Time to catch my breath

The next week flew by quickly due to the everyday work. While I moved out of Ron's place during the week and then moved into Imad's room, the changeover was uncomplicated and fast. Roommates JP and Simon are very nice and despite it being an all-male flat, everything is very clean, organized, and tidy here. Every food item in the kitchen is labeled and seems to have its own place. The guys have also solved the problem with the chlorinated water by using a filter system that also infuses the water with minerals. I spoke French with JP and Simon to improve my language skills. In case of emergency, I switched to German and Simon helped me with missing vocabulary. We both improved with mistakes and benefited from each other.

Besides work, I also looked at a few apartments to have accommodation for after Imad moves back into his room. After walking towards the subway once after work, I stumbled upon a Barbie exhibition. There were dolls in many different variations, some very impressive and funny. Not that I'm interested in Barbies or played with them frequently as a child, but it was very interesting to see what was shown there. I immediately sent a photo to Alke, as the Twilight Saga was also recreated there.

On the weekend, I did a one-time job at the Goethe Institute: due to the Nuit Blanche, which is something like the Open House Night at various cultural sites, I worked at the bar and sold pretzels, beer, and wine together with an intern from the Goethe Institute. Unfortunately, I caught a cold over the weekend, but the job was relatively easy to handle. Afterwards, my buddy Albin and I went to a bar together with other employees from the Goethe Institute. However, I took it easy as my voice was getting weaker and said goodbye to everyone earlier. Since there were still plenty of pretzels left, we were allowed to take some with us and I surprised my roommates with them for breakfast the next morning.

After the cold really hit on Sunday and my voice noticeably weakened, I had to go back to work on Monday and Tuesday. Luckily, I didn't need my voice much there, as most things were discussed and resolved in a group chat. Since I finally got my own Skype account on Monday, suddenly there were 2 Marius' in the group chat. At first, I was surprised that Marius wrote frequently until it turned out that the other account, intended for 'newcomers', still had my name and the person hadn't renamed it yet.

Unfortunately, I didn't have to work the following days, so I decided to update my resume a bit. I added that I also worked in a pizzeria in Germany. So, I looked online for job offers for part-time positions in the food sector, but also for positions in the video game sector in the Game Support area. I also took a test at my current company because another German, who is a friend of Ron's, has just left his position. However, the HR department told me that the position had already been filled, but I could still take the test to facilitate a possible future change. On Thursday, I continued to recover from the cold, drank lots of tea, and inhaled the mint oil from Grandma, just like the days before. Simon and his girlfriend also gave it a try and said it was quite strong. It's supposed to help after all! In the afternoon, after taking the test at my company, I went to an exhibition with Albin in a museum about resource management and its environmental impacts in Canada. So, Canada is not such an untainted country either, as there have been numerous instances of environmental pollution here.

I did some tidying up, as I will soon have to move out of Imad's room and the time together with JP and Simon in the apartment is coming to an end. In the evenings, we occasionally watched movies in French, but with French subtitles for me, such as Avengers, Dr. Strange, or Ironman. In the mornings, we had a delicious tea during our occasional shared breakfast. They have a wide selection there.

I have already made arrangements for my next place and rented a room in a shared apartment not far from the current one. I will meet the tenant on Saturday for the key handover. On Friday, the small job application offensive paid off and I was able to do a trial work at the pizzeria BROS, which is located in Vieux Montréal, to German 'Old Montréal'. Two days before, I had handed in my resume there in the evening and afterwards managed to take a few pictures of the area at night. At the pizzeria, I worked from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm and prepared pizzas in front of the customers, helped in the kitchen with dishwashing, and did whatever else needed to be done. Unfortunately, towards the end of the shift, I received a rejection for the job, as the language barrier was too great, as there is a lot of contact with French-speaking customers. In the end, I got paid for the work done with a check, but I couldn't rejoice about a free pizza like at the pizzeria in Hemmoor... Nevertheless, I enjoyed working on that day, as the colleagues were very nice and pleasant. But it just wasn't meant to be. Afterwards, I met up with Albin in a café near the pizzeria and we planned our Friday evening: we met in a bar that always has an event called 'Mundo lingo' on Fridays, where you stick the language you speak on your chest and you can see where people come from. It's very easy to get in touch with people and talk about their home country and plans here in Montréal. The next day, after finally having my sports session again, I met with the landlord of the room and we signed the contracts. After that, I went to Simon, who still had to work in the vegan restaurant Panthère Verte. I waited for him there and he spontaneously invited me to a concert by a local band called Cowboy Frigant. Since a friend of his had gotten sick, I received his ticket. The concert was very cool and I got to experience Québec culture. Although it was difficult to understand the song lyrics, I really liked the diversity of the songs, from slow to impulsive. In the end, Simon's acquaintance drove us home. As it was very late, I slept in the next day. In the afternoon, I spent time at the gym near the apartment, as I actually wanted to activate the free month there. Unfortunately, this only applies to locals from Québec and not to travelers like me. Nevertheless, I was able to train there for free that day and made use of the time. In the evening, I prepared for moving out of the flat. I really enjoyed my time here and would move in again anytime. I had a lot of fun living with the two of them. I will miss this time...!