Yesterday Amelia went for her oral interaction test… it went very well since she was led in the fourth part of the interview… therefore she can sleep until she gets her result: the required B is guaranteed!… Yet there were some logistic problems at Slater yesterday morning… six examiners had called in sick!… Not the kind of news candidates (who were already under stress) needed… because of that, Amelia had to wait… finally she took the test over the phone with a male assessor in Montreal…

Krystal was a bit down yesterday… she received an email saying that she had gone through the entire hiring process successfully and her name had been placed in a pool of candidates that would expire at the end of October 2010!… She asked for more information and she was told that they had not filled in the position she had applied for and she would hear from it in a few weeks… Those generic emails are pointless because they never inform the candidates accurately… Mais, c’est le gouvernement du Canada!!! Live with it or look somewhere else for a job I guess…

French grammar terminology evolved quite a bit in the last few years and most parents are thrown off by it when they are trying to help their kids do their homework (though there are courses intended to have them get familiar with this new charabia)… was it necessary to rename everything? I do not think so… it will be interesting to see if this change occurred only in Quebec… I took the test and I got a perfect score: I had to learn the new terminology yet I have to admit I never use it… I work with adults and I will not waste time explaining the difference between now and then… all those components kept the same functions in a sentence anyways…

I will be in Montreal this weekend and hopefully weather will improve!

I am afraid I will not see another day like this one before next year!…

To check your knowledge of this new terminology, click here …

Bonne chance!

Since I have little time, I will write about the latest news in my next post: I should have some more time on the weekend… I browsed the OQLF site and I found an interesting test about wine… You will probably be thrilled to know that I missed one answer!!!… It would be awesome if someone could beat me on that one!

The heat wave is now History… today was a perfect summer day… 26 degrees, sunny and dry…

SuperEx will start tomorrow and will be on for two weeks: the last Festival of the season… It used to be an «Exposition agricole» but now they added some unrelated stuff to it…

To play this game, click here now!

Bonne chance!

Photo credit by Philip Lean, Canberra, Australia

Since I do not have much time for chatting, here is the test I found for you today: it is an interesting  literary text written by a Québécois with an Italian background. Actually, all you will have to do is to choose the correct spelling of some words… some of them are quite easy (in my opinion), some others present a higher degree of difficulty. I got 60/60, but not without having hesitated on one particular word that I kept changing… finally, it appears my final decision was the right one!

After a cold and rainy Spring, there was a drastic shift this week!

C’est le Canada! Un jour on gèle et le lendemain on étouffe sous la canicule!… Heureusement, il y a la baignade!

Enjoy the beach!… and if it is too hot for you outside, take my test here!

Amusez-vous bien!

Photo credit by Philip Lean, Canberra, Australia

I am not sure why, but tonight I was not inspired at all by the quizzes I have been browsing… finally, I chose one with popular expressions…  you will be thrilled to know that I made one mistake! I got 45/50… I do know for a fact that the bird I picked is used in an expression actually meaning the same thing… It will be quite interesting to see what you will come up for this one! Of course I will not tell you which one!… well… later, not now!

Today was a magnificent day… temperatures were in the low 30s, the sky was blue and the sun was shining… and no humidity at all! Hot days in April and May are great because there is no humidex index… unfortunately, in the summer when it is hot here, it is less bearable… This is why I try and enjoy days like today as much as I can in the spring.

In a couple of months, the sky will be hazy because of the smog and it will look like this…

To take the test, click here…

Amusez-vous bien!

Photo credit by Philip Lean, Canberra, Australia

I am thrilled to accept the Brillante and join in the fun!

Here are the rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you
3. Nominate at least 5 other blogs
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blog

My vote goes to people with interesting views on the French culture, via their reflexions or their art:

1. Le Franco Phoney
2. Pinpoints
3. Painting Paris
4. Paris Breakfasts
5. Polly-vous Français?

Thumbs up everyone!