C'est un petit monde.

Last weekend we decided that a change of scenery would be nice, so we headed down to Burlington, VT for the night. Nick had earned enough "Hilton" points for a free night at a hotel (that allows dogs) which just happened to be right next door to Barnes & Noble.  It's a two hour drive through northern Vermont, with scenic mountain views. Upon arrival at our hotel (after an hour or so at B&N and a Nook Tablet later), we found out that there was some sort of boy's basketball tournament nearby. At least one team was staying at our hotel, but let me tell you that it seemed like the whole tournament was taking place in the hallways and the pool. I have NEVER seen so many kids in a hotel pool. After spending an hour or so in the pool area (Nick didn't even make it 5 minutes before heading back to the room-and his new Nook) I felt as if I had been standing in front of a speaker at a concert. The only reason I stayed so long was that L had made a friend and I didn't have to get in the pool...I could just lounge in a chair with my fingers in my ears. Later that evening several of the boys were using their unrelenting energy to run up and down the hallway outside our room. As Nick stepped into the hallway to scold the offenders, the door closed and locked behind him. Now, keep in mind that I was sitting on the couch 10 feet from the door. What a moral dilemma. Do I go rescue my husband or leave him hanging in the hallway with the scolded boys? Hmmmm....

One of the pains in the arse about moving is keeping the house clean for potential buyer/renter visits. This week we were notified that there would be two such visits. The afternoon after the first visit we were playing in the front yard when a woman and a dog we've never seen walked up to us and said "hello". You have to understand that NOBODY walks up to us and says "hello" in english.  So this meant that she knew we were Anglophones although we've never met. (Is it THAT obvious?)
Here's a summary of what made this unexpected visit eerie:

• They are American, most recently from Ohio
• They live in our neighborhood and their daughter rides the bus/goes to the same school as L
• They want to rent our house (her husband had been the visitor that morning)
• They have a chocolate lab
• They lived in Tampa for 5 years

Not only did they live in Tampa for 5 years, but they lived less than 5 minutes from the house we're buying. Now that I see all of this in print, it probably doesn't look so eerie to someone else. Trust me, the similarities are a bit uncanny. She had the same problem answering the question, "Where are you from?" that we do. I guess it depends on your definition of 'from'.

After talking for a while and letting her see the house, we ran into each other at a school event and chatted some more about the whole expat thing. She returned to the house today with our landlord's realtor, whose english skills aren't very strong. I recognized the look on the realtor's face as the woman and I had a conversation in english...it's the same look I get when someone I'm with begins a conversation with someone else in french. It's the look of uncomfortable exclusion. Ha! How does it feel?

That's not friendly. I think maybe it's time for me to leave Quebec, eh?