Field Trip!

I didn't know you take field trips when you are in graduate school. Well on Nov. 9th at 8am, a bunch of librarians got on a big yellow school bus marked "special" on the side. We were on our way to Quebec City. We toured three libraries, a public one, a government one, and a historical society one. The third one was beautiful, it was the perfect romantic notion of what a library should be. Two stories of shelves, a spiral staircase, dark woods, and busts of important looking men. Even Charles Dickens had spoken there. I could not have visited this library with a better group of people...walking around I heard, "I never want to leave..." "Can I just live here?" Hushed whispers proclaiming what everyone was thinking...this is why we are in library school.

Squash, Corn Stalks and Pumpkins...Oh My!

October has brought much cooler weather to Montreal and the leaves have already changed into their fancy outfits for the year. When I was looking forward to Autumn last month I forgot that in mid-October midterms happen. The next week is not going to be as enjoyable as before, but I did manage to make some time to visit the Atwater Market. It's only a 15 minute walk from the apartment and there are pumpkins galore. I bought this little one because it was being such a good model for my photo-shoot. Not only are there pumpkins, but everything else you can imagine that is in season. Both indoor stalls and outdoor stalls, five different butchers, an Italian shop selling fresh pastas, and an amazing bakery. I will be going back with Rory in a couple weekends to buy our big pumpkin for carving and roasting seeds.

Mont Royal

Katie (my roommate) and I hiked up Mont Royal yesterday. The weather was perfect, maybe a bit too hot, the sky was clear and at the top we could see for miles.
There is a huge cemetery on the mountain, we explored it for a while. There are various enclaves of nationalities, the Chinese section was my favorite.

Ramen noodles and Mac n' Cheese...no more

Settling into a new place costs money. Money + graduate student do not mix. Not only do I need money for basic necessities, but everywhere I turn there is a cute little hole-in-the-wall coffee shop, or a fantastic smelling Indian restaurant, or a fancy bar to get a fancy drink. Oh and the shops. Boutiques and underground malls! So the job hunt was on. I say was...because I will no longer just be eating ramen noodles and mac n'cheese (unless I want to), since I am recently employed. I was hired by the Montreal Childrens Hospital, in the family reference library. Not only do we loan out books explaining diseases that affect children, but provide internet access for the parents who need to connect with the outside world. I am so happy that I got this position, I think it will provide great experience and will also be very rewarding!

This is a link to the Family Resource Library at Montreal Childrens:
http://www.mchfamilylibrary.ca/page.asp?intNodeID=9068
(copy and paste it)

Seymour Ave: My new residence

La Belle Province: Montreal

New city, new apartment, new school, new friends, a complete change in my environment. Montreal has left an impression already. Walking down the street I hear a hundred different languages, smell the fresh bread from the boulangerie, and see faces from all over the world. The sounds of summer are still echoing in my ears; the street construction rages on, drowned out only by the shrill cry of the cicada. Yet, I am really anticipating autumn in the city. The crisp cool weather, the crunch of the leaves under my feet, and the comfort of a thick sweater. I know it will come soon enough, but my mind associates these sensations with the institution of higher education. A Masters in Librarianship, not surprisingly entails a lot of reading. However, it still came as a surprise to me when we were assigned to read over a hundred pages for the following lecture. I was also a little surprised by my decision to go back to school so soon after completing my undergraduate degree, but now that I am here I know it was the right thing to do. Montreal feels like home already.