Class of 2000 |
Renee Tratch |
|
The Graduates
Bonnie Allen
Larry Todd Jim McKenzie Roy Bonisteel Patricia Bell Wendy Tebb Lindsay Crysler Renee Pellerin |
Current LocationRegina, Saskatchewantigerlily@bust.com 585-4933(hm) 585-4410 (wk)
Posted on May 29, 2001 by Renee TratchCan you feel my north american presence? I am hooooome. Youpi! I have been basking in the beautiful, friendly, clean, sunshiny green Canada surrounded by English and friends and familiarity for the last couple of weeks! I am just soaking up all this Canadian-prairie luvin'. Like a kid in a candy store. People are just so polite here. In restaurants, in stores...people ask me how I am doing, they hold open doors (and say sorry if they don't hold it alllll the way open) and if I am waiting...people apologize for taking so long. I didn't even notice I was waiting. No one is trying to run me over with their cars and I get to drive again. I am soooo happy. [pause and deep breath] Right now I am living on planet University. (A nice welcome back to Regina, hey.) Not studying however. Instead I am working with a bunch of Quebecers who are here to learn English. It's fun. A breath of fresh air: Quebec university students vs. my rude boy french kids in Nice. I've got a few more weeks to go. I'm a wee bit tired but I think my head is still spinning from the past year. Lots of travelling. Not going to get into it in writing. Lots to tell. We got stories to share. So I hope to hear from you soon and even see your smiling faces Regina people. Let's hook up. Bisous RENEE.
Posted on March 4, 2001 by Renee Tratch"Goddag!" you are all so "smuk" - which here in beautiful copenhagen means you are beautiful. Once again, thanks to the french education system, I was able to escape the "crrrazzie frrench hold peoples" (described by one of my students who was dead on in her comment) and escape from the French craziness to mountains, snow and nature! The first week I went into the alpes with a bunch of un-french french people (meaning cool french people) to relax and snowboard. Oddly, this prairie girl felt incredibly at home in mountains which is making me second guess my need to move east rather than west in Canada. hmmm. Now I am in Copenhagen - my little Canada for the week to visit a friend (a former j-school grad in fact.) I couldn´t be happier. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to speak English with someone who speaks my English and not be made fun of for my so-called American accent. And Copenhagen is a beautiful cozy clean relaxed city with cool funky people who speak frighteningly amazing English (it may be the fact that I have the terrible french accent entrenched in my mind). My friends have taught me some important phrases in Danish filled with a whole bunch of åå æ øøø. We´ve done a loop through Danmark and Sweden putting ourselves through a ton of "grub street" situations. It´s been amazing and refreshing. I am back in Nice and into french tonight and back in the classroom tomorrow. *sigh* So, c´est ca. Just thought I would drop a few lines seeing that internet is free here (the Danish government really loves students and they get things like free internet at home. Too nice.) Hope to hear from and see you guys sooooooon. "Hi hi," Renee
Posted on December 21, 2000 by Renee Tratch"Sumpitee Sump Sump, Sumpitee Sump Sump, Loooook at Frrros-tee Goh." Joyeux Noel! I hope everyone is happy at home for Christmas with friends and family. Somehow it just doesn't feel like "Noel" here. Maybe it's the palm trees or the blue ocean or the lack of Christmas spirit here in France. It makes me feel a wee tiny itzy bit homesick to see everyone around go home for the holidays. I'm almost willing to give up palm trees for some snow. So to get a little bit more into the holiday spirit, I have been teaching my students Christmas carols: "Za twelve Day of Chrrrrismas" and "Jin-gel belz." However I'm not sure if their rendition of the songs makes me feel better or worse. Especially when "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" flops something terrible with my class of "Boyz in the Hood." (Everyone is into Hip Hop and Rap here.) So it's only one more class to go and then I have almost three weeks off. I shouldn't comlain right? Ample travel time. I am taking off to spend Christmas in the Alps. Bought myself a little "cadeau": a "surf" (snowboard) so hopefully I can break it in during the holidays. And if I don't break something doing it, I plan on visiting some friends in Grenoble and then Paris for "le reveillon" (New Year's Eve.) For the first week in January, I am going to Spain to hang out with the Spanish language assistant that I work with here in Nice. Cool cool. I hope to see you all in the New Year. Have a wonderful wonderful holiday. Bisous, Renée P.S. Did the European Summit held in Nice make the news much back home? Craziness here in Nice. The whole city shut down. School was cancelled and everyone hid at home anticipating a second Seattle when the EU leaders were to arrive. I checked out the manifestations or demonstrations. Crazy. Tear gas, armed police, protestors from across Europe...and me. By the way, Dave, your photos are AMAZING! Merci!
Posted on November 1, 2000 by Renee Tratchhello everyone. thank you kim for breaking the silence. i thought i would jump in too. it's the first time in two months that i have free internet access so i am pretty much e-mailing like a crazy fool. it is the "vacances du toussaint" in france which means nothing more to me than i have a week off from school. so i got on a night train from Nice (which i will never ever do again...nasty thieve-infested train...) to Geneva where i am currently sitting in the computer lab at the uni. i haven't felt such good vibes from a city in so long. i really needed to get away from france for a bit. people are so nice here. and very funky and damn good looking. as i sit in this computer lab and look around, i am thinking...why the hell didn't i go to school here? here, cars don't run you over. and it feels safe. and it's clean. no doggy do do on the sidewalks. and there are trees and grass... *deep breath* anyways, c'est tout pour le moment. so, until the next time i have free internet access, please take. i am happy to hear about everyone's jobs...but i do believe that some are hiding what they are up to. do tell, dammit. si non, je vous casse la gueugle. bisous...(three of them)
Posted on October 5, 2000 by Renee TratchWell, tell me that I don't feel totally completely disconnected from society. I have been living in what seems like this french bubble for the past month. I finally sit down at an internet café and dish out lots (and we're talking BEAUCOUP) french francs to check my email and news and find that Trudeau has passed away and Romanow has retired. My goddness. Not like that's what makes the world go round but I am so out of the loop. No phone. No internet. (Now Marcus, I can't check my email five times a day) No television. (Meaning no CBC and no "Friends") I have no idea what is happeneing in my country. This is probably good for me though. i am sorry too cuz i didn't check everyone's messages when i opened my inbox. i quickly checked a few.)
Anyways,
I finally have a home. I am living at my lycée (high school) in the old palace of the Russian Tzar. That's meant to impress you but as much as it is beautiful on the outside, the living quarters are much much much less posh. Worse than Luther rez Marcus. I live on the same floor as the other language assistants. There are two brits, an espagnole, an italienne and a girl from Austria. We are learning all the important swear words in each language. And I have taken one more step and bought a cellphone so that I could look like a little Française. I'll have to get a kick-me-dog that poo's all over the place to really fit in.
So, even though I wasn't on that MUST SEND INFO list Chad, I just wanted to say hello. I hope everyone is doing well. Please email me if you have a moment and give me a newsy update. (Personal and In the News Updates.) I need to stay in the loop.
Hey (not hay cuz hay is for horses) everyone. Well, I am finally
FINE-NUL-LEE outa here. Buh-bye prairies. Let me tell ya, it was a long
summah in Regina. The four chateau roomies have gone their separate ways
after an eventful summer filled with lots veggies (at Heliotrope) and
ultimate-frisbee fun (and injuries).
Anyways, now it's Bonjour la France. However, I will be lingering a wee
bit in the country before heading overseas. I will be making a stop in
my beloved Ottawa. It will be hard to fit a whole summer's fun in one week but I'll do my best. I plan on spending a couple days in Montreal.
But no Toronto as I had once wished. I would love to knock knock on
Kevin's door (and Kristen's too but Kevin's name works better there) but
I think I'll have to save T.O. for another time.
I will definitely be checking you guys out - cuz you are all so damn hot. So, please keep posting your..uh, stuff. (I mean career up-dates.)
Take care of youz okay? Okay.
Oh yah - my email has changed - not sure if you have it. tigerlily@bust.com
So I've scanned in the CD covers and the list of paks that are on them.
It was really hard to chose what would go on them. I tried to do themes
from the ones sent in and ones that I found still on the computers. The
first CD is basically the radio shows we did in December. The second is
a compilation of stuff.
If you are interested in getting a copy, (at the open house we were
selling them for $5 to cover the costs of the printing and stuff) then
just e-mail myself, Jill or Belinda (who is now working at the front
desk) with your address and we can send them off to you in your
respective corners of the province, country and world.
Regan - what is your address so that we can send you your cassette and
the two CD's?
Wendy - they are ready, would you like us to drop the CD's off or would
you like to swing by?
Heather Polischuk, Lisa M. and Michele - I have a cassette of some paks
that you left...do you want them back? If so, please send us your
address and we'll send them back to you.
Jenn - Your cassettes are in the mail to Vancouver.
Merci and Bonne Journee my Journa-babies.
See the CD covers!
Happy Saint Jean Baptiste Day mes cher(e)s journa-babies! Today is June 24th - the day where Quebeckers celebrate being Quebeckers. Sadly I will not be sporting the blue and white (no, not for the Melville Millionaires but as a pseudo-Quebecoise) and joining the masses of La Bleue-drinking Quebec nationalists on the Les Plaines d'Abraham as I have in years past...
Still more on the French note: Well, you crazy fools, looks like this prairie girl will be heading overseas and SOUTH come fall. I received news that I am posted in NICE. Yee-ah yeee-ah. Check your maps... I CANNOT wait. I'm planning on travelling the month of September before I start teaching in France. However, despite my posting on the French Riviera, I am starting to second guess my choice of country. After watching the Euro2000 I think Portugal or Holland might be better choices. (And I'm not necessarily referring to the quality of soccer.) Anyways, I'll be swinging out east (T.O.-Mtl-Ott) before I head out. I'll be in touch with you Torontonians...
More on the French note...I have a friend from France visiting me for three weeks. Yah, he's coming to Saskatchewan...thee only Francais I know that is flying direct from Lyon to Regina. (Go figure..if he only knew...) So I'll be back to my old guiding ways and showing him the REAL belle province. Uh, yah, that's it. He would like to, you know, take in the rockies...Calgary...and Vancouver. He'll soon see that they are no afternoon drives. We'll be making a weekend trip to Saskatoon in July so I'll give you Saskatonians a call.
More NOUVELLES: Lisa, after a long long one year of growing out my hair and sporting wimping ponytails, I have gone back to the old Renee. Short hair.
So, Michele and everyone, c'est ca. It's great reading about all of youz guyz and all the great things you are doing. You rock the most.
I am currently living in a cave. (basement of chateau tratch ...or
benoit...or yaskowich...or ruggles..) Yep, a townhouse with four girls and
one bathroom (I get the basement or cave.) Anyways, it was a long long long
weekend of moving. I am soooo tired...so damned tired, but the townhouse
...or I mean CHATEAU freekin' rocks. If you want to post my new living
arrangements...you know for people to come and visit this summer if they are
in Regina...that would be tres cool.
Read the responses to this posting
|