Québec City

So a couple weeks ago Caitlin and I had a training session in Québec City for the jobs that we now are currently doing. The training session consisted of being put up in a nice hotel, being fed three squares, buffet style, every day and actually learning how to deal with students for about six hours a day. The rest of the time was ours - so we made fast friends and drank beers in our hotel room (or someone's hotel room) every night. It was lots of fun. The first night, Caitlin and I arrived a little early, so we went and took a walk around Vieux Québec, looking for a nice place to eat. We found lotsa places but they were annoying and lame and expensive. So we went a got a crazy bowl of poutine and a couple of beers. The poutine was literally the first food we'd eaten all day (at about 9pm) and we didn't even come close to finishing it. It was monolithic, as can be seen in the photo. And that was our free few days in Québec City. Oh!! Also of note: We got a $75 stipend for the three days there. $75 each. So thanks, government.

L'université en français?

So I wanna go to school in French when we move to Montréal. There's an entrance exam that I'll have to take being that I'm an Anglophone. The test costs $90 and the closest place I can take it is in Moncton, NB. About 400km from my house.



There's also a practice test. It costs $55. I'm gonna do that this week - it can be done online. If I pass or come very close to passing, I'll proceed with taking the test and applying to the Univerité de Montréal. Sinon, I'll sheepishly apply to Concordia and McGill and hope I can get into one of those schools. I've been wanting to go to the UdeM for only a little more than a year, but the fact that the whole idea of it may be squashed this week is quite something. Anyhow, wish me luck, internet.

Know what Amqui is??

COLD! It's effing COLD. Today was -32˚. At -35˚ they close the schools. Not 'cause it's snowing, they'll just close them because it's cold. How cold is -32˚ you ask? Good question. It's cold enough that when I was 15 steps from my house the moisture in my nose began to - and did - freeze. I am in no way exaggerating this point. Also, I have a jacket with a typical polyester shell. It made a crinkly sound as I moved my arms. It didn't do that at -20˚ three weeks ago. Also at -20˚ I wore only jeans on my lower half and was just fine for my walk to school. Today, a quarter way in, my thighs were stinging and my jeans actually became tighter. Every breath left condensation on my beard and moustache. Condensation that froze and left me with a frost covered beardal-region. The final example I'll give: Two minutes from the front door to my school I decided to conduct an experiment. I spat on the back on my winter glove on my right hand and help it parallel to the ground for the duration of the walk. When I reached the front door the spot of spit - about the size of a Corn-Pop - was frozen solid.

The positive thing about this cold climate is that there is an outdoor rink near my house that is not dissimilar to the one at Apex. I'll be going there tomorrow.

Money isn't any fun... except if you have it.

So at the end of August we had a meeting with the woman in charge of the Odyssey program in Amqui. She told us we'd be getting $925 on each cheque. We said "Before or after taxes?" She said after. Then we made sure to clarify, "So this $925 is after all the deductions?" She said it was. It wasn't. That's not a fun surprise. Not at all. Then, yesterday, we got our regularly scheduled paycheques, nothing wrong with that. And they were an extra $450. So sweet, right?? Nope. We learned that the extra $450 was actually the $700 travel allowance we were promised when we first were accepted to the program. They just tacked the $700 onto our regular cheques and let the tax-man take his share. And as anyone who's ever worked a big spot of overtime knows, it's annoying how much they take off when the gross is high-ish. So yeah. That was crappy. This program is great and all, and I fully recommend it, but man the pay is terrible. We had what turned out to be delusional plans of taking weekend trips to Halifax and even New York. That's not happening. C'est la vie, right?? We're eating well and getting lots of great exercise (we bought a gym membership). It's just lucky there's not a tonne to do in Amqui, 'cause then we'd really feel feel as though we were missing out... more so than we already do.

Also, everyone likes pictures. Here's some of when we painted our bedroom.

Québec City

So a couple weeks ago Caitlin and I had a training session in Québec City for the jobs that we are currently doing. The training session consisted of being put up in a nice hotel, being fed three squares, buffet style, every day and actually being in a classroom, learning how to deal with students for about six hours a day. The rest of the time was ours - so we made fast friends and drank beers in our hotel room (or someone's hotel room) every night and saw free Cirque du Soleil one night. Lots of fun. The first night, Caitlin and I arrived a little early, so we went and took a walk around Vielle Québec, looking for a nice place to eat. We found lotsa places but they were annoying and lame and expensive. So we went and got a crazy bowl of poutine and a couple of beers. The poutine was literally the first food we'd eaten all day (at about 9pm) and we didn't even come close to finishing it. It was monolithic, as can be seen in the photo. Oh!! Also of note: We got a $75 stipend for the three days there. $75 each. So thanks, government.

Bienvenue à Amqui

Hey. So this is Caitlin and my blog. Wanna see pictures of bowls of poutine and freshly painted bedrooms and pond hockey?? This is the place. Wanna read about the shock of moving from a city of two million to a city of six thousand?? You're here. Wanna be frustrated by the incredibly low prices we pay for car insurance and beer over here while at the same time being able to breathe easy at your cost of milk?? Welcome, have a seat - it's good to see you....