Monday, September 15, 2008
You know you're from Quebec when...
All you can think of is this!!!
Photo from Google Images
For as long as I can remember, being from Montreal entailed being fluently bilingual in English and French, being surrounded by most of the street signs, highway signs, store signs in French and not even noticing that the signs weren't in English, being a fan of the Arts, being a die hard Montreal Canadiens' fan, loving hockey, and loving a really good poutine (preferably from La Belle Province)!
I don't usually eat junk food or anything fried, but whenever I'm back home I always have me some poutine! Icannot will not refuse to eat poutine if it's not Quebecoise. No offense, but in Ontario it just isn't the same. Even big franchises like NY Fries and A&W have poutine on their menus, but they are not really good. I think the cheese curds and the gravy aren't the same as the type we have in Quebec. I know, I've been told I'm a food snob before. I can't help it. I'd rather not eat something if it isn't done the right way. There's a difference between good bad food and just plain bad food.
I remember getting together with friends and my cousins and brothers on a Saturday night to watch a Canadiens' game on TV. We'd send my cousins (Ed3 and Youngest Cousin) out on a poutine run. They'd come back from La Belle with family sized boxes of poutine and a few hot dogs on steamed buns. Of course, you can't watch a hockey game without beer (although I usually skip that part because I cannot stand the smell or taste of beer).
These days, with me being pregnant, the thought of anything fried, greasy and cheesy just makes me want to gag. Poutine has got to be one of the most artery clogging things you can eat. I call it a "heart attack waiting to happen". Will I have some when I go back home to visit in October? I don't know. Most probably not. This baby I'm carrying inside me just does not like anything fried or greasy.
One last thing for Rosie and all my other Francophone readers...
This has got to be the funniest thing I have ever seen or heard! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! My cousin sent this to me a while ago, but every time I need a good laugh, I watch it again and again. Make sure your volume is turned up.
Basically, the cartoon is about some scenes from a Batman and Robin movie. The funny part is choosing which French version to use: The French from France version or the French from Quebec version? If you speak or understand French, you'll see how funny it is! It's funny because it's sooooooooo true! I remember when I was living in Montreal, I had a friend whose parents were from France. One Thanksgiving, we were all chatting at the dinner table, and her family just burst out in disgust, saying that "People in Quebec speak dirty French!" Actually, I believe the word they used was bastardized French! They went on about how Parisian French is the true French. I have to admit, Parisian French does sound nicer than the French spoken in Quebec.
After I left Quebec and moved to Ontario, I found it interesting to see how even though I speak French, the French I spoke in Quebec is MUCH different from the French spoken in Northern Ontario! Sometimes when my Francophone friends here speak to me, I have nooooooooo idea what they're talking about! All the expressions and the slang are different! Too funny!
Photo from Google ImagesI don't usually eat junk food or anything fried, but whenever I'm back home I always have me some poutine! I
I remember getting together with friends and my cousins and brothers on a Saturday night to watch a Canadiens' game on TV. We'd send my cousins (Ed3 and Youngest Cousin) out on a poutine run. They'd come back from La Belle with family sized boxes of poutine and a few hot dogs on steamed buns. Of course, you can't watch a hockey game without beer (although I usually skip that part because I cannot stand the smell or taste of beer).
These days, with me being pregnant, the thought of anything fried, greasy and cheesy just makes me want to gag. Poutine has got to be one of the most artery clogging things you can eat. I call it a "heart attack waiting to happen". Will I have some when I go back home to visit in October? I don't know. Most probably not. This baby I'm carrying inside me just does not like anything fried or greasy.
One last thing for Rosie and all my other Francophone readers...
This has got to be the funniest thing I have ever seen or heard! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! My cousin sent this to me a while ago, but every time I need a good laugh, I watch it again and again. Make sure your volume is turned up.
Basically, the cartoon is about some scenes from a Batman and Robin movie. The funny part is choosing which French version to use: The French from France version or the French from Quebec version? If you speak or understand French, you'll see how funny it is! It's funny because it's sooooooooo true! I remember when I was living in Montreal, I had a friend whose parents were from France. One Thanksgiving, we were all chatting at the dinner table, and her family just burst out in disgust, saying that "People in Quebec speak dirty French!" Actually, I believe the word they used was bastardized French! They went on about how Parisian French is the true French. I have to admit, Parisian French does sound nicer than the French spoken in Quebec.
After I left Quebec and moved to Ontario, I found it interesting to see how even though I speak French, the French I spoke in Quebec is MUCH different from the French spoken in Northern Ontario! Sometimes when my Francophone friends here speak to me, I have nooooooooo idea what they're talking about! All the expressions and the slang are different! Too funny!
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City girl moves to the country, falls in love, and marries a farmer. She tries to incorporate her city ways with her new country lifestyle and blogs to keep in touch with friends, family & students who live far, far away :) Can this city girl go country? Watch as she learns all sorts of exciting things about life on the farm and in a small rural community. *UPDATE* We are now parents! Our baby girl was born on Nov. 11, 2008 (at 28 weeks gestation- 12 weeks premature, but she's quite the trooper)!!!
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13 comments:
I have never had Poutine, and while in Canada I kept saying when we would go to pubs or the like that I wanted to try it. Alas, I never got it but maybe that's ok since we weren't in Quebec!
In fact, that trip was the first time I had ever had cheese curds as well! Always wanted to try them, but hard to find 'round these parts.
Does the French spoken in Northern Ontario sound the same as Parisian French?
Cherry:
I know this sounds weird, but every time I go back to Quebec, I always buy cheese curds to bring to Ontario. The cheese curds are different here. I know, I'm a freak. It's a 9 hr drive by car! That's why we always pack a cooler when we travel! LOL!
If you and E are ever in my neck of the woods, we'll take a trip to Quebec so you can try real poutine! ;)
Starshine:
Not even remotely! If my friend's parents thought Quebec French was bad, they'd freak when they hear the French spoken here! :) Lots of slang and a bit of a different 'twang'. There's this one place called Chelmsford and "Chelmsford French" is very distinct. If you hear it, you'd say, "Oh! That's Chelmsford French!"
Oooh, poutine. I have to agree that the poutine sold in fast food places (AHrvery's, A&W, etc) are frankly kind of gross. The best poutine I've ever had was in Notre-Dame-du-Laus. It was on a family trip and we went to this tiny little Mom&Pop restaurant. They served *the* best poutine ever. Oooh, the cheese curds on there! As I mentioned to you, C, some of the Chip Stands around my area use fresh cheese curds and some darker sauces, or spicier sauce, whihc is pretty tasty. And, they use fresh patatoes geenrally in peanut oil, so it's yummy. I'll ahve to take you out next summer to the best ones if you come to our town. :)
Actually, you don't have to go allll the way to Quebec. The St-Albert cheese curds are pretty good. Everytime my parents go to Ottawa, they take the extra detour to grab some St-Albert cheese. Fresh curds, mmmm. The kind that squeek in your teeth? The best!{lol} My parents buy a huge block of cheese and cut it up to freeze it. It actually stays good in the deep-freeze freezer for about 5 months. It rarely lasts that long though. ;)
Greasy and fried stuff while pregnant? Not always good, I agree. You only have a few months left. By summertime, you'll be able to have some again, right? :)
That video...LOL! I sent it to hubby and I could hear him laughing from his office downstairs. :) What I foudn was that the France French sounds so polite! I had some French (from France) friends over this summer, and even when they swore they sounded like they were giviing you a compliment. The Quebec French swears are a bit more... um... colourful. ;)
BTW Starshine, the Franco-Ontarian French is as far removed from the Quebec French, as the Quebec French is removed from the France French. Basically, think of British English versus American English. Accents are very different. Intonation is different. Much of the expressions are different in Northenr-Ontario, because there is so much English surrounding it. Although, I ahve to admit that Hearst and Kapuskasing have an even more different accent. So it really depends what region you head to, and what the population of Francophones is in comparison to the Anglophones. :)
Long Comment as usual...sigh, sorry C. :( You just always post about such cool things!
Rosie:
LOL! You totally made me laugh because you hit it dead on with your explanation to Starshine about the Quebec/Northern Ontario/France French! Couldn't have explained it better myself.
Funny you mentioned people from France sounding polite even when they're pissed off! I have to laugh every time I think of my friend (he's from France but we met overseas). We'd be speaking in French and he'd always make fun of the French spoken in Canada. When he'd get mad, it always sounded like he was polite too! I just love the French he spoke. It just sounded soooooooo dreamy! LOL!
I'm glad you and your hubby enjoyed the link! I told you it was funny!!
Okay, you're on (re: poutine in your neck of the woods)! LOL! Oh, and never apologize for long comments! I LOVE long comments!!! :)
One last thing: You also had me laughing at the cheese curds part! I was about to tell you on the phone yesterday when we were talking that the BEST cheese for poutine is the "squeaky cheese curds"! LOL! You know you're eating REAL poutine if the cheese is squeaky, the gravy is 'just the right consistency', AND the fries are fresh and hand-cut!! Mom and Pop shops do make really good poutine.
Umm... poutine. This post is making my mouth water.
I actually ordered poutine at a pub/restaurant in downtown Toronto about a week ago. When it arrived at my table with grated cheddar cheese instead of delicious curds I almost hit someone. (Ok, I didn't almost hit someone but I thought about getting really, really mad).
How dare you put sub-par poutine on your menu?!
~ humpsNbump
Humps N Bump:
LOL! "How dare you put sub-par poutine on your menu?!" OMG, you are too funny!
They actually put grated cheddar cheese on it??? Gah! That is sacreligious!!!
Hey der, I can barely speak Canadian. I don't know what anyone under age 25 is saying half the time either.
Am I the only one that thinks seeing poutine at an A&W is funny?
Jeanna:
You mean you don't have poutine at A&W over there? Well, I guess it's like my Japanese students saying, "You mean you don't have Teriyaki burgers at McDonald's?"
P.S. You're right though. I don't understand what anyone under 25 is saying half the time either. I need an interpreter when I talk to my 22 year old brother! ;) LOL!
That's probably yummy, but it looks DISGUSTING. ;)
J:
You're right...It DOES look GROSS, doesn't it???
Hi, thanks so much for your comment! This is so strange because I was on Manitoulin Island about 2 weeks ago! My parents have a cottage on Sauble Beach and we went to the island a few weeks ago and loved it!
Congratulations on your pregnancy, you look fantastic!
Looking forward to reading your blog.
MATC