Of mother languages and faults. Also, may the Force be with you.

This week I started classes at Université Laval. I was absolutely terrified given that I was 98% sure I wouldn't be able to understand my professors.

My first class (and my only Monday class) went very well. I understood almost everything that the professor and my peers said. Here is where I should divulge that class is in English. Monday's session consisted of four people: three students and the professor. It's a graduate level class so I'm not surprised by the head count, but what was interesting is that only one of the four of us has French as our first language. You'd probably expect it to be the professor, but it was actually one of the three students: a French woman who had been living in Switzerland for several years before moving to Québec with her family (see, I'm a good listener...in English). Both the professor and the other student speak Farsi natively, English as a Second Language, and French as a second-Second Language (or "third language" depending on whether or not you're viewing it linguistically). So this means that, for 3/4 of the class, English ranks more highly on our list of language familiarity/fluency than French. This fact, coupled with the fact that our textbooks are in English (as, I'm told, are most Graduate-level textbooks), lead to the class being given in English. 

My other three classes are all on Thursday. I should point out (as it's not always the case in the US) that all of my classes meet once a week for three hours. So on Thursdays I have nine hours of classes spread over a thirteen hour period. And, of course, all of these classes are in French (as I had expected all my courses would be). (Yes, I know I'm using too many parentheses in this post...sorry.) 

My first Thursday class, Psycho et Neurolinguistique (how exhilarating), meets at 8:30 AM. The first thing I did wrong was that I sat about halfway back in the lecture hall; the professor has clearly never been coached in the art of [vocal] projection. With English I can probably get by with hearing every third word, but such is not the case for French. One of the biggest problems I've noticed is that if I cannot hear French speaker clearly, there is little hope that I will understand them. It quickly became obvious that I was missing something when the class of sixty or so [undergrad] students roared into laughter. I had missed whatever the joke was and my heart rate begin to rise. I didn't care if I missed his numerous jokes, but what else was I missing? Then, about ten minutes into class, my worst nightmare manifested: the professor gave us a group assignment. Merde. 

So, I'm sitting there, quickly thinking through the consequences of retreating back to the States when the two girls seated in the row in front of me turned around to address me. We exchanged salutations and then the brainy one (clearly a leader and someone to befriend) begin looking for the obligatory fourth group member. She could only find pairs (no individuals) and discussed the possibility of the three of us splitting up. This terrified me. I just wanted to stay where I was. Fortunately she decided that it would probably be okay to have a group of five and invited a nearby pair to join us. (I should confess that I actually didn't understand her and am inferring what she said based on the fact that two more people joined us.) Then my four group-mates began to talk amongst themselves; no understanding a word, I just smiled and nodded hoping that none of them were enquiring as to whether or not someone had farted. 

I got through the exercise okay, while understanding about every fourth sentence. Fortunately, being the sole Anglophone in the group gave an interesting result in one of our group activities so I wasn't completely useless to the group. (For those interested in said result: we had to memorize series of numbers. They were read in French and I had a MUCH more difficult time memorizing them than I had memorizing sets of letters that were shown to us; I faired far worse with the numbers than my peers. Clearly I know my numbers, but my brain was much slower to process them than it would have been with English numbers. For example, when the letters were shown to us, I thought of them in English and faired best in the group.)

I had been warned that it would be my peers and not my professors that would pose a comprehension problem and this has been proven to be true. The students speak much more quickly and use more slang than the professors. If I can hear the professors clearly, I can understand about 95% and am generally only limited by the size of my vocabulary. I could be in a sound-proof room with only one other student and I would still only get maybe 15-20% of what he or she said. I wish I was kidding. I expect it will improve with time and exposure. And out of desperateness. (Is that a word?)

My second class is a remedial French class that I'm required to take because I, along with everyone else who took it (literally), failed the French proficiency exam. I suppressed a laugh when the instructor said we will learn to write 400-700 word papers. That's about one-and-a-half to three pages, double-spaced  I wrote fifteen-page papers (in French) in my undergrad; I'm not concerned. My biggest beef with this class was that the majority of the people in the class are eighteen and nineteen year-old, English speaking girls. They are exceedingly rude and immature. Here's where I remember that I'm here because I want to teach at the university level. Now I understand how you get labeled as a "mean" professor.  I can't imagine that I will tolerate their antics, but I suppose I shouldn't get ahead of myself. Let's survive this part of the adventure of life before I worry about what comes next.

My third and final class is a phonetics course. I happen to really like phonetics so I'm looking forward to it. The only downside is that it's a course for students in a specific degree program and therefore everyone knows everyone except for me. I'm not in that program (they are all undergrads) and had to get special permission to take the course. Only one of my courses is Graduate level because they accepted me for the winter semester but apparently only really offer courses in the fall. Truly bizarre. It was an absolute struggle to find enough classes to get me to the government mandated full-time status.

If you're still reading, you're in luck. See, the title of this post is related to its actual intended subject. Unfortunately in setting up the story, I immediately got off track. In fact I almost just ended the post without actually getting to the point.

Here we go: Yesterday Chris and I were talking about something that my phonetics professor had discussed. He talked about the faults that English-speakers make when speaking French and vice-versa. Then this morning I was talking to my mom about the mother languages of the people in my Monday course. Above I also made reference to the exchange of salutations. Chris pointed out that I've started using words and terms closely matching their French counterparts in lieu of the terms I would generally use. It seems that I am picking up something in my French-speaking courses. Previously I would have never said "faults." I would have said "errors" or "mistakes," but the French word used in this case is "fautes." That translates as "faults" OR "mistakes," but seeing that it more closely resembles "faults," that is where my mind goes. The same can be said for "mother language." That's not in fact something that would be said in English. We might say "mother tongue" but, in my experience, we would generally say "native language" or "first language." The French equivalent is "langue maternelle" which translates directly as "mother language" OR "mother tongue." In fact, the French word "langue" means both "language" and "tongue" but it more closely resembles "language" so that is the association I make.

Bottom line: I'm not sure if my French is improving (though I'm sure it is), but my English is definitely changing. I have to be mindful* of that because saying "faults" is okay, but I don't believe that saying "mother language" is. I'm sure it would be understood, but it sounds awkward to me and is probably not Linguistically correct.

Puppies, kittens, bunnies, and sunshine. In editing this post I realize that it is quite negative at times. But I took a long time to write it so it is staying as is. :) I promise to be more positive as time (and my French) progresses. So, cheers! Here's to more talented tongues than mine and to the hope that I may one day match their greatness!

*I may or may not have watched all six Star Wars films in the last eight days. Apparently my vocabulary is very impressionable.

Say what now?

I had an interesting day linguistically today. It started this afternoon with my French proficiency exam at the university. This exam determines whether or not I have to take any remedial French classes in addition to my Master's work. The most worrying thing was that I had no idea what the test would involve. My biggest concern was listening comprehension. Prior to moving here last week, it had been a while since I'd spoken French with a native speaker and I was having a hard time understanding. As far as my classes go, I was never concerned about my reading or writing abilities. I figured I would have to work a little harder than the average person but I knew I was willing to do that extra work; my fear has always been whether or not I would understand my professors. Well, the test won't answer that question because there was no spoken portion at all. I had to summarize a text that was about 2000 words in 300 words. The task was daunting, but when I was done several people asked me how it went and I didn't know how to respond. It was all reading and writing and I hadn't spent even a second worrying about that and though the test took three hours, it really didn't seem that difficult.

That probably means I failed miserably.

We'll know soon enough. Classes begin on Monday so they have to process the tests quickly.

The second interesting event happened when I was at a cafe with a friend who is from Québec and speaks with the native accent. So far I've had a very hard time understanding his French. I always attribute it to the fact that we learn "middle class, Parisian French" at university in the States. Well when I said that this time, he jokingly started speaking in his best French accent...and I understood every word. See, I do speak (and understand) French!...as long as it's spoken with a French accent. >_<


P.S. Watching/listening to a French-speaking Canadian speak in a French accent is kind of mesmerizing. It illustrates how completely different the accents are. I'm excited to learn this new one! :)

What is it with Québec and their bags? (And my inability to understand...)

Last night Chris and I went grocery shopping. The only hiccup during the shopping process was when Chris asked someone if they have frozen spinach (I use it in my protein shakes...you can't taste it, I swear) and the guy took us to it and asked me if I wanted it whole or chopped. I will say that nerves obviously play a role in my comprehension problems because the worker asked in French if I wanted "little pieces or big pieces." It wasn't even complicated language, but the accent and extreme nerves left me looking like a deer in headlights. Anyways, I digress.

I managed to spit out that I would choose which one I wanted (because I couldn't manage to say "little pieces") and then we proceeded to the checkout. No problems...until the bagger said something about a bag. I immediately thought, "Here we go again..."

At first I thought he asked if I had brought a bag so I said, "Non." Then he just stared at me as my food piled up in front of him and eventually asked his question again. I gave him my signature blank stare again and told him that I didn't understand. I'm pretty sure at this point Chris was standing behind me laughing at my dismay, but I can't be sure. The bagger asked his question one more time while pointing to the plastic bags. I finally realized that he was asking if I wanted a bag (déjà vu) and I said yes. It never occurred to me that he could be asking that because I didn't realize that they charge you if you don't bring your own bag ($.05 per bag for those who are curious). I might have understood better if he had used some form of the verb "to buy," but only understanding every third word he used in a five-word sentence didn't help either.

Moral of the story: I'm hiring someone to do my grocery shopping. I can't handle the shame anymore.

25?

When my friend Chris and I went to Québec City on vacation in August, I immediately fell in love. That's not to say I didn't run into complications. One evening after we got dinner at Le Comptoir in Old Québec, we decided to stop at the convenience store for some beer and snacks.

I should point out (if I haven't previously) that my French is far from perfect and that the Canadian accent adds an additional layer of difficulty. At university in the States, professors always said that we were taught "middle-class Parisian French." I had some experience with Québec French from when I worked in a call center, but not much.

I hadn't encountered many problems up to that point in our trip. I had done just fine at restaurants as such. I found what I wanted at the convenience store and took it to the counter. I paid and the cashier gave me my change. You would think that everything was fine as the transaction was over, but that was when the trouble started.

Cashier: "Vingt-cinq?"

Huh? "Vingt-cinq" is "twenty-five" in French. You can understand my confusion seeing as I had already paid and received change.

Me: "Comment?" ["What?"]

Cashier: "Vingt-cinq?"

Me: "Um..."

Then the cashier said, in English: "Do you speak French?"

Me: "I thought so, but now I'm not so sure." (Okay, I actually said, "A little?" I speak more than a little but I was so confused and would rather pretend like I had no French training rather than admit that I have a Bachelor degree in French and still had no idea what she was saying.)

Cashier: "Do you want a bag?!"

Me: "Oh! You mean, 'Tu veux un sac?' ['Do you want a bag?']" (Actually, I just turned a nice shade of red, feeling like a complete idiot.)

So, I was just A LITTLE off in my comprehension. In my defense Canadians seem to use the informal ("tu" instead of "vous") much more frequently than the French and as I had been taught. I would have never been listening for the informal from a stranger. Lesson learned. Similar language, very different culture. It's all part of the fun I suppose.

I didn't really want a bag but after the trouble I figured I better just say "oui" and be on my way.

***

This blog started as a way to chart my immigration progress but got a little off track when I decided to "cheat." Even though I've deviated from the original intent, I've decided to bring you along on my adventure anyways.

I am writing this from the passenger's seat of my friend Chris' Hyundai Sonata (packed to the brim with our treasured possessions) as we cut across Michigan (we started in Wisconsin three hours ago) on our way to Canada.

So, join me on this ride that is the life of an American gay in Québec.

And then I cheated.

Okay, I didn't really cheat, but hear me out.

I bought the domain for this blog, designed a logo, customized the template, spent hours trying to figure out why the little "pencil" icon that allows you to edit a blog post straight from the blog doesn't appear like it does on my other blog, spent several more hours writing the blog posts that I published two days in a row, spent several more hours writing a still-unpublished post...and then I just stopped.

The question, is why? It's not because I decided not to move to Canada. It's not even because I stopped wanting to blog. You see, Immigration Québec offers an evaluation for determining your chances of being selected by Québec. As I briefly mentioned previously (and explained in detail in the post that I never published--I'll do that soon), Québec has a different immigration process than the rest of Canada. Prior to applying to Canada, you must be selected by Québec for admission to their province. This evaluation, though not an official decision, helps determine your chances of being selected. I had taken the evaluation before but decided to take it again and to be more careful this time. After taking the evaluation this time, I was greeted with a lovely message that amounted to "Please don't waste our time, or yours, by applying for selection because you will most likely not be selected."

Damn. (Not quite strong enough for my true thoughts, but my mother will likely read this and I'd rather spare myself the berating.)

The likely reason that this was the outcome of the evaluation is my lack of work experience. Don't get me wrong, I've been working since I was fourteen (I just turned 26 on the 11th), but my work experience does not relate to my degree in French. Speaking French helps with admission to Québec, but that alone does not guarantee entry. If I'd been working as a translator or a teacher, then my chances would be increased, but, as it stands, I have to enter "0" when answering the question that asks how long I've been working in "my field."

So what now? Well, I didn't give up. I decided to research my options. What are other options for immigration? What kind of people are accepted? I found various accounts, but one in particular stood out to me. See, it appears that most people who obtain a post-secondary degree from an accredited university in Québec are granted the certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) needed to apply to the Canadian government for Permanent Resident status. In fact, there is an expedited process for people in this position.

Over the years, most people assumed that I was going to use my French to degree to teach high school and I quickly put those thoughts to rest. That said, that didn't mean that I didn't want to teach at all; I just didn't want to teach high school (I hated it the first time and don't particularly want to spend the rest of my life there). The other option is teaching at the post-secondary level and this is something I have considered off and on for years. This was a possibility that I did relate to some people; so what was holding me back? After spending six years to obtain my Bachelor's degree, I really needed a break before I considered going back to school for a Master's degree. Well, it's now been a little more than a year since I graduated.

See? Things sort of fell into place in my head when I read about increased chances for graduates of Québec universities. So, I started my search for schools and programs. Ultimately I decided to apply to Université Laval in Québec City for a Master's in Linguistics, specializing in teaching languages.  On Halloween I received my letter of acceptance.

Let the chaos ensue! The student immigration process is like a junior version of the Permanent Resident process. I need a Study Permit from Canada, but before I can get that I need the student version of the CSQ, a certificat d'acceptation du Québec (CAQ). I am now in the process of trying to obtain a CAQ. I'm still waiting on one document from the university before I can submit my application. Once Immigration et Communautés Culturelle Québec has received my completed application, processing takes 4 weeks.

Did I mention I'm supposed to start at Univeristé Laval in January?

In the words of my best friend, "Aye yai yai!"

Preparing for Adventure

So Québec is the place for you, but what now?

The first thing I would suggest doing in your application process is familiarizing yourself with the Immigration-Québec website: http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/index.html. This website is full of useful information. Don't let yourself become overwhelmed by the details--I'll help you with that--just get familiar with the layout. This will make things easier down the road.

I should point out here that I am applying for permanent residency as a "Permanent worker." Other categories include "Businesspeople," "Temporary workers," "Foreign students," "Sponsors and sponsored persons," and "Refugees and other clienteles." Were I to find a job and be offered a position in advance, I may apply as a Temporary worker and then later apply for permanent residency, but this is an unlikely scenario for me due to my skill set.

The official immigration website provides a list of 8 steps that, if followed, "will lead to your immigration to Québec!" I suggest viewing the list for a general break down of the process. In addition to leading you to the necessary documents for the process, it provides information about the requirements of practicing your trade in Canada as well as other information such as the cost of immigration and the obstacles surrounding finding a job.  Getting a general understanding of the process will prepare you to delve into the details in the coming months.

My next step will be organizing all of the necessary documents and forms to complete my application. That, of course, doesn't mean having all the documents on hand or all of the forms completed. It's simply the final preparation step before I dive into the actual process. I'll outline that in my next post. Ciao!

Welcome!

Sometimes in life things go the way you want and sometimes they don't. It's not always up to us what happens, but I know that I don't ever want to be left thinking, "What if?" Whether it be when considering job opportunities, delving into romance, or dealing with other areas of my life, I always keep that one question in mind. And now it's that one question that has me finally grabbing the bull by the horns and looking to the north for a bright future.

My name is Mike. At this writing I am 25-years-old. By day I'm a Social Media Coordinator for a family of well-known e-commerce websites. By night...well by night I spend most of my time deciding which of my 37 hobbies to devote my evening to.  I graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee in May of 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French. You probably noticed that my job is completely unrelated to my degree. That might upset me were it not for the fact that I love my job and I love speaking French.

To be honest, I can't remember what put the idea of moving to Canada in my head, but by the end of 2011 I had signed up to take an English language proficiency test. This was the first step I had taken towards immigration. It was no longer just talk, I had finally taken action. Then, of course, I fell in love and canceled my test.

Well now my heart has been good and broken (don't worry, it was months ago, I'm over it!) and the immigration plans are back on. Of course, now Québec is no longer accepting applications for immigration*. D'oh! That's the last time I do (or don't do) something because of romance! But I'm not too worried because they will begin accepting applications again on April 1st, 2013 (let's hope it's not an April Fools joke!). Eight months may seem like a long time, but, to be honest, it may take me that long just to prepare all the materials that I need. For example, when I signed up for the English language proficiency test last year, I had to sign up a testing center more than 5 hours from my house just so I wouldn't have to wait more than 3 months to take the test (signing up for a far away center allowed me to have to wait "only" 3 months).

It took me a while to find the right job after college as my degree only really lends itself to being a translator or a teacher (both of which would have required more schooling than I cared to complete). So you may wonder why I would give up a job it took so long to find in order to move to another country. Well, there are a couple parts to that answer:

1. The process of immigrating to Québec often takes years. (Plenty of time to enjoy my job! Though, I am hoping that the freeze on applications will lead to quicker processing once they begin to accept them again.)
2. My application could be denied. This would make me very sad, but it's a very real possibility. What do I have to offer over another applicant? This will be a test of how far my language skills will get me given that I don't belong to a highly coveted profession.
3. There are larger forces at work. I will not let this blog become political in the least, but I would be lying if I didn't acknowledge that Canada has some things that are very important to me that the United States does not currently offer. (That's all I will say on that subject.)

So I've decided that Canada is the place for me. I knew immediately that I would want to move to the province of Quebec due to my love for the French language. The next step was to actually visit the province. I did and, much to my surprise, I fell in love with Quebec City. This was only a surprise to me because I'm a "city boy" and thought I would love Montreal. In truth, I was turned off by the cost of living ($20 per day for transportation!), the traffic, and the number of people. Mais la Ville de Québec? C'était parfait! 

The next step was research. I quickly found the website devoted to immigration to Québec, but was almost immediately overwhelmed by what I found. I went in search of helpful resources but found them to be few and scattered about the internet. Then I found a book devoted to the process of immigrating to Canada. I was very excited to have a concise resource until I learned two things:

1. The authors didn't actually make the move; they simply did the research for a hypothetical immigration.
2. The book covered the process for moving to most of the Canadian provinces with "most" meaning "all of them except for Québec." It's absolutely essential to note that Québec has a completely different immigration process than the rest of the country. Gaining permission to reside permanently in another province will not grant you permission to live in Québec.

So the did the next logical thing and searched for another book to help ease me through the process. I found nothing.

That's where this blog comes in. I'm not just going to do hypothetical research. I'm going to lay out the process for you as I actually go through it with the ultimate goal of gaining permanent residency. It's my hope that, in doing this, I will make the process easier to understand and that, should they arise, you can learn from my mistakes.

I have touched on a few parts of the process in this post that may have left you with questions ("English test? Aren't you a native Speaker?" Hint: Yes.), but rest assured that I will cover each part of the process in detail as I move through it. Also note that, while I'm a citizen of the United States, the process is much the same for people immigrating from most countries. There are a few differences for certain countries, but they are outlined in all of the official immigration documents. This blog should be able to act as a great primer for most people regardless of their country of origin. Of course, I suggest that you contact a lawyer or government official if you are confused by any of the requirements for citizens of your country of origin. It's much better to double check in advance than to wait months or even years and then have your application rejected on a technicality! Should I ever require legal advice, I'll be sure to share what I have learned with all of you.

So, are you onboard? If Québec is the place for you, strap yourself in and get ready for an adventure. Allons-y!

*They are still accepting applications if you meet certain requirements. Unfortunately, I do not. These requirements are outlined on the bottom of this page.