After about a year of talking about it, I'm finally in Montreal, Canada. And I can say that my first impression is, as I thought it would be, that it's overwhelming.
My second day in the city Steven and I walked to the grocery store where I promptly had a panic attack. One second we're walking down the aisles looking for peanut butter, the next I'm grabbing for the cart to steady myself, repeating, “Oh God, please don't let me pass out in the dairy aisle, they'll take my vegan card away.”
I don't know what happened. It could have been that everything was in a strange language. Maybe it was that there were too many people. Or maybe I was still tired from the move, but we had to stop our shopping and leave.
Once we got back to the apartment and I had a moment for my heart to slow down, I felt ridiculous that I had such a reaction. Steven gently reminded me that I didn't like grocery shopping in the states either. Still, I feel foolish for panicking and leaving like I did.
From that incident, I made the resolution to go out into our neighborhood everyday. Fortunately I have Archer to go with me so I don't feel totally alone. I know that I eventually will acclimate to the new surrounding and it won't bother me as much.
Through our walks I have discovered a nearby hiking trail next to the University of Montreal and that Mont Royal Park is nearby.
I'm convinced that my biggest fear is coming across someone while walking and they try to speak to me in French. Of course I wouldn't be able to answer and I'd have to scurry away like a crab.
Last week that fear was faced when a lady said something to me in French as Archer and I walked past. I stopped and said, “Pardon?” Which wasn't the right thing to say because she immediately repeated herself in FRENCH. So I said, “I'm sorry. I don't know any French.”
