One Bite At A Time aka La vie de La Grosse.

Being poor and jobless is about as fun as it sounds.

It’s about as fun as putting that extra time (that you could have taken to find yourself a job) into extra French workshops to embellish on the course itself, but still failing the midterm exam.

Passing the course thankfully reset my self esteem to neutral, and we’re back on track.

I’ve been handing out resumes like Santa Claus handing out toys to rich kids at Christmas.

Speaking of, mine was great!

I finally got to get to know the people who had been there encouraging me along the struggle that was realizing the entrance to my brain can only handle 15 hours of French class per week.

We did all sorts of cool things!

We went on see-saws in downtown Montreal, they lit up and made music when they hit the ground!

We went to the top of Mount Royal! (My first time in almost 6 months!! No ragrets!)

And best of all…

We ate too much!

Yes sir it was a successful Christmas.

People even cried!

I almost cried when my workaway buddy of a month just left.

But I didn’t.

This girl is so awesome! She’s from Slovenia, a European country that even some people in the neighbouring country of Italy have never even heard of. She speaks Slovenian, English, and French and she has already travelled so much of the world!

But surely she doesn’t deserve all the attention! The hostel is bustling with cool people right now!

My Haitian and British Columbian friends are still here, the Swiss friend is off doing her cool Swiss things.

Now we have a French girl, she calls me “ma grosse” (my fatty) and “petite pute” (little bitch).

We’re really quite good friends.

Just in this week an exchange student from New Zealand. Probably the chillest guy you will ever meet.

He’s been teaching me some mean new expressions for my arsenal of foreign slang.

The day it snowed NZ guy and BC guy squeed like kids at Christmas, and yes indeed, it filled my heart with such short-lived joy.

They will see...

Other than meeting these cool new people I’ve been truly enjoying the holiday season. I’ve read a book, written two zines, sorted through some of my old stuff, made a ton of Christmas cards for my family and friends,

and soon I’ll make a snowman!

I’ve been practicing my French for sure. I’ve committed now to watching my movies only in French, since my listening skills are still the worst, and are in fact the only skill in which I actually failed on the final exam.

After two months of that intensive course I still have so far to go.

But it’s ok. Learning a second language is as easy as eating an elephant; an elephant in the room named You’re Broke And Jobless.

I eat him one bite at a time.

Maybe one day I will look back on this retrospectively and be both amused and abhorred at the naivité of my youth. Like I did when I found my journal from 2009, where I began my first adventure to Western Canada.

Back then I only had boys to worry about, and I knew everything.

Now, I have only money to worry about, and I know nothing.

I wonder… 6 years from now when I’m 30 years old... what will I say?

One thing’s for sure, whatever it is I will say it in French.

More to come soon my beloved readers. Thanks for reading!

Happy New Year!

Bonne année! Santé!