Le succès!

This marks a proud moment for me, although I did not manage to capture a perfect photo of the moment! Having spent some time and a lot of effort in making the painting for a retiring professor at the CFP Pierre Dupuy, it was both a relief and a confirmation to have it finally presented to the man himself, in front of his grateful class! This was halfway through an eventful, emotional and interesting day!

Primarily, Tuesday the 27th was the day of the “finnisants” those fortunate students who had proceeded through all three tiers of the language and culture programme, and successfully achieved attestation. The day commenced with our own intermediate class checking the correction of our papers, which was a pleasant relief to myself and most of the classmates; we then proceeded to another class for the presentation of the certificates by the directors of the institute, the professors and the monitorati. We only knew most of the students from brief conversations in the cafeteria, which was a shame as the higher levels gain by aiding those in lower tiers; anyhow, it was an interesting experience and had me thinking of potential gift ideas for our own finishing ceremony in January!

After the ceremony of presenting the certificates, and many gifts from the pupils to their professors, we all adjourned to a buffet restaurant in Boucherville, La Maison de Jade, basically a rather commercial operation, but a good chance to eat a great deal for very little outlay! After the meal at the restaurant, a few friends from my class came back for a brief visit, during which they were introduced to two Québecoise (Doudonne and Bibittte!) and sampled our molasses cookies! It brought back mixed memories, entertaining people in our home, but it was an experience I would love to repeat some time. The most important rule would be to include some non-Spanish speakers among the invitees…

Life in the two days of holiday before I return to school is made up of searching for part time work; kind and helpful as were the comments about my painting, and the suggestions that I turn it into a living, it is just too transient for a reliable income- and I am not yet ready to take on board managing my own taxes let alone managing a business that depends on me. I also don’t have sufficient confidence in my ability as a painter to be able to take such a leap. At present, I am concentrating on progressing with my potential career in nursing, and all the subjects which are necessary ancillaries to that.

Now I should leave the computer and get on with work in the real world; I hope my readers will excuse me sharing the bare minimum in this instance- and for my not attempting to translate the blog this time! I really need a parallel blog to be able to post in two languages, but perhaps during the next few weeks, I shall get the chance to practise my blog posts, as the level three classes are much more about written activities.