A more permanent resident!

I have been tardy in my blog posts lately, as I have become even more of a resident of Canada, in that I now have a job! It is only a filler to earn some extra cash towards our own place, with the added advantage that it provides an intensive "immersion" experience to help with learning the vernacular. After a week's training, I began work for Tim Horton's coffee house in Montréal. The official occupation is "patissier" on my paycheck, and the task involves heating food such as pastries, doughnuts, and buscuits from the freezer to keep the shop stocked. It can be especially challenging with the language difference, as the branch in which I work is staffed mostly by Francophones. The fact that the products are bilingually labelled greatly helps, and the actual tasks are very simple, makes a very hectic job much easier.

It was a steep learning curve at first, but I am enjoying gradually becoming more adept at interacting in French, and sometimes even surprise myself! While I don't want to make a career out of reheating food for hungry commuters, I am glad to be working and not mooning about the house! Also it has taught me the real reasoning behind the tip culture; when on a minimum wage, the tip helps to pay for transportation costs, lunches and other minor expenses. I am also having to get used to using public transport, which is somewhat difficult after having the freedom of my own car for 14 working years. It is interesting for a people watcher like myself, to travel with the ordinary people, and I have not had to make many sacrifices to undertake this kind of travel!

Since my last post, we both met up in the downtown with my penfriend from Brisbane, who was travelling to North America with his wife. After work, Sylvie and I met up with Nathan and Josie downtown, and enjoyed a meal and a walk in the old Port area of Montréal. It has been more than a year since I explored that area, and on a beautiful summer evening, it was a very pleasant experience to wander around, wine and dine and discuss our varied cultures! Our only regret was that Nathan and Josie were not in Montréal for more than a couple of days, and they also had serious jet lag. They had travelled to New York and then caught the overnight bus to Montréal, having found the Big Apple not too much to their taste. Though I myself have only been in one city in the USA (Boston) I would have to agree that Montréal is a much preferable city, with an entirely different outlook. Perhaps that is my imperial instincts surfacing!

Now I should abandon the blog for about a week, as once we return from Prince Edward Island, there will be plenty more material for the blog! We wish to forget about the internet for the duration of our holiday, and enjoy the time warp while we visit Green Gables and camp out by the ocean in the Gentle Island. We start at 5pm today and drive through the night, staying sunday night in Charlottetown. That will give us the chance to explore tomorrow, and enjoy the experience of driving over the impressive Confederation Bridge.