No, that's not French. I'm pretty sure it's Spanish? But it could also be Italian... I'm not really up on my other Romance languages, although I would really love it if I were.
Anyway! The last couple days have been not-so-great. I "attrapéd the rhume" as one of my peers so neatly put it. For those of you non-franglophones, that's a really grammatically--maybe just linguistically--terrible way of saying that I got the flu. I woke up yesterday with a terrible headache, a sore throat, and a fever. I'd been feeling a little sick the two previous days, but I thought I could fight it off with water, which I then proceeded to not drink. Good decision, apparently.
So I spent all day lying in bed trying to make myself feel better. I had class at 1pm yesterday, so I got up and showered and went to that, practically slept through the first half of class because I was so incoherent, left early, came home and slept some more, finally had some soup, slept a little more, and then a wonderful friend made me a nice healthy dinner and tea. I was supposed to have my second dinner with the French family, but because I was sick, we decided to reschedule for tomorrow night if they're free.
I woke up this morning feeling better--not 100%--but without a voice. After a couple cups of tea, I finally could talk and walk without losing my balance (having fevers makes me a little dizzy), and I went to go meet my French friend for coffee. She's really nice, and she hates English, so I can only speak French with her, which is really good practice for me! Apparently we're in two of the same classes without knowing it, so I'm going to be seeing a lot of her this semester. She showed me some of the ins and outs of the university--like the super cheap cafeteria that's on a different campus--and I showed her how to get to Parc Jourdan from the university.
I got a care package from my family today! Unfortunately, I had to pay a tax of 47€ in order to receive it, but it came nonetheless! I'm so happy to have my apron with me, and my Colts jersey (I have a friend here who is an avid Packers fan and won't let me forget that he's the "true fan" because he brought his jersey and I didn't, so obviously I had to fix that situation), my lotions, and good-smelling fall scents!!
Tonight, I've got my awesome theater class, and hopefully I'll have a nice, slow night so my body can fully recuperate.
I realize how boring this blog looks at first glance--I'll try to post more pictures soon! Several of my latest videos have not been the best. Last week I tried to get a video of our theater where the class is held and instead I got a video of me falling down the stairs and everyone laughing at me. So... we'll try for a better one this time.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Tuesday. Wednesday. Monday.
Today has been one of those days. I have spent all day thinking it was either tomorrow or the day after that, which is weird because I'm living in what I was considering the past. Yeah, it's been one of those days, too.
I had lexicology class this morning, and I'm still feeling really good about the class. Whenever our professor asks a question and I don't know the answer, none of the other kids in the class know either, so I know I'm not behind. Tomorrow I have class in the afternoon, and it's my literature class. I got the books for that class today, so I think I might try to get a head start on the reading tomorrow morning! I've been feeling productive lately.
Tonight, we had a couple of our neighbors over (program kids), and I cooked my spicy sausage sauce (say that 10 times fast) with penne pasta. The sauce was extra spicy tonight, and it sort of burned on the way down, but in a good way. After dinner, I made crepes! Real, Frenchie, French crepes! In a French kitchen, with French ingredients, and French utensils! It was so French! As per accidental tradition, the first crepe I made was terrible, but I got the hang of it really quickly and the rest of them all turned out really well! We had chantilly (whipped cream), Nutella, and des bananes (if you can't figure that one out, you don't deserve to know)!
In other news, my Colts won yesterday against the Broncos! Any day when the Colts win is followed by a fantastic day--at least on my part. I have been so happy that I've been able to watch the games here. It's not very French of me, but I've sort of realized I'm going to have to embrace my Americanism at some point because my accent is not going to go away. Even if I have been told it's a very good accent. Several times. By French people.
Okay! Enough of that! I've added new photos of our most recent trip to Marseille, so check out the link to those on the right side of the page.
I had lexicology class this morning, and I'm still feeling really good about the class. Whenever our professor asks a question and I don't know the answer, none of the other kids in the class know either, so I know I'm not behind. Tomorrow I have class in the afternoon, and it's my literature class. I got the books for that class today, so I think I might try to get a head start on the reading tomorrow morning! I've been feeling productive lately.
Tonight, we had a couple of our neighbors over (program kids), and I cooked my spicy sausage sauce (say that 10 times fast) with penne pasta. The sauce was extra spicy tonight, and it sort of burned on the way down, but in a good way. After dinner, I made crepes! Real, Frenchie, French crepes! In a French kitchen, with French ingredients, and French utensils! It was so French! As per accidental tradition, the first crepe I made was terrible, but I got the hang of it really quickly and the rest of them all turned out really well! We had chantilly (whipped cream), Nutella, and des bananes (if you can't figure that one out, you don't deserve to know)!
In other news, my Colts won yesterday against the Broncos! Any day when the Colts win is followed by a fantastic day--at least on my part. I have been so happy that I've been able to watch the games here. It's not very French of me, but I've sort of realized I'm going to have to embrace my Americanism at some point because my accent is not going to go away. Even if I have been told it's a very good accent. Several times. By French people.
Okay! Enough of that! I've added new photos of our most recent trip to Marseille, so check out the link to those on the right side of the page.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
A long update
Well! I have been busy! Because this update is going to be so long, I'm going to have little headers with the different sections in case you don't care too much about one subject.
School
We started real university classes on Monday, and (shockingly) I think they're going pretty well so far! My first class is a second-year lexicology class, which is basically an application of linguistics skills, and I'm well-versed in that department. I feel like I'm where I would usually be in a class in the States, which sort of makes me feel like I'm not challenging myself enough because everyone only ever talked about how horribly difficult our classes would be for us.
I'm also taking a comparative literature class that discusses the way translation has affected the meanings of works and how characters have evolved over time in their different representations. We're focusing on Faust and Macbeth, but we're reading everything in French, which should be interesting! Those are the two school classes I'm most excited about, but I'm also taking a Languages of the World class with a million first-year university students. The class size is too big for me to like it, and I feel like I've already learned all the material in another class I took in the States, except it was in English before. The funny thing is that most of the terms are so technical that they end up being the same thing in French but with an accent. For example, Indo-European languages are "les langues Indo-Européennes". So I'm hoping that class will be an easy A.
My other classes consist of a Modern and Contemporary African History class, a theatre course offered by the program, and a University Methodolody class offered by the program. I think I might end up dropping the African History course because it is a four-hour class for third-year French History majors. I've never taken a history class before in college, so I don't feel like I'm sufficiently prepared to take an advanced history course, especially in French. But we'll see!
I really like the theater course. It's a course designed to help us with our oral French, but it's really fun because we end up doing a lot of improvisation involving acting and being ridiculous--two things I rather enjoy doing anyway!
Meeting Real French People!
On Thursday of this week, some of my friends in the program hosted a dinner party/potluck at their apartment. All in all, there were at least twelve people who ate and several more who came later in the evening. The girls in the apartment have a French roommate (named Violette), and she invited several of her friends to come to the party too, so I got to meet real French people who are my age for the first time! At one point in the evening, we learned that one of the French girls (Sonia) had studied in England for a year. I was coaxed into speaking in my English accent to see if she could understand me better without the American accent. It turned out that Sonia could understand me fine either way, but another girl could only understand me when I spoke in the accent. So for the rest of the night if I spoke in English at all, I had to speak with an English accent so that everyone could understand the conversation.
On Friday night, I had my first dinner with my French exchange family. The way the dinner was to go was explained to me as, "You will speak to the children in English for an hour and a half before dinner, and then during dinner, they will correct your French." Which made me feel really confident in my French abilities. The organization for it happened really quickly; Thursday night I was told I might meet the family on Friday night if they called me back on Friday, and then early Friday afternoon, I heard back from the mom in the family and we got everything set up for that night. I really like the family. The kids are ages 16 (girl), 15 (boy), and 13 (boy). It was nice to be in the middle of a family setting again. I mean, the program kids all joke around about how we're a huge family at this point--and it's true, it's what it feels like--but I miss the real thing. It was nice to be among bickering siblings again--and I really do mean that wholeheartedly.
Marseille
Yesterday, I went with a few of the program kids to Marseille to see a professional football game here--or as we Americans are prone to say, soccer. We were able to find tickets to the game for only 30€, and train tickets are also pretty cheap to Marseille. The game was fantastic! Marseille won 2-1 versus Sochaux, so everyone was happy. The Mistral was playing games with the temperature here again, so we were all sort of freezing, but it was like we were at home again watching an American football game. We were all pretty happy with the results of the night. After the game, we went out to eat and I got Marseille's specialty: bouillabaisse! It was okay, not amazing but not terrible either. I'm happy I got it at least once, anyway. The bouillabaisse was followed by profiteroles and coffee, and it seemed like a pretty great French night overall.
School
We started real university classes on Monday, and (shockingly) I think they're going pretty well so far! My first class is a second-year lexicology class, which is basically an application of linguistics skills, and I'm well-versed in that department. I feel like I'm where I would usually be in a class in the States, which sort of makes me feel like I'm not challenging myself enough because everyone only ever talked about how horribly difficult our classes would be for us.
I'm also taking a comparative literature class that discusses the way translation has affected the meanings of works and how characters have evolved over time in their different representations. We're focusing on Faust and Macbeth, but we're reading everything in French, which should be interesting! Those are the two school classes I'm most excited about, but I'm also taking a Languages of the World class with a million first-year university students. The class size is too big for me to like it, and I feel like I've already learned all the material in another class I took in the States, except it was in English before. The funny thing is that most of the terms are so technical that they end up being the same thing in French but with an accent. For example, Indo-European languages are "les langues Indo-Européennes". So I'm hoping that class will be an easy A.
My other classes consist of a Modern and Contemporary African History class, a theatre course offered by the program, and a University Methodolody class offered by the program. I think I might end up dropping the African History course because it is a four-hour class for third-year French History majors. I've never taken a history class before in college, so I don't feel like I'm sufficiently prepared to take an advanced history course, especially in French. But we'll see!
I really like the theater course. It's a course designed to help us with our oral French, but it's really fun because we end up doing a lot of improvisation involving acting and being ridiculous--two things I rather enjoy doing anyway!
Meeting Real French People!
On Thursday of this week, some of my friends in the program hosted a dinner party/potluck at their apartment. All in all, there were at least twelve people who ate and several more who came later in the evening. The girls in the apartment have a French roommate (named Violette), and she invited several of her friends to come to the party too, so I got to meet real French people who are my age for the first time! At one point in the evening, we learned that one of the French girls (Sonia) had studied in England for a year. I was coaxed into speaking in my English accent to see if she could understand me better without the American accent. It turned out that Sonia could understand me fine either way, but another girl could only understand me when I spoke in the accent. So for the rest of the night if I spoke in English at all, I had to speak with an English accent so that everyone could understand the conversation.
On Friday night, I had my first dinner with my French exchange family. The way the dinner was to go was explained to me as, "You will speak to the children in English for an hour and a half before dinner, and then during dinner, they will correct your French." Which made me feel really confident in my French abilities. The organization for it happened really quickly; Thursday night I was told I might meet the family on Friday night if they called me back on Friday, and then early Friday afternoon, I heard back from the mom in the family and we got everything set up for that night. I really like the family. The kids are ages 16 (girl), 15 (boy), and 13 (boy). It was nice to be in the middle of a family setting again. I mean, the program kids all joke around about how we're a huge family at this point--and it's true, it's what it feels like--but I miss the real thing. It was nice to be among bickering siblings again--and I really do mean that wholeheartedly.
Marseille
Yesterday, I went with a few of the program kids to Marseille to see a professional football game here--or as we Americans are prone to say, soccer. We were able to find tickets to the game for only 30€, and train tickets are also pretty cheap to Marseille. The game was fantastic! Marseille won 2-1 versus Sochaux, so everyone was happy. The Mistral was playing games with the temperature here again, so we were all sort of freezing, but it was like we were at home again watching an American football game. We were all pretty happy with the results of the night. After the game, we went out to eat and I got Marseille's specialty: bouillabaisse! It was okay, not amazing but not terrible either. I'm happy I got it at least once, anyway. The bouillabaisse was followed by profiteroles and coffee, and it seemed like a pretty great French night overall.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Commencement
It ends and begins.
I have been so emotional lately. We had our last day of orientation class today, and I almost cried so. many. times. It was slightly ridiculous. I watched Finding Neverland last night with one of my friends, and that was not a good idea. It is impossible to watch that movie without crying at least once--for any normal person. For me, it's somewhere between three and four times. (Christy, I blame you!) So that got my tear ducts all revved up and ready for today.
So today in class we watched a French film about family and how it's great even with its ups and downs. And obviously that's another great idea considering that I've been getting homesick lately. No tears from me at all. (Said the liar.) Leaving class today was actually really bittersweet because I've gotten really fond of our professors but I'm also really excited about starting real classes on Monday.
I don't think I've ever explained about the wonderful cafeteria at the school. The man in charge--the chef, if you will--is amazing. Every day during our coffee breaks (they are an essential part of the French lifestyle), we would all walk into the cafeteria to get our coffee and he would give us special deals after first bursting out in laughter and shouting, "Vive les Américains!" Some days he would bring us pain au chocolat--amazing pain au chocolat, mind you--and he would always greet us with some sort of compliment, trivia question, or joke. Once he had us name four American presidents before we could get our coffee. (Just FYI, France has only had six presidents so far, including Sarkozy. So it was a little easier for Americans than it would have been for the French.) Today, for our last day, he surprised us with a huge array of drinks, pastries, and fruit. It was so nice! And so French!
Aside from all that, I had a sort of revelation earlier today about what exactly makes life here so incredible. Life here really isn't all that different from life in the United States, but everyone here expects life to be amazing, so it is. Every time we do something, it's somehow transformed into an experience instead of just a task we have to get done. Life is so much better when you live every day as if it were extraordinary!
I have been so emotional lately. We had our last day of orientation class today, and I almost cried so. many. times. It was slightly ridiculous. I watched Finding Neverland last night with one of my friends, and that was not a good idea. It is impossible to watch that movie without crying at least once--for any normal person. For me, it's somewhere between three and four times. (Christy, I blame you!) So that got my tear ducts all revved up and ready for today.
So today in class we watched a French film about family and how it's great even with its ups and downs. And obviously that's another great idea considering that I've been getting homesick lately. No tears from me at all. (Said the liar.) Leaving class today was actually really bittersweet because I've gotten really fond of our professors but I'm also really excited about starting real classes on Monday.
I don't think I've ever explained about the wonderful cafeteria at the school. The man in charge--the chef, if you will--is amazing. Every day during our coffee breaks (they are an essential part of the French lifestyle), we would all walk into the cafeteria to get our coffee and he would give us special deals after first bursting out in laughter and shouting, "Vive les Américains!" Some days he would bring us pain au chocolat--amazing pain au chocolat, mind you--and he would always greet us with some sort of compliment, trivia question, or joke. Once he had us name four American presidents before we could get our coffee. (Just FYI, France has only had six presidents so far, including Sarkozy. So it was a little easier for Americans than it would have been for the French.) Today, for our last day, he surprised us with a huge array of drinks, pastries, and fruit. It was so nice! And so French!
Aside from all that, I had a sort of revelation earlier today about what exactly makes life here so incredible. Life here really isn't all that different from life in the United States, but everyone here expects life to be amazing, so it is. Every time we do something, it's somehow transformed into an experience instead of just a task we have to get done. Life is so much better when you live every day as if it were extraordinary!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
The past week in review
This week has been very busy, and most of it has been due to our scholastic endeavors here. We all studied really hard this weekend for a test we thought we had on Monday over grammar. It turned out not to be a test on grammar, but instead was a large essay, which is something you can't really study for. We're finishing up our orientation classes this week before our real university classes start on Monday, so this week has been filled with tests. Today, for example, we had our huge history test, an oral comprehension test, and an essay. Our history test consisted of two and a half blank pages of printer paper which we needed to fill with a timeline of all of our knowledge of French history, the names of 15 presidents of countries that are frequently discussed in world news, and an "article" discussing the strengths and weaknesses of France.
I'm pretty sure I aced the first two sections of the history test because I studied like I was crazy, despite other people telling me there was no way we needed to know all of that stuff. Hmph.
To study for the test yesterday, I went with one of my friends to the park here in Aix called Parc Jourdain. It was really nice to go someplace besides the apartment to just sit and relax for a few hours. It was also really nice to be able to sit on grass and under trees again. I brought a blanket from my apartment to the park, and we just laid on the ground for a while listening to my jazz music and watching the cloudless sky.
Today's weather is acting a little more like what I expected from fall here. The sky is a little overcast, but there are still patches of sunlight, and it's supposed to rain tomorrow and Saturday here. I was planning on going to Cassis with a few friends this weekend, but with the weather turning colder, I decided I would just rather stay here and get some good cleaning in.
Tonight, I'm trying a new recipe with some pork chops I got from our local discount store: Orange-Topped Chops. I'm really excited!
I'm pretty sure I aced the first two sections of the history test because I studied like I was crazy, despite other people telling me there was no way we needed to know all of that stuff. Hmph.
To study for the test yesterday, I went with one of my friends to the park here in Aix called Parc Jourdain. It was really nice to go someplace besides the apartment to just sit and relax for a few hours. It was also really nice to be able to sit on grass and under trees again. I brought a blanket from my apartment to the park, and we just laid on the ground for a while listening to my jazz music and watching the cloudless sky.
Today's weather is acting a little more like what I expected from fall here. The sky is a little overcast, but there are still patches of sunlight, and it's supposed to rain tomorrow and Saturday here. I was planning on going to Cassis with a few friends this weekend, but with the weather turning colder, I decided I would just rather stay here and get some good cleaning in.
Tonight, I'm trying a new recipe with some pork chops I got from our local discount store: Orange-Topped Chops. I'm really excited!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
France: Our Secret Time Machine/Simplicity of Life
The longer I'm here, the more I realize just how lucky how I am. Sometimes I'll wake up in the morning, and I'll just think to myself, "You live in the South of France." I just can't get over how great this all is.
I don't know if I can even convey the extent of my happiness here. Every time I have finished a meal with my friends, we all have just agreed that "We're so happy."
I happen to have quite a large collection of Miles Davis jazz, and we've taken to listening to it during our meals, which have also been candlelit (see left). We're still poor college students, so it's not like our meals are super fancy, but they've all been really delicious and relaxing, which I think sums up life in France in general. The picture on the left is at our neighbors' apartment, which is not as well-furnished as ours is, so they've taken to empty wine bottles for candle holders.
Yesterday afternoon, bunch of program students and I went out to find somewhere were we could play soccer. Our program office distributed a bunch of supplies that were left for us by previous students, and one of my friends got a soccer ball, but the only problem is that he ball is a little flat (or maybe really flat). But it was good enough for us to play with yesterday. We found a soccer court to play on yesterday--just like a basketball court, paved and everything, except with soccer goals instead of hoops. Not the best, but it did the job, and I remembered how much I love soccer. Which is a lot.
The French don't really have the concept of exercising like Americans do. Gyms are really hard to come by, and the only forms of exercise that we've seen so far have been walking (everywhere) and dancing.
Today, there is sort of community club fair on the Cours Mirabeau, which is the main street in Aix. Every club or student group or sports club is supposed to have a booth set up so that we can walk around and pick up leaflets at any place that interests us. I think the ratio of salsa dancing clubs to any other club is about 30:1. It's insane. The only other type of activity that was easy to find is martial arts. It was a little disappointing because a lot of us students had had our hearts set on playing sports with other students our age, and the only place I found that plays sports is a basketball league for girls. Anything involving a lot of hand-eye coordination is not really my thing, which basically leaves soccer in the mix. Which is too bad because we didn't find a single place that plays soccer.
In other news, I should be starting to have weekly dinners with a family either this week or next week, so I'll keep you all updated on that situation too.
I don't know if I can even convey the extent of my happiness here. Every time I have finished a meal with my friends, we all have just agreed that "We're so happy."
I happen to have quite a large collection of Miles Davis jazz, and we've taken to listening to it during our meals, which have also been candlelit (see left). We're still poor college students, so it's not like our meals are super fancy, but they've all been really delicious and relaxing, which I think sums up life in France in general. The picture on the left is at our neighbors' apartment, which is not as well-furnished as ours is, so they've taken to empty wine bottles for candle holders.Yesterday afternoon, bunch of program students and I went out to find somewhere were we could play soccer. Our program office distributed a bunch of supplies that were left for us by previous students, and one of my friends got a soccer ball, but the only problem is that he ball is a little flat (or maybe really flat). But it was good enough for us to play with yesterday. We found a soccer court to play on yesterday--just like a basketball court, paved and everything, except with soccer goals instead of hoops. Not the best, but it did the job, and I remembered how much I love soccer. Which is a lot.
The French don't really have the concept of exercising like Americans do. Gyms are really hard to come by, and the only forms of exercise that we've seen so far have been walking (everywhere) and dancing.
Today, there is sort of community club fair on the Cours Mirabeau, which is the main street in Aix. Every club or student group or sports club is supposed to have a booth set up so that we can walk around and pick up leaflets at any place that interests us. I think the ratio of salsa dancing clubs to any other club is about 30:1. It's insane. The only other type of activity that was easy to find is martial arts. It was a little disappointing because a lot of us students had had our hearts set on playing sports with other students our age, and the only place I found that plays sports is a basketball league for girls. Anything involving a lot of hand-eye coordination is not really my thing, which basically leaves soccer in the mix. Which is too bad because we didn't find a single place that plays soccer.
In other news, I should be starting to have weekly dinners with a family either this week or next week, so I'll keep you all updated on that situation too.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Finalement... Internet in my apartment
You should all be very, very proud of me. I successfully installed our internet by following instructions in French--and by myself, I might add. So we now have internet in our apartment! It's also sort of extra special because we're the first program kids to have internet in our apartment because everybody else either went to the internet/phone store after we did, or they asked for a person to come out and install it for them. Well, not me. I can do it myself!
In other news, the program had us start looking at classes for our schedules because we can start scheduling classes next week. The only problem is, it's the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life. French schools, apparently, only have a student body because it's free. Because nobody in their right mind would knowingly pay to have to go through the entire school website just to find a single class that they want to take.
Okay. Let me back up and explain a little.
So. This is me having an open mind. Ahem. French schools are not set up the same way American ones are. Schooling is free in France, so long as you go to a public school. Universities are included in this until you get to the Grands Ecoles, which are sort of like the French Ivy League. The schools aren't organized as an overall school--that's just for the classrooms--but are instead organized according to department. That all sounds reasonable so far, right? I agree. However. (You knew it was coming, don't be surprised.) The departments act as individual entities when it comes to scheduling. So to find a class list (if you're lucky enough to have it in a complete list), you have to go to each individual department's webpage. But as each department is its own entity, there is no rule as to when the class lists are updated or where the classes will be found on the department website.
Can you understand why I'm getting frustrated? Oh, America. You do so many organizational things right.
So far, I've found the Linguistics deparment's website and class list--for last year.
I'm not a happy camper right now.
---
I'm updating this as I'm preparing for what is to be my third dinner party in my apartment here in Aix. It's so great! There are going to be seven of us total. It was going to be eight, but someone dropped out on us at the last minute. The menu: Salt & Pepper Chicken with a Mexican Rice/Bean sauce, the necessary baguette and Camembert (cheese, for those non-gourmands out there, but oh-so delicious cheese), Pain au Chocolat, and two different varieties of wine. I'm getting so excited, especially because I'm coming to appreciate how well our apartment is placed in the city.
Oh! And for those of you who haven't seen, I posted two links (so far) to my pictures of St. Tropez and Marseille. More to come of other adventures in France!
In other news, the program had us start looking at classes for our schedules because we can start scheduling classes next week. The only problem is, it's the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life. French schools, apparently, only have a student body because it's free. Because nobody in their right mind would knowingly pay to have to go through the entire school website just to find a single class that they want to take.
Okay. Let me back up and explain a little.
So. This is me having an open mind. Ahem. French schools are not set up the same way American ones are. Schooling is free in France, so long as you go to a public school. Universities are included in this until you get to the Grands Ecoles, which are sort of like the French Ivy League. The schools aren't organized as an overall school--that's just for the classrooms--but are instead organized according to department. That all sounds reasonable so far, right? I agree. However. (You knew it was coming, don't be surprised.) The departments act as individual entities when it comes to scheduling. So to find a class list (if you're lucky enough to have it in a complete list), you have to go to each individual department's webpage. But as each department is its own entity, there is no rule as to when the class lists are updated or where the classes will be found on the department website.
Can you understand why I'm getting frustrated? Oh, America. You do so many organizational things right.
So far, I've found the Linguistics deparment's website and class list--for last year.
I'm not a happy camper right now.
---
I'm updating this as I'm preparing for what is to be my third dinner party in my apartment here in Aix. It's so great! There are going to be seven of us total. It was going to be eight, but someone dropped out on us at the last minute. The menu: Salt & Pepper Chicken with a Mexican Rice/Bean sauce, the necessary baguette and Camembert (cheese, for those non-gourmands out there, but oh-so delicious cheese), Pain au Chocolat, and two different varieties of wine. I'm getting so excited, especially because I'm coming to appreciate how well our apartment is placed in the city.
Oh! And for those of you who haven't seen, I posted two links (so far) to my pictures of St. Tropez and Marseille. More to come of other adventures in France!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Rain and Strikes in France
So today is the beginning of a nationwide strike involving transportation, schools, and hospitals. We were warned that we may have to walk to our school today because the bus system would be down, and it’s a good twenty minute ride from our bus stop to the school, so I was not looking forward to that, especially as today is the first day in forever that it’s slated to rain. It ended up being alright in the end because the bus system is up during the peak hours, but really limited in the middle of the day. We can still see effects of the strike in odd places, though, because the library in our school is closed for the strike. We’re not sure if it’s just today or if this is an open-ended sort of thing.
Yesterday was a really good day. Our apartment is completely tiled, so it hasn't really felt comfortable because we can't take off our shoes. We found an awesome thrift store near our apartment where we found a 5'x6' rug for 19€--a steal, really. So we bought that right away and a fan, and our apartment is finally starting to feel like a home instead of the place we sleep.
I don't know exactly how dry it's been back in the States, but I know it's been really, super dry here. Trees have begun losing their leaves here, not because it's been cold (although the Mistral has been playing games with the temperature here), but because it's been so dry. It started raining last night at about 11, and it was a beautiful thing. I was hosting a dinner party for several of the program students on our street (there are five of us altogether), and we were doing our homework. We were just finishing up when we heard the sound of the rain on the roof. We looked outside the two windows in our living room, and four of us just watched the people and their umbrellas rushing by on the street. It was so simple and still so gorgeous, that moment.
Yesterday was a really good day. Our apartment is completely tiled, so it hasn't really felt comfortable because we can't take off our shoes. We found an awesome thrift store near our apartment where we found a 5'x6' rug for 19€--a steal, really. So we bought that right away and a fan, and our apartment is finally starting to feel like a home instead of the place we sleep.
I don't know exactly how dry it's been back in the States, but I know it's been really, super dry here. Trees have begun losing their leaves here, not because it's been cold (although the Mistral has been playing games with the temperature here), but because it's been so dry. It started raining last night at about 11, and it was a beautiful thing. I was hosting a dinner party for several of the program students on our street (there are five of us altogether), and we were doing our homework. We were just finishing up when we heard the sound of the rain on the roof. We looked outside the two windows in our living room, and four of us just watched the people and their umbrellas rushing by on the street. It was so simple and still so gorgeous, that moment.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Marseille
Oh, la belle France!
We went to Marseille on Saturday as part of our program, so the only thing I paid for all day was lunch--thank goodness because I have been spending money left and right lately! It was really beautiful, of course, because this is the south of France we're talking about right now, but it was also really cool.
The first thing we did once we got to Marseille was visit the Chateau d'If. If you don't know what that is exactly, but it sounds familiar, think The Count of Monte Cristo or The Man in the Iron Mask, both of which took place (at least partially) at Chateau d'If. So we got to go in and take a look around all of the cells, which really weren't half bad. I mean, if I had to be stuck in a room for the rest of my life, they at least would give me a chimney for the middle of winter, and most of the rooms had some sunlight filtering in somewhere.
After Chateau d'If, we went and had lunch during the typical French two-hour lunch break. On the way to Marseille, I kept telling everyone to remind me at lunch to find Bouillabaisse, which is the Marseille specialty, and I really, really wanted to have some. Well, wouldn't you know it, everyone forgot, but I ended up having something adventurous anyway. It was seafood, but as it turns out, it was Belgian and not the Marseillais I was going for. Oh, well. At least now I can say I've eaten moules-frites (mussels and fries), and it wasn't half bad!
We went to a museum next, and it was really neat. Ever since I took an awesome class last semester that was a combination of history, literature, and art, I've really come to appreciate paintings, especially French and Italian paintings. This museum featured Italian paintings, and it also had an Egyptian mummy exhibit. I didn't realize at the time that there were real mummies there, so I spent almost my entire time in the painting and sculpture exhibits. Oh, well. I probably would have gotten a little freaked out by the mummies anyway.
My favorite part: but then we went up to the top of this huge hill to Notre Dame de la Garde. So cool! Not only was the view from the top breathtaking, but the basilica was amazing, too. I mean, it wasn't Lyon's basilica, but it was still really cool. I walked in on the second half of Mass, so I stayed for that and asked the priest where I could find a copy of the Mass written in French. He walked me to the bookstore and told me what book to ask for. So now I'm set! At least for the month of September.
Last night I went to Mass at my church here in Aix, and some of my friends came with me. I had met the priest earlier that day because I asked him what time Mass was for sure last night, and then he asked me a little bit about myself and I said I was a new student from America. So he featured me during the homily last night, telling everyone how "I don't know a single person in Aix." It sounded a little pathetic, but then he encouraged everyone to befriend me. So it was alright in the end! I really love my church because it's the "student parish" of the diocese, and I signed up for the church choir, and everyone seems really, really awesome, especially because they don't speak very much English!
We went to Marseille on Saturday as part of our program, so the only thing I paid for all day was lunch--thank goodness because I have been spending money left and right lately! It was really beautiful, of course, because this is the south of France we're talking about right now, but it was also really cool.
The first thing we did once we got to Marseille was visit the Chateau d'If. If you don't know what that is exactly, but it sounds familiar, think The Count of Monte Cristo or The Man in the Iron Mask, both of which took place (at least partially) at Chateau d'If. So we got to go in and take a look around all of the cells, which really weren't half bad. I mean, if I had to be stuck in a room for the rest of my life, they at least would give me a chimney for the middle of winter, and most of the rooms had some sunlight filtering in somewhere.
After Chateau d'If, we went and had lunch during the typical French two-hour lunch break. On the way to Marseille, I kept telling everyone to remind me at lunch to find Bouillabaisse, which is the Marseille specialty, and I really, really wanted to have some. Well, wouldn't you know it, everyone forgot, but I ended up having something adventurous anyway. It was seafood, but as it turns out, it was Belgian and not the Marseillais I was going for. Oh, well. At least now I can say I've eaten moules-frites (mussels and fries), and it wasn't half bad!
We went to a museum next, and it was really neat. Ever since I took an awesome class last semester that was a combination of history, literature, and art, I've really come to appreciate paintings, especially French and Italian paintings. This museum featured Italian paintings, and it also had an Egyptian mummy exhibit. I didn't realize at the time that there were real mummies there, so I spent almost my entire time in the painting and sculpture exhibits. Oh, well. I probably would have gotten a little freaked out by the mummies anyway.
My favorite part: but then we went up to the top of this huge hill to Notre Dame de la Garde. So cool! Not only was the view from the top breathtaking, but the basilica was amazing, too. I mean, it wasn't Lyon's basilica, but it was still really cool. I walked in on the second half of Mass, so I stayed for that and asked the priest where I could find a copy of the Mass written in French. He walked me to the bookstore and told me what book to ask for. So now I'm set! At least for the month of September.
Last night I went to Mass at my church here in Aix, and some of my friends came with me. I had met the priest earlier that day because I asked him what time Mass was for sure last night, and then he asked me a little bit about myself and I said I was a new student from America. So he featured me during the homily last night, telling everyone how "I don't know a single person in Aix." It sounded a little pathetic, but then he encouraged everyone to befriend me. So it was alright in the end! I really love my church because it's the "student parish" of the diocese, and I signed up for the church choir, and everyone seems really, really awesome, especially because they don't speak very much English!
Friday, September 3, 2010
INTERNET
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is how happy I am to have found internet in a location that is both convenient and free! I think I may even devote this entire entry to a sonnet I'm going to write about counting the ways I love thee. I mean, the internet.
Or maybe not. (I know, you're all extremely relieved. But really. I'm so happy to have found internet.)
Oh! And FYI, if you haven't seen them yet, I wrote two entries below this one that I just added as well that detail my last two days lost at sea, so you can get in some good reading--not to be conceited or anything.
Well, we just finished our first test for our cours intensif, and it wasn't bad. Simple, straightforward, in short, exactly my cup of tea. I think things are finally settling down here. I have to go buy another bus pass today, but other than that, I think we only have a few minor housekeeping details to care of, like buying spices and meat, etc.
I'm kind of starving right now, but I honestly feel like my need to communicate with the world supersedes my need to eat. Also, did you know it's spelled "supersedes"? I totally thought it was "supercedes". Anyway. (By the way, if you haven't noticed, this is how my mind works--jumping around spasmatically--and it takes super-concentration to get a clear thought completed when I write.)
I'm going to go eat now.
Or maybe not. (I know, you're all extremely relieved. But really. I'm so happy to have found internet.)
Oh! And FYI, if you haven't seen them yet, I wrote two entries below this one that I just added as well that detail my last two days lost at sea, so you can get in some good reading--not to be conceited or anything.
Well, we just finished our first test for our cours intensif, and it wasn't bad. Simple, straightforward, in short, exactly my cup of tea. I think things are finally settling down here. I have to go buy another bus pass today, but other than that, I think we only have a few minor housekeeping details to care of, like buying spices and meat, etc.
I'm kind of starving right now, but I honestly feel like my need to communicate with the world supersedes my need to eat. Also, did you know it's spelled "supersedes"? I totally thought it was "supercedes". Anyway. (By the way, if you haven't noticed, this is how my mind works--jumping around spasmatically--and it takes super-concentration to get a clear thought completed when I write.)
I'm going to go eat now.
Life without internet/Entry for September 2nd
Okay, so update number 2 without internet. (Un petit paranthèse: I’m getting used to the French notion of the “Internet”, which is always capitalized. It takes real self-control to write it the American way now.) It’s amazing how much more time I feel like I have now that we don’t have internet readily available to us any time I want it. It’s actually been really good for my productivity level, and I haven’t felt guilty about not being in contact with everyone at home while I’ve been busy doing other important things. I have begun to miss home a little bit, though.
Yesterday we had our first civilization class with M. Pelopidas. In the two-hour timeframe he was given, our teacher somehow covered 3000 years of French history in detail. It was amazing! Anyone who can get that much done has to have a high energy level, and M. Pelopidas never lost his enthusiasm. It was a little difficult to show as much excitement for it as M. Pelopidas did, but it was really interesting. Today we covered French politics since World War II, and I have to say, I find French politics way more interesting than American politics. It definitely helps that I took an amazing culture class last semester that seems to have covered every major topic anyone has mentioned to us. Our teachers keep making references to events, and I know exactly what they’re talking about. It’s kind of cool because I’ve been explaining some of it to my classmates when they get a little lost. Like today with the French political parties.
After class today, I went with some of my classmates to get our bank accounts set up because we all wanted internet, and the only way to get it is to have a bank account. So we went to the bank, got all that taken care of (I deposited a whopping 30€ in my account), and then we took off for the phone/internet store. We signed all the papers, got everything in order, and then I asked if anyone would be coming out to set it up, and the girl just replied, “No.” I thought maybe she would ask if I wanted someone to come out, but it looks like we’re on our own now. I just have to wait for them to text us that our internet and phone lines are working before I can set up our box.
Yesterday we had our first civilization class with M. Pelopidas. In the two-hour timeframe he was given, our teacher somehow covered 3000 years of French history in detail. It was amazing! Anyone who can get that much done has to have a high energy level, and M. Pelopidas never lost his enthusiasm. It was a little difficult to show as much excitement for it as M. Pelopidas did, but it was really interesting. Today we covered French politics since World War II, and I have to say, I find French politics way more interesting than American politics. It definitely helps that I took an amazing culture class last semester that seems to have covered every major topic anyone has mentioned to us. Our teachers keep making references to events, and I know exactly what they’re talking about. It’s kind of cool because I’ve been explaining some of it to my classmates when they get a little lost. Like today with the French political parties.
After class today, I went with some of my classmates to get our bank accounts set up because we all wanted internet, and the only way to get it is to have a bank account. So we went to the bank, got all that taken care of (I deposited a whopping 30€ in my account), and then we took off for the phone/internet store. We signed all the papers, got everything in order, and then I asked if anyone would be coming out to set it up, and the girl just replied, “No.” I thought maybe she would ask if I wanted someone to come out, but it looks like we’re on our own now. I just have to wait for them to text us that our internet and phone lines are working before I can set up our box.
Life without internet/Entry for September 1st
Oh. My. Goodness.
I wouldn't usually call myself a techie, or really even that reliant on technology in my everyday life, but I have had to live two days without internet, and it has been awful.
I wrote these entries on Word the last two days because I felt like I needed to keep everyone updated somehow.
So!
Wednesday September 1, 2010
Well! Life has been busy! We started our cours intensif on Monday after taking a two-hour placement test. Really, I’m not even sure how much the test had to do with anything. I know I got placed in my class because I asked to be. The test was split in two parts: written and oral, which is the same way the classes are split. The oral exam consisted of them asking us simple questions about French (why we are interested in it, how we plan to use it in the future, etc.), and the written exam was pretty run-of-the-mill. I feel pretty confident in my written French, so I requested to be put in the conversation class.
In other news, we finally got moved into our apartment! I got my key on Tuesday night, and my roommate got her stuff moved in that night. I decided to wait until Wednesday morning to move because I wanted to clean everything before I got stuff moved in. The apartment was pretty dirty before we moved in. None of the dishes were put away; everything was lying out so that we could see it for inventory purposes, but none of the cupboards were clean either. So I spent three hours wiping down our kitchen’s cupboards, shelves, and dishes. I even had to clean our dish drying rack because it had a bunch of dust coating it. It was a little gross.
I went out today and got sheets for my bed and some candles for the apartment. While I was doing that, Andrea was going grocery shopping for us, and when she got back I made dinner for us. She wiped down our shower while I cooked, and we had our first home-cooked meal here: spaghetti. Simple, cheap, and so worth it.
We did have a little incident last night when I went to hang my sopping wet towel (from the washing machine) on our clothesline. There is a restaurant that’s only open at night in our courtyard right below our clothesline, so I checked to make sure it wouldn’t be dripping on anybody before I hung the towel up. There was only a tin roof below the clothesline, so I thought I would be fine. About ten minutes later, two guys ring our doorbell, so I stick my head out the window to see who it is, and I don’t recognize them. They’re yelling indistinguishable French up at me, and I keep telling them they have the wrong apartment until finally one of them says, “Do you speeek Eeengleeesh?” I yell “Yes!” back to them from my fourth-story window, and he yells back, “Your napkeen! Weeeth thee waterrr! Iss dripping on my customerss!”
So I can’t do laundry at night anymore. Bummer.
We still don’t have internet in our apartment because everything in France takes forever, so I have to type up these entries in Word and then upload them while I’m at the program’s office. It’s definitely weird not being able to check email whenever I want. I think we’re going to get internet from my dad’s favorite (and maybe his only) French word: Orange.
Tomorrow we go to open our bank accounts here, and then Friday we get to see what the former students of the program left us all in terms of furnishings for our apartments!
I wouldn't usually call myself a techie, or really even that reliant on technology in my everyday life, but I have had to live two days without internet, and it has been awful.
I wrote these entries on Word the last two days because I felt like I needed to keep everyone updated somehow.
So!
Wednesday September 1, 2010
Well! Life has been busy! We started our cours intensif on Monday after taking a two-hour placement test. Really, I’m not even sure how much the test had to do with anything. I know I got placed in my class because I asked to be. The test was split in two parts: written and oral, which is the same way the classes are split. The oral exam consisted of them asking us simple questions about French (why we are interested in it, how we plan to use it in the future, etc.), and the written exam was pretty run-of-the-mill. I feel pretty confident in my written French, so I requested to be put in the conversation class.
In other news, we finally got moved into our apartment! I got my key on Tuesday night, and my roommate got her stuff moved in that night. I decided to wait until Wednesday morning to move because I wanted to clean everything before I got stuff moved in. The apartment was pretty dirty before we moved in. None of the dishes were put away; everything was lying out so that we could see it for inventory purposes, but none of the cupboards were clean either. So I spent three hours wiping down our kitchen’s cupboards, shelves, and dishes. I even had to clean our dish drying rack because it had a bunch of dust coating it. It was a little gross.
I went out today and got sheets for my bed and some candles for the apartment. While I was doing that, Andrea was going grocery shopping for us, and when she got back I made dinner for us. She wiped down our shower while I cooked, and we had our first home-cooked meal here: spaghetti. Simple, cheap, and so worth it.
We did have a little incident last night when I went to hang my sopping wet towel (from the washing machine) on our clothesline. There is a restaurant that’s only open at night in our courtyard right below our clothesline, so I checked to make sure it wouldn’t be dripping on anybody before I hung the towel up. There was only a tin roof below the clothesline, so I thought I would be fine. About ten minutes later, two guys ring our doorbell, so I stick my head out the window to see who it is, and I don’t recognize them. They’re yelling indistinguishable French up at me, and I keep telling them they have the wrong apartment until finally one of them says, “Do you speeek Eeengleeesh?” I yell “Yes!” back to them from my fourth-story window, and he yells back, “Your napkeen! Weeeth thee waterrr! Iss dripping on my customerss!”
So I can’t do laundry at night anymore. Bummer.
We still don’t have internet in our apartment because everything in France takes forever, so I have to type up these entries in Word and then upload them while I’m at the program’s office. It’s definitely weird not being able to check email whenever I want. I think we’re going to get internet from my dad’s favorite (and maybe his only) French word: Orange.
Tomorrow we go to open our bank accounts here, and then Friday we get to see what the former students of the program left us all in terms of furnishings for our apartments!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)