first time for everything

I have officially become legal to stay here for three months (passport back in possession, nail-biting drawing to a close), and so I have been rejoicing all day. (Weeee! Or, to translate, Ouiiii!) In addition to that load off my shoulders, today was host to several French Canadian novelties. It was the day of ...

... my first big snow in Quebec! It was as if yesterday, it was just a very cold autumn with no snow on the ground, and overnight, an incomprehensibly large xmas snow-globe exploded over the region so that now Quebec is a full-blown winter wonderland. Something like 7 inches fell in one day. I say "something like" because I am a stupid American and centimeters don't make sense to me. (see below*)

... my first time driving in Quebec! Not too different from driving in the US, except I've only driven in a blizzard a couple of times, one of which resulted in a 180 on an Iowa freeway. And today was very similar to that fateful day. There were the mounds of snow in the middle of streets**, so much snowfall that everything just looked like blinding whiteness, and howling gales that were (and still are) both very loud and very strong. The gusts have been audibly beating the sides of this building all night, and the wind is totally (and pretty obnoxiously, I must say) whistling at me as I sit here in my sexy sweatpants. Upon exiting the grocery store tonight, a three-foot baguette was blown out of our paper sack and flew across the parking lot a little ways. Three feet long, I say! What if there was a midget in our grocery bag?! There could have been injuries, that's what. Even with all that, I'm pretty sure the Quebecois didn't count this as a blizzard, but just a normal day in November. Oh, and incidentally, today's driving experience resulted in other, related firsts, namely,

- first-time snow-planing in Quebec! (see above**)

and

- first-time getting lost on Quebec highways! That was fun. Not only are there insane-looking traffic-sign arrows that resemble mazes (even when their purpose is to simplify directions), and highway turn-offs that are part-exit ramp, part-parking lot, but also, there are signs that say things like, "[name of exit] 900 m," which brings to my mind an image of a meter stick*, and imagining 900 of those, which doesn't seem like a lot since I'm in a moving car, and so I debate whether or not I have time to pass the slow-mo in front of me, and then end up making bad decisions all around.

... my first time backing out of our garage here, which is a little what I imagine giving birth would be like: trying to fit something the size of, say, a Ford Escort through an opening the size of a smart car.

... the first xmas song of the season in a grocery store! These are exciting times, indeed. December, I know you already know this, but you're my favorite and I love you. And you're so close, I can almost taste you. Mmmm. And you taste like birthday presents.