The Great Falls and the final frontier.

Niagara Falls are stunning, breathtakingly beautiful during the day as well as lit up at night in the colours of the rainbow. Naturally, there were huge crowds all along the walkway overlooking both sets of falls, but this didn't take away from the majestic views. I must admit that I was surprised by the commercial, neon mecca that has taken over the city. Now, I haven't been here since I was a kid, but the whole town has become a sort of Las Vegasesque strip with carnival attractions, over priced food, casinos and cheap souvenir shops. While interesting to walk through once, I was cringing at the amounts of money that some families would be spending on their vacation. I guess tourism is definitely alive and well in the province of Ontario.

Next stop: the border.

Toronto and a little Harry Potter

We stopped over for a day and night in Toronto after Ottawa. Our original intention was to visit the Canada's Wonderland amusement park, but it was a rainy dreary day and I had a better solution. I had discovered that the travelling Harry Potter exhibition was in Toronto at the Ontario Science Centre until September 2, its only Canadian stop. I had missed the exhibit in Chicago so I was excited to find it was here at the same time as us. I am a big HP fan and this was quite a thrill to see original props, costumes and sets from the movies. Even though the exhibit has been running since the beginning of April, there were still sell-out crowds - a real testiment to the popularity of this franchise.

Now I am anxious to go home and re-watch all of the movies for the 3rd time!

We are now off to catch a glimpse of Niagara Falls before returning to Cincinnati on Tuesday.

Oh Canada, our home and native land...

Leaving Québec and entering Ontario today was immediately marked with bilingual road signs (English being first). I didn't think it would be so difficult to switch back into English because it had only been about 6 days in Québec. I guess because the transition was so short (unlike the plane ride from France back to USA) and the landscape seemlessly transitioned between provinces. We spent the day and tonight in Ottawa - about 1.5 hours from Montréal. It was nice for Sophie to see the Parliament Buildings, the Prime Minister's and governor general's houses, the changing of the guards at Rideau Hall, the Canadian War Memorial, the Château Laurier and the Rideau Canal which is filled with ice skaters in winter.

As for language, there was a distinct mixture between English and French - more English than French - but several conversations that I "overhead" switched between the two languages freely within the same discussion. I noticed this happened in particular with younger adults. In stores and restaurants, you were greeted with "Hello/Bonjour" and left to choose. I think as we get deeper into Ontario tomorrow as we move towards Toronto and Niagara Falls, the French tag will disappear.

We found ourselves experiencing a rather emotional reaction to an outdoor spectacle this evening. Projected on the Parliament Buildings, there is a nightly light and sound show (similar to the one in Québec City as apparently this is la nouvelle vogue for outdoor spectacles!) This show, called MosAika, told the story of Canada and its diverse peoples. It was a wonderful show, very well done, and covered all of the elements of what is so often difficult to define: Canadian culture. Music, famous faces, provincial landscapes and history lessons made this a great panorama and everyone in the audience was moved- especially sitting outside under the stars in front of Canada's incomparable Parliament. I have never been in Ottawa during the Canada Day celebrations on July 1, but I'm sure they are spectacular. If any of our students want to travel after the program is finished, this would be a good destination to not only learn more about Canada and see the sights, but also to continue to practice their French as it is all around us.

I should have brought my "I AM Canadian" t-shirt. I suddenly feel like wearing it.

Bon Appétit!

Culinary delights from this trip include the following:

1. Poutine - of course we had to eat poutine while in Québec! This dish consists of fries, white cheddar cheese curds and sauce (similar to gravy). It's good, but not particularly healthy! It was also very expensive (about $6-7 for the portions pictured here, not including anything else). There were a number of different varieties that we tried: regular, with sausages and with ground beef.

2. Montreal smoked meat - this is delicious, and very filling. Best eaten with hot mustard and a pickle, a smoked meat sandwich is traditional fare in Montreal, but alas also very expensive. My sandwich was $9 without any kind of accompaniment.

3. Queues de Castor (Beaver Tails) - a Canadian novelty dessert playing on the national mascot - the beaver. These are like the carnival food "elephant ears" but come in a lot of varieties such as peanut butter and banana, strawberry shortcake and maple butter and nuts (what we tried). Tasty, but very expensive. We shared this one and it cost $8.00.

4. Pizza au soleil - although not a traditional dish in any way, I couldn't resist taking a photo of this "sun" pizza which was named for le roi soleil - Louis XIVof France.

I have been a bit surprised at how much more it costs to eat out in Canada than in the USA. Even modestly priced restaurants (in fact even McDonald's) are noticeably more expensive. I think that is also due to the fact that prices are more expensive in Eastern Canada than in the West. Gas prices have varied between $1.07 - 0.94 CDN per litre (approx. $3.20 - $3.50 per gallon in USA). The CDN dollar is quite strong right now which is good for us, but may make a little difference for US students. I was able to get price quotes in $USD from the language school which will help.

It's all about the accent...or is it...

I've taken some time to reflect on the language situation in Québec because it is a very complex situation - both for me personally and in the society. As an Anglophone Western Canadian, I have seen the conflict between Canada's two official languages from both sides: the perspective of a sometimes bitter French Canadian population who feels oppressed and dominated by English and cheated out of their rights, and from an English speaking population who thinks the French language should not be "forced" down their throats. I have felt the conflict personally as someone "on the outside" wanting to learn the language and become a part of the"group". Now I must say that living in Vancouver and Edmonton (the West), this attitude did not manifest itself on a daily basis, but once French began to count for something in my life and in my career, it certainly was evident that even Anglophones who could speak French were not held in equal esteem to the Francophone population. While I was a student at university, I had classes with a combination of professors: European (French, Romanian, British), Canadian Anglophones (including a certain Professor Allan Ballah) and French Canadians (both from Québec and Alberta). Tensions sometimes came from the French Canadian professors who insisted their expressions and ways of speaking were the "right" way, even though it may deviate from standard French. In general the French speaking academics co-existed harmoniously and tolerated differences in the language, but it was the students who had the disadvantage because what was allowed in Prof. Dubé's class was corrected and penalized in Prof. Thornberry's. One expression which was (maybe still is) the most contentious was the use of "Bienvenue". This expression means "Welcome". It is on the door mats in both France and Québec, but the French Canadians also use it to mean "you're welcome". This bothers many Europeans and Anglophones because (I'll say it) IT IS NOT CORRECT!! Okay, I got that out of my system. One European professor in my department would get extremely upset when students would use this expression in this way that he would yell out: "I've been here for 25 years, do not say "Welcome" to me". Needless to say, I still have this ringing in my ears and have not been using it here on this trip, but it is still alive and well and it doesn't freak me out like it used to. In fact I have a different take on it now and I am embracing these sorts of things as a language professional. As a teacher, it is incumbant on me to bring these differences to the attention of my students, rather than to deny them. This is what exists in the real world; languages change and evolve whether we like it or not due to all sorts of different influences. (I suddenly feel very evolved myself!)

All of this preamble serves as a background to my expectations about French in Québec this time around. When I have been here in the past, the reception has been mixed. As a student, when I was still mastering the language, in general, the people in Québec City were good. They were patient and encouraging for the most part, but still sometimes proprietory over "their" language. In Montréal however, things were different. Montréalers have the reputation of being intolerant, impatient and condescending to Anglophones speaking French - regardless of their fluency level. I experienced this back then and so have many of my students in Alberta in subsequent years when they went on immersion programs there. Rather than speak French with a non-Québecois, it is their habit to switch into English and "refuse" to speak French. Now while this may happen in Paris (I have never seen this personally but heard that it can), in Montréal it is quite commonplace, even today. We were prepared for this. As soon as we checked into the motel and Allan said "Bonjour", the hotelier began speaking English. We were taken aback and I admonished myself internally for not better practising my "drawl" and my "dts" before arriving. The accent always gives it away! Anyway, we refused to back down and finally at the end of the conversation, she returned to French. This can be very frustrating, even if you are expecting this. In my opinion, this is a big reason not to have a study abroad program in Montréal. Exchanges like this went on like this throughout the day, but I was happy to see that almost all of the time that I began in French, the conversation remained in French.

In Québec City this week, things were the opposite. Not only did I speak French all of the time, in every situation, but I was complimented several times on my French. To me this was a giant leap forward. Someone even asked if I was from France because of course I don't have l'accent québecois. Now, naturally, I am 20 years older and my language skills have improved. But, I sensed a more relaxed, confident French Canadian population this time who is ready to interact and share their language more readily with Anglophones. Sophie was able to speak French and not feel self-conscious as I was concerned she might be. I even had some discussions with people about expressions and accents and they were very open with me about their use of English words and structures often out of laziness. I have also noticed that the more informal "tu" is not used in public like it used to be. When I was here almost 20 years ago, it was normal to have a sales clerk or waiter address you in the informal "tu" instead of "vous" which is for people you do not know. I was surprised, but glad, to see that this had changed because it corresponds with what we teach in class as standard French. I feel much better now about language matters here both personally and on behalf of my future study abroad students.

Since arriving in la belle province, I have been on the look out for interesting expressions, translations and equivalences. I have some great photos of street signs and other written language samples as well as a nice little list of things I've heard this week. These will make wonderful additions to my language classes as well as some preparatory materials for the study abroad students.

Here's one that serves as a fitting end to this post: "Occupez-vous bien" - used here to mean: "Take care" This would not be used in France and might give some Académie members une crise cardiaque, but they say it here!

Montréal - ville mondaine

About two hours by car separate Québec City and Montréal. This trip can also be done very nicely by train or bus, which many students do on the weekends. During the summer, Montréal is very much "festival city". In our first day here, I counted five different festivals currently advertised for this month, including an international film festival and two different ones about music. Unfortunately, along with the summer festivities comes road construction - a common phenomenon in Canada when you have to take advantage of the warm, dry weather to do as much as possible. This makes driving and parking quite a challenge, especially in a large city like Montréal. We were lucky to find a central spot today and kept returning to it to feed the metre every 2 hours. Much like any big city, Montréal has its blatant contrasts - rich/poor, old/new, dirty/clean and of course English/French. Walking down the streets, you hear an equal amount of French and English, although most all of the signs are French since we are still in the unilingual province of Québec. Because of this widespread presence of English, coupled with the large size and more "international" flavour of Montréal, I would not choose this city for a study abroad program, although I like it very much. The Mérici College program in QC offers an excursion to Montréal and I think this would be good, but optional, as the $$$ here are very steep. Students who want to take in some of the world famous Jazz Festival may want to spend the bucks as well as those who want to bask in the big city atmosphere and check out the famous McGill University, Notre Dame Basilica and the Vieux Port. From a language point of view, however, it is completely possible to spend time in Montréal and not speak any French at all.

The Olympic Park is interesting, but too outdated now to hold a lot of appeal to the younger generation. The same goes for the Expo '67 site.

The main (interesting) streets are all worth a look at: Rue St. Denis - unique restaurants, shops, and echoes of Leonard Cohen and Mordecai Richler; Boulevard René Lévesque - large hotels, office buildings, head offices; and Rue Ste Cathérine - runs for kms and goes from seedy districts to the main shopping areas downtown. I would recommend a visit to anyone coming to the Province who has not yet seen Montréal.

We are staying in the western suburb of Vaudreuil which is quiet and easily accessible to the highway. There are many types of hotels (budget as well as university residences available during the summer months) so students who want to take advantage of the widely acclaimed nightlife can stay right in the heart of things. I feel old just writing about it...

Tying things up in Québec City

It has been a flurry of activity as I try to see as much as possible in the 4 days allotted for Québec City. I walked around my old stomping grounds at Université Laval, including a tour inside the residence that I lived in for a summer (by "old", I mean 20+ years ago!!). It's too bad that the language programs here are so long in length for students (5-6 weeks) and that their tuition is so high, it is a great place in a wonderful location. However, I did go by the theatre on campus and this would certainly be a good field trip for our students as the bus service is very good to and from. After talking with and visiting three different schools, I am feeling good about the one at Mérici College and will write up the details when I get back. I have also procured some good recruitment and advertising materials to market the program over the coming year. Let's hope we can make it happen for 2011!

A good inclusion on the excursion list would be the Wendake Huron Village (Wyandotte Nation) just north of Québec City. This is the only remaining Huron village in Canada and they have it set up very nicely for visits. They also include translations of signs (including the Stop sign) in their native Wendat.

While driving by the Parliament building today, I was reminded how beautiful the Canadian buildings are. Modelled after the British Houses of Parliament, it has been a while since I have really seen them - or in the case of Edmonton's Legislature Building - paid close attention to them. After seeing the Capitol in Washington, DC last year, I can appreciate both styles very much for what they represent. I am very much looking forward to visiting Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

I will miss Québec City. The people I spoke with were great and very receptive. It was wonderful to be immersed in French again and I enjoyed the countryside, the river, the history and the architecture. I hope to be back again next year and to share this with students. My last stop out of town was the great French bookstore (more along the lines of the Virgin Megastore or the FNAC in France) called Archambault. I had to be yanked out kicking and screaming after one hour of shopping. Apparently, my family didn't find it amusing that I had only covered one section in this time. I found it hard to leave the bookstores in France too.

A Montréal!

All this and a drive-in movie too!!

Imagine my surprise to find that greatest of all 20th century cultural icons - the drive-in movie theatre - about 10 kms from our hotel. Of course, we had to go. There was a great Québécois movie playing: Filière 13 (a cop drama) which really got me revved up about Québec film and how good it is. It had been a while since I'd seen one and this milieu made it all the more sublime. The second film was a dubbed version of Angelina Jolie's latest tournure: Salt. We were the only customers sitting in lawn chairs outside and it goes without saying that I was the sole person taking photos!

Je me souviens...

First on the agenda this morning was a visit to the Collège de Mérici which is a private college that houses a summer program for language immersion. I met with the director and had a tour of the college. This program sounds excellent in many ways, and it includes a very interesting package of excursions which you can choose wholly or in part. After 2 hours of discussion and information sharing, I grabbed some documentation and felt good about the possibilities when I left. After lunch it was time to explore more of what the city has to offer. Walking along the Grande Allée which is Québec's version of Les Champs Elysées, I was amazed to see that the city had not changed substantially in the almost 20 years that I haven't been here. It made me reminisce about my days as a student here at Université Laval, and certainly about the historical significance of the streets, the monuments, the ramparts and the location. For as young a country as Canada is, there is rich history in this region. Being from the West, I often forget about all that happened here.

It was nice to see Battlefield Park, the site of the famous (albeit 10 minute long!) Battle of the Plains of Abraham - especially after seeing the museum rendition on Sunday. It is a vast expanse of green - walking trails, benches, gardens and sports fields - littered with cannons and statues of important people (including Charles de Gaulle after his visit here in the 1960s). The view is spectacular over the cliffs.

I have to say that the more I see the Château Frontenac, the more I am in awe of it. This is fast becoming the Arc de Triomphe of Québec for me and I can't seem to take enough photos of it from different parts of the city. Today we toured inside of it. Magnificent and opulent of course, but very rich in historical significance from royal visits to important summit meetings. It also marked the beginning of the era of luxury hotels in Canada. Our guide was a young man clicking his heals and dressed in a pillbox hat and burgundy uniform - it was great.

La Citadelle - here was where our study of wars and military comes full circle from the beaches of Normandy about a month ago. This fort is still an active military base and can only be visited by guided tour - well worth the $10 as there are two museums, one of the official residences of the Governor General, official royal guards and some great information to be taken in. There is also a moving memorial to the WWI battle at Vimy Ridge which was considered as Canada's "war of independance" as the country came into its own after winning this battle.

La fresque de Québec - a mural painted on the side of a building in the old city which according to locals captures the esprit of the Québec way of life. This is definitely worth a visit as you can place yourself strategically in its center and make it appear as though you are part of the mural. It is a trompe l'oeil (optical illusion) like the Cincinnatus mural in downtown Cincy.

More to come as I visit Université Laval, the Parliament and the Huron Village amongst other things tomorrow.