Reporting live from Montreal

I have had many emails since my last story. At first they were quite positive. Loving the story and all. They got a meaner tone after a while. Hate-mail even! It started off innocently with remarks like: "Where's the next story", "Why are you not writing anything on the blog", "I knew this was gonna happen" to "You only post weird poems". Seriously. I'm trying to be all inspired and zen on this side of the ocean. Patience is a virtue remember? And the thing with good things coming to those who wait? Remember? Pressure does not stimulate creativity. And I wanna hold on to both ears preferably. So cut a girl some slack. I need to absorb the experiences, process them and translate them into meaningful words. So this one is a totally on-request-blog-story. Whoever is disappointed after reading: blame your fellow-blogreaders. Peace & love people. Peace & love.

So. I cannot accept the fact that three weeks already passed. Although I'll have to. So many things happened in the meantime. As I said, Montreal airport was already like dying and going to heaven. Montreal itself, is even better than that if possible. The weird thing is, I don't exactly know why. I don't have the words to describe, and if I do, it just sounds cheesy. But what the hell. I love cheese.

I moved to another apartment after one week. Although my first apartment was in a nice area, it was really old and falling apart, so I needed to leave. I guess you could say that I'm too spoiled. I prefer saying that I just want to enjoy life. And in my world, enjoying life is only possible in a hygienic environment. So why sit around, mope, be unhappy and itchy all the time. I started looking on the Internet, found something else and even though I felt bad for my roommate, I moved as soon as I could get the keys. For the fifteenth time in my life. I'm a professional.

This city is like a dream. Do you know how weird it is, hearing about Montreal being a mix of European and North-American influences, finding it pretty corny that everyone keeps telling you this, then living it and understanding why people keep emphasizing this fact? It's so true. You walk around in downtown, and although I've never been to New York, I can understand to a certain extent how it would be like. City-life, cars everywhere, grumpy cab drivers, people in suits running around while talking on their cell phones, students, Asians, Africans, Arabs and squirrels. Yes. Squirrels. Then you move further to Vieux Montreal ("Old Montreal") and it's like walking in my old Parisian neighborhood: buildings are not that high, streets are really small, cute little boulangeries and a nice view on the river. Then, the Montrealers. Also dividable in two "cultures" si tu veux. One group not preferring to speak English, and being rather unhappy when you do so. Staring at you to shrug indifferently once you finished your sentence. The other group, being the anglophones, who are overly happy to help you with anything you need. Almost cheerleading you the directions when you're lost and ask them how to go here or there. But the funny thing is, here, in contrast to regular North-American cities or typical French cities, you also have the in-between-group. People who don't master the English language entirely but are very interested in where you're from and what brought you to Montreal and try their utmost best to help you. The city is not predictable. And I like that.

My Canadian friend Tamar, she puts it so well. The other night, I was telling her about my love for the city and especially the people. Everyone here is so nice, friendly, kind and helpful. Montrealers are open-minded, and they just don't care. They live their life and let you live yours. They're laid back. They're relaxed. She said that Montrealers are well-known everywhere. So, when in a conversation, Canadians just know when someone is from Montreal. Why? How?
"Because we're ultracool", she said.