Even though I’m here for classes, the program at Université Laval is set up so that coursework is anything but what we do the majority of the time here. That’s the beauty of this program, à mon avis (in my opinion). I’m here to immerse myself in the francophone (ok so this is an English word, but just in case, francophone=French-speaking) world, so what better way to do it than by participating in as many activities as possible with the animateurs (they are a group of quebecois 20-somethings who have workshops for all the students- comparable to camp counselors, but for college students).

I have been doing lots of things since I last wrote. Jeudi dernier (last Thursday) I went to the Cabane à Sucre, the Sugar Shack, and learned how maple syrup is made. The cabane I went to still uses the same methods that were used back in the day. After a quick tour, we were fed traditional nourriture (food) such as du jambon, des œufs, des pommes de terre, la soupe au pois, du pain, des saucisses, tous avec le sirop d’érable (ham, eggs, potatoes, pea soup, bread, sausages, all with maple syrup). Pour le dessert (For dessert), we had crêpes avec le sirop d’érable, bien sur (crepes with maple syrup, of course).
Samedi (Saturday), I went for a randonnée with the animateurs. There were three buses of us, and we went to Mont Sainte-Anne and hiked about 2 miles to the summit, which afforded a beautiful view of le fleuve Saint-Laurent (Saint Lawrence River). It was a randonnée fatigant (tiring hike) due to the steep incline, but it was definitely worth it. After, we went to the Basilique Sainte-Anne, Saint Anne’s Basilica, which was incredibly beautiful. The inside had all sorts of mosaics and a beautiful stained glass rose window (smaller than the one in Notre Dame in Paris, but still just as beautiful).

So, other than my classes (which have been going swimmingly, I must say), students at Laval have an atelier obligatoire (obligatory workshop) once a week with the animateurs. The name makes it sound incredibly boring, but in reality it’s anything but. We had the option of a few ateliers, and I chose Découvertes de Québec, Discovering Québec, which means that I have 4 free tours of different, less tourist-y neighborhoods of the city with other students in the program. Today was the first, and we explored the faubourg (literally means suburb, but it’s not really a suburb the way we think of them in the United States) Saint Jean and Cartier. It was really cool to see all the little shops and cafés along Rue Saint-Jean, and we got a nice taste of the Québec that the natives know. After that, the animateur Pierre-Olivier took us to get la crème glacée (ice cream!) in Rue Cartier, which was vraiment chouette (really awesome).

Next Monday, we will discover another neighborhood of Québec. I did find a sign that I kinda wish I could have a copy of, even though I don’t spell my name the same way…

Location: Cochon Dingue 46 boulevard Champlain Québec Canada