundi

I never really noticed before how much of an age difference there seems to be between me and the other students here. Of course, there’s an obvious difference between me and the people over 30, but for the most part, the other students are 21-25 years old. I wasn’t expecting that. It’s interesting to be talking with someone and ask them what they’re majoring in, and have them tell you, “Oh, I’m about to enter medical school” or “I’m graduating with a degree in ___ next spring.”  

Anyway, I decided to capitalize on one of my last afternoons here and visit some museums. I found the Augustine museum and the Sœurs de Bon-Pasteur museum; unfortunately, they were both closed on Mondays. I did realize that I now have a good sense of where most things are, which makes my outings much more enjoyable. Now I can find my way around the little streets in Vieux-Québec without getting lost! Woohoo!  

 Rue Couillard, I think.

Augustine Church/Museum

So, I decided to walk down to the Vieux-Port area to find the Musée de la Civilisation, browse the exhibitions, and check it off of my list. Happily, no one tried to speak English with me while I was there, and the exhibition on the history of gold was quite intriguing. I was so proud of myself: I went on the guided tour in French, not English. I didn’t understand everything, of course, but I picked up on a lot more than I would have 5 weeks ago. I was also one of the only ones in the group who knew the name of the sports team named after the Gold Rush (the 49ers) and could really pronounce it. It was pretty funny: when she asked who knew it, I said “49ers” with my lovely English accent, and for the next minute or two I kept catching people in the group staring at me. I found it amusing.

By the time I had finished a walk around the exhibit on my own, it was nearly closing time, and I was starving, so I decided to head back to the house for dinner. Mme. F had sliced avocado on the table, a salad, and shrimp that were about to come out of the oven. (It smelled so good.) Unfortunately, as soon as Elizabeth and I had seated ourselves at the table, we heard this awful explosion in the kitchen. Mme. F was alright, thank goodness, but dinner wasn’t. She had added cold water to the hot pan under the shrimp in the oven, and it had shattered into a million pieces. So…we got sushi.

(Btw, I'm addicted to sushi now...are there any good places in Conway?)

Elizabeth left after dinner for a trip to Maine with some friends, so it looks like it’ll be pretty quiet around here for the rest of the week.