Introductions, introductions...

So yes, I've made a blog! 

After all this time I've secretly been wanting to create one, but convinced myself that my life was perhaps, too mediocre- I've given in, finally. More importantly, I cannot wait to read this down the line, and think- Oh God, how cringe Anissa!

However, a bit of peps- as the French would say- has been added to my life. I've moved away from London, and am officially studying at l'Université Laval, in Quebec City. This isn't a permanent thing; I'm far too attached to my city, and used to my routine. But, it is for the whole year, and considering I have never actually lived away from home, it is a rather big step. Canada isn't exactly la porte à côté! 

As much of you all know, part of a language degree requires you to spend some time in a country that speaks the language. In my case, it has to be a francophone country. Now I did have quite a couple of choices, but for me, Canada was always part of the bigger plan. Fair to say that it was a quick and easy decision. I did choose l'Université de Montréal as my first choice, but unfortunately did not get accepted due to the limited spaces (only 3 spaces!). To this day, I'm still gutted. On the bright side however, I did get my second choice, and hopefully this city will allow me to fall in love with its unique mixture of traditional French and English architecture, as well as the grandeur of its raw greenery. 

I would've liked to have created this blog before I arrived here, but let's just say and it takes me a very long time to get round to doing things. I've not done a ton of things anyway, simply because the journey from London to Quebec (with all the stress) left me sick for roughly one week.

I arrived on the 20th of August, late in the evening to an empty flat and had no other choice but to rest in bed for the next 5 days. Alone. Thankfully, it was just then that my flatmates had finally arrived, and I was no longer a lonely soul. I had never met them before, but we had exchanged a couple of messages on Facebook beforehand. They are both lovely Quebecers, from a small town just outside of Quebec City named Sanguenay, roughly 2 hours away from our flat. I'd definitely say it's advantageous having Quebecers live with me- I have no other choice but to speak French and especially put in a lot of effort to understand them. The French Canadian accent is comprehensible, but I've noticed that varies, some are a lot easier to understand whilst others are almost impossible. At home, I find it rather easy to understand one of the girls, but have a hard time understanding the other one, strange because they're both from the same area! Needless to say, I am slowly getting there. 

On Wednesday, I did manage to visit Vieux Quebec, which is perhaps the most important place to visit whilst in the province, it marks the deep history of Quebec- something Quebecers seem to be very attached too. Je me souviens - is the official motto of this province (even found on every car plate), and conveys the importance of its history. This small city is genuinely hard to familiarise yourself with, you begin walking in France, and then finish the street in Britain. The British and French traditions are combined together and make up this entire city. Vieux Quebec on the whole is a very small place, really cute too! I'll definitely go back soon. 

In terms of the actual university, it is absolutely massive and really cool. There is a ton to say, so I'll just save it for the next blog. Here's a few pictures from Vieux Quebec.

Hope you enjoyed guys! A bientôt :)

The Parliament building is found just outside the entrance to Vieux Quebec

A better view!

The fortifications

Welcome to Vieux Quebec!! It's crazy how you walk past through the
 fortifications and you feel like you're in another world.

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How very British like.

Château Frontenac- very historical and now a hotel

Now doesn't this look like France

The station of Vieux Quebec