Inspired by Matt’s previous xanga entry, I have created a map of the places I’ve visited. I really want to see if I can paint the whole world red before I die.

I’m in Hong Kong now, but getting here was a bit of a challenge… NEVER FLY AIR CANADA and if you have stocks in that airline, PULL OUT and get RID of your SHARES!!! With inefficient logistics and a rude staff like theirs, that company will be lucky if they can survive the end of this tourist season.

So here are a few more highlights on Montreal before I move onto the vibrant city life of Hong Kong.

Per Phil’s suggestion, I made two trips to Schwartz’s. The absolute BEST smoked meat sandwich known to man. If you’re a pastrami fan, this is your niche. But be sure you perch yourself on the counter–speedier service and away from the heat…Also be sure to order that purple soda–it complements the sandwich better than my ginger ale. When Nerissa, Mike and I went to visit the renowned, we caused quite a ruckus among the workers…Workplace politics at its best…

On my last day in Montreal, mes amis and I went to the Fin Aquatics Finals and watched Synchronized swimming. This is US’s Christina Jones. It’s amazing what these girls can do under water–synchronized swimming has gained my respect.

The best performance was France (all 10′s on creative merit!!!). Everyone else’s music sounded morbid-as if someone was about to die or drown. I guess it’s appropriate since it would be the easiest to reenact in the water. And Russia’s legs were endless..they nearly reached the sky!

Bell’s brilliant advertising scheme. How can you NOT stop and take a picture of this aquatic oompaloompa…Has anyone seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory yet? I’ll need to catch it here in Hong Kong…maybe with some Chinese subtitles…

I LOVE the water! Note: This pose is harder to strike than it looks!!

Metro station. Going against the wind current. It was refreshing to catch a nice strong breeze in hot and humid Montreal…don’t let my painful face fool you. I was trying to capture the breeze in this picture.

Very last minute visit to the Biodome. I didn’t actually get to go inside since I was crunched for time…but let’s just say that I did.

Okay Char, these exhibits at the Musee des Beaux Arts reminded me of you…wish I could have brought these things back for you to enjoy in our apartment, but I suppose photographs will just have to do….

A chair for you and GOP…

An ugly tea kettle because you have a fetish for ugly things…

These tables were made for you and Wage.

This one is for Matt: Give me a hug Bobo! I miss you so much…

I forgot the name of this bubble, but it reminded me of the epcot center in Disney world.

Manakish avec fromage…Thanks for the intro, Amy! They served as such a good midnight snack!

I ended up losing my voice and catching a bad cough…so my roomie Christine busted out her Chinese herbal stash and fixed me up with some Pay Pah Goh! You Cantonese speakers know what this is! I was so shocked she had it in her Canadian Pantry!!!

Of course the Pay Pah Goh followed the homemade meal of Canadian Poutine!….No mystery of why I began suffering from the rudimentary signs of a hacking cough. 

Yummy POUTINE!!! Canada’s version of the Hat’s wet fries but ten times better! Fries, Gravy and Cheese Curds!

Good-bye Mademoiselle and Christine, I’ll be missing both of you very much!

Hong Kong Photos and stories soon to come! Stay Tuned!!

I can’t run from this heat! Ever since Matt’s visit, the sweltering sun coupled with nearly 100% humidity has saunafied Montreal.  On the bright side, free and efficient spa treatment…and a chum to boost. My chum (“boyfriend” in french slang) deserves mucho kudos for enduring the 5.5 hour flight to come visit me in my francophone world for our anniversary weekend. Lucky for him, the forcasted downpour was reduced to only one evening and slowed to a disgustingly sticky sprinkle…to his disappointment, his anticipation for cooler weather vanished and was replaced by a realization of how blessed he was to have dry heat in California rather than damp heat here in the East.

Now time to exploit Xanga Premium!

We look photoshoped with a Montreal Nightlife scene in the background….kinda sorta romantic?

Harry Potter Frenzy at Chapters…You should have seen this crowd! Kids and employees all dressed up in costumes as if the spell-binding series could have paralleled the Star Wars epic! Pish Posh! But I must admit that the decor in the store deserved a few shiny gold stars for effort….I have a confession to make: I have all of the books minus the most recent, but haven’t really gotten through any of them!!…The avid Potter fans may now send me to the dungeon!

My photographing skills in Vieux Montreal (Old Montreal.) The architecturally asthetic buildings that lined the streets here really time warps you back to the European 18th century…with cobblestones and all!…Again if it weren’t for the heat, I would have wished I had petticoats and a bonnet so I could glide like an old fashioned gentlelady. 

The best building in Centre-Ville Montreal (Downtown Montreal). If only I could capture all five senses in photographs…then you’d understand why this building served as a sanctuary for us. The menu would have read: Air-conditioned to perfection…

I thought this was a cute picture….I wanted to lean more, but don’t let the eased look on my face fool you! The fear of slipping in was overwhelming especially with two manmade gysers bubbling on both sides….phew, the adrenaline rush! The couple sitting on the bench told me to take off my shoes and get in the water…it was so hot I was tempted to do so!

Making a butt stop at the “Butt Stop!!”….Who ever thought of this?!?! These Quebecois are too much…if you need further translation….in French, a Butt Stop is a:

Mini French Lesson:

CIG=Cigaretts (BUTT) 

ARRET=STOP

CIGARRET=STOP SMOKING!!! (or rather, ash tray)

Okay, I REALLLY hope I’m not the only one who found that amusing…

Beautifully juxtaposed.  No additional captions necessary.

The ideal anniversary date: A scavenger hunt through all of Montreal for Tylenol or T.M.i.-dol followed by the fantastic comedy musical Mamma Mia!

Trying really really hard to stay cool….

Stay tuned…next time will be an update on the fascinating exhibits of the Musee Des Beaux Arts (which will be primarily dedicated to the best friend-Charlyne )

Well, I’ve survived my first week in Montreal. I’ve learned that the key to getting people to speak french with you is to start your conversation with “Je vais pratiquer mon francais.” Which means: I’m going to practice my french. They become less rude and actually continue speaking french to you instead of automatically responding in english.

If anyone really wants to practice their french, I would highly recommend the program offered here at Universite de Montreal. Full immersion with a safety net of bilingual francophones who can understand us trashy anglophones. 

My classmates are all very nice and we get along well…primarily because our relationship revolves around something we all hold very close to our hearts….lunch! For my french project I was placed in a group with two non-english speaking students, which really forces me to utilize the francais that I have mastered…which is not much. Voila mes amis de cours:

Since we have two vegetarians in our group we decided to go to an indian curry house…the food was excellent. So good, I couldn’t resist but take some home with me…

I know…it looks like something sat on my lap and sharted on me…but…c’est la vie. I just marched up and down Montreal shashaying it as if it were normal….after all, it’s really not what you wear but how you carry yourself in it, right??

Well fed and happy. Who ever came up with the hackneyed saying that Canada doesn’t have good food?

Liza and Amy are girls from another class who came along with us to the Indian Restaurant. They’re from DC and are also studying international something-or-other. See what I mean…food is the cornerstone of budding friendships!

…Another element that brings people together…Shopping! Here is my new gay friend, Jeremy. I was throughly entertained at American Apparrel. All the sales associates were equally flamboyant…the event was a mini parody of Will and Grace.

Though I did manage to contain myself at AA, I couldn’t help myself from these necessary purchases:

Disney CD’s en francais! Two of my all time favorites…and of course the Economist…which is way-gway (expensive in cantonese)! It comes out to 10 CAD!!! Now I’m nearly broke. Oh well. C’est tout pour maintenant (that’s all for now). I hope everyone is doing well in the states. A bientot! (until next time)…

8:28 pm Montreal Time:

J’aime ma roommate beaucoup. She’s really considerate and an excellent cook! I couldn’t have asked for a better living situation. Voila ma roommate, Christine.

I really should take more time to practique my french with her, since she’s a native Quebecoise, but she also speaks english, which makes it easier for me, but really bad for my french skills.

As much as I liked the Indian food for lunch, her cooking surpassed what I had to wear on my clothes for the rest of the day.  Merci Beaucoup!

Char: I thought of you when I went to this bakery. Yummy strawberry tarts!

My friends definately thought I was weird when I turned around and took a picture of strawberry tarts, but I find comfort in knowing that Char is even weirder.

Like the French, the Canadians love Nutella…These humungo jars would vanish within 3 months for the natives, but that jar would last me a lifetime…

Almost time for me to go to class now….Haven’t had breakfast yet…can you tell?

7*5

Salut, mes amis!

Here are some additional photos from my night visit to Le Festival de Jazz. The next festival in this city will be the comedy festival. J’adore Montreal!!

Voila mes nouveau amis- Paul, Valarie, Moi et Raph. Nous sommes a le Festival! Il y a trop d’energie parce que nous avons les yeux rouges.

Valarie, moi et le chat bleu. Il s’appelle Trent. Il n’a pas le patalon!

The best fire show ever…well it was also Free. Regardless it was pretty good.

Random lips in the sky…They don’t even look pretty.

Why don’t we have anything like this in the States??

Au revoir, Trent…

Okay. Honestly, j’adore Montreal! I had a bit of a rocky start here, but with people like the Quebecans, you really can’t feel lost.

This was my first friend. Since I couldn’t find my roommate, I went to the residences at the Universite de Montreal. He bumped into me in the elevator and befriended me. Meet Raph:

After a night at the residences and a frantic mobilization of the internet, I finally located my roommate…Or  rather…she located me and picked me up at the dorms. Her mom was scared sick because they didn’t know where I went, and I didn’t have the ability to recognize Christine since she never posted a picture of herself….Meet Christine, she’s a sweetheart!

Our apartment is really cute and rent is so affordable compared to UCLA! PS: Char, past the foyer, we have the doors that I really really like! Here is Christine and her family. Unfortunately they departed shortly after my arrival. Her little brother is only 12…see what I mean about tall Canadians?

Welcome to the Jazz Festival!

Meet the winning numbers of Canada’s Lottory!!! If California had a lotto parade to announce winning numbers, I’d probably buy tickets so if I win, I could tackle them.  

Fagottini…it’s whats for dinner?? There’s always something in every country.

Will update more latter. Hope you enjoyed these glimpes of Montreal!!

It’s beautiful here in Montreal…but I’m in a bit of a Canadian Dilemma. My housing arrangements fell through so now I don’t really have a place to stay for the next three weeks. I’m temporarily at the dormitories, which are rather nice, but as I’ve mentioned…its extremely temporary. I’ve made two new friends upon my arrival, which is comforting…May I mention that Canadians are extremely friendly and TALL!!!

Adios, LAX…Bonjour Montreal!

My beautiful campus for the next 3 weeks….

Jealous yet??..You shouldn’t be! The hike I had to take up here was horrendous!! The mosquitoes in Montreal are quite aggressive. I have about 10 bites to prove it…and I was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt!

Can you find the ARROW in the logo?

…compliments of Kevin Chen

Technology is amazing. Because of Mac, I’m able to xanga AND study my lectures at the same time! 

OK…I’m actually listening to a Yanomamo video that I recorded on my IPOD…for the past 10 minutes, it’s been a very long series of grunts and tongue-sounding noises. Since I slept through the video I have to screen it to see if I missed any of the English speaking narrator.

His name is Unga and likes drugs that make his mucus green.

I’m glad I slept though most of the video because most of it was so traumatizing! Naked men and women frolicking around in war paint is not my idea of entertainment…Anthropology is an acquired taste.

Parle vous francais? Je parle francais!…mais ne tres bien…Well, dans l’ete je vais aller Canada etudier francais parce que UCLA francais 5 est tres difficult….et stupid UCLA n’allow me to go down to a lower francais to prepare! Come visit me in Montreal. I’ll be at L’Universite de Montreal to study french by immersion. Hopefully they won’t start speaking English to me like they do in France!

Speaking of France…it reminds me of a funny experience I had at Jimmy’s cafe next to the Public Policy building…

So my stomach and I were waiting for my sister Cecilia to come meet us on campus…being as impatient as we are (me and stomach), we order a chocolate croissant from the cafe.

Have you ever had a nice warm chocolate filled croissant, where when you bite into it, you enter another dimension? If you haven’t, go to the Champagne Bakery on Sawtelle …

…so that you can experience this exciting realm of reality….

So back to my story…

I wanted to warm my croissant…and spotted one of those conveyor belt toasters. Logically if you put the two together, you’d come out with a warm delectable croissant.

I brilliantly ignore the large red “BAGELS OR TOAST ONLY” sign, plop the pastry on the belt, and automatically justify in my mind that a croissant is relatively the same size as a large bagel. And if you saw the opening of the toaster, you would be convinced of the same. 

I spend a little less than 30 seconds silently waiting with pride in lieu of my pragmatism….only to be humbled instantly as the whole toasting unit starts smoking profusely…Only if the smoke could have hidden my embarrassment as well as it hid other parts of the room…Luckily the smoke alarm didn’t go off…but the guy who sold me the croissant dashed over and demanded in a booming voice “WHAT DID YOU PUT IN THERE?!?”… he might as well have said something like…”CAN’T YOU READ?? HOW CAN YOU CALL YOURSELF A STUDENT?!?” 

Maybe it happens often , since he already had a probey thingy to exorcise the toaster of the foreign object…Actually, it was quite a show since it attracted an impressive audience of nearly a dozen students…After the blob plops in the output tray, the guy was nice enough to offer me another croissant free of charge…take it from me…a room temperature chocolate croissant is just as good as a fresh warm one…especially if it’s undeserved.

How did France remind me of that story?? I don’t know. I’m just bad at transitions and I wanted to share an embarrassing moment.