Everybody speaks French! In Ottawa, I rarely hear “Parisian French”; if I do, I turn around and glance at whoever spoke. Well, I keep on doing that here: whenever I hear French, I turn around. And I really have to stop doing it. This is France.
Everything is tiny—people, cars, streets, apartments etc.
Women all seem to dress the same—boots, leggings, a skirt or “skinny” jeans, and their beloved scarf. And all they wear is black, light black, dark black and… oh yeah, grey.
French bread is still delicious and they are still a lot of independent bakeries everywhere. Phew.
French are a bit grumpy and always seem to be reluctant to serve you. And when they do, it’s like they are doing you a huge favour. Goddammit, I’m paying for that baguette, can you please hand it to me?!
There is a lot of police everywhere. I rarely see the cops in Ottawa, unless there is a traffic accident.
School-aged kids and teens hang out in the street at noon and in the evening. No yellow school buses to shuttle everyone home here!
Brittany is damp. It’s 15°C but it feels much colder because of the constant humidity and light drizzle.
Stores close early. I wanted to buy the newspaper yesterday, and I rushed to the newsagent at 7:10 p.m. Tough luck, it was closed. Whatever you need to do, get it done before 7:00 p.m.!
Being in France feels like being stuck in a time-wrap. Nothing ever changes. For instance, two years ago, I clearly remember a heated local debate about building a new airport in the city (the mayor approved, but the constituents didn’t). Two years later, the headlines in the newspapers are the exact same!
I guess bad service in store is the reason why a lot of people are now buying stuff online.
Do French buy online a lot too?
Still, you must be having a wonderful time!
And not all change is for the better…
Can’t complain, it’s fun to go to France once in a while even though it’s less “exotic” for me than it is for some people 🙂
Love this report ! ^^
Oh damn, I would love to teleport to Paris to go buy some books !!!!
Can’t you find them on Amazon.ca or at Chapters? I found a surprising number of French bestsellers there, although I like to shop in second-hand bookstores in France for more “obscure” novels 😉
Is there a such thing as under-aged immigration?I’m 15 about to be 16 and wish to move to Canada (America just isn’t my cup of tea). Please get back to me asap. 🙂
Oh yeah huh, I did some research on Canadian citizenship and got the app and realized i can’t fill it out yet! but is there a way for me to immigrate to Canada?
You can’t apply for citizenship like that. You have to be a landed immigrant first. I suggest you to head to http://www.cic.gc.ca for more info on the immigration process.
Not that I know of, unless you immigrate to Canada with yours parents. Otherwise, you have to be at least 18, and really, you need some kind of work experience.
Okay, I did a little bit of research on the Visa forms and it turns out (if) I fill out my temporary resident form (the Visa) I can go with a parents signature. Interesting. Do you know anything about cost of living in Toronto?
But you won’t be able to qualify without any work experience…
Well, i currently have a job at Dennys does that count? Sorry if my questions annoy you or get irritating but I’m anxious to get out of the US, and Canada sounds amazing compared to.
Your questions don’t annoy me but you have to be realistic. If you are serious about your project, do read the info on http://www.cic.gc.ca.
Salut Zhu,
Welcome back 🙂 Isn’t it sometimes weird coming back??
Hoping that beyond your family, there are so pleasures of being back(foods,favorite places,old friends), etc.
So far, I am still happy to return each time to North America.
We shall see in the future 😉
Yes, it’s good to visit once in a while!
Salut Zhu,
Are you back in France? How long are you going to be there?
Everytime I go to Madrid I feel like an stranger in my own hometown. Everything looks the same but different at the same time.
When was the last time you visited France?
Take care,
M.
I last visited a bit less than two years ago, and I’m here until April 11 (3 weeks in total). Yes, visiting always feels a bit strange!
i thought you’re gonna list down ten things like you always do, lol!
anyway, back in the old world, the feeling must be strange yet familiar at the same time eh? 😉
sometimes changes dont necessarily mean a good thing. for me, i wouldn’t want a historic old town to lose its charms to modern developments! 🙂
That’s exactly how it feels: familiar yet foreign. But I’m not as surprised as I was when I first came back after a long time abroad, I know what to expect now.
Ditto what kyh said, sometimes it’s great when things don’t change. Things change too much in Canada!
It’s true, Ottawa did change quite a lot since I came here.
What shocked me the most when I was back in France (after, uh, about 5-years absence) is how much people smoke everywhere! There is the tentative “smoking” section in restaurants, but no restriction in the café terraces or in a public place. As long as it’s outside, nobody seems to care lighting a cigarette in your face even if you didn’t ask for it!
As a non smoker, this is something that I find quite disagreeable. I had actually quite forgotten all about it after so many years in Canada where the non-smoking policy seems to be the norm!
I don’t see it as much now. Most French seem to abide by the non-smoking laws. They do smoke on terraces and patio but frankly, it doesn’t bother me. I find the attitude towards smokers a bit too much in Canada sometimes. That said, I agree: respect is the key.