July 5, 2008
July 5, 2008
From Montreal we drove down the St. Lawrence River to Quebec City and stayed at a very large and crowded park thirty minutes from the city. The campground is filled with permanently parked RVs that pass for weekend summer homes for the local residents. I guess when you only have a couple months of summer weather you have to take every advantage available.
July 3rd was the 400th birthday of Quebec City’s founding by Samuel de Champlain in 1608. According to the news the celebration was marred by rain and protests. Quebecans are fiercely protective of their French language and heritage and consider themselves to be an independent nation within the Canada confederation. A large minority is pushing for Separation. Unlike the bilingual signs in the rest of Canada, in Quebec everything is French only… by law. Although I think it is cool to have this bastion of European culture in our midst, I am deeply suspicious of any language, religion, or idea that needs to bar free speech in order to survive. But I am a walking ambassador for the conversion of the world to my common language. All I have to do is say one word in French (Bonjour) and everybody immediately responds in English. Aimee says I shouldn’t take that as a compliment.
From Montreal we drove down the St. Lawrence River to Quebec City and stayed at a very large and crowded park thirty minutes from the city. The campground is filled with permanently parked RVs that pass for weekend summer homes for the local residents. I guess when you only have a couple months of summer weather you have to take every advantage available.
July 3rd was the 400th birthday of Quebec City’s founding by Samuel de Champlain in 1608. According to the news the celebration was marred by rain and protests. Quebecans are fiercely protective of their French language and heritage and consider themselves to be an independent nation within the Canada confederation. A large minority is pushing for Separation. Unlike the bilingual signs in the rest of Canada, in Quebec everything is French only… by law. Although I think it is cool to have this bastion of European culture in our midst, I am deeply suspicious of any language, religion, or idea that needs to bar free speech in order to survive. But I am a walking ambassador for the conversion of the world to my common language. All I have to do is say one word in French (Bonjour) and everybody immediately responds in English. Aimee says I shouldn’t take that as a compliment.
posted by Mike and Aimee at 5:35 AM
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