Editorial – August 2024
Dear Readers,
Earlier this month, I had the lovely opportunity to visit the beautiful riverside city of Quebec, Canada. My elementary school served much of Lowell’s French-Canadian population once upon a time, so in a way it felt like going back to our roots! Even so, I found myself caught off guard by the rapid-fire French that the locals spoke.
I went into shops prepared to impress my mom with my cultural understanding and language skills but found myself lost in the sea of quickly spoken words. What we did find impressive was how kind the Quebecoise were. Shop owners hailed us to come into their stores- not to buy anything, but to keep us out of the pouring rain that hit the city a day after we arrived. It doesn’t take much to communicate, I found. A kind smile, gesticulating your hands aggressively- that’s really all it took to communicate. Still, it only took a couple sentences before I found myself getting 
used to the spoken cadence of French- it had been a while since I’d had practice in high school, and I managed even to hold several long conversations getting to know various people around the city. A kind Walmart worker, Philippe, and a very patient Tourist Information Center worker, Alicia! Travel is awesome.
Love,
Editor Jaanu
