Soooo I am drinking wine, looking out my window, and loving the fact that I’m living in Montreal and I see, not one, but TWO ambulances try to maneuver through a crowd of vehicles. They weren’t let through at all – in fact, at least four cars snuck in front of them. It actually infuriated me.. I’m taking a First Aid course right now, and I was thinking about all the terrible things that could have happened to the people inside those emergency vehicles – and the general public just didn’t seem to care. Maybe using the words ‘general public’ is wrong.. the general public in Quebec doesn’t care. I’ve actually noticed so many discrepancies between the public here in Quebec in comparison to Saskatchewan. People don’t seem to care about others; they will try anything to be better than you. NO ONE at my school will ever open the door for me – when I do and smile, it shocks them! Small example – and could be because the majority of the students in my college are fashion students, and therefore slightly bitchier than the general population – but still affects me daily. I have always been generally nice to random people on the street, but haven’t found the same treatment from others. I’ve lived in Vancouver and London – both major cities of the world – and have not experienced the same thing.
It makes me wonder about the impression of French people that the rest of the world has; maybe there is actually something to it. I have always had amazing experiences with French cultures: I love the food, people, and language so much. So much that I actually wish I was born French. However, stereotypes are usually there for a reason unfortunately. So is it small man complex? Or are they angry that non-French speaking people are invading their province/country? I would understand that. As annoying as it is trying to find a job in a province that demands bilingual employees, I love that Quebec is preserving their language. French is not an easy language to learn though – and I’m trying! I am convinced that I will be bilingual at the end of these three years. It does wear on me though.. I have worked events for my school (which is, by the way, the largest bilingual college in the country and I am very proud of that!) and they spoke entirely in French. My superiors were able to communicate with me in English, but my classmates were not all so lucky.
However, I LOVE Montreal. I would never change my choice to move here for anything. The amount of different types of culture alone has made me want to live here forever! If it wasn’t for the wet, slushy winter that is…
I think the foundation for my rant right now is the fact that I miss my Saskatchewan friends. And even my French friends from France. I guess you never do realize what you have until it’s gone, huh?
PS. Nina, I know you'll have a big 'I told you so!' moment when you read this ;)
