I have been living in British Columbia for about fifty years. Did I end up here by chance or by fate?
My life in Quebec was most ordinary: I taught in small towns and then in Montreal. In 1958, a colleague of mine had a 2-month vacation, just as I did. She wanted to pay a visit to her sister who lived on Vancouver Island and was looking for a friend to go with her.
We travelled with La Liaison française which organized a one-way trip with a first group, a trip back with another and a stay on the island in between. I had never really taken the train before, except for an hour’s travel here and there. It turned out to be a fantastic journey, a wonderful adventure from beginning to end and we received a very warm welcome on the island.
Four years later, I returned with my husband to visit the same charming places and the following year, on July 1, 1963, we packed our things in a van and started the big move to Vancouver Island. Just a little detail: I married my best friend’s brother, which meant that we were joining a part of our family already living in Campbell River. My husband Raymond didn’t have any specific job but coming from the countryside, he is quite the handyman and adapts easily. Back then, work was easy to find and at the beginning of September, he began a job at a sawmill where he worked until he retired 25 years later.
Campbell River, B.C., adapted home of Pauline Bélanger – Photo by Bob Andersen, Flickr
The following spring, at the end of April, we went back to Quebec to pick up the last of our possessions. The year before, when we left, we had told our parents a white lie – that we were only leaving for one year. This might have also been a way for us to dismiss our own doubts about the move. We left behind the green and flowery West and arrived in the East, with its grey landscapes and naked trees. We had already forgotten how in Montreal people were constantly rushing around and concerned about trendy clothes; it was as if we were coming back from a 10 month stay in a relaxing cabin. From that moment on, we knew for sure we had made the right choice. We go back east every three years or so on vacation, to visit our respective families and show our children where we come from, but we never think about going back for good.
Even so, one drawback remains: the language. We speak French among ourselves, but most of the time we have to speak English. Television, radio, newspapers, etc.: we’re totally immersed in English. We had to wait fifteen years to see the French association come into being. That’s when I noticed that my own French had really dropped. Since then, I have been heavily involved and taken part not only in the association, but also in the French curriculum program’s implementation. My children were able to study in French in elementary school and today the program extends to high school as well. We have more than one French television channel and a well-stocked library at the French centre. Thanks to the Campbell River Francophone Association, we meet a lot of new friends and live almost totally in French, in harmony with an English-speaking population.
Translation Anne-Sophie Loks
