Bienvenue à Montréal!

Bienvenue à Montréal! (eng: Welcome to Montreal!)

After spending two short days with my Aunty Patty in Toronto, I headed to Montréal taking my first train with ViaRail!
The 5hour ride build up my anticipation even more.
Aimée met me at the train station. We took the metro to the house.

Home sweet home

I was quite afraid of the snow and cold in the months before arriving...

 

But I have to say...it's not that bad.

International Language School of Canada: A world leader in language training.

It took no time at all for me to remember what it was like to be a student with no time, no money and too many things to do. Luckily, I have been able to make a little bit of time to roam the city and explore.

allows visitors to walk through replicas of four ecosystems found in the Americas INCLUDING the animals found in them:

1) The Tropical Forest is a replica of the South American rainforest.

2) The Laurentian Forest is a replica of the North American wilderness.

3) The Saint Lawrence Marine Eco-system is an estuary habitat modelled on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

4) A polar area that is divided into Arctic and Antarctic.

A must see place if you ever visit the city! So much fun and so much to see!!

In addition to my full time intensive study (M-Th 9am-4pm/F 9am-noon) I signed up for night classes at ILSC which are M&W from 6-8pm. I also took advantage of free conversation classes at La Grande Bibliothèque (eng: The Large Library) every Th from 6-8pm.

I took a day-trip with the school and some friends to visit the country's capital city.
Ottawa is only 1h45m from Montréal.

The Capital of Canada - - Ottawa City

The Canadian Museum of Civilization - A national museum of social and human history.
The "grand hall" explored the rich cultural heritage of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada's West Coast. Beautiful art work and wood carvings.

The "first peoples hall" shows the history of the first known inhabitants of the region. It was fascinating to see their way of life, I especially enjoyed the clothing. But, it was sad to see how their way of life was destroyed and devalued throughout history. They were forced to conform to the "less savage" practices of the new settlers.

Left photo shows a young boy upon his arrival to a new Industrial School, the
right photo shows him in the school uniform and cut hair (obviously mandatory).

The largest exhibition was "Canada hall". You could literally travel across the country in life-size settings (houses, pathways, etc) and experience 1,000 years of history.

Lastly, there is a "special exhibition gallery" that is changed every few months. I was fortunate enough to be there during the Vodou (as apposed to the English/American spelling: voodoo) exhibit which was of high interest to me after especially after my experiences in West Africa. This specific exhibit focused on Haitian Vodou, but I do believe the majority of that came from the Dahomey Kingdom in West Africa. Disclaimer: Although the media has portrayed Vodou in a very stereotypical and negative light, it is much more than that.

There was no photos allowed in the exhibit, thus, this is my only one.

Short history and some interesting facts I learned about Vodou:

Between the 16th-18th century, millions of Africans were uprooted from their home and transported on ships (part of the Transatlantic Slave Trad) to the Caribbean. Despite having Christianity forced upon them to the point where all religions other than Catholicism were banned, and those who disobeyed would risk severe punishment and even death, African slaves refused to give up their ancestral religions. Maroons are slaves who escaped from the plantations and sought refuge and protection in the mountains and forests. The number of maroons grew and this is, for the most part, how Vodou culture and traditions stayed alive. Vodou (traditional West African) began to merge with Christian elements and formed the Haitian Vodou we have today. This religion soon became an identity for the slaves and a source of resistance. 

Photo Credit: Ottawa Citizen and Krunn's Sit

Vodouists worship only one god, Gran Mèt (Great Master). Lwa is a Vodou spirit (and there are many). You must communicate with the lwa in order to enter into commutation with the active energies emanating from the Gran Mèt.

Bodies of water, forests, trees, caves, cemeteries, and crossroads are used to communicate to the lwa, but the preferred method of communication is through dreams.

Communication with the lwa is at the heart of the religion. To Vodouists, everything in the world that exists is interconnected - nothing can exist on its own separate from other things. Therefore, communicating with the lwa is crucial for maintaining or restoring balance in your world.

Several different lwa - Photo Credit: Krunn's Site

Each lwa is called and welcomed with different drum rhythms, prayers, dances, colors, fragrances, songs and vèvè (sacred symbolic drawings) - all specific to him or her.

Possession is a powerful way to communicate with the lwa. When people are possessed,  the lwa speaks and moves through them. It expresses itself, advises, consoles, talks to others, reprimands, punishes, encourages or heals them. Possession is not out of the ordinary and can last from a few minuets to several years.

Outdoor Vodou Ceremony - Photo Credit: Krunn's Site

I could go on, but I think all of this information will be enough to process for now.

I feel like I better understand the ceremonies I saw in Africa. Although the Ndep (like a modern day exorcism) was in Senegal (not part of the Dahomey Kingdom), I feel like it could have some how related to these beliefs.

After the Museum we headed into the city and into the market. I tried the overpriced famous "Obama Cookie"...in my opinion, it was just like his presidency - I was not very impressed. I moved on quickly to a garlic butter and cheese Beaver Tail!

Here I am eating my 'beaver tail' - a local favorite!

The largest skating rink in the world, the Rideau Canal, was closed because it had been pretty warm out the previous days and the ice wasn't think enough, so we just strolled around town for the rest of the day and then headed back to Montreal.

Back to school, back to the books, back to reality.

It was really cold this week, as you can see. Thursday, the electricity went off at about 11am in school. Because it didn't go back on, they cancelled classes for the afternoon and I went to the Redpath Museum.

The Museum located right on McGill campus!

The first floor "back to the sea" was an exhibit on marine vertebrates whose ancestors were terrestrial (animals that live predominantly or entirely on land). The ancestors of all reptiles and mammals came from the sea. There was everything from whales, seals and sea turtles to extinct marine reptiles that lived at the same time as dinosaurs! This display shows the diversity of the sea floor in the region of Montreal during the Ordovician period, 450 million years ago.

The second floor, 'dawson gallery' which uses fossil specimens to show some of the most remarkable events in the history of life on Earth: from the earliest trace fossils in the Ediacaran of Newfoundland, to the strange creatures of the Burgess Shale that arose from the Cambrian explosion in the Rocky Mountains. There were tons of specific exhibits including a collection of African culture, footbinding practices and shrunken heads from Amazonian tribes.

  

Shrunken head used for trade with white settlers.

Explanation of footbinding:

 

Foot and shoe of a 15year old
(literally 3inches big.

The weekend is nearly here and I will pass most of my time studying and staying warm! There are a few sights I have on my list for Montréal, but it is so cold out that I think I might wait until it gets into the double digits!