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.

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.

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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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!