Previous: September 2003

28 August

There have been big changes in my life in the recent days. Unfortunately, they have been mostly sad.

Personal life
My girlfriend, Sara, with whom I was living together one year returned from her summer work in Switzerland and told me that she does not love me anymore. All my attempts to revive her feelings and to change her decision have failed. I've lost my girlfriend! This is terrible...

Lodging
Because Sara wants me to leave, I have to look for a room elsewhere.

I'll be sorry to leave this district, because it is very close to the University and to a forest where I jog every morning (sometimes in the evenings as well).

While living with Sara, my rent was just 120 CA$ per month, because the apartment was shared by five people (me, Sara, her two brothers and her cousin). Now I will probably have to pay the double, if not more.

I am looking for a furnished room for not more than 250 CA$, not far from the University, with a telephone line for Internet, and access to the kitchen. I also need a park nearby for jogging.

This is very hard to find in a few days, and in the beginning of the school year. Nevertheless, please let me know if you've heard of anything suitable.

Starting the University
This August I passed the entrance exam in Spanish and was accepted to the Unversité Laval for the Baccalaureate in International Studies and Modern Languages. It will take three years of full-time study. I intend to study Spanish as the first language and probably Chinese as the second.

I go to university again, because I couldn't find any job (even low-skilled) in Québec with my foreign education and experience.

6 September

Relations with Sara
Yesterday I went to St.-Joseph-De-Bauce to talk with Sara again. She was there with her mother and brothers for the weekend and today's holiday (Labour Day). We had a sincere conversation. She told me that she couldn't love me because she had met a man in Switzerland. She is going to correspond with him for a year, then they plan to meet again. She didn't want to tell me about him earlier, because she thought it was too painful for me. I wish she had said it to me right from the beginning, because I've spent three weeks on trying to find out what has really happened.

This is very sad, of course, because I do love Sara. I wish I had gone with her to Switzerland this summer, but I cannot change the past. I need to find another girlfriend.

Dwelling
I've rent a room nearby, a few blocks in the direction of the Old Québec. My coordinates will be as follows: 922, rue Madeleine-De-Verchères, Ste-Foy (QC). Tel. 688-3721.

It's a room in a basement. Of course, it's much worse and more expensive (225$ per month) that the room on Rue Lienard, but I have to accept it. There is no written contract (I've only paid the monthly rent), so I will continue looking for better variants.

University
I am having four courses this autumn, it's enough to be considered as a full-time student. I do not want to take more, because it is important not to fail the first session. Now, because of the broken relationship with my girlfriend, I do not feel like studying at all.

It is easy to be accepted to the university, but studying there is difficult. The teaching methods are different from the Russian ones. Unlike Russian universities, where examinations are almost always oral, here they are written and one has to write in good French without any dictionaries, etc. There are also many written works one has to prepare during the session.

13 September

Yesterday I moved again. My new coordinates are as follows: 120, rue Tardif, Beauport (Qc), G1B 3K5. Tel: (418) 661 3256.

My diary for the following months is not available. You can read the summary of the events in the biography.
You can also read about my trip to Finland in summer of 2005.