Time for an Adventure!

Tuesday, March 17, 09

I’ll start out with Sunday night. It was so good. It was by far the best “group get- together” I’ve attended since I’ve been here. We went to Anne’s house for Chinese food, and there were about ten of us there. We watched some dance movie, and then ate. After dinner was the best part of the evening. We started another movie, but everyone kind of lost interest. I then had such a good conversation with Marie. We were talking about how Quebec socially is kind of boring when you’re still in school. She said we should try to go to a club before I leave. I almost peed. Like seriously, this is what I’ve wanted since I’ve been here, friends I can have adventures with. That is what drives my life: Adventures. Although Quebec is one big adventure, some good stories to tell when I get home would be nice!
Monday morning went by impossibly slow. I had economy and French, and I thought I was going to die. The afternoon at the art gallery was much better though! I was a little bit uncomfortable, because I really didn’t want to accidentally wander off by myself and be the kid that gets lost on a field trip! The museum itself was very beautiful, and I enjoyed it a lot. Quebec artists did the first exhibit we saw, and it displayed their thoughts on Quebec. All of the art was very political and metaphorical. It was also very bizarre, one display especially, if I saw it hanging in someone’s garage, I would throw it out because it honestly was a pile of trash. The second exhibit was much more interesting. Jean- Paul Riopelle studied art in Quebec and explored lots of new abstract techniques. By far the most outstanding piece in the exhibit was a 30-frame homage to Rosa Luxemberg. He began painting it after his girlfriend, Joan Mitchell, of 25 years died suddenly. The painting is a tribute to his heroine, but also to his partner. It was very intriguing and there were so many little details that blew my mind. Finally, we just had a quick look at another abstract exhibit. It was bizarre. The biggest piece in the collection featured wax heads in mutilated in different ways. I’m surprised I didn’t have nightmares about it.
The field Trip finished before the school day, so we got to go home and hour early, which was nice. I don’t know why, but when I got home I was uncharacteristically homesick. Like ridiculously homesick, I couldn’t talk to anyone because I was scared I would just cry, and anything anybody said pissed me off. We did have Pecan Caramel New York Cheesecake for dessert though, and I couldn’t resist. It was so good. Like Jesus Good. Monday was my day off from training, and the thought of sitting at home for the evening was not appealing. It was very beautiful outside, so I went for such a nice walk. It put me in a much better mood and just overall made me feel a lot better. Also, to make me feel better, I know this sounds lame, but I thought about dancing. This is my first year off dance since grade eight, and I miss it a lot. Next year when I’m signing up for extra-curricular, someone remind me how happy it makes me, okay?
Today, I woke up in an extremely good mood. My favorite song was the first song to come up on shuffle, and I danced like a loser while brushing my teeth. Today was also Julie’s birthday! We got a ride to school, so got there earlier than usual. I honestly think everyone took out their spring wardrobes last night, because there were so many girls wearing such cute outfits today, I think I might start wearing my spring clothes (not that I really have any here) tomorrow too!
First class I had today was English, which is always rather non-descript. I sit at the back, and when we work in groups, I pretty much just copy off Julie. We have 2 poetry tests next week. I am not anticipating I will do well on these. The poetry is really hard to understand, and although I think I am doing remarkably well for an exchange student, not well enough to past a test. It weird, because my grades don’t count for anything, I honestly don’t try half as hard as I could in lots of my classes. I mean, I could study and master this poetry, but its just not really worth it. I would rather spend my free time doing other things.
After English I had art. It was… Interesting. We were working on our projects again, and I had to mix a beige color for the body of our girl. It was very red, but I didn’t really think it was that big of a deal until the teacher walked by and commented. We then had to make a new color, and paint over the whole thing. I felt really bad, but you can’t even really tell, and I don’t think my partner could care less about how our project turns out.
Lunch today was different than usual. In was Julies birthday, so one her friends gave her cupcakes with candles and we all sang happy birthday. It was really cute, but I am glad to say I think there was more love in the cupcakes Kirsten made for my fake birthday before I left! Lunch today I worked on my English class. I look forward to this a lot every day. It is my escape at school. To be able to do something I understand and am really good at is such a nice change, and I enjoy it a lot. Today I got so caught up in my project; I didn’t notice the time until it was 2 minutes before the final bell.
I was so stressed and rushed getting to guitar, it made me doubly nervous for the guitar test today. It was cute though, because the boy that sits beside me forgot his music, so had to share with me while we practiced. He is really funny, and talks to me a lot. Luckily, we ran out of time so I didn’t have to play today. I think that was probably a good thing. Almost being late for class just gave me that nervous- teetery feeling, and I don’t think I would have played my best. I really care about how I do on this test. Not for the mark, but because it is one of my personal goals for my time here to learn the guitar, and I want to prove to myself I am capable of doing well on this test.
After guitar I had math, in which I have totally given up. We are learning material I haven’t learned yet, and don’t understand at all. I feel bad, because I don’t even try anymore. Maybe I should, but even if I totally applied myself, I think I would have trouble learning it in English. I usually copy the notes, but when we have time to work in class, I honestly just waste it doodling or working on something else. Today I was making Julie a birthday card when the exchange advisor came into the room and gave me an evaluation I need all my teachers to fill out before Thursday. It is mostly an evaluation of my effort, so I was nervous to ask my math teacher to fill it out, as he has often walked past my desk to see me hide my phone, doodles or book. Luckily for me, he was very generous and wrote nice things. He did ask me a question though, and I didn’t hear, so he only gave me a “Satisfactory” for comprehension, which I am not happy about. Even though this report card counts for nothing, something about not being “Superior” bothers me, and always has. I am honestly quite anxious to see what my other teachers will write. The teachers of the other exchange student I talked to just pretty much circled all “A’s” and wrote nice things. I’m not sure if this is an honest evaluation, or they just have easier teachers than me!
Tonight when I got home from school, I had a really good conversation with Julie and her sister Catherine. We talked about the differences in school in Winnipeg and Quebec, and it made me realize how people can really enjoy having sisters. For Julies Birthday we had pizza. It was the first time I’ve had ordered pizza since I’ve been here (PS. I asked why they don’t eat pizza with their hands, and they said because that’s disgusting!). If there is Chicago pizza and New York Pizza, there should be Quebec pizza. Most pizzas feature the sauce, cheese or crust. The highlight of this pizza was the meat. There was so much meat, and it was so good- very different than any other pizza I’ve tried.
After dinner, I switched my 3 and 5-mile runs because it was so lovely outside, I wanted to take advantage of the weather and do 5 miles. I ran around the suburb (got mildly lost) and ended up at the gym where I did my workout. I upped all my weights tonight, so I am exhausted. I feel bad because I ate a lot of crap this weekend, and it caught up with me on my run tonight. A cookie or piece of cake after dinner actually does make all the difference to my run at night, but it is hard to remember that when it is right in front of you! Oh well, it is not worth stressing about. My training is generally going good, and I can’t complain!
Tomorrow, I am officially half way done. I feel like the next two weeks are going to be the longest ones of my time here, but I have a lot to look forward to. I know that once April hits, I am on the home stretch of my marathon, and I can start to relax mentally. I am looking forward to coming home so much, but I had a weird dream last night that made me look at things a little but differently. I was in Drama at home, and someone said to me “ If you’re so unhappy here, go back to Quebec”. I don’t know why, but I thought about that a lot this morning. Going home is what I am looking forward to most in my life right now. Getting home I’m sure will be amazing, but after a while it will be back to normal, and I know I will have days I feel unhappy. Being home will not make me happy 100% of the time, and I need to make sure I don’t forget to make my happiness here. This past week has been exceptionally hard. I kind of had nothing to look forward to, and everything just looked long and flat. I felt really homesick, and there were so many times I just felt like giving up, but I can’t, and I wont.
All I need to do to stay motivated is think about how fast the last six weeks went, and how much I have accomplished and improved. I think after another six weeks, I will be a legit French master, and it will be almost time to go home. I just need to remember to stay positive, and keep making my happiness!

Staying Motivated,
Carly