Trip to Montreal

<-NARRATOR:-> Listen to a conversation between two students.
<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> Hey, Mike. How's it going?
<-MALE STUDENT:-> [unhappy] OK.
<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> Something the matter?
<-MALE STUDENT:-> Well, sort of.
I'm taking this French class...
<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> [following] OK...
<-MALE STUDENT:-> And one of the class requirements is a weekend trip to Canada-
to Montreal, which is in the French -speaking part of Canada.
It's only like five hours from here, so next weekend the whole class is going up on a bus. We're supposed to practice French...
you' know, talk to people,
and we're going to a play.
<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> Sounds like fun.
<-MALE STUDENT:-> Yeah, I'd love to go...
<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> But...?
<-MALE STUDENT:-> Well, we'll be crossing an international border, so in order to go, you need a passport.
The professor told us a while ago to be sure to get a passport, but I completely forgot to apply for one.
<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> What are you gonna do?
<-MALE STUDENT:-> Well, I talked to my professor, and she said I could fulfill the requirement a different way, if I want.
Instead of going on the trip, I could stay here and write a short paper about Montreal.
Yeah,
I'd have to do a little research and write about three pages, talk about Montreal-its history or whatever-in French.
It wouldn't be too hard...
<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> But then you'd miss out on a great trip to Montreal.
<-MALE STUDENT:-> I know.
<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> Well, you know, there's another option. You can probably still get a passport in time if you go directly to a U.S. passport office and pay extra.
Then you could go!
<-MALE STUDENT:-> Yeah, actually, I looked into that. I can still get a passport in time,
but to get it at the last minute's expensive-
like a hundred and fifty dollars.
And I don't know if I want to spend that much.
<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> [conceding] That is a lot of money...