ESL Blogs

Hi Everyone,

I'm happy to tell you that I'm already here in Canada after the long journey from China, and everything here seems to be going very well for me. I'd like to thank all the members who kept asking about my journey during my absence for the nice comments and notes. There's nothing better than receiving messages from MyEC friends. It was all the kind greetings that cheered me on and made me survive the first few days here in another country far from mine. I'm sorry for the dalay in reply and for missing all the newly posted blogs, but, MyEC's been undergoing some changes and the new look looks very strange in my old version of IE. I thought it would be OK in a few days or so, but I decided I need a new browser and eventually found the Huohu, which MyEC looks perfect in.  Do you like the new look of MyEC? Oh, I'll get to the point and share something with you - I promised, didn't I?

An English learning journey - at the airport and on the plane

While I was on the way to Canada and even before the journey, I was determined to pick up some English and to see if I could communicate with people I met by using English. There were all the signs which were in English at the airports and all the English spoken by the flight attendants. To my surprise, I even failed to understand some of the very simple English expressions. 'Are you sure you don't want anything to drink?' a nice stewardess asked me again. 'Oh sorry, a cup of tea... please.' I replyed. But, I did respond very quickly(maybe the first one) when they let all the passengers to board (I needed to transfer at a couple of different airports) and I got a nice place for my carry-on baggage. I enjoyed the journey so much.

Started to adjust myself to new life here

After the long journey, I need to adjust myself to the new life here. There are still some challenges for me.

First, I need to cook and find all the materials to cook with. Where's the nearest supermarket? Can I get something familiar there? I share a rented house with some other students and doctors from China ,and we share one kitchen. I managed to survive the first few days by living on the cup noodles  I carried with me from the airport. Today, however, I tried to get some rice, vegetables, eggs etc and cooked myself a nice lunch, even though I'm still suffering from jet lag.

Second, I need to learn some French. You bet most of the people here would like you to speak French since Montreal is the world's second largest French-speaking city (second only to Paris) - it's amazing there's this beautiful French-speaking city in Canada where most of the people speak English. I'll take the Metro to hospital tomorrow morning and I wonder if I need to use 'billet' (French) or 'ticket' (English) when I enter the Metro station and try to get something like this. But, thankfully, most of the people here can speak both French and English. I just need to make an effort to speak any of them a bit naturally.

Third, last but not least, I need to really learn something at the hospital. A professor at the hosital (a teaching hospital of McGill Unversity, a famous English-speaking university of Canada) has already made a study plan for me. Can the doctors and nurses there understand what I say in kind of Chinglish (Chinese English)? How can I get used to the new working environment and get along with the staff quickly? What if the patient speaks French? I'm somehow not so sure if I'm really a nice person to make friends with. I know I need some confidence and luck. Do you think that could be a problem for me?

It's late at night here where I live now and I need to head for bed. Wish me a nice sleep tonight (you know, the jet lag and my body may probably mistake the night for the morning )!!!