Quebec City - Day 5

Saturday, July 17, 2010
Today was our last day here in Quebec City. This morning's activities included a visit to the Saint-Roch district to learn about Quebec's urban renewal projects. I thought this part of the program was the least useful, mostly because city planning isn't really an interest of mine, and urban renewal is pretty similar regardless of which side of the border you're on.

We also stopped at the Musée de la Civilisation, where archeologists excavated some really neat maritime artifacts before they broke ground on the museum. The longboat to the right is an example of that. One of our guides explained that when projects like this are approved for construction, 1% of the construction cost must be used for artistic installations to be installed with the building. I thought that was a nice way to keep the city beautiful.

Next we met with a local business leader named Evan Price. He and his family own a really cool boutique hotel on the reclaimed land near the harbor of Quebec called the Auberge Saint-Antoine. Since the land is reclaimed, there are markers on the street indicating where the water level was at high tide during specific years. The water levels keep moving down as the centuries go on, as additional land was reclaimed. The hotel itself has museum quality installations of archaeological finds that were discovered in a dig underneath the hotel.

Mr. Price had some interesting perspectives on business in Quebec. He's an Anglophone, and his family believes that Francophones who choose not to learn English (and have their children do the same) for cultural reasons are putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage as globalization spreads through the business world. My own point of view is that Quebecois know that's the case, and simply don't care. They're willing to accept the tradeoff of perhaps no having an economy that grows as quickly as some others in exchange for conserving their French heritage.

After lunch on our own, we did our group presentations (I hate group projects, by the way. They make me itch), then discussed our impressions about the trip and Quebec City in general. Then it was dinner on our own, and I had the meal in the courtyard of this tiny French cafe with a classmate. We were a bit early...can you tell?

Overall, I can't believe how much I've enjoyed this trip. Learning the historical and cultural lessons provided by this experience has been fascinating, and finally getting a chance to meet some of my classmates (instead of just reading their comments on our discussion group) has been enlightening. Unlike my other online relationships, where people I've "met" online have been remarkably congruent with their real-life persona, that has not been the case with my classmates. I don't know if that's because academic discussions do not give a very good representational view of who someone is, or if the subject matter has been too narrow to give a good picture. In any event, I've learned a lesson about jumping to conclusions about someone based on a limited on-line view.

Tomorrow (Saturday) I'm heading home to Denver. I have to be in the lobby at frickin' 4:45 a.m. to catch the bus to the airport, AND I have a 6 hour layover in Toronto, so don't plan on hearing from me again until Sunday. Safe travels, Hot Chicks and Smart Men!

4 comments:

Nathan said...

I'm glad you enjoyed the trip. Quebec really is one of my favorite North American cities.

You may have missed it, since you're on a trip, but they found a 32' section of the keel of an 18th-Century ship at the World Trade Center site this week. (I don't know the specific rules, but the city requires archeologists on-site for construction in lower-Manhattan.) I have no idea how they missed that when they built the original towers -- or maybe they just thought of it as more garbage and re-buried it?

Janiece said...

Nathan, our guide mentioned it. I wonder if they'll put it on display as part of the new installation? It was really neat when they did it here...

The Mechanicky Gal said...

And that red shirt is definitely attractive on your obviously photo-shopped self.
What? No photo-shopping?
You look MAH-ve-lous!

Janiece said...

Not photoshopped, MG, just an extremely flattering angle.

I need to get back on the WW bandwagon...