First Full Week in Aix

Ok so it's Saturday morning and Kim (Radzicki) and I are just sitting around in my apartment. She came in from Sevilla for the weekend, and almost everyone from my program left yesterday for Barcelona. I'm glad that I'm spending this weekend here though, in Aix. And I'm glad that Kim is here! It's so, so nice to see a friendly face and to catch up with her because I haven't seen her since January!

So here's a recap on what's been going on around here. Tuesday was the first day of classes. I had my 1-hr Excursion class (that we have every Tuesday to prep us for our Wednesday excursion) and I had my 2-hr Conversation class. I'm not really sure what to say about my Conversation class. Yes, we do converse, but I haven't really decided yet whether or not I like the structure of this class. Also, it's definitely not a blow-off class. I will need to stay organized to keep up with the workload in this class.

Then on Wednesday, we met bright and early at 9:30am for our excursion to Le Luberon. We visited Silvacane, Gordes, and Roussillon. In Silvacane, we went to an abbey and took a tour there. The guy who gave us the tour spoke entirely in French and I was impressed by the amount of the tour that I actually understood! Although, I definitely did not understand all of it. I did take some really great pictures though! Then we got back on the bus and headed for Gordes. Gordes was such a small and beautiful town! We ate lunch at a crepe restaurant and then just walked around. The town is up really, really high on a hill so I got some great pictures just looking out at everything below. Overall, we didn't have much time to spend in Gordes because it was just supposed to be our lunch destination. So then we went to Roussillon, which is an entirely orange-ish/red-ish town. We hiked around there and I can't wait to show off my pictures. There's a story that explains why the land in Roussillon has a red-ish hue. Basically, this man found out that his wife was cheating on him, so he invited her lover on a hunting trip. While on the trip, the husband killed his wife's lover and took out his heart. He returned to Roussillon, cooked the heart, and served it to his wife as dinner. She said it was the best meal she had ever eaten, and he said something to the effect of, "Good, because you just ate your lover's heart, and now I'm going to kill you." So she went running to the balcony of their home and threw herself off. She landed on the rocks of Roussillon, and her blood went everywhere, creating the red rocks that you see in Roussillon. When you see pictures, it'll make a lot more sense. Anyway, those were our three destinations for Wednesday.

On Thursday, I went to my literature class for the first time, and then to conversation class. The literature class is called Literature of Provence, and oh goodness, there is going to be so much reading and writing. But I'm excited about this class even though I think it's going to be a bit much for me because it already kind of overwhelms me. We're reading works by all the people you would expect (Daudet, Giono, Pagnol, etc.), and we have intense writing assignments pretty often throughout the next 7 weeks. Then on Friday, I just had my literature class. Everyone left for Barcelona, and Kim and I started taking over Aix.

So things that I should write about on here that have nothing to do with class: host family dinners and the post office. We eat dinner with our host families Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and we started with Tuesday of this week. Even though I was with 5 other people from my program, I was totally overwhelmed. The host parents speak French with a Provencal accent, and I could still understand them, but it was definitely different. And for some reason, this new experience of eating dinner in someone's home whom I've never met before just really freaked me out. I did contribute to conversation a bit at first, but then I withdrew. The host parents then told me that I needed to speak at every meal, which just made me feel more uncomfortable, so I completely withdrew for the rest of the meal. I was so glad to get out of there.

Things were better on Thursday though. I had to walk there by myself because I'm the only person living in my building who is assigned to this host family. I got there before anyone else and sat down to talk with the host mom. Then there was a bit of a misunderstanding. Basically, I told her that my friend was in town, and honestly, I was excited that I was conversing more than I had on Tuesday! But she totally misunderstood and thought I said that my Mom was in town. This led to me just going along with that because I couldn't talk my way out of it. I guess it's funny, but I'm kind of worried about going back to dinner now because the host mom is definitely going to ask me questions about my awesome weekend with my Mom. Oops?

Ok and the post office. I went to the Aix-en-Provence Post Office on Tuesday to mail some stuff, and there was a sign on the door explaining that they were on strike and to try again the next day. Unfortunately, I couldn't try again the next day because we had our excursion trip, but I went back to the post office on Thursday, and it was open! I guess this is just an example of the fact that there is always some strike going on somewhere in France. At least now I'm used to it...and I know how to use those machines to buy your postage. Although, I am wondering if I bought the correct postage...I guess I'll find out sooner or later.

So that is my first week in a nutshell. Kim is here until Tuesday morning, so we have plenty more time to hang out and catch up, which is exciting! I can't believe I've only been here for 2 weeks. I feel as though it's been way longer, and I feel as though I've been away from home for several months...interesting. I guess the time will start to fly soon because so many things are coming up. My Dad and brother are coming to visit soon, and my Mom will be here in July. And I looked at the calendar, and after this first week that we've just completed, we have 3 weeks in Aix, 1 week in Paris, and then 3 weeks in Aix. And then there are the weekly excursions to look forward to. Anyway...A bientot!