The Adventures of an Anglophone in Quebec!

Our Director of Operations, Meg Sweeney dishes on working remotely and the importance of Google Hangouts.

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Bonjour de la belle ville de Quebec! Or as most Anglophones would say…”Hello from beautiful Quebec City!” And if you’re not already in the loop, this Canadian European gem of a city, is now where I call home.

Having relocated from downtown Toronto almost 3 months ago, I am now accustomed to the working from home lifestyle that is “mon Lundi au Vendrei” or “my Monday to Friday” as Google Translate so easily tells me.

While some people think working from home is all pyjamas and The Price is Right, I have come to find that it’s quite the opposite. In order to fully get in the YellowHouse zone, I must put in the same amount of effort into getting ready for my work day as I would if I was actually strolling into the TO office. A shower, the proper attire and a little bit of lipstick goes a long way – it also means I can be ready to jump on a video conference call at a moment’s notice … and that’s just what ends up happening.

Tools such as Google Hangouts allow me to jump into a meeting with my YHE team, share my screen, and even edit documents in real time as a group … all while I get to see their faces and hear their laughter. And if I’m ever really craving that in-person connection, I know that my Toronto office family is only ever a short Porter flight away.

I may have traded Brick St. sandwiches for poutine, but I’ll always be a Torontonian at heart, just don’t ask me to say that in French just yet. This Anglophone needs to brush up on her Rosetta Stone!

Au revoir!