Quest completed! Now what? Stephen's Life in France: These are a few of my favourite things!

Hello everyone!

It's been more than two weeks since I've updated my blog. I bet you guys are wondering what I've been up to. It's been quite the experience living here. I'm not going to lie, it's been challenging for me, but I know that I am learning so much every day and that I will be so prepared for adult life in Canada when I get back. I've been doing my own grocery shopping, washing my own clothes in the sink and making myself delicious meals for breakfast lunch and dinner. (No mom, I'm not starving :) I've been outside of Winnipeg for two and a half months! That has been enough time for me to reflect and think about all of the simple things that I took for granted while living there.

Like hockey, snow storms, the sun, the flat landscape, refrigerated milk, my family, my friends, and speaking a language quickly and being understood.

Hockey - I'm not the only one missing hockey this year. I'm coming home for Christmas(the secrets out!) and hopefully I will get to see at least one game at a local rink to quench my thirst of no NHL this year.

Snow storms - I love the feeling I get when it snows for the first time. I feel like a kid. I get excited and always hope that it will snow so much that everyone gets a snow day. It's the best when you get to stay inside and relax, huddled under blankets knowing that you can't go anywhere. It's great when there's no wind and the snow is light and fluffy. It feels like you're inside a bubble when you go outside because the snow takes away all the noise. I never thought I would say this, but here goes, I miss snow! The leaves are just turning colour and we get clouds almost every day with either fog or rain. Which brings me to my next topic.

The Sun - It's hard to feel energetic and awake when you don't see the Sun for days. Although Winnipeg is way too cold in the winter, at least there is sunshine!

The flat landscape - I always took for granted the flatness of Winnipeg. It really is amazing how flat Winnipeg is. I live right now in Chateau-Thierry. A town that is just outside the region of Champagne. There are many vineyards on rolling hills in valleys. The scenery is beautiful, but it makes walking around a challenge. If I want to go shopping, it's not that far away...on the map! But on the plus side, my legs are getting in shape walking up and down the hills every day. Also to keep my legs strong, did I mention I live on the 4 floor without an elevator as well. But the funny thing about the 4th floor in France, is that it is actually the 5th floor! They call the 1st floor(aka ground level) the rez-de-chausseé.

Refrigerated milk - I found out shortly after arriving that the majority of the milk in France and many other places in the world, is UHT treated. UHT = Ultra High Temerature. This increases the shelf life and also means that it does not need to be stored in the fridge until opened. It was so weird the first time I saw crates of milk sitting in an isle unrefrigerated. I've tried it and it's just not the same. Lucking there are two brands of fresh milk. You pay a little extra, but it's worth it. I read a little bit on the internet about UHT milk after finding out about it and heard there might be a conspiracy in America that all of the milk is UHT treated, but kept in the fridge for marketing reasons. After tasting the difference, I don't think this is the case in Canada anyway.

My family - Kirsten, Mom and Dad, Nick, Lisa and Dave, Kevin, Danielle and Kona. I think about you guys every day. Can't wait to see you soon! I love all of you and can't wait to hear the exciting stories from Kevin and Danielle travelling around Thailand on their honey moon.

My friends - I miss all of you! I'm trying my best to stay in contact with everyone. Making phone calls is especially hard because I'm in bed well before evening time in Canada due to the time zone difference. If I don't talk to you soon, I'll see you when I'm home for the holidays :D

And lastly,

Speaking a language quickly and being understood - My French is getting a lot better, but I still have to take time to plan what I want to say, and strategically find a way to say it with words that I know (or gesture to things that are around me). And when I speak English, I've noticed that even those who are fluent don't understand the language the same way that a native speaker of the language does. With all the slang, idioms and proverbs that are second nature when speaking English, I have to take the time to think of sentences that are basic when conversing with people in my language.

It is a great experience being in another country and I am learning so much every day. I am very thankful to have this opportunity and I am very grateful for everything I have back home in Canada. It's getting late and I need some sleep, so I'll leave you with some pictures of my town and Kirsten and I. I have a lot more to say about my last month here. I will try and get some more posts up here throughout the week.

À bientôt!

Stephen