Random Short Story: People Who Make Your Heart Melt

A few months ago, as my husband and I were waiting to have our daughter get checked at the Public Health Center, I met a girl. She too,was in the waiting room with her husband and daughter. Her baby girl looked just a tiny older than ours but the reason they caught my attention is that she spoke French to her. French French. My kind of French. I had to find out why, how, where etc and started a conversation. I found out she was from France, and that her husband was an islander, just like mine and she had arrived to Canada the same way I had, with a Work Holiday Visa. She was really nice and talking French made me feel like home for a few minutes. We happened to bump into each other at the exact same day a few more times. And we became friends.

We were supposed to hang out this weekend but I had to phone and cancel because I was sick. She probably felt how awful I was feeling. And just like that, she offered to take Sixtine for a few hours so I could rest. It made me very emotional but mostly, I felt very grateful. We haven’t known each other that well but I value her friendship very much. They are people like that who make your heart melt.

She doesn’t even know I have a blog but I wanted to share this with you.

Edit: I would like to add that there are other people in my life that would deserve a random short story and have made my life much easier during this pregnancy. You know who you are! Love x

10 Random Facts About Canada

 

• Phone plans are shockingly expensive. As in feeling ripped off. I have to pay an extra $10 (about 8 euros, 7 pounds) for unlimited incoming calls. Pay. For. Incoming. Calls. How crazy is that?
• They use dish cloth to wash their dishes. I still don’t get it. My husband and I have our own dish washing gear and we don’t share. It is just as well.
•  Canadian eh? Their accent is very close to the American one – only words in [u] sound different (like “out and about”) but in my opinion, it sounds better ! They are also vocabulary differences (ie. Ca. says pharmacy, Uk says chemist), they use words like loonie (one dollar), toonie (two dollars) and tuque (knitted woolen hat).
• You lock the door from the inside. First time I went out by myself, I couldn’t figure out (for the life of me) how to close that bloody door. I tried, and tried, and tried, missed the bus and ended up staying home. Angry. Stupid, me? Let’s put it on culture shock. When I told my now-husband, he said: “you should have left it unlocked. It is pretty safe here. ” Having lived in both Paris and London, I can assure you that I would never leave the door unlocked.
• Poutine. It’s French fries, with gravy and cheese. Doesn’t look good but tastes amazing.
• Maternity leave usually lasts a year which makes it difficult to find care for children under a year old.
• Canadian French doesn’t sound like “proper French”. Proper French being French from France. I sometimes want to pinch myself when I request French service on the phone (what is a French girl to do if she can’t have a little fix?!) and end up not understanding half the things I am told because of an extremely strong accent; Acadian French being the hardest to understand, and Québécois French the easiest. However, please, don’t be offended French-speaking Canadians: I love you ! It is just hard to understand you on the phone.
• It is rather cold out here. (Duh !) But whenever the temperature hits 0+, it actually feels warm. Last June, my hubby and I were cruising around in the Jeep when I suddenly realized that summer had come. It was 13 degrees out and it felt actually warm. I swear !
• The cliché that Canadians are “laid-back” is true. They are generally very friendly with a relaxed attitude. I don’t know what it is (the outdoors, the fresh hair, the culture?) but I love that about them.
• Don Cherry. He deserves is own bullet point.

homesick: adj : “longing for home and family while absent from them” (merriam-webster)

“Quand je te quitte un peu loin, ca ressemble au chagrin, ca fait un mal de chien.” M.Lavoine

I left my douce France in July 2010. Before leaving, I managed to see all the people I loved and cared for, and organized a Goodbye Party for myself. Yes, I did that. We celebrated with baguettes, wine, saucisson, fromage and everything oh-so-French ! I asked everyone to come dressed in either blue, white or red. Yes, I did that too. We listened to Edith Piaf and other classic French singers and we all had a great time.

I was sad to leave everyone but I was very excited to go to Canada, reunite with my now-husband. The future was promising, exciting, and foreign…Since then I have worked a couple jobs, I got married and had a baby. I couldn’t be happier with my life – I have the most wonderful husband and an amazing daughter. But something is still missing. Other than a career for myself, I miss home, terribly.

5 random signs of homesickness:

1. I heard a French girl talking while I was waiting for my baby to get her immunization needles and I couldn’t help it. I had to talk to her. It felt so good to speak French with a French person. She said “ca suffit” to her daughter and I thought that was so French. I loved it.
2. I have been listening to French music a lot – including music I didn’t use to like.
3. “Midnight in Paris” made me cry. When we left the movie theater, I was surprised to hear people speaking English. This movie made me travel.
4. I watched Amelie (Le fabuleux destin d’Amelie Poulain) three times and I am thinking of watching it again.
5. I felt emotional when Jean Dujardin won the best actor award at the 84th annual academy awards. He’s French, we are family.

10 things I miss about home:

1. My family and friends. I have three younger sisters and I haven’t seen them for so long it hurts.
2. The food. I miss “boeuf bourguignon”, “tarte a l’oignon”, “raclette”, “fondue au fromage”, “creme brulee” and many other French delights.
3. The streets of Paris; cafes and bars, bridges and museums, shops and tourists. Ses beaux quartiers, and bien sur, the Eiffel Tower.
4. I miss the French language.
5. The bakery downstairs.
6. Watching the world go by sitting at a cafe terrace.
7. The culture.
8. London. (It is not home, but I have lived their long enough to miss it.)This city is very dear to me and so close to home.
9. My hairdresser. She’s done my hair for over 10 years and I can’t believe I haven’t done anything to them since I arrived.
10. Myself. I miss my old self.

Click here to listen to “Je ne veux pas travailler” (I don’t want to work) by Pink Martini. It is an American band but the song is in French. Sixtine and I have been listening to this song a lot lately.

I would love to hear how you cope with homesickness and what are the things you miss from home…Please share !