LOST IN TRANSLATION.

Je me souviens.

After a week lost in translation in Montreal/Quebec City, I’ve learned quite a few things from my travels and encounters (okay, it wasn’t that impossible to get by with my limited/non-existent French and people were generally more willing to revert to English). I visited 4-5 years ago when I was considering McGill and Concordia for college, but was ultimately turned off by the blistering cold and fear of falling icicles.This time, surrounded by tourists instead of blankets of snow, both cities are just as charming as I remember, but with a completely different vibe.

My week was filled with: charming strolls along vieux Quebec streets, Mansard roof houses, flirtatious French-speaking men, antiques and old books, cocktails along the St. Laurent River, a new found love for Stella Artois, hoards of tourists, sidewalk cafes, roaming street musicians, buttery croissants, meat pies, caribou pâté and fine French fromages, mouthwatering Marché products, decent coffee, even more confusion over Eurotrashion, a mindblowing sense of direction, and a determination to master the French language.

Ici le temps s'arrête. C’est bon la vie!

THE COLLAGE.

Solitude is so sacred because it is the one time and one encompassing space that allows us to actually enjoy being alone and nourish our soul by reading a book, watching a movie, writing in a journal, painting, listening to music, blogging, hiking, cooking, etc. It is also sacred because, when used effectively, is a time for genuine self-discovery and introspection – a truly spiritual and transformative experience. While it certainly is a time devoted to dreams, ambitions, creativity and most of all, the self, it is no place for the ego. As Audrey Flack remarks, “If you build a stage set for the ego, it becomes a fortress. In a fortress, transformation is impossible. You have isolated yourself, and the intimacy that assists transformation is not there,”(8). It is in “the happier world” that we are able to “transform” our dreams and ambitions into a “vision of the future” in which we see ourselves as part of a larger reality and a citizen of the universe. Although we may be physically isolated as part of solitude, we are not “cut-off” from the influence from society. We essentially take one step backward, in order to take five steps forward. Solitude + solidarity = authenticity.