Montreal living

Hey there, unfortunately, my written journal (more like a collection of loose papers) that I kept in europe is currently in a location unknown to me, which is why I haven't added the rest of the 19 week europe trip. So looks like if you want the rest of that story you'll have to call me OR make something interesting up in your head.

Update: In January my brother Ben and I moved into a nice furnished 5 1/2 apartment in the Plateau part of Montreal. It's been the first time living with him in 5 years and first time living near my home town (Saint-Lambert) in 13 years. The 3 things I wanted to focus on here in my first 4 months (the length of our lease) were : Finish reading the Bible, improve my french and pole vault. I recently finished number 1. I have been improving my french but not as much as I would have liked because, despite my efforts to meet new people, everyone here (practically) is english. To answer the question "why pole vault" the answer is simple, after graduating with a degree in commerce, it seemed like the logical next step :)

Anyway having a good roomate has definitely kept things interesting. Through a track connection Ben and I found jobs at the 10 day Auto Show in Montreal which was pretty neat and we got the chance to drive cars in and out of the building. On the last day, Ben actually took a Volvo down into the underground parking lot whose car-top-carrier made it taller than the height allowance, which was a little funny. Meanwhile we made the most of the short winter, we went sledding twice, skated on Montreal's ubiquitous skating rinks a few times(separately) and took in the winter olympics at our Dad's place on the west end. I got to know the pole vaulters and the members of the french CS church we attend nearby while Ben taught himself how to play the accordion and composed in preparation for a tour in March. I also checked out the winter festival on Jean-Drapeau island where they flooded the bike paths for skaters and had lots of other activites like tubing, sculting and eating maple syrop on snow. In late February I flew out to Vancouver and stayed with Sarah for 5 days where we watched a live curling match between Canada and Japan (it was awesome and we came back in the final end for the win). We also took the ferry to Vancouver Island for the first time and visited friends of mine in Victoria. Beautiful little city with seals in the harbour and Darth Vador playing violin downtown.

The last weeks in Montreal have picked up, brother Nicholas and his wife Karine had their first baby which was a pleasure to visit a couple times. I had easter lunch in Montreal for the first time in years yesterday and today was my first day of work at a part-time job AND Ben's return from the US tour. Wednesday we start a 10 day sleep over when brother Matthew (who I haven't seen in 2 years) and his girlfriend visit from Thailand.