Their Instructors' Tales
~ Maria Desjardins ~ Leta L.-Malone ~
~ Maurice Michaud ~ Mary Lou O'Hara ~

Grégoire on the rocks!
 

We first drove to Digby Neck to take the Joe Casey ferry to Tiverton. From there, we went to the world-famous Balancing Rock what is a spectacular basaltic sea stack. There I discovered how fast and nimble-footed one of us is. I named Dany St.-Hilaire the hilarious athlete of our group.

She jogged along the trail in record time and jumped on the Balancing Rock like a grasshoper running after ants. On our way back, she ran so fast through the scenic walking trail that she lost a few pieces of her clothing without noticing it. I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't have been offended if we had have left her clothes on the ground because, for her, it wasn't a big deal to return to pick them up.

After this breathless trek for all of us except Hilarious St.- Hilaire, we went to Sandy Cove for a rest. Three of us were out of breath but not Hilarious St.-Hilaire. I was completely mesmerized by her energy. She did some limbering-up exercices and jogged away again. We could only see the sandy cloud behind her. From then on, all I wanted to know, was, where did she find all her energy.

After this step, we travelled to Digby, "the home port of the world's largest scallop fleet" according to the Nova Scotia Guide. We found a restaurant for supper where I was hoping to find a clue about Hilarious St.-Hilaire's energy. Maybe I would find it the food she ordered, but no . . . She ate a salad and I don't think that's very energizing. Don't you agree?

After dinner, we went to Bear River, "the Switzerland of Nova Scotia," where we were just in time to admire the low tide. As a matter of fact, the basin was empty and we saw three fishermen trapped in their boat in the mud. Of course, we captured the scene with our cameras.

Then we went to Annapolis Royal to visit the Fort Anne National Historic Site and to stroll on the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens. Unfortunately, we arrived too close to the closing time and didn't have enough time to visit the colorful collection of flowers. As we all know, Hilarious St.-Hilaire doesn't want to waste her time and miss anything. So she decided to rush out on foot in order to catch a glimpse of the gardens, even if she only had five minutes. As for the rest of us we stayed at the entrance and waited for her. Believe it or not, Hilarious St.-Hilaire ran through the ten acre site as fast as a bee flying to gather pollen from a flower to another. She "flew" so fast that we could hear the buzz of her bumble. The shortest visit of the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens was completed by Hilarious St.-Hilaire!

For us, it was about time to call it a day and to find a motel for the night. Hilarious St.-Hilaire was still in shape and so, she and I went to the "Ye Olde Towne Pub" to have a taste of Moosehead beer. When we returned to the motel, Hilarious St.-Hilaire, "to relax," she said, did almost one hundred and seventy-five sit-ups. Where does she get this overdose of energy? I slept on that, thinking that maybe it's in the Moosehead beer. I didn't have any more clues yet...

The next day, she harassed me several times for an ice cream cone as might an addicted junkie begging for drug. But every place we stopped at was not acceptable to her: she wanted an ice cream cone from Dairy Queen. She was looking for a soft vanilla ice cream marbled with chocolate ice cream, but they only had vanilla. Was Hilarious St.-Hilaire transforming into Capricious St.-Hilaire? From then on, I started to think that she needed it as a powerful potion. I began to gather that the secret was in the chocolate—soft chocolate, obviously.

I could keep on writing about her forever, but I'll let you go for now.

For Hilarious St.-Hilaire, there is no end to the sights to see and explore: the sky's the limit. For me, getting in touch with this dynamic person has been a breath of fresh air.

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Learning English as a Second Language: Very Hard!
very one of us knows how difficult it is to learn a second language. Guylaine Robitaille learned it in a particular way: the body language! So many words rumbled into her brain day and night, entering by her ears but none of them wanting to go out... It was the beginning of chaos for Robitaille, the victim of a hasty side effect: constipation.

You all know of Robitaille's kind character, so imagine my astonishment when I heard her comment: "All these words ran into my body and some of them found their way out by a loophole, but all in a square shape," she said. "Believe me, it's hard and painful to learn English."

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A Moment of Rest at the International Tattoo
uring this great event, every one of us were concentrated on the show, trying to catch every word. But when Les Képis Blancs from France appeared, singing in French, Francine Paquet, with a pinch of humour said: "Well girls, for the next fifteen minutes, I will understand very well. Don't translate!"