Bonjours mes amis! 

Apologies for not posting sooner!  I have been getting adjusted to the city, and it's hard to believe that I have almost been here a week already! 

About Work
I'm working for Air Liquide Canada as an international intern.  They're the same company I worked for last summer except this time it's the Canadian division instead of the United States division.  I'm working with the Metal Fabrication group, which basically means I'm working with our customers who buy gas in cylinders.  I'm specifically doing a lot with the marketing department.  It's a little bit different perspective than my traditional engineering perspective, but I'm excited for the learning experience.  That said, it's good that I do have an engineering background because it helps me understand the products more since I have an idea what's going on.  The culture in the company/office is really fun to be a part of.  Almost everyone is billingual in French and English, with the exception of the few of us Anglos who don't speak French ;)  Many choose to speak French primarily so I spend some of my time figuring out what people passing by are saying.  But everyone here is very laid back and friendly.  It's a really good work environment.

About the City
The city of Montreal is very diverse.  There is, of course, the mix of history and contemporary.  There is a mix of languages (primarily French and English but others as well) and with that, a mix of cultures.  There are people of all ages here, and there seem to be people here from all over the world as well.  It's really amazing to see all this diversity!  It makes for all kinds of different foods to try, things to see, and people to meet.  It's been really exciting so far.  I've done a lot of walking around the city, and my favorite is to walk around Old Montreal and the Old Port.  I'm so fascinated by the architecture and old buildings, as well as by all the shops and things down by the riverfront.  I have yet to journey to Mont Royal, but I look forward to doing that soon.  For now, I just look at it outside my window at work everyday.  Haha

My apartment is up close to everything for the most part.  I can go almost anywhere from it, and I try to take advantage of doing that!  I walk to work, to church, to the store, to the Old Port, around other parts of town.  It's been really fun.  The apartment itself is very nice, as well.  It's a bit strange living all by myself, but there is so much to do around me that I don't really get bored. 

I'm currently training for a half-marathon so I've been running after work everyday.  It's another great way to become familiar with the city.  I just pick a 3 or so mile route and hope that it has sidewalks!  Haha, but it really is a great way to become more familiar with the city, and the weather isn't too bad here to run in.  People here think it's pretty hot/humid, but they have no idea what I've experience in Indiana, Texas, and the Philippines.  I'm a big fan of the weather here so far.  It's usually pretty warm but not suffocatingly so.  It's a really beautiful city, and I really enjoy living here.

I am trying to improve my French while I'm here, but I find that it takes a lot of discipline.  Since most people speak English, it's easy to revert back to English instead of practicing my French.  However, I am trying to practice as I walk around town, especially in the stores and when greeting people.  I hope to be able to report in the coming weeks that I'm improving.  We'll see.

About Church
Before coming, I started searching for churches via the web.  I didn't really know where to start so I began searching for churches affiliated with the Pentecostal Assembloes of Canada (PAOC), which is the Canadian equivalent for the U.S.  Assemblies of God.  I narrowed down the search to churches within Montreal and then began to see how close the churches were to Air Liquide's office.  I knew I would be within walking distance of the office so I hoped to find a church within walking distance as well.  I also prayed before coming that God would provide a good church and church community for me to connect with this summer.  In my web searchings, I stumbled upon a church called Evangel, which is in walking distance of my apartment.  I went to their community groups, which is on Fridays, and I met many other young adults right away.  There are people from so many different backgrounds, and it was awesome meeting all of them.  We had a great time of worship and then a good time of discussion together.  Then around 15 of us went out for a time of eating and fellowship afterwards.  I feel blessed to have ended up there, and I'm excited to worship there the rest of this summer.  God is good!  He amazes me just how exactly He answers prayer!

Thanks for reading!  I'll be trying to keep this as up to date as possible.  Also, I'd love to keep in contact this summer with any of you so either Facebook me, email me (steeler@purdue.edu), or find me on Skype (rebekah.d.steele)!  :)

À la prochaine!
Rebekah