Being John Malkovich

Can you see the words on the faucet? One says chaud and the other, cold. And that, in a photo, is why I love Quebec.

I'm fascinated by a place where they speak both French and English, and where many people can seamlessly switch back and forth. While sitting at a bar on Sunday night, I decided it takes a special talent to be able to switch back and forth, and to remember who to speak which language with. Especially as I wanted to speak in French and Robin, English. Our bartender had to switch back and forth just to talk to the two of us!

So, as you can tell, we did finally make it to Quebec, on Saturday night. It was cold... I think the coldest weather I've ever been in. With the wind, the temperatures were somewhere around -30 C. (I don't know what that is in Fahrenheit... cold!) It snowed yesterday and Sunday, but just light sparkly flakes.

Saturday night when we got there, my friend Nizar and some of his friends came and picked us up, and took us first to their apartment for a little party, and then to a bar. Nizar told me that he loves when native English speakers speak French. He thinks the accent is charming. I asked him what he thought of my accent, and he said, "It's beautiful. Like John Malkovich!" I'm not exactly sure what to make of that... I think I'll take it as a compliment, since that's how he was presenting it!

We went to a couple of museums and learned a lot about the history of Quebec and La Nouvelle-France. I really liked one museum as in addition to all the Quebec stuff, they had a lot on the history of Francophone America, including Louisiana.

More pictures here!