Bob of Montreal
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Lingualism
I had, yesterday, my first interface with someone who expressed extreme displeasure at my not knowing French. I was at the SAAQ (the Quebec equivalent of the Department of motor Vehicles) to register my car. As I arrived at the window (after a 2 hour wait --- long waits at the DMV seem to be everywhere), the bureaucrat said something detailed in French; I replied apologetically, "I'm sorry, I do not understand..." (yes, in English --why? because I've already found that if I say this in French, people just repeat what they say; the standard apparently is to say something in English, and the bilingualist switches over).
The teller looked at me archly, and mocked me: "You do not understand?". He then went silent for a few seconds, so I repeated, "No, I'm sorry, I don't speak French well." He arched an eyebrow, "Well, you are in Quebec now, so maybe you will learn a little French? All of our forms are in French, and we do everything in French." And then he silently went about his business.
Now, I thought, if we were in California, and someone who spoke only Spanish approached the window, and the same interaction occurred, we would regard the teller as intolerant, and unacceptably so. I don't think it is policy in the US for DMV tellers to chastise non-English speaking people to learn English. But, the situation is even more interesting here. French is the official language of the province of Quebec, while English must be provided as an alternative. Both languages are the official languages of Canada. But the French-speaking peoples of Quebec feel put-upon by the Microsoft of languages, and are themselves fighting back.
I am still looking forward to my classes this summer, and eventual fluency.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Phone II : ATT Hates me.
After 2 weeks of no voicemail and a 2-week old promise from ATT to get it fixed, I called ATT again. Now, they say that it is impossible to fix, because the call goes to the local Canadian network, and they lose control of it. That gives me the option of: (1) turning off my phone so that callers get my voicemail; (2) keeping my phone on, it rings, and if I can't answer, callers get the general ATT voicemail (where they could re-enter my number if they had it memorized -- but who the heck memorizes phone numbers).
I've started the number portability thing -- moving my cell phone number to my home number (which will forward to my new Canadian cell phone after a few rings). Sorry for the hassle.
Oh, in the process of finding this out, ATT customer service hung up on me. Seems that they didn't have any record of my previous call and complaint. They had no idea that I had a problem. So, they just dropped the whole complaint 2 seconds after my last call, and never looked into it. So I was talking over the "customer service" representatitive, and they come back with "Please don't shout at me sir" and I responded "I'm not shouting, I'm talking over you -- there's a difference, and you are not listening to what I'm saying." So she hung up on me.
Promise: I'll write about my teaching experiences very soon, and we'll get away from consumer complaints.
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Car 2
With luck, the car issue is resolved. I called my dealer Monday, and they had no loaners. Solution? They didn't get back to me until Tuesday, when my dealer offered to come out to campus, pick up the car, fix it, and bring it back on Wednesday. They did so. They checked the basic starter system, alternator. The battery was low, so they replaced it with a 700 Amp, from a 400 amp battery. Now, I hope the car continues to work.
It will be tested in the cold weather soon. Tonight's low: -31 C (-22 F).
Sunday, January 11, 2004
A Bad Week of Car
It started off very well. I bought my first new car -- 2004 Subaru Legacy SE (Red) on Monday. It drove off the floor like a great extension of self -- tight on the road with brakes that did what I told them, which is not a small feat on snow. But on Thursday night, after a late on-campus lecture, I hopped in, to find that it would turn over, but not start. It was -20 C (-4 F), and all the other cars were gone. I knew that batteries worked poorly in the cold, gas doesn't vaporize as well..... Okay, maybe there was a problem with the cold weather. I had reading to do, so I left the car on campus, and took a cab home.
Friday, about the time I was done with work, I called Subaru's much touted 24 hour road-side service (salesman: "You can get rid of your CAA membership"). 'Oh, well, yes, we can give you a jump, but we aren't sure we can get there - sometime between 6pm and midnight. There's a cold snap, and everybody's calling in.' Subaru had failed to explain to me that "24-hour" roadside service meant they would be there in 24 hours. This was not an option that night, as I had a dinner at 7pm, so, again, abandon the car and took a cab. About this time, it occurred to me that I did not buy a car to take cabs.
On Saturday, I called Subaru's service at 7:30am, to get my request in early. They could be at campus between 3 and 12 hours from now. Really far from optimal, I thought, but I'm at home, so I need them to call me 15 minutes before they get there (it was, after all, -20 C outside). They promise to do so.
At 11:30a, I took a break from my reading, and call in to check on progress. "Oh, we had a guy out there at 9:30, and he tried to call you cell, but the call didn't go through, so they left a note on your car." Ummm...... Notes on my car were not what I was after, and my cell is working just fine, thank you. The service is unacceptable, and I would not get off the phone until they gave me a time to meet them at the car. "One hour" was the reply -- and indeed, this time, they met me. However, it wasn't clear to the road-side guy whether the problem was the battery (which by then was entirely dead) or the electrical system.
Car dealers in Quebec are closed Saturday and Sunday, so no help from my guy this weekend, it seems.
I drove for an hour to recharge my battery, and now it's in my garage, and I'm afraid to take it out for fear of stopping someplace -- like a parking space -- where I *can't* leave it for 3 days. Which ain't the kind of convenience I was thinking I would get from buying a car.
I'm beginning to wish I had decided to stick with taxis.
Thursday, January 08, 2004
Okay, Now It's cold.
The Average daily low temperature in Montreal for January is 5 degrees F.
Today, the range of temperature is -21 F to -5 F. So, the high is well below the daily average low. Last night when I finished work at 11:30, it was -20 deg F, and my car was considering not starting. I think the oil had frozen. I haven't read the manual yet --- but there was a light which said "Low Oil Temp". I hope the car can operate at -20 deg F.
Saturday, January 03, 2004
That's Some Stiff Buerre
Another advantage of Montreal over Pasadena: the buerre doesn't melt on the way home from the marche.
However, try to strike up a conversation in the local diner about whether or not USC deserves to be delcared #1, and you get a lot of blank stares.
This morning, I went to a second of two local diners I've found within 3 blocks. I gave two Saturday breakfasts to the other, and it was time to check out. Diner #1 has great character, is being run mostly by 20 year olds. I was getting 3 eggs scrambled, links, bacon, potatoes and coffee for about $4 American (plus tax and tip). The downside was lots of smoke.
Diner #2 has been open about 60 years, but looks like it opened last week as a retro diner. Called "Beauty", and with anachronistic yet unaged artifacts of the 50s, the omelets were competent but completely without character. However, they served a Montreal bagel with breakfast. Montreal bagels differ from the familiar New York counterpart in that they are less bready, more crusty, with less yeasty heft. They are baked in a wood-fired brick oven. And they taste divine.
Thursday, January 01, 2004
Uh oh.
Today I ran out of the coffee I brought with me from the US (i.e., the bags of Peets I had hoarded).
So, I'm on a search for new coffee.
