Johan Rivallain

I decided to interview Johan Rivallain which comes from France. It's now been three years since he lives in Mont-Joli. It is sports trainer at Club de natation les Espadons de Mont-Joli and it is the responsible of aquatic of the city.

Upon arriving, he did not understand the conversations; it was as if we spoke English. He could not understand our expressions quebecoise. Moreover, the words we use are not the same for a same object. For example, for the Quebec people «liqueur» means «boisson gazeuse» for the French people or «barrer» for Quebec people means «verrouiller ou fermer à clef» for the French people. It took him about 2 months to get used to the language of Quebec.

There is also a difference in education. First, the French began kindergarten at age 3 until age 6. In Quebec, we are going to kindergarten at age 5 for one year. Then, the French go to elementary school for four years instead of five years as us. Then, the high school lasts four years instead of five. In high school, the French people begin with the sixth, fifth, fourth and finally the third years so there are reversed. School is free in France as us in Quebec from kindergarten to high school. After that they go to «lycée» and we are going to college, it's equivalence to the two countries. We finish both with the university. At college and university, in France, they work per year while we operate with session.

There is no major difference in terms of religion. In France, the majority of the population is Catholic as in Quebec. By cons, the French students do not have religion classes in school because religion is not controlled by the state.

For food, in France, «poutine» and French onions don’t exist. Therefore, they are happy to come to Quebec to taste these specialties. Johan has noticed that the price of cheese and dairy products is more expensive than in France. By cons, seafood and meat is cheaper than in his country. In France, it is forbidden to "boost" the food that at Quebec we have the right to do.

The French and Quebec people are substantially similar to the work and family. The salary is almost the same, the job also. By cons, in Quebec, at your job, you hold more responsibilities than in France. For the family, the French people are a little less close to their families than Quebec people. The Quebec people speak several times a week to their families and the French people much less.

In terms of holidays, in France, there are holidays for the armistice that is to say on November 11 and May 8 that we don’t have in Quebec. The Halloween is not celebrated in France. By cons, he celebrates Christmas and Easter as us. At Christmas, instead of «tourtière», «cipaille» and turkey as in Quebec, the French eat mainly seafood. However, the «bûche de Noel» is as traditional in France and Quebec. In France, at Easter holidays, it's the bells that bring the chocolate, not bunnies. In addition, the tooth fairy does not exist in France, it is replaced by the little mouse but they do the same work. He leaves money or a gift under the pillow instead of the tooth.

In conclusion, France and Quebec have many differences but are very similar. Johan says he like Quebec and is not near to exit it. He has become accustomed to the Quebec language and now speaks like Quebecois but with a French accent or course. Then, he is very pleased that snow is also present in Quebec and the mountains are near towns because in France he had to drive 2 hours to go skiing from his city.

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Be proud of us !!

There is more than a year; the Charest government announced it would increase tuition for university of $ 325 per year. This increase has created a lot of social, economic, moral and political issues. Of course, students do not have this up and decided to show their opposition to the government by causing a strike. First, let me explain a little bit the situations to the rise and strike. Subsequently, I will give my opinion on my experience of this student movement at Rimouski.

To start I'll give a brief summary of positive and negative consequences of this increase. First, the increase in tuition of $ 325 per year would allow the government to pay its debts and more equalized tuition university of Quebec with the other provinces of Canada. Allowing us to have more places for us in universities for Quebec students because tuition is lower in Québec brings students from other provinces to study in our universities and take our places. In addition, any increases around us, whether for food, natural resources, etc., so why not also for tuition. By cons, higher tuition fees will prevent hundreds of students from middle class to higher education for lack of money. This would reduce students in universities. This reduction will have negative consequences for society as the baby boomers will retire and the young people will need to fill the places of these retirees. So we face a big dilemma social and economic. There are probably other ways to allow the government to make money by not reducing accessibility to higher education students from the middle class. By cons, is to find this famous solution that will please everyone and that everyone will not be disadvantaged by this decision.

Now, after several attempts to change the government idea, students are made ​​to opt for the strike. As we are in a country where democracy is in power, we have the right to express our displeasure and react to this decision. The advantages of this movement are to show the government that we do not abandon our debate and we are ready to do everything to retreat from its decision. This strike gives us more chances that the government changes its mind because the strike will cause changes facing the school calendar and hours of leave for teachers. By cons, the strike will bring the students to finish their session only at the end of June. This will prevent some students to find summer employment, and by extension, companies fail to employers for the month of June. More, for students in technical programs, internships could be in danger.

For my part, I was undecided face this student strike. It is difficult to take position because he has no bad or good position and there are repercussions for both. It's not only us students who are affected by this increase, it is also future generations of students, employers, in short, all of Quebec society is affected. I find that at Cégep de Rimouski, we did all in democracy. Every week we voted for or against the strike and the position which obtained the highest number of votes gave the result. So it was just and equitable for everyone. For cons, I'm a little disappointed that some students have shown a great lack of respect for people of any opinion contrary to theirs. I prone that everyone is entitled to choose its position on this debate and others should respect it. Furthermore, all demonstrations and picketing were made ​​in Rimouski done in calm and peaceful manner, which proves that we are serious and we want to change things. More, I think it is our duty to show the government that we do not agree with his decision and we want to negotiate with him. What I found a little bit disappointing is that some students took this student movement as a holiday rather than see it as a way to make things happen. So the majority of students on 1200 students voted for the strike but only 50 people were in front of the CEGEP to stake. Finally, I am proud that the CEGEP de Rimouski is involved in the biggest strike student. This strike will mark Quebec society for many years.