Buses

If you don't live in a city where there is a large public transport system, or if you don't regularly have to take the bus system, then you are missing out on a lot of fun. I really mean it! (In a sarcastic way) In all honesty, once you have figured out the system, then it can become dull because it is repetitive and generally always the same. What's fun is trying to figure it all out!

I have never had to use the public transportation system when I was living back home in California. The only times I have ever used the public system has been when travelling to Europe or Canada. On those trips I was always with someone who knew the system so it became rather simple to figure out while temporarily there. But here, in Quebec City, I have to use the bus system every day. I live on the South shore of the Saint-Laurent River and everyone else, including the church and the city, is on the North shore. Because of how the bus system runs, it takes me 40-50 minutes to go somewhere that would take 10-15 minutes by car. Let's not forget to add 30 minutes for if I miss my first bus. Lovely!

Let me walk you through it.

I have been here for almost six weeks now, and have gotten used to the system so far. At least I thought so. For my regular bus route, to go to my tutor's house (or almost anywhere in Quebec), I need to take three different buses to reach my destination. I one bus, the 35R, out of my neighborhood to another stop on the river. From there I catch the L-2 bus that takes me across the river and into the city. I can take that bus to the University if I need to, but generally I get off in front of a mall. From the mall, Place Laurier, I take the Metrobus 800 or 801 to my tutor's house. And then I take those same buses back home. I have been able to manage this system pretty well. I did have a few adventures the first couple weeks when I missed a bus or took a bus that I was not familiar with, or got on the wrong bus. But I did have that solved, until recently. My schedule changed last week and now all my French lessons are in the morning instead of the afternoon. I thought it would be the same in the morning as it is in the afternoon, but apparently it is not the same.

 

This is the view from my first bus stop. Thus begins your somewhat stressful endeavor to go into town. Throughout most of the day, the bus only comes twice an hour, except during the busy hours of 6-9am and 3-7pm. So once you have walked to your regular bus stop, you wait for the bus. At first you believe you are on time and are confident that the bus will be here soon. After you have been sitting there for about five minutes you start to worry: I am too early? Was the bus early? Am I now late? how long should I wait here? Or is the bus running late? Usually after a few minutes of stressing out, you can finally see the bus turning toward you down the road. But sometimes the bus doesn't come. After standing in the same spot, in the cold, for ten minutes, you decide to act. Because the bus doesn't come for another half hour, you need to move or do something: Should I walk back to the house? Is there something you forgot at the house that you need? No. Then don't go back. Walk to the next bus stop. But do I walk to the next stop, or do I walk to the previous stop? If I walk forward on the route, the bus will take longer to come get me than if I go back. So you decide to go back one, maybe two stops. Once you get to a good spot then you start debating if you should keep going or not. You sit there for another five or ten minutes and then the debate happens again: Should I walk to the next stop? I can see it from here. But what if the bus comes when I am halfway through both stops? Will it stop for me? Most likely not. But I've been waiting a while and the bus still isn't here. But what if it wont stop for me when I am not at the bus stop? Sometimes the bus stop you walked to will have a bench and you just decide to stay put until the bus finally comes. When it does come, after what seems like eternity, you are so happy to see that bus coming over the horizon you could almost jump for joy. But you don't because that would be embarrassing.

Waiting for the first bus is generally the most traumatizing because it comes less frequently than the other buses do.

So on the first day that my lesson was scheduled to be in the morning, it started out well. I was able to catch my first bus and I was there on time! I made it to the station by the river around 8:30am. My lesson was at 9am. I thought I had time. I crossed the street to wait for the L-2 bus. But the L-2 doesn't show up, instead the ELP comes. Almost every person who was huddled in the booths, waiting for the bus, gets on that bus. Generally it can be a good idea to follow the crowd when they are all getting on the same bus. But because I didn't know that bus, I decided not to. But then I remember something: Didn't Patrice say I could take this bus in the morning to the street my tutor lives on? Was that this bus or another bus? But how do I ask the driver in French? Or should I just go for it and hopefully I will get there? Don't trust what you don't know. But I am sure Patrice said it would take me. Should I take it? Too late. By now the bus is leaving because the light has turned from red to green. So you wait for the L-2 which shows up ten minutes later. By the time you make it across the river and onto the third bus, it is already 9am. The third bus takes 15-20 to get to the stop you need and then it takes you about 5-10 minutes to walk down the street to your tutor's apartment. So you arrive around 9:30am. By now your tutor has realized how liable you are with the bus system, so he says that the next lessons will be starting between 9 and 9:30am, depending on when you arrive. At least he was kind about that.

So the next day you are ready to catch the ELP because you looked it up and now know that it will take you to the street that your tutor lives on. So you get out the door to catch your first bus. But you are slightly delayed because it is pouring down rain and you don't have an umbrella. With umbrella in hand, now you walk through the neighborhood to catch your bus. You are there at 8:20, when it should be arriving, but soon realize that you missed it. Oh well, there is another one in 15 minutes. So you wait in the rain, at least it's not as cold as standing in the snow for 15 minutes. But suddenly a bus comes from the opposite direction you were expecting it to come. It is the 35E (E for express) that you have used before to come home across the river. It takes you a minute to figure out what the bus is doing here and that it is going to be going across the river where you want to be. But by the time you decide to cross the street to board it, it has already picked up it's passenger and is taking off. You know not to step in front of bus that is just taking off, so you let it go and wait for the 35R. And now by this time you have also missed the ELP bus. All the other bus exchanges go smoothly, but you still end up at the tutor's place by 9:30am.

But today was different. I caught my first bus exactly at 8:20am and was able to catch the ELP at 8:35am which got me to the tutor's door by 9am. I was very proud of myself. Third time's a charm right?! I sure hope so!

Jennifer

English Conversations

A quick update:
This week we had our first "English Conversation" event at the church. It went rather well. We were not sure how many people to expect; I had put up multiple flyers around the university campus, we had sent out a mass email to all our contacts from previous events, and we had passed out cards and put an add online. We did have a small group of five "Francophones"(someone born speaking French) and four "Anglophones"(someone born speaking English). We were able to split up into two groups based on how comfortable everyone was with their ability to speak English. Our theme for the week was family. The beginner-intermediate group talked about the basic things that a family can entail and also different experiences with family members and relations. The advanced English group went on to talking about a lot of the politics in the world that surround the ideas of divorce, abortion, gay marriages, and more. So there were completely different conversations going on, but everyone had ample opportunities to practice their English. We are hoping to have the same people, if not more for next week. Everyone at our group said they would like to come again, and hopefully they can bring friends next time.

Prayer requests:
- For continued success in the weeks to come. We are planning on doing this for three more weeks before Christmas. We hope to do more programs like this after the New Year.
- For more people to come and hear about this opportunity.
- That our witness and ministry through this will touch the hearts of these people.
- Praise God for a successful first week!
- Praise God for the wonderful people in the church who are willing to help and teach me through this new process. This could not have happened without a lot of their help.


I hope to keep you updated soon about how the entire four weeks go. I hope you all have a good weekend and a blessed Lord's day tomorrow!
In Christ,
Jennifer

A Time of Memorial

Tomorrow is going to be Tuesday November 11th. It is not only Veterans Day for the United States,  it is also Memorial Day for Canada. November 11th is also the recorded final day of World War 1 (WW1).  This year, 2014, also marks the 100 year anniversary of the start of WW1. So tomorrow is going to be a big day, not just here, but mostly likely all over Europe as well. Also, today was the 239th birthday for the U.S. Marine Corps. Naturally, having all of this happen at the same time has gotten me thinking over a few things.

Having lived in San Diego for almost half of my lifespan, you tend to meet a lot of military personnel. (For those of you who don't know, San Diego hosts a very large Navy and Marine base. It also has a good Air Force base as well.) You meet and see people who are in the military almost everywhere you go when in San Diego. Many have come and gone through our church as well and it has been an honor to know those people. I also meet a lot of military personnel outside of San Diego, especially on airplanes and airports. I recently met a young man in our church, in Quebec City, who is in the Canadian Military. (The first Canadian Military person I have ever met!) My point is that there are more people serving, or have served, for our countries than we may know. But we take them for granted and forget to thank them regularly for their service. I have sadly only known a handful of military men on a personal level. Even when hearing their stories, I cannot imagine what they have gone through day in and day out, especially when they have been in battles over seas. Many of those men and women have seen horrible things that most of us will never see, and yet they continue to serve and some insist on returning to the fight. I probably will never understand that sense of loyalty, but I am so thankful for those men and women who have fought and who now fight for us every day.

My Dad and I share a love and interest for history. A couple months ago, he was watching a series on the History Channel about WW1. I watched it with him, when I had the time, and found it very interesting. Of course I was taught this piece of history in high school, but I haven't heard much about WW1 since, and thus my recollection of the facts was very small. Surprisingly, not a lot of movies have been made about the first World War. So to see an entire series on it with facts and actual photos and footage from that time was very interesting. It kind of baffles me to think that weapons such as poison gas, machine guns, submarines, warplanes, and tanks were first used in WW1. We are so used to the idea that these weapons are normal for any military now.  The use of trenches back then was certainly unique as well. That war really changed things drastically in terms of warfare. The sad thing is that many people thought that war would be "the war to end all wars." But things have only progressed from there.

Here in Canada, and in the UK, people wear a red poppy to remember those fallen and those who have served their country. (I honestly don't know why the U.S. doesn't have anything like that yet.) I have known that this is a common symbol for remembrance, but was never sure on its origin. So I looked it up. It comes from a poem, written by a soldier, during WW1. Apparently red poppies grew on a muddy field in Belgium that the Battle of Ypres was on which lasted two weeks. The field would turn to brown mud from all the activity and death, no other life seemed to live there. Until one day a man noticed red poppies blooming in the fields of death. He wrote the poem called "In Flanders Field" which later inspired a woman to use these poppies to remember the fallen soldiers. The tradition grew from there. Here is the poem:

In Flanders Field by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.

 

 

I hope that you will sincerely thank a soldier or a retired veteran the next time you see one. These 100 years, and more, have been full of many deaths and grievances. But because of the men who have fallen and because of those who have fought and still fight, both Canada and the United States can call themselves a free county. Don't take that for granted. Thank those men, and pray for them and their families. I hope that we will not only thank and honor these men and women once a year, but at every chance we get. They deserve to be remembered more than once.

 

So tomorrow, I will be wearing my red poppy. I wear it in respect and remembrance for those fallen in both the Canadian and U.S. militaries. I want to thank all the military personnel that I know: Your service is greatly known and appreciated. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

 

In Christ,

Jennifer

 



La Mouche - The Fly

I hate flies. Especially when they are inside the house. I pretty much hate all insects inside the house. They are okay when outside, but being inside is a different thing. I have the right to kill all insects that I find inside the house. That is my opinion. I once spent half an hour with my friend, chasing down a moth in our room. We were pretty serious about it.
I am not the type of girl to scream when I see a spider in the corner. I grew up with boys and black widows and hornets in our back yard. I tend to grab the first napkin I can find and squish the bug. Unless I am in a good mood, then I might let it live and carry it outside.

Thus begins my story. When I came home tonight, there was a fly buzzing around my room. He seems rather proud of it because he kept flying right next to me, as if to taunt me. Well he did taunt me and I tried to get him. But was not successful and eventually gave up. I did not want to turn it into another half-hour scenario. I soon forget about the fly until after dinner. After having cleaned and put away all the dishes, I am having a nice cup of tea with my hostess. It is her habit, and is becoming mine, to have tea in the evening. So we were having a very nice and somewhat intimate conversation. Now enters the fly, taunting me ever so much. (I know this may have not been the same fly, but I think it was) He was flying right in front of me and hovering over my drink. My hands go up and my tea goes down.

I have recently come to the conclusion that a place has not been "blessed by Jennifer" unless I have seriously spilled something or stupidly hurt myself. It is usually the former that happens the most. But tonight it was both. I had managed to escape this curse for two weeks, and it had to end like this!

So again, my arm goes up, knocks over my cup, and down goes the hot tea. Thankfully the cup did not go with it. But still the tea spills on my feet and all over the floor. Of course tonight had to be a cold night, so I am wearing two layers of socks and a pair of slippers. I soon realize that the tops of my feet are burning. I quickly pull off my socks and throw them aside.

There I am, standing barefoot in the kitchen with burned feet and a huge puddle on the floor. My hostess kind of laughs saying, "I saw that coming." We quickly clean it up while she remarks that she was planning on cleaning the floor tomorrow anyway. After it is all cleaned up and the excitement has calmed down we end up going our separate ways. Perfect way to close a good conversation.

Jennifer has entered the premises! Thank you Mr. Fly.



P.S. My feet are fine. No serious burns. Hope this has added some humor to your weekend.