Quebec Exchange Program Post #3- About food

Those of you who follow me on Instagram already know that I am a foodie as I post quite a few food photos there. I love my food and nothing gets in between the two of us. One of the things I look forward to the most in life in general is food. Obviously, when I signed up for the Quebec exchange program, I was really excited to try some amazing food. And luckily for me, my host family is just as fond of food as I am so I got to savour many delicacies whilst there. My host mum is such a wonderful cook. I enjoyed every meal she cooked for us and I am grateful to her for cooking for me. I especially enjoyed a typical Quebec meal she cooked for dinner once, which comprised of Shepard's pie, salad and a maple tart. I had no idea that Shepard's pie is a Quebec delicacy. I was always under the impression that it's British. My point is, not only did I enjoy food, I even learned a lot about the subject. This is the first time I'm actually writing about food and I'm not exactly sure what people look forward to when reading food reviews. For me, all that matters when it comes to food is that it's gotta be edible. I'm open to trying anything and everything so long as it's edible of course. So good food is all that counts. A nice ambiance and polite service barely matter to me. They're just an added advantage. Well, seeing as there isn't much to say,  I'll just take you through a picture journey of the many food photos that I clicked. The best part, however, is that since we cooked a lot of Indian food for our wonderful hosts, you get a peek into the same. Here we go! 

A nice piece of rhubard and apple pie with hot chocolate at a local cafe.

Roast chicken, Ceasar salad, sauce and bread- yum! 

Lunch in Montreal- chicken burger with pickles.

The most amazing meal I had... Shepard's pie or pâté chinois cooked by my wonderful host mother.

A filling, quick and absolutely smacking meal at Tim Hurton's- soup and chicken panini. 

Dinner cooked by me for my host family- chicken curry and mildly spiced potatoes with rotis and rice.

A warm beef sandwich on a chilly Quebec night.

And to top it off... Delicious, creamy and smooth hot chololate!

Apple cider in a cozy and lovely Quebec restaurant called Omelette.

Warm and yummy pumpkin soup.

Delicious chicken crepes with salad and fries.

Ah, man! This dessert... Such a beauty! 

One can never have enough of hot choloate in freezing weather!

Masala papad- crisp bread with toppings, a DIY starter made by us for our hosts.

Pav bhaji- bread with mixed veg curry and chicken tikka. We cooked this for our hosts. 

An awesome dessert made by my host mother. Chocolate cake with caramel melt and raspberries.

My last dinner at the Cadorets- veg three coloured pasta. 

And my last dessert- crepes with ice cream and berries! 

A retail theraphy session ended up with lunch at Caffucino. Creamy celery soup!

Lovely pasta with bread.

This is one of the best cookies I've ever had! And I have plenty, so that's saying something. 

And yes... coffee!

Quebec fast food called poutine that's a plate of fries with sauce and cheese.

Are you as hungry as I am? Wow. This was one delicious post to make. Don't forget to check out the other posts in this series- about books and about traveling alone. Thank you for sotpping by and bon appétit !

Quebec Exchange Programme Post #2- About travelling alone

Previously in the Quebec Exchange Programme Post series: 

Post #1- About books  

Being the youngest in my family, I must admit that I have always had it easy. At whatever time, whatever it is that I have had to do, I have turned to siblings and parents for help, or better yet, I've let them do my work. Seldom do I have a hand in deciding what colour paint we should opt for for the walls, what furniture to buy, plan a trip, find out all the formalities that need to fulfilled, research the processes that need to be completed, make restaurant reservations or even pick up the house phone when it rings. It's not like I don't do anything, it's just that I don't ever take the opportunity to do it. I know I have the capacity, but I also know that I don't really need to do it. I am not the most enthusiastic person on the planet but I am genuinely curious and I am more of a silent observer. So I have watched my family do everything and I just tag along, keeping them entertained and together (like we young ones take pride in doing). I come from a family that loves to travel abroad just as much we love exploring our own country. 

Quebec wasn't the first trip outside of India for me. It was, in fact, statistically speaking, the fifth. At the same time, however, it was a first trip for me, in the sense that it was the first time ever that I traveled without family, and not just abroad, but in general. Like everyone knows, my books keep me happy and occupied and my reserved nature doesn't really crave anything that involves people outside of family and really close friends. Even though I had classmates from my University, someone from another college, another from another institute and our professor with me on the trip, I was apprehensive about getting along with everyone. My apprehension was, to put it bluntly, futile since I had a nice time getting to know these great people with whom I share the lovely experience that Quebec was. We might not have a lot in common and we might not even be in touch with each other a few years down the line, but this is what binds us together- this amazing experience that we had and the wonderful memories we made, the few times when we got to spend time together. I cannot forget to mention how excited and nervous I was before meeting my correspondent and her family. I am timid and we took time to open up to each other but what matters most is that they accepted me just the way I am and honestly, for me, they are my family in Sherbrooke. They are the most warm, welcoming and wonderful people who I am really glad to know. 

Exploring Quebec city.

Finding our way in an unknown city. 

In this post, I want to focus on how the experience of traveling alone was for a very pampered, (up to a certain extent) spoilt and carefree child of the house. Like I previously mentioned, I never have to worry about anything while on our international trips since my sister takes care of the planning, booking and confirming, what to see, what not to see, dad takes cares of the tickets, itineraries and passports, (finance too!), mom looks out for the basics like water and food to fulfil our natural and unavoidable thirst and hunger, fevers, upset stomachs and medication, and my brother finds something practical and productive to do, like checking the local bus/ train schedule and finding out expenses. Wondering what my job is? Well, it's easy. I go and have fun. That's all. Honestly, I am the jobless person in the group and the only productive thing I can think of that I do is click pictures. I try to capture all the work that my family does for me and that, until Quebec, I took for granted. 

I would check my email every time just to know my flight details which I never learned, imagine doing it all from scratch. I would panic when I didn't feel my passport in my bag or pocket, imagine taking care of five. I would worry about falling sick when being in snow and being hit by wind, imagine worrying for five. I would let my host family tell me all schedules, imagine having to find them out on your own, perhaps in a language new to you. If anything, all this only makes me appreciate all the work that my family does that I casually skip and probably still will but it makes me proud of myself, for I did most of it this time around. 

I am used to hearing advices, suggestions, comments and concerns. All. The. Time. The lecturing started right from the time when I was told that the photographs I got clicked were completely wrong for the visa for which I would be applying and continued till I got back home and accidentally let it slip that I, very illogically, forgot to put my phone in my bag during security check. My family laughed at my stupidity and they enjoyed hearing more about my awkward and embarrassing moments. But you know what? It doesn't really matter. I'm just glad I gave them a few reasons- silly as they might be- to laugh in exchange for all the practical and common sense lessons they've taught me.  

Me cooking for my host family. 

Because I had the most travel experience in our group, my friends asked me a lot about many things, which I know I wasn't really good at answering, but I tried nonetheless. I remember waiting for the youngest person in our group while she explored and photographed everything, partially because I promised her parents I would take care of her and partially because I knew my siblings would do the exact same thing for me. So my point is, even though I have been useless most of the time when travelling, I have done the most important work and that is observation. In my head, more than once, I would count us all to make sure everyone was around, not out of boredom, but because I've seen people do it before to make sure we hadn't lost anyone along the way. From my experiences, I know that keeping a pen on you is a must while at the airport so I had mine ready and it got passed amongst the others a few times. I know that there are chances of getting lost when travelling in a group, and I found myself picking up and distributing cards with an address on it of the hostel in which we stayed while in Quebec for a weekend trip. And these are things no one had to remind me, they just came to me. My professor would ask me to do some work, and even though I would question my ability to do it, I still feel privileged that she asked me to do it in the first place and it only makes me feel smart. I'm kidding about the last part. I know now that I'm smart enough. *winks* 

Look everyone,  I survived in minus temperature!

The pretty, pretty snowfall!

I am seriously very proud of myself to have survived a temperature of -8 without my family, whose presence itself is enough for me to make an issue of anything, like we youngest kids are experts at doing. Trust me, I feel so cold that I don't mind wearing a jacket even in summers. I am proud of myself to have returned back to India in one piece and most importantly, I am super proud of myself to have actually signed up for this programme, which itself was an achievement for me and it ended up being an absolutely amazing experience that has made me appreciate all the things that I took for granted and all the people who do so much for us on a daily basis like their life depends on it, when in reality, it's just us who depend on them. In fact, I am proud of all my friends as well, for it was us all together who made this into something we'll remember and cherish for the rest of our lives. 

Quebec Exchange Programme Post #1- About Books

Hi, everyone! Most of you know that I am pursuing my Masters in French literature and as part of my studies, I signed up for an exchange programme between my univeristy, Department of Foreing Languages, University of Pune and Cégep de Sherbrooke, Quebec. The exchange was for a period of two weeks, where we left on March 29th and were back here on the 14th of April. While in Sherbrooke, we stayed at our correspondant's place and attended classes with them. Luckily for me, my lovely correspondant studies literature as well so we had a great time bonding over books and I found her classes to be supremely interesting. Some of my blogging buddies asked me to share my experiences there and I was anyway looking forward to making posts on the trip. When we got back, I was way too occupied with assignments, catching up on all the work I had missed and my exams. But now that I have a nice, long holiday, I have decided to revisit those great fifteen days by making specific themed posts. So in this post, I will be concentrating on my bookish experience there. It makes perfect sense since ours is a book blog and I am sure all you book lovers will have a fun time looking at what I have in store for you. 

To begin with, I had already studied Canadian history in my first semester and since we would try to establish a link between the socio-political and literary history of Canada, I was impressed with myself when I came across something that I already knew a little about. In fact, the minute we left for Sherbrooke from Montreal, I read the names of various roads there and found myself relating it to some historical aspect that I was already well aware of. When I went to my correspondant's house and when she showed me around, the first thing I noticed was the well-stacked and stunning bookshelves she had in her room and another one in the room arranged for me. There too, I came across titles I'd already heard about and if it weren't for a tight and tiring schedule, I would have loved to read the books but I would fall asleep almost the minute I hit the bed. Anyway, when it comes to pictures, no one can really stop me, so I took pictures of the two books that caught my attention since they reminded me of all that I had studied and took me back to my classes. I began reading the second book in the picture below but I couldn't continue with it. Nonetheless, it had a really eye-catching dedication, a picture of which is attached, the translation of which- and pardon me if I'm wrong here- goes something like this- To all the women that I love, who occupy my life and my fiction.

Salut Galarneau ! by Jacques Gobout and Les Belles-Soeurs by Michel Tremblay

Salut Galarneau ! by Jacques Gobout and Les Belles-Soeurs by Michel Tremblay

Dedication of Les Belles-Soeurs by Michelle Tremblay

When I began talking to my correspondant, I remember her asking me if there was anything specific that I'd like to do once I got to Sherbrooke and without even thinking, I told her that I wanted to make a trip to the bookstore. Being the kind host that she is, she made sure that we visited, not one, not two but three  incredible bookstores and I visited a few additional ones as well. While I was really interested in taking a look at all the phsical copies of books that don't come in India till a few weeks after their release, the main purpose of the trip was a cultural exchange and obviously, with culture comes language, so I inclined more towards French literature which was simply astounding. Like any lover of the written world, I wish I could've spend days and days at a single bookstore checking out all the books they had at my own pace, but we had plenty of other things to do and see as well. 

The first bookstore we went to was in a small and absolutely gorgeous town called Magog. This small trip was planned by my host family for the first Sunday that I was there. The book-store reminded me of all those cosy book shops that I see in movies. I found meself getting lost in this tiny world where each book probably had a whole new world in it to discover and revel in. This is also where my purchases officially began and I bought two books- Les Grands Ecrivains Francais De Rabelais à Camus (Les Mini Larousse) and Poudre de Kumkum by Larry Tremblay. I have already read the latter since it's a very small book and it fit perfectly into what we studied this past semester, where we looked at and analysed what has been written on India by outsiders. In fact, I even purchased it keeping in mind my professor who said it would be a nice read and that I found something truly interesting (yay me!). The book is currently with my friend and I thank her for taking the picture for me so you could all see it. 

Les Grands Ecrivains Francais De Rabelais à Camus

Poudre de Kumkum by Larry Tremblay

Since we first got an excpert from Albert Camus' L'Etranger in our entrance exam and then again in another exam, I had been teased enough and I was looking forward to reading and analysing the book in the second semester in our 20th Century Literature classes. All I'll say now is that Camus has found an ardent admirer in me and his L'etranger, a new fan. I have read the US English edition of the book and my review of the same can be read here. I was simply stunned when I got a copy of L'Etranger for a great price (many thanks to my correspondant) and La Chute, which I bought in the Cégep bookstore. The former was at this really cool bookstore called Archambault. To mark my most epic purchase (L'Etranger), I even asked my correspondant to click my picture in front of the store. How stunning are these copies! 

L'Etranger and La Chute by Albert Camus

Outside Archambault

My friends and I once went out for our last-minute shopping when we came across an absolutely comfortable and warm second-hand book-store where we were welcomed by very kind and welcoming man, who sold Jean-Paul Sartre's L'existentialisme est un humanisme to me for literally a throwway price. This was my cheapest book purchase there and as if the kind gestures wasn't enough, the man had two CDs which he was willing to gift to two people from our group of students who'd come from so far away to his shop. Well, luck was, for a change, in my favour that day and I ended up winning one of the CDs that's filled with some great Quebec music. I hardly remember the last time I purchased a CD since we now live in a time where music comes to us by a simple click. This CD was such a refreshing change and brought back many memories of times when we'd wait for a music album to come out so we could buy it's CD. Ah, nostalgia! Below are pictures of Sartre's book, the CD and the cute little book-store called Au tourne-livre. 

L'Existentialisme est un humanisme by Jean-Paul Sartre

La Boutine Souriante en spectacle

Au tourne-livre

I absolutely adore how these books have added to my already full shelf. Folio editions are so adorable, they barely weigh anything and just looking at them makes me happy, although I better start reading now! 

L'Etranger and La Chute by Albert Camus and L'Existentialisme est un humanisme by Jean-Paul Sartre

This marks an end to my book shopping but it, by no means, marks an end to my journey, keeping in mind the theme of this post. The great guys at Cégep had organised a really pleasant walking tour for us which gave us an opportunity to see the intricate and gorgeous murals painted on the city walls near to Cégep. If I begin talking about all the murals, it will take me another post altogether to describe them, so instead, to go with the theme of this post, I'll focus on only one- and for me, the most interesting- mural. Yes, you got it right! The one with books on it. And oh my God! It was beautiful. There is no joy as deep as the one you feel when your friends see books and shout your name. I know this becasue I experienced it when we came across this beauty. Isn't it marvellous? 

The bookshelf mural

The bookshelf mural

While on the same tour, we even visited the local library which was so huge so amazing, I wish I lived there! The inside for a book lover is what Disney is for a happy-ever-after and fairy-tale lover- it's paradise. In the third picture, you can see me with the very sweet Madame Liette Bergeron who teaches at Cégep and is herself a lover and reader of books and what better place for us book lovers than around books? 

Bibliothèque municipale

Inside the library

With Madame Liette 

Whilst we're talking about books, I simply cannot forget to put up a picture of the one book that has travelled with me across continents and that I had been working on practically this entire semester. Well, I was pretty impressed with my score on the paper so I really have no complaints. But this definitely counts as epic and a story I'll keep going back to forever. Book- Orientalism by Edward W. Said 

Reading Orientalism by Edward Said in the school corridors

Now, to mark the end of my trip, my lovely host family (who know me so well) gifted me- no prizes for guessing- a book! It was such an amazing  gesture on their part as this wonderful book (seen below) talks about Quebec. Also, it was really thoughtful of them to have picked a book that has both English and French descriptions as with the help of the former, my family will get a glimpse into Quebec and the latter will help me improve and practise the language. 

Quebec La Belle Province

That brings us to the end of the first in a series of posts I have planned. None of them are scheduled as yet. I'll probably just put them down as and when the mood strikes. I have posts in mind in which I'd like to talk about food, language, travelling alone for the first time, etc. If you have any suggestions or if there's anything in particular that you'd like to know, drop me a line so I can start thinking along those lines and prepare a post accordingly. Ideally, I would have loved to write these posts in French, but for all our other readers, I thought it best to stick to English so no one misses out on anything. Till then, I hope you enjoyed reading this post just as much as I enjoyed putting it up. It was really good for me since I got to revisit the fabulous experience that I had and I hope you had fun getting a glimpse into it. Thank you for stopping by and see you around!