J'aime le chocolat

Just came from un repetition du chant chorale (chorus rehearsal). One of the songs we're singing is called "J'aime le chocolat'' and it's currently stuck in my head. Ironic that my first choral song here translates to ''I Like Chocolate'', because one of my first songs in elementary school chorus was called ''I Love Chocolate''. Hmm...

Anyway...just as I predicted, I had a great fin du semaine. Everyone loooved my salsa du mangue and one girl asked for the recipe! It's very simple, if you'd like to try it:

-1 or 2 mangos

-1 red bell pepper

-1 green onion

-2 tbsp cilantro

-2 tbsp lime juice

-1 tbsp lemon juice

...Chop everything up, throw it in a bowl, mix it up, add pineapple if you feel like it (I did). Voila.

Yesterday I went to Tadoussac for the whale-watching excursion. Tadoussac is a little town on the coast of the St. Lawrence River. We explored the town, had a picnic lunch on a hotel lawn, and then boarded le bateau (boat) for the excursion. We saw beluga and minke whales and had a great time. Ugh...but il y'avait beaucoup du soleil et beaucoup du vent (there was a lot of sun and wind), and despite using sunscreen, I now have a coup du soleil for the millionth time. Hmm...I think that will be today's mot du jour. Je déteste le coup du soleil, but le coup du soleil loves me. Oh well...

Because of le coup du soleil, j'ai fatigue maintenant (I'm tired now) and thus using l'ordinateur to write this entry instead of practicing. I played les batteries...drum set...earlier, so I don't feel that guilty.

Speaking of practicing, let me give you an idea of what it's like here when I want to practice. As a percussionist, I have a lot of choices. There are two rooms with mallet instruments. One has a marimba and a drum pad (and not just the average kind you get with a starter percussion kit, this is the nice, rubbery kind that costs double the price). The other room has a vibraphone and a practice drum kit (meaning there's a rubber pad with a foot pedal for a bass drum, a snare pad, a hi-hat, a ride cymbal, and a stool). There is also a larger room with four timpani in it, and a rehearsal room with a percussion closet full of fun instruments. THEN...the best part...there is a whole village of drum sets here! This was a great discovery:

One day, I heard drum set playing coming from the door across the hall from the vibraphone. I didn't want to disturb whoever was playing, so I waited til the next day to check it out. To my surprise, I opened the door and found...six more doors! Two of the doors are always locked but the other four...every single one contains a full drum set and other great stuff! My favorite is the room on the far end. Not only do you get a window with a great view while you're playing, but also a temple block with a foot pedal next to the hi-hat, three cymbals, a marching snare drum, a speaker system, and another snare pad. Oh, and there are soundproof headphones to use when practicing, so you don't lose your hearing. Oh...and did I mention there are mirrors in almost every practice room, so you can actually watch your technique when you play? Imagine that!

Can I just stay here for my senior year? ;)

Ahhh Alma. I am having such a great time here. I can hardly believe a full two weeks have already passed; the time is going by so fast. Not to mention the amount of French I've learned! I can comprehend soooo much more than I could when I first got here. In fact...not to brag but...my professor had to change the way she assigns work so that the ''more-advanced'' students like moi don't get too bored with the easy stuff. We're not advanced enough to join the other students in the way-advanced class, but there is definitely a comprehension gap growing in my class. I love love love that Eva is my collaque (spelling? means roommate) here because we are advancing at the same level, and I don't think I could ask for a better study buddy, or a better ''sister''. It's kind-of funny how many times we've finished each other's sentences, or wanted to eat the same food for breakfast, or worn the same color t-shirt, or wanted to study at the same time. Parfait :)

Oh and speaking of funny, that's the definition of drôle, le dernier mot du jour. And...because of today's mot du jour I'm a bit tired right now, so I think I shall retourne à ma maison et faire un petit somme. Zzzzzzz....

Le fin du semaine

Bonjour!
Right now it's le fin du semaine...the weekend. All I've done so far today is listen to quèbècois music and find the definitions of the words I don't know. I'm pretty sure quèbècois is my new favorite genre of music. There is sooo much, and it's all great! My current fave group to listen to is Polèmil bazar...they're kind-of like Squirrel Nut Zippers but even better...and en français :)

Another group I really like is De temps anlin (couldn't find a link). They use harmonica and les cuillères on some of their charts, and I learned one of the harmonica solos!

So far, this has been a great fin du semaine. Last night I attended a ''Meurtre mystère'' (murder mystery) dinner party at chez (the house of) Heather and the other Carolyn. I was Eloise, l'excentrique. It was really tough reading my part and trying to understand what everyone else was saying, but I understood a lot more than I thought I would. Oh mon Dieu and the food...their mère d'acceuil prepared a three-course meal that was deeelicious. I don't even know what half of it was, but it was really really good!

Tonight I'm going to another potluck dinner, making mango salsa in a bit to bring. And tomorrow! Tomorrow is an excursion to Tadoussac, a village near here that is supposed to be really great. We get to explore the town, then embark on a whale-watching cruise. Should be fun...

As for le mot du jour, le jupe = skirt! I wore the same jupe last night...with a lot of other colorful clothes that didn't quite match, and I can't tell you how many people stared at me as I walked to Carolyn and Heather's house! It was kind-of drôle, which is the next mot du jour. Haha ;)

Faire du vélo

Did you figure out the last ''mot du jour''? Chaud = warm (or hot). Yay! Tod

Yesterday was chaud again. But...not too hot for faire du vélo! The group went on a 25-kilometer bike ride (faire du vélo) and then swam in Lac Saint-Jean. Heather and I swam to a rock that took...eh...awhile...to get to. Then we went halfway back, met up with some other people, and swam it again! So...basically I did a mini biatholon yesterday. It was awesome. Lac Saint-Jean is gorgeous. Then I woke up to run at 6 AM this morning. Feeling goooood :)

Did I mention I love it here? ;)

Hmm...mot du jour: la jupe. I'm wearning a jupe right now. This might be difficult because I hardly ever wear une jupe. A lot of females wear them in the summer, and they're pretty common here in Alma. Good luck!

Il fait chaud!!!

Did you figure out the last ''mot du jour''? Sable = ...drum roll please...sand! Congrats if you figured it out.

Aujourd'hui, le mot du jour est: chaud.
This morning, I went running and was very grateful for a slight breeze, because it was sooo chaud. Afterwards, I went shopping with ma mère d'accreuil Fabienne, because I definitely didn't pack for this. I thought Canada would be colder than aux États-Unis (the US), but not at all! I think in Farenheit, it was over 90 degrees yesterday.
So...I just spent $80 on summer clothes, because I really really really needed some shorts and tank tops! Fabienne said last year it was colder and actually snowed once here. C'est très bizarre....

Okay, time for lunch and then the first day of ''chant chorale'' (quèbècois singing group that everyone participates in). Au revoir!

Tacos y salsa

Bonjour!

J`ai retourné de Tacos y salsa, an outdoor Mexican restaurant. Ironic to be eating Mexican while speaking French? C'est possible...

I`ve decided to have ''un mot du jour'' each day. Today's word: sable. Now here's the catch: YOU, my readers, have to figure out what the word means. Today's ''mot'' is sable because we went to a ''plage'' (beach) for a picnic lunch. After eating we had to form teams for a craaazy scavenger hunt. One team member had to be blindfolded, another had couldn't speak (tape over the mouth) and the other's hands were tied behind them. Imagine walking around trying to write down answers to questions on rocky territory with one team member who can't see, one who can't talk, and another who can't hold anything. Now do it in a language you're all trying really really really freaking hard to comprehend. Needless to say, I bonded très bon avec my teammates Heather and Keena!

Afterwards a few of us went to an ice cream shop, where I jammed on my harmonica while John played les cuillères. C'etait très awesome. Then we ate at Tacos y salsa. I paid for dinner with Canadian money for the first time. Ugh..and then I paid dix dollars....ten dollars...for a taxi :(

OH! We also formed our music ensembles today. Being one of three percussionists, I was a popular choice for forming ensembles. I think I'm in three...maybe four? A jazz band, a small percussion ensemble, a group with some chanteuses (singers), and...un autre? J'oublie...

Tomorrow, I'm going for a bike ride avec a few others students, and a potluck dinner/birthday party for one of the girls. Sunday I'll attend mass en francais and then go to John and Michael's house for another fire. Fires seem to be popular get-togethers here, and that's fine by me! At the last one, Michael played guitar and I jammed on harmonica for hours. I'm playing more harmonica here than I have all year, and that's perfectly fine by me. Everyone loves it, and the other Carolyn told me I need to bring my harmonica everywhere :)

Did you figure out what the ''mot du jour'' is? I'll give you a hint: I had to empty out my shoes when I returned à ma maison tonight parce-que I still had a lot of ''sable'' dans my shoes, et on my feet. Si you still can't figure it out, c'est pas grave! Je will reveal the definition in my next entry...

Les cuilleres!

Whoaaaaaa!

I'm sitting in a computer lab waiting for a session to begin in which we'll be researching québécoise music. I just attended the most interesting two hours here so far! We had a session called "Percussions et rhythmes québécois". Can you guess what that translates to? We learned about jouer les cuilleres...playing the spoons. The percussion of Quebec is amazing!!! I've decided I'm buying les cuilleres to learn :) Each week, we get to learn more about québécois percussion and play in an ensemble of spoons. I'm very excited, to say the least. Oh haha, and I learned I should stop saying "Je suis très excite", because it has a sexual meaning in French. Whoops!

Oh...time to start the next class. Au revoir!

Dans ma maison (in my house)

Bonjour!
Maintenant, I am at my house using Fabienne`s laptop. She gave me the password for the internet but alas, I still can`t get online! Oh well...I think it`s good being less dependant on technology. Hardly using the cell phone, hardly using the internet, having to plan in advance to meet up with people, walking everywhere...c`est bon.

Today, we had an introduction to Quebecoise music. Quebec has its own culture and traditions, different from the rest of Canada. It`s interesting...you can tell it`s its own style. Fabienne let me borrow a few of her CDs, so now I have la musique de Quebec sur mon i-pod! Tomorrow à l`ecole we will research quebecoise music to perform.

Every morning, I have French class. My class is for the less-advanced students. In Canada, they have two systems of education: one is similar to ours, and the other is an immersion program in which children learn a lot of things in French (with some classes in English) from the time they are little. There a lot of students here who were part of the immersion program, so they`re in the advanced class. There are seven of us in my class, et je t`aime la classe! We learn, we laugh, we love it all.

I`m beginning to think in French. When I do sit-ups each day, I count them in French. When I practice, I hear the rhythms in French in my head. It almost seems more natural to be conversing in French with everyone around me, even though it`s so difficult. To speak in English here seems...wrong? Even writing...this is a rushed entry right now and it`s easier to add French into my sentences than to write them in complete English, parce que I think of the French first! Je ne sais pas...

OK, c`est tout pour maintenant. Tonight one of the other girls is having a campfire at her house, so a bunch of us are going over there in a bit. Au revoir!

Bienvenue (Wecome) au Quebec!

Ah, finalement...a chance to utiliser l'internet!

I'm in my second full day of life in Quebec. I'm writing this from a new friend's laptop, at her host family's house. At my house, ma "mere" (mother) Fabienne is trying to remember the password for unlocking the wireless connection *sigh*. She said she'd call the company today to get the password, so perhaps I'll have access when I return home later...

Right now, I'm listening to two girls in the program practice a duet for two fiddles. It's very laid-back here; we go to French class in the morning, have lunch a midi (at noon), and participate in an activity in the afternoon. The evenings are usually free (today we were done before 16:00...4 PM...but instead of practicing, I'm taking advantage of the internet!

There is NO English here; it's very tiring to try try try all day long to understand and speak French, but it's worth it! Already I'm understanding more than I did when I arrived. Everyone is very patient and willing to rephrase things a million times to help us understand. Oh, and the music school is not in Chicoutimi as I thought; it's located in a beautiful place called Alma.

When I arrived, I met my host-mother Fabienne and another student staying with her. Elle s'appelle (her name is) Eva, and we have sooo much in common. It's almost scary! Here's just a little list:
-we both eat meat, but prefer vegetables and fruit
-we both love PB & banana sandwiches, and like sushi
-we both love hiking, running oustide, and swimming!
-we're both going into our 4th year of college (in Canada, they don't go by Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior years, just first, second, third, and fourth).
-neither of us enjoy shopping much
-neither of us like the taste of beer
-both of us came here with a goal of renting a bike and riding around to explore

...there are more things we have in common, and I keep finding out more each day. We're a good match :)

As for the other students here...there are 23 students in the French and Music program. Out of those, 20 are female (yeah, just 3 guys), and everyone lives in Canada except me! It's interesting...I'm learning little things about their culture, and they learn about mine. Did you know that in Canada, students have to sing their national anthem every morning? They don't have a Pledge of Allegiance like we do, so I had some trouble explaining about that. They also don't have quite as much of an accent as we always imagine, but the hockey stereotype is SO true! Already, we had a discussion about hockey in my French class this morning. We also sang "O Canada" in French, which I found ironic ;)

Well...I don't want to be hogging my friend's computer all afternoon, so I think I'll end here. Au revoir!

Je m'appelle Carolyn...

Je m'appelle Carolyn, je suis intelligent.

J'aime jouer au Playstation Deux, je suis aussi amusante.

J'ai deux chats, maio maio, Cerebella et Tapestry,

et l'ocelot est mon animal favori.

Perhaps some of you reading this remember those words, first sung in Mr. B's French class in my ninth grade year. Like anything I've written a song for, the subject of French excites me. When asked to choose a language to study at the end of seventh grade, my choice was simple. Yes, learning Spanish would be useful in everyday life, and Italian would help me understand terms and tempo markings on sheet music (not to mention connect me to my own heritage), but French...okay, maybe there was no rational reason to study French. However, I had my own reasons, and those were rational enough to make my decision.

Reason #1: The Olympics

As far back as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the Olympic Games. There is something extraordinary about watching athletes from all over the world compete in (fairly) friendly competition. Swimming, gymnastics, speed skating, luge...winter or summer, I spend more hours in front of the TV during the Olympics than I do in an average month (or longer).

So what do the Olympics have to do with me learning French? French, as you may or may not know, is the official language of the Olympic Games. What better way to really appreciate the Olympics than to know what is being said before it is translated?

Reason #2: Canada!

There are two places on this planet I've always wanted to explore. One is Australia and the other...is Canada. In elementary school, some of my favorite authors were Canadian. Their stories were captivating and their writing made places like Vancouver seem so inviting; how could I not want to visit?

The Choice Is Made

So...the Olympics and Canada. Maybe not the most logical reasons to study French, but good enough for me! I have yet to regret my decision. Learning French has been a great experience full of friendship, frustration, and fond memories. I could go on and on about the crazy times I've had in French classes, but we'd be here all night. So...on to Canada!

Studying Abroad

It is my belief that every human being should explore the world at some point in life. This is a huge planet, and adventure is out there! For many, college is a perfect time to branch out and expand horizons. I always pictured myself spending a semester abroad while in college. However, being a music major taught me otherwise. Spending a semester abroad would mean most likely staying in school an extra year. That was simply not something I could afford, therefore studying abroad was out of the question. Or was it?

Study Tours: The Solution

While making gingerbread men at a friend's apartment a few months ago, a good friend of mine shared her experiences studying abroad in Argentina. The places she went, the foods she ate, the people she encountered...it was the experience of a lifetime. Knowing I too wanted to study abroad, she suggested study tours, three- and five-week sessions in foreign countries. Could it be? Were these the kinds of opportunities I could afford to experience? I had to find out.

That night, I sat down at my laptop and looked up "study tours" on the school website. Not knowing what to search for, I typed in "French" and "music". I wasn't expecting anything to come of my search, but oh was I wrong! The first link to appear on the page was entitled "French and Music". The description summarized a study tour...for music majors...who wanted to improve their French...in Canada!

Oh Canada!

I am so grateful to my friend for informing me of study tours, which I did not know existed. Because of her, in 32 hours I will be embarking on a five-week tour to Canada. I will travel to Chicoutimi, Quebec, the most francophone region of North America. I will sign a contract pledging to speak only French during my stay, live with a French-speaking family, and study French at a nearby university. I will meet music majors from all over the country who, like me, probably can't spend a whole semester studying abroad. We'll perform in ensembles, explore nearby cities, and expand our horizons in ways we can't imagine. It will be the adventure of a lifetime, and I will embrace it wholeheartedly.

Oh Blog!

While abroad, I will write a blog to inform you of my adventures. I've never written a blog before, so this will be a learning experience. I hope you will excuse any errors and become a part of my trip through my entries. Hopefully I will be posting pictures, stories, songs, and whatever else I encounter that might be of interest. My entries probably won't all be long or in English, and some of them might be as cheesy as this one, but no matter what, I'll try to keep them interesting and up-to-date.

The journey is about to begin...are you ready?