On y Go!

So I was in Canadur this weekend. This land is known to most as Canada, but that's too normal for me. The trip was with my French class, so it was fun. Upon departure, our instructor declared "on y go!" With our best quizzical look on, he told us that's its a thing in France. "On y va" would be an equivalent to "let's go", so they mixed it to "on y go"...

On the way there, we stopped at a rest area and ran into the parents of one of my best friends from home...small world! They were going to visit their daughter at McGill.

The first night, we went to a restaurant called Zero-8. If French, this is pronounced Zéro-Huit. Like zero-wheat. Which is amusing because it is a restaurant that is allergen free, and people can be allergic to wheat. So, like, no wheat....I thought it was funny. It really is that there are eight allergens that they avoid, so yeah. I had brusccetta and steak-frites. Also, because the drinking age in Canadur is 18, I enjoyed a mojito with the bruscceta and a cabernet sauvingon with the steak-frites. Now don't go thinking that I partake in under-age drinking, because I don't. But in Canada, it was perfectly legal. So I win.

The next day, we walked around Vieux Montréal. I got this really cool ring and I like it! I also got this thing that you like paint on with water and then it evaporates and can be used like a bunch. It's called a Buddha Board and it's kind of epic. We stopped in a Starbucks, where I ordered in near perfect French a chocolatirie and a green tea frap. The only thing was when I was asked which size I wanted, I responded with a "what?" The person taking my order was all like....you speak English?! It was great. I checked my email to find that my English teacher from last year who has cancer that is almost definitely terminal got his book published! (It is called Counterfeit Kids and it is by Rod Baird. Read it. No, seriously, go and read it and come back to this post later.)I was happy that he got published and also sad because he is dying. It is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read, and that's not just because I know the writer. We went to lunch after that at Papillion and I had a lasagna. It was only ok, but I really liked the pink zinfandel I had with it. After that, we saw Theâtre de Neveau Mondé's production of "Les Femmes Savantes" by Molière. I only understood the body language and like seven of the words. We went back to the youth hostel we were staying at and I read the first 75% of the book while some of the others went out to dinner. Once they came back, those of us who hadn't eaten yet went out. We were just looking for a place with drinks and food, and were very surprised by the lack of open places on one of the more major streets- Rue Ste. Catherine. Finally, we thought we had found one place, and when they asked for ID, I and the other girl showed ours and were okay'd, but the boy with us is Muslim and does not drink because of it, and did not have an ID because he didn't think he would get carded because he wasn't drinking. So we had to leave that place. We found this great little retro restaurant and it was fabulous. I got a bacon cheeseburger and a beer that I had never heard of, which was awesome. The girl ordered kamikaze shots, of which I enjoyed three. That stuff's good. Then we went back to the hostel, but not without a problem: it was now raining horribly. No one anticipated it and brought an umbrella and the girl's shoes were not for the rain. It made for an interesting trip back. The best part of that was when we were waiting for one crosswalk, I looked up and just caught the rain and let it rain on me. It made me feel so alive.

It was Sunday, which meant that our escapade was over, so we went home. It was decided that I would have to take a taxi back to Hartwick, and pay only in Euros. Which they do not use in Canadur. So it was part of the challenge to get the Euros. They were just joking...I think. Once we got to the border, we went to the duty free store, and I got some little things. And guess what? We got held up at border control. I don't know why, but I do know that I freaked the phoque (guys, it's just the French word for a seal [the animal] . Relax.) out. But it was all okay. We got back to campus around 6 and on y go was now on y went.