Under the Spell of Quebec

Spending a few days in the friendly province of Quebec makes me want to go back for more.  Having lived in the upper Midwest of the US and in France, Quebec feels to me like a synthesis of these two familiar places.  Downtown Trois-Rivieres looked like the main street of any North American town in its architecture, but that's where the similarity ends.  Most store fronts were sidewalk cafes and restaurants.  Their terraces were filled with people of all ages.   Instead of watching TV in their houses or apartments, the whole local population seemed to be dining, strolling, or sipping on this warm evening.   A visit to an ordinary chain supermarket revealed appealing displays of local products.   Intense cheeses like Le Grand Chouffe and Duo du Paradis come from the Quebecois countryside.  Although I have often seen a delectable Quebecois monastery cheese called Oka in cheese shops in the US, many of the local cheeses did not seem to be widely distributed abroad.  The cheeses were marketed paired with regional beers like Trois-Pistoles and La Fin du Monde (The End of the World).  The local strawberries were tastier than any I have had since childhood.   The store was modern, yet maintained a pleasant, local feel.  A visit to Archambault, a store specializing in books and music of Quebec provided an opportunity to stock up on old standards of the "chanson quebecois" and to see what is new on the lively French-Canadian music scene. Music is a cherished part of the cultural heritage of Quebec.  For every Celine Dion, there are dozens of talented singer-songwriters and groups who are revered by the French-speaking community in Canada.  Some of the songs deal with the theme of preserving the French language in North America.  They remind one of the sacrifices that French-speakers have made over the decades due to their love of the French language.  It was explained to me that in Trois-Rivieres, the factories had once been run by anglophones while francophones provided the labor.  That system has finally given way to a culture of largely bilingual people in which French speakers are as economically empowered as English speakers.  The Quebecois are a resourceful and creative people who have adapted their French heritage to the North American environment to create a vibrant and welcoming culture all their own.

Comments

[Michele]

Sounds like a lovely trip. I'm so jealous! I was hoping to visit Montreal this summer, but my need for new eyeglasses is superceding my desire for a vacation away. Helas, maybe next year.

[Elisabeth]

Were you just on vacation at Trois-Rivieres? Believe it or not, my school has a very successful agreement with the Universite du Quebec at Trois-Rivieres, and we always have a handful of students who spend 5 to 6 weeks there each summer. I really need to go and visit. I have never been to Quebec.

[Olivier]

Waw, thanks for all these compliments! :)