Le vin tue lentement. On s’en fout ou n’est pas pressé! (Something I loved written on the wall at a little French restaurant in Old Quebec!)
After a week in Quebec City with work I’ve determined two things: 1) I love wine and all food bad for me and 2) I desperately need to learn how to speak French, (I know… I should be embarrassed to have a last name like Lafleche and not speak the language). Being there I realized how beautiful the language is, and also how much my career will suffer if I don’t learn to speak it.
Living in Ottawa and working in communications (especially in government) you need to be bilingual. I have until September to learn how to speak French, or I’m looking for a new job.
I have no problem admitting that this terrifies me. Don’t get me wrong, I have faith in myself and when I set my mind to something I do it, but that doesn’t mean that underneath the calm and cool exterior that is Cait Lafleche (joke) there’s a 23-year-old freaking the heck out! (Let’s be honest people confidence is key, but there isn’t a person in the world who hasn’t questioned themself at one point or another).
However I’m quite aware that I need to set my doubts aside before they completely blind me, and so begins my French learning journey. For starters I ordered French for Dummies, which is very basic and a lot of things I already know but good to have anyways. I’ve gotten all of my friends who speak the language to send me e-mails and messages throughout the day only in French, I started reading French magazines and listening to French radio, and I’ve decided to sign up for an intensive French course at Algonquin in January.
I know I can do this, not only for my career but for me. I like to challenge myself and do things that I fear I can’t (like running the Beat Beethoven 4 K race this past weekend, and kicking his butt), and learning this beautiful language is one of them.
If you have any advice or tips on learning the language, please let me know!
As for Quebec City, I was astonished at the beauty and culture. The chocolate croissants, sugar pie, duck dishes, and wine basically made me the happiest girl in the world!

So it’s been a while… Mainly because I’ve been away with work a lot, which I’ll tell you all about later. For now, I thought I’d do a quick update with an article I came across tonight that I enjoyed. Click
Besides writing about and reading PR blogs, I’m also addicted to reading food blogs. I don’t know why I do it to myself, because it makes me so ridiculously hungry and envious of amazing cooks. My favorite food blog belongs to my mother, probably because I’ve had her meals many a times, and she is a phenomenal cook. Check out her blog 






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