Even though the only difference between me and the people here is a language barrier, I feel awkward and out of place. I did some quick research online and found that there are around 6,500 languages in the world (not including dialects). Of all these languages, the top three spoken are Mandarin, Spanish, and English – in that order. About 900 million people speak Mandarin as their first language, and about 330 million speak Spanish or English as their first language. If these statistics covered the foreign languages people could speak, English would probably be first on the list. So why is everyone forced to learn English, but the people of the United States can speak nothing but English? Is it because the US is a major super power and people learn it to survive? I wish that the school systems in the US taught children another language at an early age, when it is easier to learn. I know that it would seem strange to teach children a language their parents do not know, but we should not rely on other cultures to learn English. It just seems weird that I can talk to almost anyone in the world in English (whether it be in the States, in their country, or on the computer), but I can’t speak their language. I think it gives them an advantage. I am not saying we shouldn’t speak English in the US, but I do think we should encourage more people to learn another language (or two!).
So, I am ready to leave Canada and return home. I have had fun while I am here, but I feel like I need to get back and get some work done. It is so strange to take a plane somewhere and stay in a hotel – but then have someone expecting you to do work while you are there, on what feels like a vacation! I enjoy going to the site and documenting what I see, along with exploring the city and the variety of buildings here, but I find it difficult to get anything else done. I don’t know what I am going to do when I am in Rome – I will feel like I am on one long vacation and fail all my classes!
Yesterday was a dreary, rainy day. We toured the Université de Montréal and the Université du Quebec a Montréal. None of the buildings there sparked my interest, but that may have been influenced by the fact that I was sopping wet for half the tour. We visited the Bibliotheque Nationale, which was absolutely stunning on the inside – but we were not allowed to take photos. A wood screen separates the lobby from the collections (it is probably 13m tall and 30m long). It was amazing to see such a gorgeous, light wood color fill the lobby space.
Today I took particular interest in exploring Palais des Congres de Montréal, the convention center of Montréal. The southwest facade of the building is composed of varying colors of glass panels. When the light goes through the glass it creates gorgeous effects inside.
