So, basically it`s been a week here. Still, I`m in love with the city, the culture, and the whole experience. I`d even say I`m starting to fit in. I walk briskly in the metro stations, I wear the hip clothes, I basically know my way around annnd– je parle francais une petite peu (quand je peut). I`d say some people totally stand out as, touristes americains, but that I don`t fit in that category, and I`m proud of that. That said, people here don`t always have a great sentiment towards Calgary or towards Alberta which has been interesting.
I also think I`m getting smarter. 🙂 Lol. Not because of the class, or because of any bona fide reason other than I have no TV or personal computer, here. I`m going out and seeing the city, swimming, reading, listening to music, etc. etc. It`s kind of nice being forced to slow down and enjoy these kinds of things, rather than constantly settling for Gray`s Anatomy or 86 hours on MSN. Hard to explain, but it`s like a month-long sabbath or modified monestary experience. Okay, maybe the monestary comment is taking things to far, but it`s been a long time since I`ve felt this removed from basic technology.
Some things that I thought I`d have done by now, I haven`t. I guess that shows I`m growing, too. I HAVE seen the fireworks festival, eaten at Schwartz`, been up Mont Royal, seen the Jazz/Comedy/African Festivals, but I HAVEN`T done any shopping really (even with Caban closing and a super sale), been to La Ronde, been to the Biodome, or if you can even believe it eaten ANY poutine. 😉 I`d like to get to Ottawa, but I don`t know if that`ll come to fruition. It was the first place I`ve ever flown to. It`d be nice to revisit, and is just over an hour away. It`s one of those places though, that once I got there, I`d probably be like “Oh, right. This is Ottawa. Nice. Time to go back.” We`ll see.
I`m seeing that humans are great at adapting. I`m getting used to the humid heat. I`m also getting used to the French everywhere. I tend to tune out unless I`m really focusing. I think sometimes I forget that people can hear/understand me because I can`t understand them. I forget it doesn`t work both ways. Again, hard to explain. As bilingual as this city is, it`s kind of strange to be on an elevator or on the metro and hear people talking in English. I`d even say I`m getting used to the Air Conditioner/Muggy smell here.
I guess next I`ll have to see how I manage in Kiev or Monaco or Beijing. I can imagine the blending process is a bit tougher there.