Anyway, in less than my first day, I have ridden the TGV (fast train for yours who are as of yet unfamiliar), seen my first French car crash, been spoken to in a condescending manner by a Parisien, and much much more! Admittedly, once I was dropped off at my room, I felt a little discouraged about my French. Scratch that, I felt devastated about my French. I can barely understand anything these people are saying, then I stare at them like a deer, not even understanding the context of what they have said. Suffice to say, I wanted to just stay in the rest of the evening and not go out. However, I decided that I couldn’t back down to the fear and humiliation. Well, that and the fact that the apartment didn’t have any toilet paper supplied. Necessity demanded it, but in all sincerity, I knew I had to get back up on the horse. I can recluse into the apartment. I’ve read of too many people who did that and it was a terrible experience for them. I have to keep trying. I can’t wait until the Spanish language assistant, Rocío, gets here. Her and I have already become friends over e-mail and it would be nice to have an English-speaking friend to go explore Dunkerque with. It is always easier feeling like an idea if there is two of you rather than just the one.

Anyway, sorry that there are no pictures posted yet. I will do that eventually, but I didn’t sleep on the airplane at all really, so I’m pooped. Getting to McDonald’s was about as far as I could get for organizing myself. Tomorrow morning, I have to stop by the secretary’s office to pick up something for a bank appointment @ 9AM, then go visit the English professors during their break. Beyond that, I have the rest of the day off. The German assistant is coming tomorrow, so it’ll be nice to meet her. Not sure which languages she speaks besides German and French. Hopefully we’ll hit it off! =) More exploring to be done tomorrow, at least walking around the city and maybe watch a movie in French! =D We’ll see!

Got to go! Tata for now!

The past two weeks, I have been incessantly asked if I am excited. It became somewhat of a joke in my family whenever someone else ask me if I was in front of them, we would share a short giggle with one another. I think part of being a member of the Bain family is being even-keeled in one’s emotions on the outside, even if it is turmoil and confusion on the inside. Why this is, I do not know.  As I woke up this morning, I did feel a slight sense of nervousness about what was ahead of me. It wasn’t in the sense of if I will make it there, because I feel quick confident about everything ahead of me. There have been obstacles before in my life and through all of them, I have prevailed thus far. I will find a way through these challenges ahead of me, even if it means going crazy at the hands of la langue française.

As I first sat down in my seat on the airplane, it hit me in a way that I’ll be giving up the comforts of home for the next 7 months. There are so many things about life at home make life easier. Now, however, I’ll be facing a few other obstacles on my own. I feel entirely blessed that my school has a place for me to live, because the thought of me trying to lead all of my luggage around Dunkerque without having any idea where I would be sleeping my first night is a bit overwhelming.

My apologies if this post seems to change its topic with every paragraph, but my mind is wandering a lot while I sit here on the plane. It is weird to think that after dreaming of going to Europe for the past 10 years, I am finally going. In about twelve hours, I will be setting foot in Paris for the first time. Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I kept getting the image of the Eiffel Tour in the distance as my plane descends into Charles de Gaulle airport. That will be a weird feeling.

A note about this post and perhaps many of them to come: I do not know what my internet situation will be where I am living, so each of these blog posts might come sometime after they have actually been written. I will have access to my computer to write, but it may be days between visits to Internet cafés where I will post them. My hope is that there will be some internet with which I can connect at the school. Maybe I will even be so lucky as to have free wireless? I’ve been so blessed already, is it wrong to ask God for me? =D A boy can dream!

To everyone back home, see you in three months! Please keep in touch and write me! I do want to hear from you! =)

Au Revoir

I said a few posts ago how it has been weird trying to get used to being the person who will be missed, rather than being the person who is missing someone else. I’ve had friends move away before and I always wanted to tell them how much I was going to miss them, however, whenever I did, they never seemed to really respond the way I had hoped. You know, something to the effect of, “I’m going to miss you so much too, Joel! Please write all the time! I don’t know what I will do without you in (INSERT NEW HOME HERE).” Okay, so maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration. The point being, whenever this occurred, I often felt that maybe what that person was trying to say was something akin to that they were more important to me than I was to them.

In my own preparations of leaving, I have since learned this isn’t the case (or if it was one particular case and you really weren’t going to miss me that much, my apologies =P). It can get a little overwhelming with so many people telling you that they are going to be missing you, as it all adds up on top of everything that you are trying to do to prepare yourself emotionally for leaving. However, I don’t want you to read this and think, “gosh, Joel is a jerk! He is just thinking of himself again!” Instead, with my realization, I am aware that I need to consider the feelings of my loved ones with my departure. Though it is overwhelming to have to think of all of the people I am leaving, they need to be able to say their good-byes adequately, if they want to. I’m going to miss them all so much. I wish things would return to normal when I get back, but I know they won’t be. Try as I may, they won’t be. Things won’t ever quite be the same again and that can be a little frightening.

So how do I deal with it? Maybe it is the writer in me, but I often process life by thinking that whatever happens in my life, whether it is good or bad, positive change or negative change, it is all a part of the story of me. In every story, there are conflicts, challenges and obstacles. However, in every story, there is often redemption, adventure and growth. Though I leave Vancouver for nearly a year, it will always be home. I just might be a little different. And that’s okay. Characters need growth. I need growth.

Plus…..I need new story ideas for my next books. =P What better place to go than France, more specifically Paris from time to time. =)

To all, à bientôt! =)

Bon Voyage!

I had the pleasant surprise last night at Youth Group, where I’ve volunteered for the past two years, they gave me a surprise going-away surprise party! =) It made me so happy! =) We watched a Brian Regan comedy DVD, ate candy/junk food and I got a card signed by the Youth Group. =) By the way, if you have noticed a large number of “=)” it is because I loved the surprise!

I’ve been saying good-bye to more and more people. Today was my last shift ever at my job at the café. I worked there for over 8 years, so it is a little surreal to think that I will no longer be going there as an employee. Over the past 8 years, there is nowhere else that I have spent more time, besides home, than the café. I was asked by someone if I’m going to go back to work there after France. My response was that I have done my time there and to go back would not be moving forward in life, but instead staying with what is comfortable and easy.

One more week until take-off!

A taste of Dunkerque

I’m quite excited about going, but I am also feeling a certain sense of trepidation about the whole endeavor. There have been a few times over the past two weeks in which I’ve caught myself wondering, “what the heck have you gotten yourself into?” Sometimes that thought gives me a chuckle, while other times, it gives me a sense of dread.

I’ve always believed that I could do anything that I set my mind to. However, in this circumstance, I have admittedly wondered if I was accepted by some administrative error. The truth is, I only started teaching myself French about 11 months ago. Before then, I had had practically exposure to the French language beyond what can be expected of someone living in a country, which has French as one of the official languages. No French classes in school, no French relatives, no trips to France, and very little exposure to French cuisine. =P

Une rue dunkerquois

During my application process, I had to scramble to find two French professors who would assess my French. Expecting to be graded as having “poor” French, my expectations were minimal. I went through the whole process thinking, “if I am not a good enough candidate for the job, there is nothing stopping them from simply rejecting me.” But then after my assessments, I felt I had no business even applying, since I felt like I had tanked the written assessment. However, after I received my assessment results back, I was shocked to hear that my written French was assessed as “fair,” while my oral French was likewise. Not bad for having only begun teaching myself French five months previous to that.

Suffice to say, this whole process has been the beginning of a long journey. I am finally about to take off for France!

In other news, I have my last shift at work on Wednesday, September 16th after working there for over 8 years. It will be strange to not work there. Beyond my home, there is nowhere else that I have spent more of my life at than the Café. On Saturday night, I said the first of many good-byes to come. It brought a sense that this is finally happening. I hope leaving the café isn’t too hard.

The truth be told, I am not used to being missed. It is usually my friends or other family members who are the ones leaving, while I remain back in Vancouver. It is a weird feeling. I’ve lived in the same house my entire life, nor have I ever left the continent. Un grand voyage! I am already looking forward to seeing what it is going to be like coming home at Christmas to see everyone. It will be the longest that I have gone without seeing all of those that I love dearly.

I’m reminded of the words of one of my best friends:

“If it doesn’t hurt when you leave, you didn’t love hard enough.

If you can’t sleep at the thought of seeing them again, you didn’t care enough.

If you were never missed while you were gone, you didn’t serve them enough.”

There is so much to do in Los Angeles, which is partly why I love it, because I am going home to Vancouver tonight, feeling like I haven’t done everything yet. So many places that I’ve traveled in North America, I see them and I feel like I’ve seen everything that there is to see and to be quite honest, I don’t have much interest in going back. I want to come back to Los Angeles again one day. Whether one is seeing Los Angeles itself, Orange County or checking out Hollywood, there are so many neat things to see, do, and eat. So much so that I’ve decided for my first wedding anniversary, whomever I marry, I am taking her to Disneyland and Los Angeles for a week. I spent a day at Disneyland (14 hours of running around the park) and I loved it so much. Disneyland is one of the few places in the world that I’ve been where I feel like I can be silly, and maybe even a little “goofy” (pun fully intended!), and not feel like there is something wrong with it. Often I feel like I am supposed to act my age, if not older, when I don’t really feel like that is who I am. Not to say that I feel like a child, but I think those parts of us that remain within from our childhood, they are rarely allowed to come out.

There are so many creative people here in Los Angeles. I was saying to my friend, with whom I have been staying, it is almost a little intimidating being here and calling myself a writer. I get the feeling that suggests, “so you’re a writer? So what? Everyone thinks they are an artist in this town.” This can be inspiring or discouraging, I can’t make up my mind. Inspiring in the sense that it makes me want to be better; discouraging in that it is easy to tell who the creative geniuses are in this town.

Today, I am going to do the Hollywood Walk and fulfill my final tourist obligations with Los Angeles. What I am most excited for is seeing the Kodak Theatre, because (allow me to get personal here for a moment) it is one of my life goals to attend the Academy Awards (Oscars) for having one of my stories being adapted into a script for the screen. It would probably be a good idea for me to become a little more familiar with the theatre if I’m going to be visiting it one day in such a capacity. Perhaps a silly dream, but one that I hold onto nonetheless. A boy has to dream!

To LA, I love you very much and I hope to return soon.

Joel here with an update about the book’s release! The hope was to have the book shipping/releasing on July 31st, but it is looking like it may be August 5th now. I am as eager as you are about getting it out there! Can’t wait to hear what you guys think about it!

Anyway, pre-sales are going quite well! I am pleased with the response. =) If you know anyone who might be wanting a copy who may not have heard about the pre-sale yet, please pass that onto them.

Sometime in the next week or so, I hope to post something interesting on my blog for you all. Until then, I’ll keep my lips sealed.

Thanks for the support, guys! =)

Joel

The site is still in its infancy, so if you have any questions about Joel or the book you can send them to joel@joelbain.com, or if you have any questions about or trouble with the site, drop us a line at support@joelbain.com.

Enjoy.

Feel free to check out a preview of my book. I’ve posted the prologue, which gives you a glimpse into Noah, the protagonist of my novel. If you like it, I hope you’ll order a copy from the e-store.

Furthermore, I have a blog, so check that out for updates about the book, as well as for writings and general observations that I have about daily life.

If you have any comments or feedback about my book, my thoughts, or my site, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. I enjoy feedback. =)

~JOEL BAIN