DannyD
Veteran Expediter
I had a run to Quebec. While I wouldnt want to do it again, for a one time run it was something I'm glad I took. I got woken up a lil bit.
The Quebec run was good/bad. The bad is easy to get out of the way. I made maybe 250 after expenses for 1400 miles of driving.
Now for the good part of the Quebec deal. For starters I got to go to a province I'd never been to before. I've been to Ontario several times but the fact is Ontario is like "US Lite." Being in Quebec made me feel like I was actually in another country.
It was interesting to hear a radio station play a song just like ours do, but then the DJs speak in French. I guess it would be a good way to learn French because it's mixed in w/ some English song titles & such. I think if I stayed there long enough I could figure out what they're actually saying.
I got to a town called Valcourt & it's a tiny lil town. I got there at 3AM or so & the town was dead. I can't find the place. (later on I realize the addy on the paperwork was wrong) I finally saw someone driving the other way & flashed my lights & stopped in the middle of the road. He stopped too, & I asked him where a company called "Verbom" was.
His English wasn't to swift & my French is zero. He thought I said "Bombadier" so that's where he sent me. I get to Bombadier, call dispatch & tell em "I think I'm in the right place, even though the addy doesn't match." Then I get a lil sleep. At 7 I wake up & go into Bombadier. I show this guy my paperwork & he doesn't speak a lot of English either, but he sees by looking at the paperwork I'm at the wrong place. He calls someone & this girl speaks English fine. He hands the phone to me. She directs me to the right place.
What was great about Quebec is I got woken up to a whole new set of people. In other words I had my mind changed about them. I thought they were a bunch of stuck up whiners. They were awesome to me. So I'm glad I went. I went into a resturaunt & ordered some food. I told the girl who took my order I was wondering what it would be like there because I didn't knwo French. We ended up talking some about the English/French thing & it was a pleasant talk. It wasn't actually a vacation, but it was a nice trip & I did make a lil something to go out there.
I won't go out there again, it's a brutal financial move. To many runs like this & I'd be out of business fast. I am though, glad I did it this one time. I also got a border story out of this trip that I finally feel like I did well for myself. That'll be in the next post.
Be well,
Danny
The Quebec run was good/bad. The bad is easy to get out of the way. I made maybe 250 after expenses for 1400 miles of driving.
Now for the good part of the Quebec deal. For starters I got to go to a province I'd never been to before. I've been to Ontario several times but the fact is Ontario is like "US Lite." Being in Quebec made me feel like I was actually in another country.
It was interesting to hear a radio station play a song just like ours do, but then the DJs speak in French. I guess it would be a good way to learn French because it's mixed in w/ some English song titles & such. I think if I stayed there long enough I could figure out what they're actually saying.
I got to a town called Valcourt & it's a tiny lil town. I got there at 3AM or so & the town was dead. I can't find the place. (later on I realize the addy on the paperwork was wrong) I finally saw someone driving the other way & flashed my lights & stopped in the middle of the road. He stopped too, & I asked him where a company called "Verbom" was.
His English wasn't to swift & my French is zero. He thought I said "Bombadier" so that's where he sent me. I get to Bombadier, call dispatch & tell em "I think I'm in the right place, even though the addy doesn't match." Then I get a lil sleep. At 7 I wake up & go into Bombadier. I show this guy my paperwork & he doesn't speak a lot of English either, but he sees by looking at the paperwork I'm at the wrong place. He calls someone & this girl speaks English fine. He hands the phone to me. She directs me to the right place.
What was great about Quebec is I got woken up to a whole new set of people. In other words I had my mind changed about them. I thought they were a bunch of stuck up whiners. They were awesome to me. So I'm glad I went. I went into a resturaunt & ordered some food. I told the girl who took my order I was wondering what it would be like there because I didn't knwo French. We ended up talking some about the English/French thing & it was a pleasant talk. It wasn't actually a vacation, but it was a nice trip & I did make a lil something to go out there.
I won't go out there again, it's a brutal financial move. To many runs like this & I'd be out of business fast. I am though, glad I did it this one time. I also got a border story out of this trip that I finally feel like I did well for myself. That'll be in the next post.
Be well,
Danny