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.