Un année, eh?

It's been a year since we left Wisconsin....a year since I left my job, and we left all of our friends in Green Bay. Luckily, we're still in contact through facebook and email. I'm not sure how I would have handled the last year without facebook. Now that we're facing another move, I'm starting to think of the things here that I'll miss. Snow came to mind. Will I miss snow? I've NEVER had a winter without snow. In Tampa we will not experience the magic of the first snowfall, or of a white Christmas. So, yes, I think I will miss snow...for approximately two weeks.
But then I'll go ride my bike.
Outside.
In January.

One of the things I wasn't expecting to encounter, lest pick up in Quebec was the Canadian "eh?". As in, "It's really snowing outside, eh?" or "The roads are really slippery, eh?" My co-workers in Wisconsin began speaking "canadian" to me when they found out I was moving, but I did not expect to hear such talk in Quebec. However, through interactions with a variety of people, I was surprised to find out how prominent it is here! It's not quite the "eh" depicted by Bob and Doug McKenzie, but more as an invitation to agree with whatever statement preceded it.  The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines "eh" as  "ascertaining the comprehension, continued interest, agreement, etc., of the person or persons addressed". I couldn't believe my ears the first time I heard it come out of my mouth. Now, it's hard to stop. It's almost as natural as taking a breath after finishing a sentence. I've tried to insert, "huh?" but it's just not as good, eh?



One (of many) challenges that I've had over the last year has been finding my way around. That's a new (and fun) challenge of moving to a new place....discovery. It's just a little bit more complicated when nothing's written in the only language you are familiar with. But I've had my GPS to aid me in my "discovery".     Or not.    The GPS I've been using was the first one Nick bought for himself. I don't really know how old it is, but its maps are sorely outdated. I may have mentioned this to my husband once or twice, in the hopes that he would feel the need to buy himself a new one and give me his hand-me-down (again) with slightly less outdated maps. Instead I was promised a new one after our next move to Tampa. We relied on this GPS to find the Plattsburgh airport when Maddie flew up for Christmas. When we arrived at the location indicated by our navigator, we were startled to see the "Airport Closed" sign at the entrance. The new airport, which was several miles away, opened in June 2007 (that's almost 5 years). Luckily her flight was 1/2 hour late, so we could pretend that we were on time to pick her up.

Guess what I got for Christmas? :)