About an hour ago, I got an email inviting me to take part in the Freench immersion course at Collège de Jonquière, in the city of Jonquière, three hours north of Quebec City. Four weeks, all paid for via a bursary from the Council of Ministers of Education…
Of course I accepted.
I have a week and two days to get everything together and get there. It starts on the 13th of May.
:: hyperventilates ::
Congrats! Sounds like fun. Do you already speak any French?
I’m doing a job in Chile now and could really, really use a Spanish immersion course. Unfortunately, I speak none at all!
I’m very interested to hear your experience with it.
Sounds like fun! Bonne chance 
C’est fantastique! Quel age avez vous?
Holy crap, I actually grew up in Jonquiere till I was 12! My father was a senior inventor for Alcan (now Rio Tinto) till he retired and we were sequestered up there in between jaunts to his various labs all over the world.
Most of my parents’ friends from those days are still profs at the university at Chicoutimi.
Anyway, it’s also super pretty up there, you’ll have plenty of outdoorsy stuff to do. But, winter starts pretty early…and ends late.
Bring a baguette! I hear they’re fantastic immersed in olive oil. 
Congratulations! And dang, that’s some short notice.
Thanks fo0r the good wishes! J’ai 49 ans*. I’m already a full-time college student, which is how I managed to qualify for this thing in the first place. So, yeah, this whole going-back-to-school thing when I’m a generation older than most students has been odd at times, but I needed to do something after the layoffs…
*I am 49. (Lit. “I have 49 years.”)
You’ll be fine returning as an older student; and I’m speaking from experience.
Bonne chance, and let us know how you’re doing!
I am really happy for you! I know you love learning languages, and have been looking for something like this for a while. I hope it goes very well for you.
Does immersion mean you won’t be able to post here, since you have to post in English? I hope not.
Fantastique! Amuse-toi bien, mon brave!
Toutes mes félicitations Sunspace, penses-tu pouvoir venir au OttawaFest quand même, je pourrais t’amener au train pour Jonquière, si tu désires.
Bienvenue dans la belle province
Merci! Thank you!
As I mentioned in the Ottawa thread, I have to be in Jonquière on Sunday afternoon. Which means a bus from Québec City on Sunday morning, an overnight stay in QC, and the train from Ontario on Saturday. I’m not sure I can make it to the OttawaFest. But thank you, jools.
We just have to provide a spoiler-tagged translation. (We went through this in the big “I’m learning Japanese!” thread.)
Good for you! Congratulations.
I’m so glad for you!! What a wonderful opportunity.
No problem Sunspace enjoy your time in Jonquière
I leave tomorrow.
:: slightly nervous ::
I’m spending tomorrow night at friends’ in Belleville, then Saturday it’s on to Quebec City. This part of the journey is by train. I stay overnight at a hostel in QC, then on to Jonquière by bus. There’s a train from Montreal to Jonquière, but it doesn’t run on weekends.
So it doesn’t really begin until Saturday. I already set my phone to French and put a French-language user account on my computer. Sometime in the early afternoon, the train will leave Cornwall headed east, and then it will cross the border, and that will be my last transmission in English.
Then it will be LEARN FRENCH OR DIE.
I hope you will keep us updated as to your progress; and in English besides.
Somehow, Sunspace, I think you will survive. Encore une fois, bonne chance!
HAve a great time, Sunspace! I’ve been on two immersions, one in Acadian country and one in the Eastern Townships, and had a blast! The good thing about going to Chicoutimi is that it’s a pretty heavily Francophone population, so you’re going to have to use French, like it or not! (According to Stats Can, about 80% report that they are unilingual Francophone.)
Félicitations! Je sais que ça fait longtemps que tu parles de vouloir apprendre la langue! Je crois que tu as déjà une bonne base; tu va apprendre rapidement, je crois! Amuses-toi bien!
Congratulations! I know you’ve been talking about learning the language for a long time! I think you already have the basics, I believe you’ll learn quickly! Have fun!