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Dear all,

I've been negligent, I'm sorry. To be honest, my too-smart mac decided to translate everything from English to French, and it took me a while to figure out how to make a new blog! But now everything is back in English, so all if well :)

I've been in Aix for one week today! I've been very busy, and have been learning alot. I'm all moved in with my host family, who are wonderful. They are so sweet and are very patient with me and my broken French. I'm very fond of them and already feel at home here. They have two children, a daughter and a son, whom Im also very fond of. I've adopted them...I enjoy having younger siblings! The family and I are very similar in terms of interests. The daughter studies psychology and biology, the brother takes theater classes (which I now take aswell), and the mother and Robert are very hip, energetic, and love all things cultural. They also enjoy cooking. I feel so lucky to have been placed with them!

Their apartment is about five minutes from the center of town and ten minutes from the Cours Mirabeau (the Champs-Elysées of Aix). It's very easy and convenient to go anywhere I want to go!

Since my arrival I've met a few new international friends on a trip to Avignon organized by Erasmus- (anyone heard the song?). That was a fun day!

I've started courses this week, and they are...interesting. Much different than what I'm used to: much bigger and impersonal than Wellesley. It will take getting used to, that's for sure.

I have yet to pick all my courses, as these next two weeks are the "trial period". I know I'll be taking a translation class, which is mandatory for my major. There's a literature course on the texts of Molière I'm pretty sure I'll love, and an archeology class I have yet to try, so that leaves 1 more for me to choose. It should be easy to find: there are lots of interesting history course options.

And I'm loving Aix! It's a very charming city, full of small streets full of vendors, daily produce markets, cafés, parks, fountains...I could go on and on. And its WARM! So much warmer than Paris. Though it's usually quite cool and night and in the morning, there's sun everyday. The wind can make things complicated, though.

Aix is definitly a walking city: the university is a 25 minute walk for me. I don't mind it though, when its nice out (which it has been thus far, and will only get better!)

Apart from courses, promenading, and eating, I have little to do. My boredom won't last long though, I know. It will be fabulous when I figure everything out!I'm enrolled in a theater course, and hope to enroll in some dance and cooking classes, and join a gym!

Last night the family and I went to a movie premiere, which was alot of fun!

That's all for now...on with my life!

my love to you all!

"Sur le pont D'Avignon"...(famous bridge in Avignon)

Avignon

 

Fontaine de Vacluse

The grotto!

Gordes

 

 

Cheese selection at the weekly market in Aix

And the fruit!!

Le Cours Mirabeau

Photo entry

Foggy Mont-Saint-Michel

Mont-Saint-Michel at dawn

Inside the monastery gardens

The old monastery

Why do I feel like I'm always eating? Lunch time! Dessert, two times a day (!)

The northern coast

our window in the fortified ancient city of Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo

Chateau Saint Malo

Saint-Malo

The speciality, mussels!

The life.

Hello all!


Today was a relatively relaxed day: no tours. We had class at 9 until 10:30 this morning, then I went back up to my room and took a nap until 12 (I'm so tired these days!). The big sales in France started today (like Black Friday, but until February), so of course we had to go look at the shops! I didn't last very long though: things were crazy and I'm not much of a shopper. I did get a nice green sweater for 9 euro, though! It was fun looking around, at least. I also had to come back to the hotel to do some research into courses for Aix because we had a meeting about it at 4. 
After the meeting, which ended around 6:30, I came back to the room and relaxed for a little bit. I was starving and wanted to get dinner, but couldn't find anyone to eat with. I was feeling particularly homesick today too, which was hard. But instead of moping around my room like I was tempted to, I decided to go out and treat myself to a nice dinner. I walked around for a bit, looking for a cafe and enjoying the night air, when I decided on going into a very cute restaurant on one of the quieter side roads. They had a vey reasonable fixed menu, so I started with escargot (which I've come to like very much), roast chicken with salad, and then crème brulée. I had hot wine too, of course! I was proud of myself for going out on my own, and felt much better after eating such a good meal! The women next to me were American too; it was a bit of a comfort to eavesdrop on their english. It's funny how people of the same nationality find such camaraderie in each other when in a foreign country! When I was finished, they asked me in English how my meal was, and I think were pleasantly surprised to find out I was also American. We chatted for a bit, and then I left, happy and full.


I'm back at the hotel now, studying and attempting to upload some photos for you all to see. The internet is extremely slow here though, so I think they'll have to wait until I have a better connection (hopefully in Aix!)


love to you!

Week 2

Salut tous!


It's been a while since we last spoke! This past weekend our group took a little trip to Normandy and Brittany for the weekend. They were both such beautiful places! I'd seen the French country side before, but I found it breathtaking all over again.


On Friday afternoon, after literature class, we all left on a big bus to drive to Normandy. The ride was about 4 hours long, but I didn't mind because I love bus rides and observing the countryside. We stopped at a rest stop to find some food and the restrooms, I was really surprised by how luxurious the building was, and how much food they offered! It was like a mini supermarket in the middle of nowhere, with a scrumptious cafe in the middle. Many bought croissants (which I admit, I was tempted by), but I stuck with a bit more of the daily stuff: cookies and chocolate from the region (much healthier..?). From there we continued on until we reached our hotel which was located in a small town near Mont-Saint-Michel. There we ate a delicious dinner, with salad, fish, cheese, and dessert ordered for us by Madame Masson, the head of our group. And of course, we drank wonderful wine! It was a very memorable meal, with such great company! I really enjoyed getting to know the girls more.
The second day we woke up early to travel to Mont-Saint-Michel, which is a beautiful monastery build on top of a rock in the middle of floor plains. It is a stunning building. I'd seen it once before with my family, but was only too happy to be able to see it again! We arrived very early, before the museum opened and before tourists arrived, so we got to explore the town and ramparts of the monastery alone before our tour. It was a cold, grey, and rainy day, which was unfortunate, but it resulted in very few tourists being around. This was very nice, and our private tour got to see things that we wouldn't have been able to get close enough to during peak season! After the tour we had a bit of free time, where we explored the shops. Then we all loaded back onto the bus (like little ducklings) and went to a creperie for lunch, where madame again ordered us delicious fare, with plenty of fermented apple cider of the region. I had a great galette with sausage and ratatouille, with an ENORMOUS chocolate and almond crepe for dessert (which I ate all of, of course!). 
After this, we travelled to Brittany and the old coastal town of Saint-Malo. I had no idea the French coast was so beautiful, the water so aqua! I understand how it is a luxury visit in the summertime. There are to parts to the city of Saint-Malo: one new, the other old and surrounded by stone wall. The city dates back to the middle ages, before Brittany was a part of France. It is a spectacular town, with cobblestone walkways, small roads, tall houses, old churches, and high walls with ramparts all around. There we stayed in a very cute hotel right on the edge, with views of the harbor. After getting settled, we quickly set out on a private tour of the city. I loved hearing about the history! When we finished our tour at six, we had a little time before the shops closed, we we did some shopping. A few of us tried some of the local sweets- a must!- and went hunting for discount shoes, which we found. Then a group of twelve of us went to dinner in a great cafe, where we all ate seafood (St. Malo is renown for its seafood). I had the famous delicacy of the region, fresh mussels, with a glass of wine recommended specifically by Madame Masson. The mussels were delicious, and tasted all together different than the mussels I'm used to! From there, a few of us broke off from the group in search of a pub, but to no avail. We were too tired anyway, I think, so we just ended up walking around the city. Then, to bed! We were all exhausted from the long day.
The final morning we woke up, had a quick breakfast, then loaded onto the bus once again to go back to Normandy to visit the small town of Colleville, whose beach was one of the major locations of the beach invasion on D Day. We ate lunch there, once again hosted by madame (with more wine!), explored to beach a bit, and then left to visit the American cemetery. We had a short visit of the cemetery (we were unfortunately running out of time, as is always the case), and then started our journey back to Paris. What a weekend! I enjoyed myself tremendously, and felt so much closer to everyone in the group after that (including Madame and her husband!)
Today we had class in the morning, after which I took a nap, and then a friend and I went walking around Paris to find the Opéra Garnier. We found it all by ourselves! We were so proud. We met up with the group and had a tour of the opera, which is a magnificent building, full of gold, marble, mirrors, statues, and mosaics. It's like a mini Versailles, and in fact was modeled after it! I could have spent hours in that building. I'm going to look into seeing an opera there, actually. I think it would be an incredible experience, and I'd use any excuse the see the building again!
From there, my friend and I went to eat lunch, then did a little shopping, and returned to the hotel. I bought a pair of pants, which I needed desperately, and a novel that was written in the 17th century, called " La Princesse de Clèves". It's all about the the duel between passion and virtue in French court, and we read a bit of it in our class here...I'm really looking forward to starting it! I think it's only fitting, also, that I be reading in French swell as speaking it!
When we got back, I rested for a little bit, then went out with some friends for Indian food. It was a great time!
Tomorrow: class, and a tour of the Musée de Victor Hugo. I'm excited and ready to go!


love to you all <3

l'Opéra Garnier

the Seine at dusk

Day 2

the Louvre

Place de la Concorde

Musée d'Orsay

Liz with her escargot..and her help

Home of the famous macaroons

Rue St. Germain by night

Salut!

Today was a great day. It seems that I'm starting to recover from jet lag (thank goodness). My roommate Chelsea and I woke up early this morning, got dressed, left the hotel in search of breakfast (I had a delicious almond croissant), and then returned to the hotel for class at 9. Today we discussed the epic novels of the 12th-13th century. This period was interested in mostly recounting tales of chivalry, thus...King Arthur. Of course, I was very interested in this! 
After class ended at 10:30, Chelsea and I left the hotel again to do some shopping. I was very proud of myself, because I got everything I needed: an adapter, breakfast food, stamps, melotonin, etc! It was fun navigating the city, and I'm no longer terrified of addressing Parisiens in French. Strangely however, they seem to recognize that I don't speak French fluently even before I utter a word. This makes me sad, because many ask if I speak French, and I keep having to say "biensûr!", which means "of course!". Some Parisiens respond well to foreigns, and are very nice...others, not so much.

I'm in my room now taking a little break before I go out again at 3 to walk around some more! Our group will be meeting at 4 to go on a tour of the Musée d'Orsay. We'll probably break up into smaller groups and go to dinner after that. Going to restaurants around here is so fun, because everything is different than in the US! And last night I discovered hot wine, which I enjoyed very much and look forward to having again tonight :)

Yesterday was a harder day: I say that because I was exhausted in the middle of the day. We had class at 11 yesterday, where I embarrassingly I had trouble staying awake (not because it wasn't interesting, but because it was 5am my time). Luckily, the teacher was very understanding!
After that class I promptly collapsed in bed and slept from 12:30 to 2:30. I forced myself to get up then, though I was tempted to stay in bed. We had a meeting at the louvre at 5, so I decided I would go walk around for a bit. I explored the whole area around the Louvre, though didn't do much shopping (it's very expensive here, especially in certain areas). I then took a while to walk around the gardens and square outside the Louvre. They are beautiful, and I vaguely remember visiting them when I was very young.
Our tour lasted around 2.5 hours, where we saw the important women: Mona Lisa, The Venus of Milo, The Victory, and a few other things. The Louvre is huge! It would take at least a full week to see everything in there.

Exhausted and famished, I and my friends Elizabeth and Chelsea went to get dinner. We ate in a very cute little cafe near the Pont Neuf, which is very close to our hotel. Our server seemed to enjoy the fact that we were American, and even helped Elizabeth open her escargot!
After that, a quick nutella crepe, and back to the hotel! I studied a bit, and then went to bed, exhausted, but still unable to sleep. Hence, the melatonin. That should help me adjust!

Something very interesting has started to happen: I find speaking English a bit difficult! It now sounds strange to me, and writing in it is more taxing than usual. I've found that even in this blog, my sentence structure is a bit odd. SO COOL!

That's all for now,
À bientôt mes amis!

Day 1

Hello all! This blog will serve as my attempt to document my travels through France this semester!

Today (and yesterday?) was a long day. First, flight to Chicago. Then, met the group for our flight to Paris! The flight wasn't TOO bad, though my attempts to sleep failed due to the loud family sitting next to me and the woman behind me who kept kicking my seat. I must have managed to dose some though, because the flight seemed rather short to me..

It was cloudy and rainy here today, but it should be better tomorrow. Once we arrived at the hotel (which is very cute, our rooms each have two beds, a bathroom, and a little kitchenette) , we had a few hours off before we all meet again at 4, so I had a bit of resting time before I ventured forth into Paris to find a phone. Tonight we went on a boat ride along the Seine and saw many of the famous monuments (l'Academie Française, the Louvre, la Tour Eiffel, Notre Dame, etc). IT promptly started to drizzle when the cruise started, but I refused to go inside and miss the air and the sights. I got a bit wet, but it was worth it! It was beautiful out there...France is such a spectacular city! The Tour Eiffel is so much more impressive in person- I was stunned by its complexity.

After that, 12 of us went to a little restaurant close to the hotel that Mme. Masson recommended to us. We had a great time, with great French food and wine! After a meal spent with new friends, we returned to the hotel to get ready for bed. We are all exhausted.

And so ends my first post. I leave you all now to go to bed, as I'm exhausted and have a French literature course in the morning!
I"m going to go try to nap now. My body is very confused right now, but all in all I feel fine.

My love to you <3
À bientôt!

Most of us at dinner