Week 6 in Beijing

It’s hard to believe that my time in China is coming to a close. Living in Beijing for this eight week period is definitely a once in a lifetime experience and has surely made my summer full of adventure and memories. Now that I am nearing the end of my second year of Chinese language study, I can definitely tell our studies are getting ramped up. Last week and especially this week our lessons have had significantly more new words to learn and increasingly more difficult grammar. Its tough because with the short time I have left in China I want to be able to get to see every place I want to but I also need to focus on my studies at the same time which can be very demanding during the week.

Last Friday afternoon, our teachers took us to a 火锅 (hot pot) restaurant. This is the second time we have gone in our group to one of these restaurants and my third time overall in China. This type of food has come to be some of my favorite food China has to offer. At this type of restaurant, at the center of your table is basically a stove where they put a pot on where you can get various flavors of stew inside. They then bring you uncooked meat, usually beef, and other ingredients such as vegetables and noodles where you cook them right at your own table. I find it to be very appetizing and it also seems to be a favorite among my classmates. After this we actually went and saw a Chinese movie, even without English subtitles. The movie was definitely hard to comprehend just by watching but I was pleasantly surprised about how much I could actually read of the Chinese subtitles. It wasn’t enough to know exactly what was going on most of the time but still a sign that my Chinese is improving. On Saturday, I slept in and then went to silk street, the other notorious Beijing market for having fake goods. This market, unlike the pearl market, resembled more of an actual mall with individual stores you could actually walk into compared to randomized stalls like the pearl market. The products here also seemed to have better quality because the vendors prices seemed to be significantly higher, bargaining was definitely still a must though.

Later in the day, we went as a class to watch a Chinese acrobat show. The theater was located right next to the Beijing central business district so it was neat to see some of the taller and nicer buildings in Beijing like the CCTV tower. As for the show, it was very enjoyable. The acrobats did some crazy dangerous stuff that honestly made me nervous and not be able to sit still in my seat. There was one segment where they had a metal sphere cage and put as many as eight motorcyclists in at the same time while they were all driving around, very scary.

Till my last and final week, 再见 (Goodbye)

Xi’an: A Weekend in Review

The 11 hour train ride from Beijing to Xi’an seemed impossible at first, especially upon learning that we were not going to have wi-fi for the entire ride (and for the entire weekend, for that matter). I thought about all of the snapchat streaks that I would lose, the text messages that I would be late to respond to, and all of the content that I would miss over the span of the weekend. However, I slowly realized that staying unplugged was definitely one of the best parts of the trip. As I looked out the window and watched the scenery transition from forested areas to clusters of buildings, I saw a different part of China, one that truly served as a testament to the enormous scale of this country. I collected images in my head that I would’ve otherwise missed if I was staring at a screen the entire time.

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Once we arrived in Xi’an, I instantly fell in love with the city. The food was different from what I was used to in Beijing, and compared to Beijing, Xi’an seemed to have a more calming vibe. Quite casually, our first stop was to see the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses. Upon entering the massive complex that houses these iconic figures, I was at a loss for words. I had seen pictures and even saw the fake replica at Disneyworld years ago, but seeing the Terra Cotta Warriors in person was simply an unforgettable experience. This was also Ye Laoshi’s first time so it was great to share a sense of awe and wonder as we all tried to soak in the reality of, “Wow, this is actually real.”

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The next day, we biked around the City Wall, but at first, I was terrified because I legitimately thought I forgot how to ride a bike. The last time I rode a bike was when I was seven years old, so when Ye Laoshi pointed at the yellow bikes and said we were going to ride around the entire perimeter of the wall (with all of the bumps and dips), I panicked inside. In my head, I pictured myself biking straight into a wall or falling over. However, I decided to just suck it up and got on my bike. The first few seconds were terrifying and I saw my life flash before my eyes several times, but once I got the hang of it, biking around the perimeter of the City Wall was, by far, one of my favorite experiences in China. It was exhilarating passing by the amazing views of the city and stopping to marvel at the beautiful traditional architecture.

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I admit that it is a cheesy comparison but learning how to ride a bike again reminded me of my experiences living and learning in China. The first few days were full of dips and bumps in the road, and it definitely tested my patience. However, once I kept pushing through and celebrating the small wins every day, I began to really enjoy my time here. I am sad that I only have two weeks left in this country, but I want to do my best to make the most of it and learn something new every day.

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”

The conclusion of this school week marked the conclusion of our midterm, and as a divider between the semesters’ worths of content, the program ventured to Xi’an together. Exploring a new city was a breath of fresh air, both figuratively and literally the air quality was noticeably better the moment we stepped off the sleeper train. If you haven’t started to notice a trend in my blog posts where I eat my words, maybe you’ll notice it now. I ended my previous post commenting on the severity in the divide between ancient China and modern China, but Xi’an has mastered balancing the two. Xi’an situates itself on the confluence of the Feng and Hao rivers, but also on the confluence of the China of today, the modern economic power, and the ancient, spiritual China. The two are not mutually exclusive. Xi’an was known as China’s established capital well before Beijing ever was, and is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Eastern Asia. Under the name Chang’an, the city was the eastern most stop on the Silk Road trading network, begun in the 2nd Century BC.

Even so, as we biked atop the city’s ancient city wall, the pagodas and temples were no longer the only constructions taller than we were. Rather, we circled an 8.5 mile perimeter of bright billboards and steely skyscrapers that somehow did not seem to need the protection of a fourteen hundred year old fortification.

Even so, though we browsed and haggled for good among street vendors with blinking neon signs, we were a block away from a mosque founded in the year 742. And at night, when we walked through the lanes bordered by the rising palatial architecture, the swooping roofs were illuminated by both distinctly colored LED lights as well as paper lanterns.

Even so, as we watched a performance of the Song of Everlasting Regret detailing the romance and rebellion in the life of an emperor from the year 755 AD, the stage production was not limited to the masks of ancient dramas. Instead, the theater lit up an entire mountain side with incandescent lights to mimic the night sky with stars dotting the path beneath a cable car system from which fireworks were shot towards the audience to portray a battle occurring on the platforms and pyrotechnics arising from the pond that surrounded the original stage. Somehow I don’t think the poem’s Ninth Century author envisioned the same production I saw. But it was incredible. It may have been cheesy but besides the overwhelming awe, all I could even fathom to think was that this production was the greatest metaphor for the entire history of China, not forgetting the explosive changes of the last half century, and not daring to exclude the centuries of culture preceding them.

To wrap things up, here is my weekly China travel advice:
Don’t wear white in China.
You don’t know how to use chopsticks as well as you think you do.

Beijing – The Halfway Point

Marking our halfway point for our summer session abroad in China, the Notre Dame summer language program took a trip down to Xi’an, China.  It was roughly an 11 hour trip by train from the Beijing station.  It was a very interesting experience to say the least, for not only is it not common to travel by train in the States, but it is a foreign concept to travel by train in a sleeping car with strangers.  While I will admit I was originally put off by the tight quarters of the “soft-sleeper” car, I ended up enjoying the new experience, and the chance to practice speaking with native speakers.

Arriving in Xi’an, the immediate distinguishing characteristic from Beijing was the air quality.  While China as a whole has problems with pollution, it is more serious in Beijing, and it is often days at a time between sunny days with blue skies.  Getting off the train in Xi’an, there was not a cloud in the sky, and there was a comfortable breeze.  Absolutely beautiful weather.

Xi’an is an ancient city, and we were able to see the famous city wall, a stunning play detailing the exploits of a famous Tang dynasty emperor, and of course the army of Terra-cotta Warriors.  The Terra-cotta warriors were breathtaking, and the history was practically tangible walking through the massive excavation.  It was incredible to think they had not even found all of them yet.  However, the Xi’an wall was my favorite stop.  A wall that runs a roughly 14 KM rectangle around the city, it is ancient, and traverses past many famous Xi’an sites.  Riding a rented bike around the wall twice, I was able to take in the scenery and have a little fun racing my classmates. 

It is remarkable to me that I have already surpassed the halfway point of my experience here.  The weeks have flown by, yet somehow I feel I have been here for years.  Interactions that were once challenging are now routine and second-hand.  I am proud of the progress I have made, and excited that I am fortunate enough to have some weeks left in this country to continue to learn and grow as a student. 

Local Irish responses to US Affairs

When one comes to a program like Oideas Gael where people from around the world are coming to study and learn Irish, the first question that is often asked in any setting is “where are you from?” If my accent has not given my answer away already I respond with America, or Southern California to be more specific. Almost immediately the next question I receive is “Who are you voting for? Hillary or Trump?” The first time I was asked this question I was caught a little off guard, but as time went on I found that was one of the first questions the people I met in Ireland and from around the world would ask their new American friends.

This is a photo I took during one of my first excursions near Gleann Cholm Cille. These are the cliffs of Sliabh Liag which are said to be one of the highest sea cliffs in Europe!

This is a photo I took during one of my first excursions near Gleann Cholm Cille. These are the cliffs of Sliabh Liag which are said to be one of the highest sea cliffs in Europe!

After this question came up several times, I asked some of the members of my host family and some of their local friends what their thoughts were on American politics and what was going on in the States. Many related how they personally felt about the candidates and those opinions landed on both ends of the spectrum depending on what their own political values were. For the most part, the men and women I spoke with thought the campaigns were ridiculous and that when it came down to it, they would just be curious to see who would win the election. One man who was in his early twenties was one of the few people that expressed serious concern for the effects one candidate would have over another. He continued on to speak about how American politics affect Ireland and many other countries. It seemed to be that it was the younger generation that had more of a genuine concern versus the older generation that found it more entertaining and funny.

Oftentimes though, this type of conversation switched over to the recent shootings in the United States. Each morning, my host family has the radio on and every time a shooting occurred in the States, it would be the topic of that morning’s breakfast. They would ask me “What is going on with your country? What are you guys going to do about it?” That question was definitely a hard one to hear. In the States when something like this occurs, more often than not it strikes a debate and people end up picking sides. Here in Ireland though, it was not a question of who do you think is right in this situation, but rather more of a statement that America is experiencing some rough times and that it is more important to talk about the bigger picture.

I’m in China!: Xi’an

Hi everyone, so it’s been a while since I last posted. While I wasn’t posting, I went to a new city in China, which is called Xi’an. We went to Xi’an by train and it took around 11 hours. The train was really long, and because it was a red-eye train there were mini-rooms with four beds in them. I was in a room with two of my classmates and a random Chinese man, while my other classmates were scattered throughout the train.

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Anyways, when we got to Xi’an we experienced a lot of different cool things. For instance, the day we arrived at Xi’an we went to see the Terracotta Warriors, which was an unreal experience. The hundreds of Terracotta Warriors and Horses were constructed approximately 2,200 years ago by the First Emperor Qin. He ordered the creation of the army of Terracotta Statues to be buried with him because he believed that objects like statues could come to life in the afterlife. So naturally, Emperor Qin thought that an after-death army was a necessity.

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We also watched an incredible performance of the Song of Everlasting Regret, which is about a very powerful emperor Hsuan Tsung and his great love for Yang Kuei-fei. As Hsuan got older, he met this young woman, and they spent their time together in passionate love. Everything was good and all, except for the fact that the army got jealous that Yang’s family was getting too much power because of the emperor’s love for her. So the army decided to kill Yang and Hsuan gave up being emperor and let his son rule. The performance was outside and there were hundreds of people watching the performance. It is very hard to describe in words, but here are some words I would use to describe it: colorful, explosion, birds, glamorous, fireworks, grandiose music. Yeah, I didn’t exactly understand what was going on when I was watching the performance, but everything made sense to me when I read the plot online.

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My favorite part of the Xi’an excursion trip was that I got to ride a two-person bike on Xi’an’s CITY WALL! It was insane. For one of the first times I was in China, I felt like I was breathing in fresh air. The city wall covered 8.5 miles in length and from each part of the city wall, I could see the city’s expanse with its temples and modernized buildings jutting out.

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So week 5 just ended, and China keeps on surprising me with new and awesome things. The next three weeks are going to be bittersweet, and I’m looking forward to making the most of them.

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Oh, Italian Food.

Other than the people and the beautiful views, one thing I would definitely miss is the food. From the €1.50 piece of pizza, the freshly made and customized panino (fun fact, it’s actually “panino” for one sandwich, and “panini” is the plural word!) the cheap but also fresh pasta from the bottega, the full four or five course Italian dinner that takes 3 hours, to the scrumptious but cheap gelato, the food here is just heavenly. It might be the fresh ingredients, or the time, dedication, and passion the locals pour onto preparing them.

(Before reading the post, I’d like to apologize in advance for te lack of photos- I always got too busy enjoying the meals/the conversations or cooking to take photos! But hopefully my writing would suffice.)

Let me tell you something. Even the things that I don’t like (or would rather not eat) back home, somehow taste 100 times better here in this country. I’ll list a couple of them as examples: red pepper, mushroom, chicken liver (I would gag if I had to eat them back home or in the US!), eggplants. But here, they taste oh-my-goodness so delicious you don’t even care what you’re eating! The chicken liver here is processed and seasoned so so well, and then put on top of the crostini/bread like a spread. It’s actually become one of my favorite antipasti! Another unique food that I tried here, which I have tried before but am not really passionate about, is tripe. It’s the inner muscle walls of a cow, and is a regional specialty here in Tuscany. I tried this dish, which is called “la trippa”, in one of the restaurants that had been recommended by a local, and I really liked it!

clockwise from the bottom left: penne arrabbiata, bistecca, pici boscaiola, and la trippa!


While staying here in Siena, I’ve also had the opportunity to attend a cooking class with the other Notre Dame kids here at the school! It was so much fun, and we learnt to cook a full Italian dinner, which consists of the antipasto or appetizer, primo piatto (first course, normally pasta or rice), secondo piatto (second course, which would be meat, chicken, or other protein), and dolce (dessert, yum!). We all worked as a team with the chefs who helped to teach and supervise us while we prepare the food. For the antipasto, we made some bruschetta and crostini with vegetables on top. For the primo piatto, we made a thin pasta called “stracci.” We all got to make the pasta from scratch! It was my first time making pasta from flour and eggs, and using the pasta machine. It was so much fun, kneading the dough and rolling the pasta machine. And then for the secondo piatto, we prepared rolled turkey breast with spinach filling. I also had the privilege of whipping the cream for the dolce, and stirring it all together with the gelatine, milk, lemon zest mixture. The dessert was a scrumptious creamy concoction with berries and a cookie on top, called the Bavarese alla Crema.

my proud face upon seeing that the bavarese alla crema turned out well!


But I think that what I enjoy the most about my meals in Italy is how much they brought the people together. The dinners I had with my friends take at least 1.5-2 hours (sometimes more). Whether it was at a full meal in a restaurant, an aperitivo (a pre-dinner warm up, yum!), a picnic, or a homemade dinner in my own kitchen, we had really good conversations during those meals. There were dinners when we talked about the Brexit issue, politics in Spain and the US, about life in Siena, about the meaning of friendship, about the places we had gone to, about our faith and beliefs, about our home and family, or just about life in general. Friendships were started and built through inviting people to have meals together. During those conversations, you got to know the person’s perspectives on things, their cultural and family background, their values and identity. It was beautiful, as I look back now, how much the power of food could really bring people together. It’s definitely something that I would miss as I leave Italy, but it’s also something that I want to keep doing as I go back to Notre Dame.
Here’s to all the good meals in the future! :).

“Facciamo una passeggiata!”

The title, in Italian, means “Let’s take a walk.” It’s definitely something that I’ve been doing a lot since I got here. Taking a walk isn’t something that I do a lot back home, not something I’d do to get to places- but here in Siena (and other cities in Italy that I’ve visited so far), it has become my favorite means of transportation. One main reason is that it’s super economical, AKA free. But another reason is the things you see, or bump into, along your way: the interesting stores and alleys, unexpected opening between the buildings with a beautiful view, random artworks on the streets, a parade of people from the contrada marching in medieval costumes, vibrant markets, etc etc.

A beautiful chalk painting on a street in Siena!

A beautiful chalk painting on a street in Siena

A parade of young people from the contrada Bruco

I bumped into a parade of young people from the contrada Bruco!

A vibrant fruit market in Venice that I found as I walked from the station

A vibrant fruit market in Venice that I found as I walked from the station

Siena is particularly fun to walk around, with little “vicolo” or small streets, random openings in between the buildings with amazing views, and very interesting buildings with medieval architecture all over the town. The town is located on a series of hills, which sometimes makes it more like an exercise than a casual walk. But these so-called “struggles” make it even more worth it when you discover something beautiful!

One of my favorite views is on a hill near the Basilica of San Domenico. I was just wandering around a small alley next to the church after attending mass, when I saw that there was a pizzeria that my friend had recommended to me the day before. I decided to walk up the alley to check out the menu of the pizzeria, and as I walked along the street, I reached an open area with three restaurants on the right side, and a beautiful view on my left! I could see the black and white stripes of the Duomo, the tower at the main piazza, and basically most of the historic center of Siena!

what a view!

what a view!

Other than Siena, I’ve also had the opportunities to travel to a couple other cities in Italy, like Florence, Venice, Padua, Rome, and San Gimignano. I did visit some museums and saw a lot of beautiful art–especially in Florence and Rome! I was overwhelmed with joy as I saw the works of the Renaissance masters like Michelangelo’s Pieta, Raphael’s School of Athens, Leonardo da Vinci’s Annunciation; and also the magnificent Baroque sculptures and monuments by Bernini all over Rome! Being an art history nerd, I couldn’t stop smiling as I walked through the Piazza San Pietro in Vatican, and also the galleries at the Uffizi and the Vatican Museum. These artworks–and my weekend in each cities–need another separate blog post, as they were just so amazing.

The beautiful piazza and Basilica di San Pietro in Vatican

The beautiful piazza and Basilica di San Pietro in Vatican

One of my favorite artworks of all time: Michelangelo's Pieta

One of my favorite artworks of all time: Michelangelo’s Pieta

But other than the beautiful artworks in the museum, I also enjoyed walking around the cities, where I was able to people watch, wander around the streets and shops, marvel at the buildings with medieval, venetian, or classical architecture. In Padua (one of my favorite cities so far!), for example, the vibrant energy of the young people and modern shops blend well with the renaissance buildings, the charming roman porticoes, the spacious piazzas, canals and bridges around the city.

The famous clock tower in Padova, at the Piazza dei Signori

The famous clock tower in Padova, at the Piazza dei Signori

Another beautiful piazza in Padua, Piazza delle Erbe

Another beautiful piazza in Padua, Piazza delle Erbe

One of the canals in Padua!

One of the canals in Padua!

Walking around, I discover a little bit more about each of the cities. In some ways, the cities are like artworks themselves, the works of urbanization from many years ago which are well-preserved, beautiful piazzas and green parks with buildings carved surrounding it, cobble-stone streets lining around it, with blocks of sunlight going in between the trees and buildings.  These “passeggiate” that I took around each cities reminded me of my art history class last semester, where my professor talked about the urbanization in Rome and other cities in Italy in the past- he more or else said that the process of urbanization is like carving a space with the buildings and monuments, creating a livable area for the people. I could truly understand and appreciate what he was talking about, as I walked through the colonnades, along the rivers and canals, or sat down at a piazza.

An early morning walk along the Arno River in Florence, on our way to the Uffizi!

A peaceful and beautiful early morning walk along the Arno River in Florence, on our way to the Uffizi!

The view from Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, after climbing what felt like hundreds of steps of staircase

The view from Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, after climbing what felt like hundreds of steps of staircase

The lovely Venice :)

The lovely Venice 🙂

A panoramic view that I found when I walked at San Gimignano

A panoramic view that I found when I walked at San Gimignano

 

 

 

Bonjour/Allo

Last night, I took the Metro to the east side of Montreal. After a hiccup with my connection, I finally arrived at the Villa Maria station, where I began the short walk up the western slopes of Mount Royal to meet with two Canadians. After a while, the conversation drifted to my research for my dissertation. After I explained my interests, one of my hosts asked if I had done any work at the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, or BAnQ. I explained that I had not yet done any work there, but I hoped to spend a good deal of time there in the upcoming semester to explore their holdings. My host, who had some familiarity with the institution, had some advice for me.

“Don’t risk blowing your first impression with them,” he warned me. “Make sure that you address the first person you see in French, even if you bungle your French. With any luck you’ll make it through and they’ll be able to help you. Or else maybe they’ll speak English, or find someone who speaks English if they can’t help. In any case, you don’t want to start off by speaking English. You can’t risk putting them off like that in case they decide they don’t want to prioritize helping you. And if you stay around here, definitely don’t tell them that, even if you can converse with them in French.”

His advice to me stemmed from one of the more contentious aspects of Quebec’s culture and society: the uneasy tension between the Francophone and Anglophone communities in the Province of Quebec. I sat down with my hosts in the town of Westmount; technically part of the city of Montreal, but legally distinct from the municipal government. In 2002, the community of Westmount had, after a bitter struggle, been merged into the city of Montreal. Opponents of the merger had claimed that Westmount had a special status as an Anglophone enclave and therefore should not be merged into the Francophone city of Montreal. But in 2004, after the government had changed, the town voted to remove itself from the municipality of Montreal. After the vote to demerge, Montrealers remained bitter about the primarily Anglophone community’s seeming contempt for their Francophone neighbors. The conflict over language in this case also masked other socio-economic tensions. The area encompassed by Westmount encompasses some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Montreal–and historically some of the most affluent in all of Canada. Their departure from Montreal entailed a substantial loss of tax revenue for the city. But the conflict played out in terms of linguistic divisions.

The cultural divide between Anglophones and Francophones in Quebec extends far back in Canada’s history. After the British conquest of New France, which included the territory of Quebec, in 1763, a small contingent of Anglophone merchants and settlers began to trickle into the French-speaking region around Quebec. After the American Revolution, the trickle turned into a flood as Loyalists fleeing the new American republic fled to British Canada. The British Crown split Quebec into two provinces in 1791, creating Lower Canada, a primarily Francophone region, and Upper Canada, inhabited by an Anglophone majority. After failed rebellions in both Upper and Lower Canada in the late 1830s, the British reunited the two regions as the Province of Canada, until the Constitution Act of 1867 created Ontario and Quebec, more or less as we know them today.

Section 133 of the 1867 Constitution Act set forth both English and French as the official languages of the both the Canadian Parliament and the Parliament of Quebec. Industrialization in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century heralded in a wave of Anglophone immigration to Quebec, especially in the urban center of Montreal. English became the language of business here, even as the majority of the population of the city remained Francophone. Concern over the growing provenance of the English language and the marginalization of Francophone Canadians in the politics and business world of what they considered “their” province led the nationalist government in 1977 to pass the Charter of the French Language, commonly known as Law 101 or loi cent et un. This bill and its provisions made French the sole official language of the Province, requiring that all business in the Province be conducted in French. Further provisions required that all signage, advertisement, branding, etc. be in French (as a concession to companies doing business throughout Canada, the law did not forbid English to appear alongside French, so long as the French had equal or greater prominence as compared to the English text).

Likewise, French became the sole language of education for most of the residents of the Province. In order for their children to receive an education at an English-language school in the Province, residents (to this day) have to demonstrate that they themselves received an education in an English-language institution. For example, if both of one’s parents grew up in Anglophone households, considered English as their first language, raised their own children in English, but nevertheless attended a French school when they were young, their children, despite being Anglophones, would be forbidden from attending an Anglophone school. My hosts—one native Anglophone and one native Francophone—explained to me that because they could prove that they both attended an Anglophone school for some time when they were young allowed them to send their own children to an Anglophone school for a year so that, in the future, their children would have the credentials to send their children (my hosts grandchildren) to an Anglophone school should they choose to.

According to younger residents of Quebec, however, the animosity between the Anglophones and Francophones has receded in recent years. According to a women in her twenties with whom I spoke, young Francophones have embraced the multicultural status of their home—at least in Montreal. The further I venture outside of Montreal or Quebec City, she warned me, the less likely I would find fluent speakers of English. Now that the impetus behind the separatist movement has died down, she suggested, much of the animosity has also abated, though some would have little sympathy for a visitor with no French language skills. But, as the tension between residents of Westmount and the rest of Montreal demonstrates, when the linguistic issue becomes entangled with other issues, it can still spark bitter animosity.

Québec and la Fête Nationale

On 24 June every year, Quebecers celebrate Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, the fête nationale du Québec and, in the Catholic calendar, the feast day of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.   As a statutory holiday, most residents of Quebec have off of work to celebrate, and grand festivities occur in most of the major cities and towns of Quebec.

The origins of the holiday stretch back to Quebec’s history as a colony of France. The Catholic feast day had historically been a popular holiday in France, and the French settlers who came to Canada in the seventeenth century brought the celebration with them. As a Catholic feast day (Catholicism being the official religion of the French colony), celebrants engaged in both religious and secular festivities. Residents of the colony attended mass in celebration of the feast day, and often constructed large bonfires to continue the celebrations into the evening.

The holiday took on new meaning after the British took over the colony in 1763. In the 1830s, the festival gained new significance as a celebration of French-Canadian culture and its distinctiveness within the British colony. In the years following the failed Lower Canada Rebellion of 1838, in which French-Canadian patriotic sentiment had been rallied to first support political reform in the colony to favor French-Canadians and later armed insurrection to force reform, the celebrations became much more muted. They grew again in size and popularity in the late nineteenth century, emerging as a celebration of French-Canadian culture, tied closely to the religious character of the holiday, since many French-Canadians remained pious Roman Catholics. In the early twentieth century, the holiday acquired new dimensions as Pope Pius declared Saint John the Baptist the patron saint of French Canadians in 1908 and the legislature of Quebec declared the day a legal holiday.

In the 1970s, during the Quiet Revolution in Quebec, a period of intense social and political changed marked by profound secularization and the growth of intense nationalism, the holiday took on a new, highly political charge. The Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, the Queen’s direct representative in the province, made the holiday a statutory holiday in 1977. Along with the secularization of the Province in the 1960s and 1970s, nationalist and separatist overtones replaced the religious significance of the holiday. The holiday transformed into a semi-official rallying point for nationalist movements, with festivities sometimes punctuated with political protest in favor of Quebecois sovereignty or independence.

Today, the holiday has reemerged as a celebration of French-Canadian culture. Official festivities occur throughout the province, highlighting francophone artists, performers, and cultural figures. Major cities in the province often host parades where the provinces official colors, blue and white, and the Fleurdelisé, the flag of Quebec, feature prominently in the parade and amongst parade-goers. While the celebrations feature primarily Francophone performers, the holiday’s status as a legal holiday means that both francophone and Anglophone Quebecers celebrate, and recently the holiday’s official organizing body have focused on inclusivity as a theme, recognizing the multicultural nature of Quebec’s society today. Yet, if asked, many still take pride in the holiday as a distinctive Quebecois holiday, especially given its timing just prior to the federal holiday of Canada Day on 1 July.   Since provincial government officially recognizes the holiday, and supports the organization which plan and coordinate festivities, official accounts of the holiday and the public perception of the holiday often align. The current theme of a society “distinct, yet accepting” celebrated in the holiday coincides with how many in Quebec see themselves. Those who I spoke to agreed with this account for the most part, but also emphasized that it was a day where they could take pride in being Quebecois and having preserved their distinct culture within Canada.