Some photos and a bit of a note!
This is my friend Patrick. He's the sweetest and was really important in my 'relaxing into the city' process when I first moved. 
Mont Royal from the path. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been and a fifteen minute walk from my place.
I doubt you could find a more intriguing setting for fairy tales to unfold...
Well, I do apologize for not keeping up with my self created promise of posting thrilling updates all the time. It seems I've just been busy doing other things. Go figure!
I guess I'll start with where I am now, sitting in this wicked breakfast spot just two blocks up from my apartment and directly across the street from the National Theatre School of Canada.
OK, no, I have not enthusiastically broken down their door with a unique and dramatic monologue like I may have in my younger days- Think, A Christmas Carol audition 2000. Something about a man with green skin and whole lot of dropping to my knees in a dramatic plea for the audience to "Oh please please like me!!" Yet, despite a worthy hesitation to fling open their doors, I do have a plan in the makings to stroll in sometime in a theatre student looking disguise, and thoroughly explore the place through from the front hall to the 'West-Wings' of the place. I'll let you know how it goes.
So here I am at La Petite Marche resto bar... My omelette has just arrived and so far I have conversed entirely in French with the staff. Just the simple fact of being able to communicate and comprehend that acceptable amount of French should give you, or those of you who know that the entirety of my French lessons is slim to none, some idea of how hard I've been trying to get the language down.
In fact: The extent of mon francais began with learning the pathetic "Je suis une pizza" song in the seventh grade and ended in a less than tragic death the following year after spending most of my mornings just.. hanging out, taking my sweet time instead of attending class. Some might say that I could and should have been the chirpy, front and center 'A+' student of Mr. Leonard's morning French classes. But in all honesty, I just didn't really care at the time.
Thankfully however! The buried French life has risen from the dead into a now very entertaining, daily struggle of overcoming the quebecois obstacles in order to embrace this province and country as my own.
Yes. Vive le Quebec!! A true patriot on the waiting list for French classes and trying to self-teach in the meantime. It's not going too badly and...
I really have fallen in love in a way.
Well, I'm off to pick up some piano charts for the Tom Waits stuff I'm trying to learn. I found a teacher! My new friend Randy Randerson Randal, Uvic prodigy and master of piano and the art of accordion improvisation.
So I'll let you go for now, but please note: I am taking requests for 'update categories-I'll have no guilt trips about lack of communication come Christmas time! Mainly though there is just a very intimidating amount for me to update so I could use some guide lines; if anyone wants to know whatsup, do ask! Or just talk to my mom :)
XO for now!
I think of you all, all the time. Whenever I can conjure an excuse actually.
Love From Jena
