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!

Orientation

Ok so today was Orientation, but it was all pretty basic and it didn't take the full 7 hours that was allotted for it. We were reminded of basic rules to follow in our apartments, especially for those of us who are sharing our apartments with French students. And we signed up for classes. I have Advanced Conversation from 3:30 to 5:30 on Mondays and Thursdays and from 3:00 to 5:00 on Tuesdays. And I have Literature of Provence from 1:30 to 3:30 on Mondays and Thursdays and from 10:30 to 12:30 on Fridays. Everyone also has an additional class on Tuesdays from 1:00 to 2:00 in which we'll be given information about culture and excursions. So basically, that means I will not be able to communicate with any Houstonians (or other central timers) from 6:30am to 10:30am on Mondays and Thursdays, or from 6:00am to 10am on Tuesdays. And I don't think I need to say this, but I also won't be able to communicate between 3:30am and 5:30am on Fridays.

So tomorrow is the first day of classes and our first dinner with our pseudo-host families. My pseudo-host family is the Bach family, and I'm sure I'll be writing about that experience later. Other than Orientation and a casual dinner with the tutors and professors, all I did today was go grocery shopping with my roommate Kim at Monoprix (kind of like a French Walmart). I got enough food to last me a while, and I got hairspray, which was expensive even though I bought the store brand! Oh well. All in all, I didn't have to spend too much and I got a good amount of food for what I paid. It's time for our group to stop eating out with the tutors and start cooking in our apartments...we'll see how that goes!

So tomorrow, I don't have class until 1pm, so I'm planning on going out in Aix to find stamps/a post office before I have class, and cooking myself lunch. A tout a l'heure!

Intro to Aix...and Cassis!

Ok, so as of my last post, I had just moved into my apartment here in Aix-en-Provence. Now I've been here for about 3 days, so it's time for me to catch you up on what I've been doing! If you've read the post below, you've seen the basic schedule of what I've been doing, but here are some more details for your reading pleasure.

On Friday night, we all met at the VIF Center at 7pm to go to dinner. This was the first piece of evidence that Kim, PJ, Matt, and I are very lucky to be living at 15 rue Cardinale. Although we live on the very top floor and have to climb up this narrow winding staircase, we also live 2 floors above the VIF Center, so we can literally just run down there right before meeting times. Anyway, we all walked to this restaurant called Jacquou le Croquant, and that's when things got ridiculous. The menu was ridiculously long, and most of us decided to order off of the fixed price menu. When we tried to place our orders, the waitress got confused because our group was so large. We ended up having to write down our orders, but it still took about 2 hours before our salads came. Anyway, it was hilarious--there were so many mishaps, and so it became the perfect first night for all of us to be hanging out and getting to know each other. And 4 hours after we first started out for dinner, we were leaving the restaurant and heading back to our respective apartments.

The next day (Saturday) we got to sleep in because we didn't have to be at the center until 4pm. So we slept in, showered, and grabbed sandwiches at Pain Parasol, this little place a few blocks from where we live. Then we headed back to 15 rue Cardinale and began the walking tour. The first stop ended up being SFR, a French phone company, but I already had the French sim card that my Dad got for me, so I just hung out with some of the people who also already had their phone situation figured out. We were on the Cours Mirabeau (the main street in Aix) and these men and women were doing some sort of traditional French bachelor and bachelorette party. It was really funny. This guy was dressed up as a female nurse and another guy was wearing a diaper. One of the women was dressed as a doll and asking for "bisous" (kisses) because she needed 600 kilos of kisses or something. So the guys from our program kissed her on the cheek and then stepped on the scale--it was definitely something I'd never seen before.

Anyway, the rest of the walking tour is kind of a blur. It was incredibly hot outside and I was kind of just walking around like a zombie. I do remember that they showed us a discount grocery store, and some clubs, restaurants, and markets. Then we had about 30 minutes before we were supposed to meet at the center to go to dinner. We went to this restaurant called Le Patacrepe, and we ate crepes! I had one with comte (a kind of cheese) and it was so, so good! I wish I had had room to eat a dessert crepe, but I'll just have to wait until next time. After that, the people who live in the apartment on Rue Victor Hugo invited us to come over. So we went back to our place for a bit, and then went to the Victor Hugo apartment for some wine. Then we went out, and what is said is right: Aix definitely has a vibrant night life. We went to a few bars, but a few of us really wanted to go dancing, so we went looking for a club that was recommended. However, we couldn't get in because the boys were wearing shorts. It was funny because the bouncer told them, "Oh, the beach is that way" and pointed away from the club. So we ended up leaving and a few of us went home and the others went back to the Victor Hugo apartment.

Then this morning (Sunday), we all got up and walked to Hotel Christophe, the meeting point for excursions. Then we got on the bus and headed for Cassis. I took a lot of pictures, which I of course have not put on the internet yet (soon, I promise). Basically, we went on a boat tour and saw Les Calanques and then we went to the beach. And I ate cassis ice cream, bien sur! Then we got on the bus and came back to Aix. Then the usual: shower time, sit around talking, go get dinner. And now I'm writing this!

Tomorrow (Monday) is an all-day orientation and dinner with our professors! And then Tuesday is the first day of classes, which should be interesting. A bientot!

First Day in Aix

So it’s about 3:15pm and I’m sitting in my room in Aix. We don’t have anywhere to be until 7pm and I don’t have the password to the wireless network here, so I’m writing this blog in a word document…and it may be long seeing as I have so much time. (Technically, I could walk downstairs and get the internet password because my room is in the same building as the Vanderbilt-in-France Center. However, all the faculty members and tutors are sitting down there waiting to welcome new students, and they all speak French enthusiastically and quickly, so I’ll wait until we have to go down there at 7pm…yes, I’m chickening out, but I’ve already spoken a fair amount of French today.)

I guess with this time I have to spare I can go into some more detail about my day so far and some other little things from last week that I didn’t have time to write about because I was so busy traveling with Lindsey (and then Wouter at the end of the week). Ok so this morning I got up bright and early (well, early for me), checked out of the hostel in Nice (Villa St. Exupery), and then went to the bus station. Lindsey and Wouter were so sweet and came with me to the bus station to see me off. So yeah, then there was the 2.5 hour bus ride from Nice to Aix-en-Provence with a few random stops on the way. I fell asleep at the beginning, but woke up halfway through and got to see how beautiful the area between Nice and Aix is. Everything is so, so green, with just a few houses here and there throughout the countryside…I loved it! And it made me get all excited about being in Aix. So then the bus arrived in Aix at the bus station, and I stood around for a while, not really knowing what to do. It should have been obvious, considering there was a giant sign that said “TAXI”. However, I was still confused for some reason. Anyway after about 20 minutes of wandering around aimlessly, I saw that big sign and took a taxi to the VIF Center (15 Rue Cardinale…write me!). On the way there, we went through the very center of town and there were so many people walking around, eating, shopping, etc. It’s so pretty here and there are a lot of big trees even though the area itself is very developed. I really like it!

So yeah, I made it to the VIF Center and went upstairs to where some of the other students were sitting with the faculty and the tutors. One of the tutors explained stuff to me (in very rapidly spoken French) and then I was given the key to my apartment, which happens to be in the same building as the Center…lucky me! I went up there with Alix, the French student who lives there, but then she left to go out of town for the weekend. So I went back downstairs just as my roommate Kimberly was arriving. So she and I went up to our room and settled in a bit, and then went walking around Aix and stopped at Casino (French grocery store) to get some food. She’s really nice and so now we’re just waiting to meet our two other roommates who will be living in the room next to ours. The four of us share a bathroom and a kitchen (which happens to have a washing machine in it!) with Alix, the French student. And the apartment is so big! I’m shocked, but in a good way, so I’ll have to take pictures to show you.

Oh and this is a very random side note, but I’m listening to this playlist that Martha and I made one night in April and The Decemberists are playing, which reminds me of their song called “My Mother was a Chinese Trapeze Artist”. If I had internet access right now, I’d be able to copy and paste the first few lines in here, but the basic gist is that Aix-en-Provence is mentioned within the first few lines of the song. Very cool.

And now back to this post. Well now I’ve lost my train of thought. I guess I’ve pretty much talked about what I’ve done so far today. So here’s an idea of what I’ll be doing throughout the next 8 weeks:

5/22 (today): dinner with the tutors at 7pm

5/23 (tomorrow): taking a tour of Aix with the tutors at 4pm

5/24: going to the beach at Cassis from 11am to 7pm

5/25: orientation from 10am to 5pm; dinner with the professors

5/26: first day of classes and first dinner with our pseudo-host families

5/27: our first excursion (Le Luberon) trip from 9:30am to 7pm

5/28, 5/29: classes

6/1, 6/2: classes

6/3: hiking Saint Victor Mountain from 9am to 4pm

6/4, 6/5: classes

6/8: classes; excursion (I think this is the wine one, but I’m not sure)

6/9: classes

6/10: excursion to Nice from 8am to 7pm

6/11, 6/12: classes

6/15, 6/16: classes

6/17: excursion to Marseilles (departing at 8:30am)

6/18, 6/19: classes

6/20 – 6/27: culture week in Paris

6/29, 6/30: classes; dinner with pseudo-host families

7/1: excursion to the Picasso/Cezanne exhibit at 11am; party at the Center at 7:30pm

7/2, 7/3: classes

7/6, 7/7: classes; dinner with pseudo-host families

7/8: excursion to Avignon from 9am to 6pm

7/9, 7/10: classes

7/13, 7/14: classes

7/15: reading day

7/16: exams

7/17: excursion to Porquerolles from 8am to 7pm; farewell dinner with professors

7/18: go home!

Ok well we have internet now (yes, I was brave and went downstairs) and one of our other roommates has arrived, so I’m going to post this and then write again sometime later!

Cap d'Ail, Villefranche, et Monaco

Ok so it's about 11:35pm here, which makes this my last night in Nice, after an amazing week of traveling around the south of France. I haven't packed yet and my bus leaves in the morning, so I'll keep this short.

On Wednesday, Lindsey and I went beach-hopping. We took the train east and went first to Cap d'Ail (one stop before Monaco), which was the most beautiful place I've seen yet. The town is very small and quiet, there are huge villas that go up into the mountains, and the beach was perfect--secluded and peaceful. When you see pictures, you might not understand...so you should go there! Then we traveled back in the direction of Nice and stopped at Villefranche. This beach was also beautiful, but louder and more crowded, and we decided nothing could top Cap d'Ail. Still, I recommend going to both of these beaches, along with the several others we visited during our week o' fun.

Today (Thursday), we went to Monaco, and it happened to be the first day of the Grand Prix. It was pretty crowded and pretty warm, but we walked around a lot and I took a lot of pictures (surprise, surprise). Not sure what to say about Monaco, other than the fact that there are a lot of expensive cars there and I overheard someone saying that it's the size of Central Park in NYC (about 500 acres). Apparently when you're in Monaco, a lot of what you see is actually a town in France called Beau Soleil. So Monaco is very small and very opulent. But it was beautiful just as was every place we've visited this week. You'll see that in the pictures.

Oh and I got a suitcase today...woohoo! I went to a French mall for the first time and I went to Carrefour (like a French Walmart) for the first time! And inside the mall, across from Carrefour, was a store called Texas. It was pretty ridiculous. The clothes that the mannequins were wearing did not at all resemble what we wear in Texas. So yes, good times during my first French mall experience.

And tomorrow I'm off to Aix-en-Provence for the start of my study abroad program. I'm definitely grateful for this week (and grateful for the hostel experience...which I may write about at some point) that I've had to help me adjust to life in France and prepare me for what is ahead over the next 8 weeks! And now it's time to pack and sleep for a few hours...

Nice, Antibes, Cannes, et Grasse

Ok so I tried to post this yesterday, but the internet went down. Oh and today we went to Cap d'Ail and Villefranche, but I'll be writing about that later. So here is yesterday's post about Nice, Antibes, Cannes, and Grasse:

So I've just consumed a great deal of sugar, and I'm now going to try to sum up what Lindsey and I have been doing for the past 3 days. Sunday, we walked around Nice. Our hostel is really nice, but it's located pretty far from the beach (about a 35 minute walk), so we decided to take our time and just wander around, knowing that we'd end up at the beach at some point. This would be the perfect point to give you a link to my pictures (because I've taken about 200 so far), but my internet here at the hostel is kind of weird, so you may just have to wait on pictures until Friday, when I get to my room in Aix.

Anyway, you'll have a better idea of how beautiful the walk was from our hostel down to the beach when you see the pictures. But yeah, Lindsey and I spent some time laying out on the beach and definitely should have used more sunscreen. We are paying for it now, but don't worry, we've learned our lesson. But being at the beach here in Nice was so cool. Women of all sizes are so confident in their bodies--they have no problem being topless while laying out, walking on the beach, and swimming in the water. I don't even really know how to describe it, but it was kind of liberating, and I wasn't even the one who was topless. I just suddenly felt more confident, which is cool because I've always thought that French women are so attractive, partially because of their natural confidence. Anyway, after the beach, we went to this restaurant and ate cassis sorbet (my favorite!!!), and then we headed to this lookout point and took a lot more pictures. By the way, I'm looking through my pictures right now while I'm writing this, and I'm just in awe at the beauty here. I can't wait to show pictures to anyone who's reading this right now.

So then on Monday, we went to Antibes and Cannes. Antibes was so beautiful--it was like paradise. It's a coastal town west of Nice, and when we got off the train there, we just walked around until we hit the water. Oh and I drank an Orangina Indien (orangina with grenadine) and it was so good! But the town was so beautiful (I use this word too much, but it has applied to what I've seen so far in the south of France), and there was a really cool feel to it. There were yachts everywhere, and the sand was so white and the water so blue. Once again, pictures right now would be amazing. I know for a fact that I will definitely be coming back to Antibes someday and will be spending more than just a few hours there! But we still had plans for the day, so we got back on the train and headed to Cannes.

By the way, the Cannes Film Festival is going on right now. Yes, be jealous. I was in Cannes during the Cannes Film Festival. That's right. So Lindsey and I did our usual: wander around until we reach the beach (it has been a foolproof plan so far in all these coastal towns). So when we hit the beach, we also hit the crowds. There were so, so many people in Cannes, walking the road along the beach, trying to get tickets to movie screenings, attempting to take pictures of celebrities, etc. It was really crowded, but really exciting. So we got as close to the action as we could, did a bit of stalking, but sadly we never met Johnny Depp...our goal for the day. (But we haven't given up yet and think that we may run into him tomorrow at Cap d'Ail). Anyway, the beaches in Cannes are beautiful (surprise, surprise) and there are so many restaurants right on the water, just lining the beach. So we walked around for a very long time and then decided to try to find a place to eat (which also means a high likelihood of a free restroom). We settled on this Chinese restaurant, and the food was good, but the service wasn't that great. This lady who worked there was trying to get us to leave so she could seat the next pair of people even though I wasn't done, and she even sent a married couple over to stand next to our table...to get us to hurry up? I don't know--it was annoying, but oh well. So then we thought about going to the movie showing on the beach, but we were tired so we took the train back to Nice.

Today, we went to Grasse, the perfume capital and our first noncoastal town. It was very pretty in a way that was different from the beauty of Nice, Antibes, and Cannes. There were these narrow little side streets that made the town look like a movie set. So we walked around and visited the Parfumerie Fragonard, a perfume museum. It was very interesting and I bought awesome gifts for my Mom and Dad! Then we retraced our steps and walked back through all the pretty side streets. We ate lunch and Lindsey bought some gifts for her family. Then we walked down the hill to the train station and took the train back to Nice. Now we're in the hostel, where I have consumed far too much sugar for my own good.

Tomorrow we're going to do some random stuff around Nice (including purchasing a new suitcase) and then head to Cap d'Ail in the afternoon for some relaxing beach time. And the plan for Thursday is to go to Monaco. Anyway, stay tuned!

Suitcase Drama! (Houston to Paris to Marseilles to Nice)

Ok so right now, it's about 11:10pm (or should I say 23h10) and Lindsey and I are sitting on my bed (the top bunk) at our hostel, Villa St. Exupery (http://www.vsaint.com/). I've showered and brushed my teeth for the first time in two days, so I guess now is a good time for me to rant and rave about Friday/Saturday, the superday of travel.

Friday morning, Colin took me to the airport and I ended up sitting in the middle seat of the middle row on my Houston to Paris flight. I didn't actually have a seating assignment, and when I asked for one, they told me to come back later. When I came back later, I ended up with awesome 42F. But it was really ok. We had the little screens on the backs of the seats in front of us, so I watched Sex and the City, Friends, and a movie. And at one point, the guy to the left of me started talking to me. I think he could tell I was really nervous/anxious/upset/everything, and although I kind of wanted to try to sleep, he was being really nice and made me feel better for the time we were talking. He was on his way to Turkey, and he told me he was nervous. That made me feel so much better because if a 35-year old man is scared about traveling, then it must be ok for me to be scared too! So he and I talked until about 5am Paris time, and then I kind of attempted to sleep, but failed. So, I just decided to watch another movie. I mean, there's nothing like watching Match Point (for the 50 millionth time) at 6am...right? So yeah, that's the Houston to Paris flight in a nutshell. Oh and Air France's food was pretty good...yeah.

Then when we arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport, we took this bus to the other side of the airport...then I had to (almost) run to get to my terminal, and waited forever in the line for security. I just barely made it to my gate on time, but then they delayed my flight by about 30 minutes. But we eventually got on the plane, and I slept for about 45 minutes, I think. We landed in Marseilles and I went to find my suitcase...which was ripped. So this is when I began pulling my suitcase and looking behind me every few steps to make sure nothing was falling out (which I did for the rest of the day...all over Marseilles airport, Marseilles train station, and Nice). I bought a bus ticket to get to the Marseilles train station, was thoroughly confused and stressed out by this seemingly simple process, and finally made it to Phileas Cafe, the spot I was supposed to meet Lindsey. Then we bought tickets for Nice, ate lunch, and took the train to Nice. We then took a really really nice taxi to our hostel, Villa St. Exupery, and checked in. We went walking around, bought some groceries, and came back to St. Exupery to eat.

Then, I fully unzipped my suitcase to get stuff out to take a shower and aslkjdfklasjkldlkjajk stuff was all wet. Apparently my hairspray exploded and got a red shirt wet...which bled onto a bunch of white stuff and turned it all pink. So Lindsey and I have been trying to get the stains out, and sadly, I had to throw away the card that my Mom put in my suitcase because it was soaked and sticky and runny...but I did read it first, and I really wish I could have kept it. So that suitcase, ripped and drenched in hairspray, is definitely done! I need to buy a new suitcase before I leave Nice so that I'll have a way to transport all my stuff to Aix on Friday. Oh and I need to get a really intense stain fighter too. All in all, things are ok so far though, and where we're staying is really cool.

So I guess what I've learned so far is:
1) Don't try to put too much in one suitcase.
2) Don't pack hairspray in a suitcase that is way too full.
3) The fact that my suitcase made it here at all is probably more important than losing a few items of clothing because of bad stains.

I'm just so glad I'm here with Lindsey right now. Seeing her friendly face at the train station in Marseilles made everything better, and I think it'll be good to be here in France for a week before my program starts. Tomorrow (Sunday) we're off to the beaches of Nice and I have no clue what we'll be doing Monday through Thursday. Then, Friday morning, I'll be taking the 10am bus from Nice to Aix (theoretically...plans may change, but this is the tentative plan). And that will be the start of my program!

So yeah, this was my first post. If you're reading this, there's a very good chance that I miss you a lot and would love to get a facebook message or email from you!