T0314

It is a full moon tonight
as it shimmers over
the unknown lakes
As we we fly over
unknown city sprawls
like nerve cells
dendrites lying around
Is it Texas, Oklahoma
or are we further east?

I need to sleep. T0316

Lightnings lighting up far away lands. T0317

T0713 Landed in Newark circa T0630. Tired. Everything in this airport looks old. East Coast looks old. Tired. Only had like, 3 hours of sleep.

Tried to check my email on one of the get2net booths, only to find that it only has a web browser. No telnet. No ssh. No nothing. (Maybe it's time for a Java ssh client?) Can't check email. Checked-in with Continental.

Checked-in with Continental. CO 582. Gate 88. (C88?)

TV. Showing CNN (a special channel for the airports?) Talking about the band Crash Test Dummies. T0720

Took off c. T0830. In one day I travelled from the Spanish-speaking North America to the French-speaking North America. T0901

It's like a dream. A what-if experiment. "What if, in one night the North American Continent is to be taken by the francophones."

That was written on the bus, c. T1130.

T1245 People do speak some French here. I just uttered my first "Bon jour".

It started raining after I checked in to the Presbyterian College. I went out to get some soap & an umbrella. The pharmacy where I got my soap was where I said my first Bon jour.

Right after getting off of the Greyline from Dorval to Downtown (Centre-Ville) I met Tom, who's also from San Diego for a law program over the summer. He's staying at the Diocesan next door. I'll go check to see how he's doing . . . T1249

Now I've had my shower. T1249

J'ai mangée finalement chez restaurant "La Belle Province", a clear implication of the Province of Québec. Heard people talking Anglo-Française pidgin (Franco-English?) on the phone.

The cashier lady served as the interpreter between the customers and the kitchen, just like that Mexican place back in San Diego, only here they know that their tongue's gonna stay . . . or do they?

People smoke lots more than back in California. (Or maybe people just hide when they smoke back in California?)

McGill is an English enclave in Québec, which is in turn a francophonic island in the English-speaking North America. And then there is South/Latin/Ibero-America . . .

Gotta try this 'poutine' thing to see what it is.

Le Journal de Montréal is the local tabloid. "Le Nº 1 des quotidiens française d'Amérique, so it says in the cover.

Gotta save my reçus for the tax reimbursement thing. T1358

Plan:

• call Dr Wu
• McCord?
• Ville souterraine (sp?) souterrain?
• poutine

Oh no. The kitchen people and the cashier, were actually speaking Spanish. T1403

Why do I always mentally read "Je ne souviens pas" when I see the "Je me souviens" on the plates? T1410

That might be among the best few seconds of my life:

"Correspondance, s'il vous plaît."
The driver took a transfer from the machine.
He handed it to me.
"Merci."

Spent the whole afternoon exploring the ville souterrain of Montréal. Did not see any musée but saw the outside of la Palais de Congrès and Musée de art contemporain.

Before that exploration, I went inside Cathedral Marie-Reine-du-Monde, appreciated its marvelous interior and mailed a postcard to Sophie -- finding a post office took me a while too.

Gare centrale.

Called Rev Wu. He told me that there is a prayer mtg at the church tonight 19:00. That's where I am taking the bus (24->150) to. T1750

It's starting to rain again. Good I still have my umbrella. T1753

Canada fleur-de-lis . . . same height

I had grabbed a bunch of Québec Government publication about language issues while at Place desjeunes (sp?) desjardins T1757

The Chinatown (Ville chinois Quartier chinois) is tucked away in the east of the Anglophone West Side, next to the Palais du Congrés.

I was reminded of the Boston Chinatown by the similar setups of the metro transit systems with respect to the Chinatowns. I did not make my foray into this one though. T1847

WEST SIDE . . . far west. Deep in the Anglophonia, I had to transfer (with that one won by my debut française too!) to another bus, bus 105.

"Do you go to Regent Street?"
". . ." -- driver
"Do you go to Regent Street?"
". . . [française] . . ."
A fellow lady rider rescued me: "Yes."

I guess there are still people who only speak French. To make a point, or actually not able to speak English? I don't know. I better start speaking French, or rather, my broken variety of it. It was just unblessed that this person drives bus 105 in the depth of the Anglophonia in Montréal. T1851

THE W. . .WEST SIDE New immigrants. Not that they are nowhere but here. They are everywhere.

Like the lady in the liquor shop I asked for post office direction. ". . . there is a depanneur in that big building. . ." not realizing that the word "depanneur" (sp?) is not a word shared by English & French.

But here deep in the west side, I see Koreans, Uighurs (!, I need to try that Uighur resto out), Iranians, &c.

Anyway. Time to ring the bell on the church's door. T1855

Reverend Paul McLean was here in Montréal the June 20 Sunday.

Reverend Wu told us that Rev McLean was originally a physicist-mathematician. He turned later into theology. I should email him. T2038

Postcard to my friend Dennis:

"Cher Denis,
Je suis dans Montréal, Québec. Toute le monde (ou, beaucoup gens) parlant française. J'ai pensée beaucoup le problèmes/controverses du société(s) bi-/multilingual(-ueaux).
Salut,
K."