In the middle of nowhere, in the 198 km stretch on Route 109 between Amos and Matagami, there is an abandoned hotel, Hotel Paradis, which is kinda iconic if you're one of the James Bay Road travellers used to passing on this particular stretch of road. It was also rather creepy. And built next to Lac Paradis, an emerald colored lake....Last night as we were heading North, we stopped there for half an hour to witness .... this:
(and no, there are no firefighters. The police showed up an hour after the call... no firefighters were sent).
Haunted Hallway, survived. 1.5 hours of scrubbing fake blood off the walls and doors of one part of the school, survived. To be survived: 3-5 hours of sweeping, mopping, and re-organizing in the halls, auditorium, and a classroom tomorrow AM....
Add on that I have a midterm report due tomorrow night.... busy weekend!
Pics of tonight's amazing haunted schoolway on facebook.
Hello from Amos, somewhere in the Northern reaches of Abitibi. At a hotel cleverly named the Amosphere (yes, we've already referred to it as the Anus-sphere, don't worry dear friends). However, after residing in Waskaganish for exactly 2 months (left home the 29th of Aug!), this place is, as my roommate and I discussed, the happiest place on Earth.
Allow me to make it simple: beer (legal!), sitting in a hot tub, snowflakes falling. 'Nuff said.
It's nice, after.... 9 years of student life (aka overwhelming financial problems and stress), to be able, for the first time ever, to decide to leave on a Thursday night, and drive 600ish kms and drop some cash on a nice hotel.
+1 for working in the North. Granted, today was a hellish day at school for reasons I won't get into in such a happy place.
Off to the hotel bar. Or bed, to watch TV. TV, I say!
Another weekend draws to a close! I would love to delight and entertain you all with thrilling stories of adventures, cultural encounters and the like.... but alas, I have none. Blogger, it seems, temporarily ate my password, but it spit it up this afternoon, allowing me to post again. No questions asked, cybergods.
I realized that 4 months has turned into 1 Month and X days at this point, until I'm home (for xmas. for good. Before heading off somewhere fantastical, returning here, staying there, who knows at this point?)
I have a cold, again. After not getting sick of well over a year, since June I've been lucky enough to enjoy a monthly battle with the common cold. I know, I know, they're called fruits and vegetables. Mind you, the price, smushy brown condition, and lack of availability of them up here somewhat justifies my potatoe/bagel diet. It's not scurvy, don't worry.....
I finally saw the Northern Lights in a somewhat substantial-to-dazzle-me form last night. Green, blue... and pink. I didn't realize they did pink and was rather delighted.Went hunting for them the night before.... while the rapids are gorgeous at night, that seems to be where the latest cold was caught.
Spent the PM playing Skipbo and caffeinating at the Lodge. Gorgeous day....it appears it will be a snow-less week this week.
Short week this week, with school Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday only. Getting used to a normal teaching schedule back home is going to be a challenge after this fall....
I think that is the end of the random thoughts. Off for a nap before... attending the Cree Fellowship. Sam at a Gospel Church... believe it! (Don't worry, I'm not converting to the whole religious beliefs phenomenon. I like my individualistic stance and strong belief in Ullr the snow god). Think of it as.... cultural anthropology and photog experience.
Snow. That's right. I woke up, disappointed to see the green/brown yard (I can't call it a lawn nor can I call it grass... its something like brush, I guess). And then, during the mad dash to get to school to teach first period... there they were. Snowflakes. Since all of the kids were 10-15 minutes late, I obviously felt the need to spend the beginning of the work day facebooking everyone that I had snow.
Snow feels like it belongs to me. Possibly because most people loathe it.
Now, if it would just stick. I'd had 3 nice, snow covered days back home by this time last year....
I've become lazy, it's true. I was going to write a retroactive post detailing the missing chunks of life lately. And then I realized that the main recent event was: a trip home for Thanksgiving.
Yes, leaving on Monday made me cry. Somewhere between St-Jerome and St-Sauveur I was grateful for my sunglasses to hide the tears. I was almost home before the urge to cry finally wore off, 17 hours later.
I have mixed feelings about my trip home. While I'm glad I went, despite that leaving yet again was painful....I found coming back harder than had I not left. In August I hadn't yet come to realize how... I was putting my life on hold to temporarily go live something and somewhere else. I had this odd surreal feeling being back home that I hadn't left, that I had only been gone a few days, as if no time had elapsed, other than to change the scenery from summer to fall. Everything, and mostly everyone, are still where I left them, waiting. waiting for how long is something I had been questioning lately.... I could easily make this my life, if I chose to. I think I choose not to. I miss my support system (mocha fudge, thai food, skiing, ddr, my friends, cat, etc).I miss the silly little routines, quirks, traditions, and places that make me, me.
I love my winter life and intend, financial hardship guaranteed, to return to it, before heading out again next summer for a few months to Europe or Asia, provided I get a job teaching abroad. But not right yet. I'm 2 months and a couple of 24 hour blocks from my winter life, which I love.
Coming back has been hard, to say the least. While I never really went through any severe culture shock or feeling unaccepted... the lack of convinience, the lack of... so much of what I'm used to and love has been getting to me this week. As has the microcosm of gossipy, spiteful, shallow white people. I won't discuss it on here, but basically it's amazing how a few people can ruin something for someone (not referring to myself on this point.... yet).
Waiting for snow, and for a storm to blow over.
Oh the nostalgia. Listening to The Kids Aren't Alright. I feel like I should be sitting at a Maroons game at the Waterloo Arena. Sudden craving for poutine and gummy cherries.
Life has been boring since I got back from the Townships.
A word of warning to all travellers: 14 hours on a bus WILL drive you insane. Guaranteed.
Never again!
As giddy as seeing snowflakes on the weather forecast makes me....
winter is coming, and I need to figure out if I'm staying or going. I need a job.
Maine, Toronto, Vermont, Asia, out west, up here, back home?
Ark.
The adventures in eating continue. After falling in love with fried fish guts and fried fish eggs, comes
goose. (normal enough and delicious). Moose (have already eaten a few times). Bear (also a first, also fairly normal). and then, of course, moose head. As in: I ate the ear of a moose. Had to pick some fur off of it.
Apparently it helps you sleep well. I intend to test that one.
Fall gets to me in weird ways. Causes nostalgia. While there aren't any nice red maple leaves to look at, or those carpets of leaves in the woods that smell and sound so perfect- it appears that fall, even in amongst the evergreen trees, still has the same effects. Maybe it's that, in essence, autumn is equivalent to change. Things die, wither, fall. (I'm referring to plant life, no deep metaphors here). No other season has that same connection to endings as fall does, where it is visible. Change, endings, something coming around the corner is in the air, it seems.
For nostalgic and other reasons (having significantly more free time in the past while than in all the previous years combined), I've started adding songs from old playlists to my current listening. I know that smell and taste are supposed to be the 2 senses that trigger memories the most (the smell of roof tar is inextricably linked to memories of MV tennis), but songs seem to have their own powerful trigger/time travel capacity.
I'm too tired and sleep deprived to write anything of substance.
Random facts....
-I had an odd dream about adopting a penguin as a child the other night
-I've been having inexplicable cravings for Thai Express tofu for the past month
-I just randomly and suddenly kicked my coffee habit again
-Wild turkeys scare me
-I think that the need to break into abandoned ski stations/ghost towns/old mini putt courses may indicate something
-I've discovered that pepperoni, if not cut up and cooked on a pizza, disgusts me
- I want a dog, but know I'm too inept to take care of one properly.
-I really miss my cat. Apparently the feeling is mutual.
- I'm totally avoiding dealing with some things that happened before I left in August, and I think this may be the reason that, with going home for the weekend approaching, I can't sleep. If you're one of the two people this refers to.... no idea where I stand, if an apology is forthcoming, if things will get fixed.
-I'm long overdue for a coffee-therapy session at St-Michel. Oh, mocha fudge and girl talks.
- Glee has now loaded.
I'm grappling with the idea of missing an alpine ski/snowboard season. Christmas break and the occasional escape to the Laurentians or Townships over the winter, while probably the average number of outings a skiier skis, seems inacceptable to me.
On the other hand, having a job and income does tend to outweigh sitting broke at my father's as a ski bum with nothing else.
On the other hand, people move, things change. Maybe this is my last chance before my friends back home get the same urge to take off as I had/have.
Thinking I should spend the summer "wintering" at a ski resort in New Zealand. Now there's balance for you.
The visa application is filled out, as are several instructor application forms for Coronet Peaks, Wanaka, and Cardrona. Ski!! From June til October!! Love-love-love. Sheep instead of wolves. There's a trade-off of sorts.
Oh so grumpy today. Randomly was incapable of sleep, and slept a grand total of 45 minutes overnight. Obviously now that I could potentially nap, my brain and body still do not desire sleep.
Reminiscent of when I used to work night shifts, and I'm none to fond of this groggy somewhat-stoned feeling of sleep deprivation. I also feel fully capable of wrestling bears and wolves and winning right now.
Okay, so I'll admit it. Sometimes, when the sun is shining, I actually do somewhat like fall.
In the event anyone wonders why I am so keen to go home for three days, here is my reason why:
As much as I'm not a fan of autumn, I need a good dose of Townships fall, and missing Owl's Head is just so not happening. And who can say no to pumpkin tasting foods?
Off to crash a wedding. No joke.
Yes, if you're wondering, that Cree town being shown on the news and in newspapers is where I live. Billy Diamond's death is pretty enormous as far as losses go, and the helicopters started arriving with media about 5 hours after I saw the ambulance fly by to the clinic.
School was, needless to say, cancelled towards the end of the day, and will be cancelled tomorrow as well.
When important members of the community pass away, everything comes to a stop here, with most businesses (all 5 of 'em) and the schools closing. Unlike the token symbolic half mast flags of Southern tradition, in Cree communities everyone actually attends the funerals as well. Weddings, on a related note, are pretty much also open to the general public. Notions of community, at least in Waskaganish for all its flaws, are much stronger here than in any small town or village I have seen back home.
As a former history student, the idea that I will be attending this funeral feels somewhat surreal.
If any of you Quebecois actually don't know who I'm referring to, you should: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Cree+trailblazer+Billy+Diamond+dies/3605967/story.html
