And so it begins...

My long journey to the rural town of Trois Pistoles, north of Quebec City, began on Saturday morning when I hopped on a VIA train at Union Station. As I passed the rows of seats, I consciously made an effort to find a slender Asian girl to sit beside - thinking it would be my best chance to fit comfortably in my seat. As it turned out, the girl I sat beside was Angela Chung, an old friend from McMaster!

The journey was 16 hours long, but it passed quickly. I`m very content when I`m in a comfortable place with books, the Internet, and good company. Once I arrived in Trois Pistoles at 2 am, I was escorted to my host family`s house. I was shown into the basement with another guy my age named Frasier. We were given rapid instructions in French about where things were located, and I discovered that my hosts didn`t speak a word of English.

Since then, I`ve come to enjoy my new life in rural Quebec. I wake up at 7:15, head to a small dining hall and then start French classes at 8:30, which go on until 3:30 with a break for lunch. I find this the most difficult part of my time here, as learning a new language in a classroom for hours upon end can feel torturous at times. But I try to keep my mind on my goal of learning French and of course ponder all the fun activities I`ll do for the rest of the day.

My host is Conrad Hudon and his wife, who get paid to lodge students for the Explore Program. Conrad is an avid hunter, and the basement where I sleep doubles as his showroom for his many kills. I counted a total of 45 different animal heads or scalps mounted on the walls - animals like moose, deer, hares, and turkeys. Conrad kills them and has them professionally stuffed and mounted, with a little gold plate proudly announcing the date of the kill. All the furniture in the basement is made out of animals. My bedside lamp and flower pot, both very furry, are made out of the lower part of a moose`s legs. On my bookshelf is a gigantic hornet`s nest.

I find this quite gruesome, but at the same time I appreciate that I`m in a different world. Rural Quebec is far more politically and culturally conservative than Montreal or Paris. In fact, many people proudly wave Quebec`s provincial flag outside ther homes, and I have yet to see a single Canadian flag. There is a strong sense of the Quebecois identity, borne out of decades of political oppression under English Canada.

Despite the political tensions, my host family and the people here have been very welcoming. It`s no surprise, since their economy gets a huge boost from the Explore Program, which sends 250 English Canadians here to learn French every summer, with two different sessions. The rule is that you MUST speak French at all times, or else face expulsion.

I love my free time here, as I can hang out with friends from the program, read a variety of books (in English!), and bicycle through the beautiful town.

Off to the Three Pistols

Dear Blog,

I can honestly say that I haven't felt this relaxed in at least five years. I am at a strange and wonderful phase of transition in my life which will not last long. I wrapped up my Arts & Sciences degree at McMaster less than a month ago, and will be starting medical school at McMaster in late August. This "in between" period involves little pressure and few responsibilities. As a result, I've been able to shape this summer to my liking. First I worked with the Census for 1.5 months, then vacationed in Colorado with my mom, followed by a short First Aid course (required by Mac Med) that ended today.

Now I'm packing my bags for Trois Pistoles, a tiny town in rural Quebec, to complete the "Explore" program organized by the government. The stated goal is to learn French, but my personal goal is to enjoy myself and make new friends. I'm comforted by the fact that I already know my room-mate: Daniel Carens-Nedelsky.

After 5 weeks of Explore, I have a couple weeks before the grind of medical school begins. Mac is unique amongst Ontario medical schools in that it adopts an accelerated, 3 year curriculum. That means that summer vacations are shortened to only 1 week! They also try to model their education on problem based learning, so I should be meeting patients as early as September. In many ways I think that "Mac Med", as it is called, will be a lot like my Arts & Sci program; surrounded by many smart people who are passionate about different interests. Plus, Mac is based on "small group learning", similar to the Inquiry courses of Arts & Sci.

My grandmother, three uncles, parents, and sister are on their way right now to celebrate my birthday, which was on the 27th. So I better go. But I'll be back next week, writing from Trois Pistoles!