La Vie Niçoise

Who *doesn't* want to go to Canada?

Every day I just meet more and more french people wanting to study/live/move to Canada, our home and native land.

Canada: recruiting YOU.

Seriously, there was even un reportage on TV that gave stats on French people responding to the question:

"Dans quel pays desirez-vous habiter?"
(In which country would you like to live?)

The percentage responding "Canada" was, yup, higher than the percentage of french people choosing France, their own country.

Sure, I suppose the grass is always greener on the other side. But when you've got pas mal (a lot) of people living in the freaking French Riviera in all its sunny, beachy glory who want to get the hell outta here and move to Canada, it makes you stop and think.

What is so great about Canada? Sure, lots of things, including friendly people, a good economy, beautiful environment, stability and lack of terrorism... poutine... baby phoque (seal)...

When I get back, I'm going to revel in Canada's glory. Also, visit all the french people who I met here and moved over :)

I am so talented.

Even with 7 months of intensive french culinary training, I still manage to ruin 2 cakes in succession, where cake recipe instructions consist of "Melanger les ingredients. Mettre-le au four." (Mix ingredients, put in oven). Ca rox, comme Alexandre dit.

In other news, my parents will be getting a shock on their next American Express bill. I just bought plane/train tickets for 4 different trips.

1) Nice -> Paris This Wednesday I'm heading up to Paris again (with finals next week, what am I thinking!?).
2) Nice -> Paris (again) 29.00 euro Easyjet flight in August with my family
3) London -> Vancouver Yes, I am coming home eventually :) August 19 is the day, 11 months and 7 days after my departure
4) Rome -> Tel Aviv

That's right, this July I'm heading to the happiest place on earth -- Jerusalem!

Are all these sauces really that exotic? First it was sweet and sour sauce, now salsa!



[MEXICAN SAUCE]

Bizarre, ces francais...

I got eaten. Devoured. Bouffée by the french riviera's finest fleet of mosquitoes ever witnessed on this side of the Atlantic. Eight bites, just on my right shoulder, and freaking 7 on the right side of my FACE. Plus another uncountable set of red dots everywhere else.

I guess I'll have to start sleeping on my other side to even out the carnage.

Grraaaarrrr!

The day started out so beautifully.

It was like being on Cloud 9, where cloud inhabitants included penguins, harbour seals, and Great White Sharks. The sea lions basked in the sun with their mouths hanging open, while two slick black seals clapped their nageoires and barked at each other in angry standoffs. I think they were a husband and wife, bickering.

We saw the dauphins, les orques, and ate yummy MaxiBon icecream bars. The only glitch was me not seeing the Junior Kids meal on the menu before ordering my regular nuggets and fries. I got mad at myself for that.

Yeah Marineland, Antibes was the shizzle. The bliss, the high, had ridden to a climax yesterday, after a week-long buildup. I hadn't a care in the world. Me, Kenzo and Brian skipped rocks in the Mediterranean to kill time. Brian found me a cool rock to take back. It was dark with white markings. I think I'll name it Orquie, after Shamu's cousins who we'd encountered that day.

Unfortunately, I think I pulled an Icarus and flew so high up, the sun started to melt my means of transportation. Cloud Nine went crashing down, down, and hit the basement with force. And just when I thought I could climb back up to Cloud One again, an SNCF Regional train appeared out of nowhere and smacked me back into reality.

Rez-de-chaussée. I suppose I'll get off here. I don't know if I can ever get back up, and certainly not as fast as before. It's the stairs for me this time.

I better keep taking my fish oil.

Video conference is awesome! Just played hangman with Silumesii on the other size of the world. The word was "chien". I also made a grand fool out of myself answering his opening question,

-"If you were a planet, which one would you be and why?".
-"Uh, Pluto. 'Cause it's small. And I'm small."

I hope he doesn't put that in the promo video.

It was weird trying to speak in English. The french use a different phrase structure, such that I would say stuff like, " You went where?" which sounds perfectly fine in French when translated word for word. ("Tu es allé ou?")

Also, Brian de Nice is the most gorgeous guy in Nice; I do not know why he is still single. Venez nombreuses, les filles, avant qu'il soit trop tard!

So I went to the local McDo for my usual 4 euro Happy Meal, and two things surprised me.

1. I got the boy toy.

[too lazy to take picture]

OK, so granted, a Sonic and Tails electronic handheld shooting game is pretty damn cool. I mean, if it were a Hot Wheels racecar, I'd be pretty distraught and demand they recognize my (presumably) obvious feminine features to get the girl toy instead. But Tails is just so awesome. Amazing what McDonald's Technology is coming up with these days.

2. You can't get Sweet and Sour Sauce for your McNuggets. Desole, on n'a que (I'm sorry, all we have is),



[CLASSIC CHINESE SAUCE]

(Yeah. It's the same sauce.)

It's nonsensical, illogical, crazy, even.

I have 3 weeks left of class. After exams, I'll be leaving the city I've called home for the last 7 months. That's seven months of growing relationships with classmates and friends. Seven months of creating a new life, with new people. Some of them even french! :O

You can probably guess which one of these people has grown the closest to my heart. Someone who I'd gotten to know by chance because some professor took a long lunch break on September 14, 2005. That was the afternoon I'd stepped into the Dept Informatique, completely oblivious to the fact that at 1:30pm, all offices are empty, cafes full, because it's dejeuner time, dammit! Kenji however, was waiting around because he had an appointment with Prof X, apparently a real flemmard (lazy bugger). It was there we got talking, and he found out I was in 3rd year Licence Informatique.

Just like his brother.

The following week, a fellow strikingly similar-looking to Kenji introduced himself to me on the first day of class. "Tu es la canadienne, non?" It was amazing how much we had in common, Kenji's brother and I, in actions, values, personalities (although I had a lot to learn about French food)

Fast-forward through months of being such close friends that "Mais vous habitez ensemble?" was asked of us more than once. Being more than friends? Yeah it crossed our minds, but complications, see...

Then it really hit me, Sunday morning at 1am. We'd just watched Love, Actually at Linda's place. Great movie, it's about the agony of being in love with someone you couldn't have. The worst thing is to stay silent and watch as the opportunity passes by you. As you writhe in pain. Then, the regret afterward. You can't change the past!

For my sanity, I really needed to do something. Be Honest, first and foremost.

So I was honest. And with only 1.5 months left, our resulting decision may not be the wisest. But dang. I'm happy. Really, finally, happy.

Really, finally, happy.