semaine 3

okay. i should update. there's a lot to say.

first off: i never really liked french. i thought maybe 7 years away from it would change things, but nope. i still don't like it. that makes it really hard for me to learn it. i LOVE learning cree, so i am excited to do assignments and practice and let the words roll off my tongue. it is not so with french. on top of not liking the language, i am also getting confused, because my brain wants to say an english sentence, then it translates it into broken cree, and then realizes that cree isn't the language i wanted, so it re-translates it into broken french. i am just sick of having my conversations limited to, "il fait froid," and "j'ai faim," and "est-ce que tu veux aller à la chateau avec moi?" i end up cheating and having a lot of secret whispered english conversations.

it is weird not having most of my thoughts consumed by "native issues." this is really the first time since king's that i haven't worked with/lived with/studied aboriginal people and/or issues. i kind of forgot that other realities existed.

canada post is doing a great job of delivering the letters i've written (which numbers about 25 so far), but is doing a shit job of delivering any to me. i am feeling very forgotten about, even thought i KNOW some of my friends have sent stuff in the mail within the last week.

school here is kind of a drag. the stuff we are learning is stuff i already know, but have forgotten since high school. it is frustrating that most of the exercises my class does are very childish. i wish that they taught french here the way dorothy teaches cree at the u of a. i think i might be a little more excited about it. also, my workshops sometimes tend to get a little childish. BUT...

there are some great things about being here. first, i am learning a ton about acadian history. i have always been really bad at understanding history, because i never really had something solid to anchor all those dates to. but now that i have a decent understanding of the western treaties in canada, and some of the things that led up to them (the royal proclamation of 1763, for instance), i can understand our history a little better. i guess i forgot whatever i had been taught about the acadians, but they have a pretty fascinating history. a lot of the students here are cajun from louisiana, so we've had a few louisianaise parties (mardi gras, some cajun music, etc.). i have always always always wanted to go to the deep south, and this makes me want to go even more. learning about the acadians is good for me within the context of native studies, because it kind of shows the kind of assimilation tactics/fear that was happening BETWEEN EUROPEAN GROUPS.

i can't wait to get back to edmonton! i readjusted my courses for the fall and winter terms, and i am stoked! i will be taking the second level of cree, alberta archaeology, northwest coast archaeology, aboriginal cultural foundations, native economic development, natural resource management for aboriginal communities, social and economic impact assessments, a second level of research methods in native studies, and... one more course. i haven't decided which yet. it will probably be a community-service learning one so i can get my CSL certification. i love love love love love school! i am also hoping to apply for a master's program at the u of a, for a start date of september 2009. the department of rural economy hopes to introduce a master of science program in risk and community resilience. whoa! awesome! so i am trying to get all my prerequisites in order, which is no problem, because they all seem interesting. also, when i get back, i am gonna go up north and pick jessie up from long lake camp. i think after that we MIGHT go to sucker creek/high prairie to say hi to some peeps/some land. my momma and i (and i really hope jordan) are planning to go to métis crossing for a festival there on august 23-24. i also wanna visit robin in red deer, and see kelsey when she gets back from amsterdam and go skating with her in calgary, and go spelunking in canmore or jasper with lots of people i love. before all that, though, i am going to have a nice solo vacation in charlottetown and halifax for 10 days. i am gonna go to avonlea, so if you want me to give gus pike a kiss for you, you'd better let me know now. or if you want some anne of green gables shit. woo!

tonight is christmas. i made some mittens for the person whose name i pulled, but i don't even know who she is. joyeux noel!

here, we get 3 warnings if we speak english (or get caught on english websites). i haven't gotten any yet, but i should really have a million. i kind of feel like i am mario. i need to find some boxes with question marks on them to get some more free lives.