Exhausted in Montreal

Well, I am exhausted and I am in Montreal. You want proof? Too bad! I took down the picture of me because it was so horrible. So why did I leave gay Paris ? Well, I'm here for the EUSA (European Union Studies Association) Biennial International Conference. Tomorrow, I'll be pulling triple duty: I'll be presenting the perennial favorite, "Consonant Federalism," chairing the Euroskepticism panel, and acting as the panel's discussant. When I first decided to apply for this conference, I thought, Montreal, how beautiful! Actually, it is FREEZING, windy, and rainy. The good part is that my hotel is a real find; it is very charming. I cannot really enjoy it though because I am EXHAUSTED. It is 11:40 pm Paris time. Sigh. Montreal is the strangest place I've ever visited, I can say that without a doubt. It is as if Ypsilanti and France crashed into one another. I have never seen people that look like they are from Ypsilanti speak French. It's like a twilight zone. The cars look like they are American, but they stop to fill up with "essence." My head is spinning. I don't know what to think! Tomorrow I will get a better look at the city and I can make a better inferences. Also, I have to type out my notes for the discussant gig, but I can hardly keep my eyes open. Finally, I cried on the plane. Why? Because the movie I was watching touched me so, that's why. What movie did I see you query. Well, I don't know if I can tell you. You see, I don't know if we are that close. All right, all right! If you insist. I was watching Freedom Writers. You know, the movie with Hillary Swank that made $2 at the box-office? In my defense, I wasn't the only one touched. My whole section of the plane was RIVETED. Moreover, as I watched it, my own life didn't seem so bad. I also had this feeling that I wasn't doing anything really important. Usually, I'm at peace with this. Yet at this moment, I didn't want to read another paper about navel-gazing Swedes or decentralization and its (putative) effects on identity. And on that high note, I will type these notes. A bientôt!