As difficult as it was adjusting the first week, things have been pretty excellent. My weeks of classes go by quickly, with the simplification of my satellite life over here, there isn’t much else to do other than go to class and complete my homework. No jobs or family things or social engagements. Things are just simpler and I think it will be reflected in my grades. So far, the weeks have been quiet, filled with reflection, and mostly by myself. Which sounds mildly depressing but I think it is exactly what I needed. As I have gotten older I have come to cherish any time I get to myself, and at home this seems to be getting less and less.
The weekends however, are a different story. There are five of us who have sort of formed our own little group and have been enjoying the sights together. Thursday night we went to a hookah bar for some relaxation and really good tea. Friday night we went to someone in our school’s host family’s house who allowed him to have a BBQ for other students. The mood was welcoming and it was sort of exactly the way I like to spend a Friday night, grilling burgers on a Provencal estate on Southern France with good wine and better conversation.
The
weekend was comprised of two beach trips, some cliff jumping, numerous naps in
the sun, and one hell of a tan. I have decided that when it comes to study
abroad there are two options: Go to a place where the culture shocks you and
the life is difficult so you come home with a different view on life and a
better perspective on how much you actually have. Or, go somewhere where the
people just know how to live. Life here
is slower, but not less productive. The food here is better, but not much more
expensive. Nightlife is more fun with less emphasis on enjoying others company
rather than getting drunk. There is less of an emphasis on having the most; on
the contrary people tend to strive to live simpler. It is trash day today and
as I look outside my window I see one kitchen sized trash bag per household on
the street. That is UNHEARD of in the states. I had an apartment in Lowell last
year and it looked like everyone was moving out every Friday, 12 trash bags and
old furniture on everyone’s steps.
However, fashion is definitely more important here, as is personal appearance,
it is sort of my favorite part, everybody looks GOOD.
Study
abroad in an interesting experience in terms of it’s definite end point. We are
sort of all in agreement that when we went to college there was a really big
emphasis on making it feel permanent and getting close to the people around
you. But here, this only lasts 4 months. So I am almost trying to maintain a
certain disconnect from the people and the situations while trying to take in
everything I can at the same time.
As
I am sure everyone knows France has nationalized health care. Everybody gets
healthcare, even the homeless people on the street can go to the doctor, it is
pretty fantastic. In comparison to the American system it is far more organized
and an endlessly better system. I could rant on about this for pages but nobody
really wants to hear that in a study abroad blog. Anyway, last night we were
about to eat dinner when my host dad told me that they had to go to the
hospital for my host mom but wouldn’t tell me why. So I sat down to dinner by
myself confused and not expecting them home for hours (as we all know in the
states you can’t get out of an emergency room in less then three hours). I had
barely finished eating my chicken when they were back in the house. Ladies and
gentlemen Veronique saw the doctor, had an ultrasound, and was back in the
house in 45 minutes. 45 minutes!! Oh, and there is no co-pay. As a huge
supporter of nationalized healthcare I have to say, that only reaffirmed my
stance. Oh, and my host mom is ok, she is just pregnant =)
Weekend
trip to Brussels tomorrow which I am very very very very excited for and will
take numerous pictures of me doing things like eating Belgium waffles in
Belgium.
Day
1.
They
city is beautiful. It is not like Paris or London where you feel like tourists
are only there to be robbed and trying to talk to a Frenchman is ruining their
day. I honestly feel like an invader on the quiet life of this city. The
townspeople don't pay much attention to us but then they do they are patient
and helpful. Most of Aix consists of yellow stone buildings with light blue
shutters; it was the home of Cezanne and was built for the aristocrats of the
time. Not to shabby.
I
flew into Marseilles with three other girls from the program who were from the
Boston area. After a 53-euro cab ride we got to Aix, carried our luggage up
three flights of stairs while the Monsieur who owns the hotel chuckled and
shaked his head. He was the kind of man who could maintain complete politeness
to you through verbal language, but his eyes and his body language blatantly
said the French version of "I think you are a schmuck" but other than
that things have been pleasant.
We
walked through the streets like kids in a candy store and stumbled upon our
school accidentally. It is across from a cathedral and run by people who
clearly love their jobs. We were a day early and greeted with much enthusiasm.
The school buildings are always available to us as well are the staff, you can
tell they pride themselves on making this place feel like home.
We
continued to walk around the city until the lack of sleep the night before and
the pressure of travel finally overcame us and a nap was necessary. The most
glorious hour and a half nap and longer than normal shower followed. Glorious I
tell you, glorious. We met up with a girl from Pennsylvania who is also staying
in our hotel waiting for classes to start and went to dinner at an outside
restaurant; it was 8 o'clock (as that is when they eat dinner here) and still
perfect weather. Always perfect weather in Aix, except for the 60 days a year
it rains. A glass of wine, a salad with goat-cheese and a mango gelato later I
decided I could stay here forever (but it is only day 1...)
DAY
2.
Meeting
my host family today and slightly freaking out about it. My extreme lack of
knowledge on the French language is going to make for an awkward few weeks, but
I am hoping my winning smile and cute outfit make up for it a little (it works
that way doesn't it? yea I didn't think so...) My roommate left about 20
minutes ago so now I have nothing to do but sit and wait anxiously, throw my
pride out the window and make the best of the situation. I do not doubt my
ability to pick up the language, "Je voudrais urn verre de vin rouge"
see? I learned that yesterday. Semi pro already.
...So,
my family speaks perfect English. Figures. And by family I mean Bruno and
Veronique. A photographer and a graphic designer in their late forties who have
the French gift off looking thirty. The house is lovely. Four stories and right
near school. I have my own room and bathroom and it is even complete with a cat
named Millie. They have made me feel so at home and have been very patient with
my terrible French and kind enough to speak English with me, but we are slowly
going to phase it out. They took me to Marseilles to go to the beach yesterday,
I jumped off of the coral and snorkeled with the fishies in the clear water.
You can literally just bend over on the coral and see to the bottom of the
ocean. Our beaches don't hold a candle to these. Lunch followed at Bruno's
sisters house with his parents who don't speak any English but brought me Obama's
book and said "J'adore Obama, J'adore! To make an overly generalized
statement, everybody in France LOVES Obama. It was lovely to eat a long lunch
with wine and cheese with a table full of people speaking French. I am so glad
I did a homestay already; I wouldn't have traded that day for anything. Bruno's
father tried to teach me how to pronounce "urn peu" without sounding
like an American but by the look on his face I don't think I was making any
progress.
Today
I had my orientation. My classes are in the building next to Cezanne's school
and across from his church and are old yet beautiful. I had my first taste of
the two-hour lunch break today and I have to say, I don't hate it. I am meeting
up with the girls I flew with tonight to finally go to a pub and experience
some sort of nightlife. As a professor said today "we French love to sit
at Cafe's for hours and judge the people walking by" so clearly I must try
this.
8
Mardi
My
host family continues to be amazing. We only see each other at dinner every
night but the conversation is lively and dinner is always followed by dessert,
and perhaps a game of scrabble and a movie. They are as respectful of me as I
am of them and it works out great. Two of the girls I have gotten two know have
not had the same luck. They live with an older woman who yells at them in
French a lot and barely feeds them. The last straw was when she presented
shredded carrots as dinner. They are moving into a new home tomorrow.
Met
up with some girls and sat at a cafe late into the night on Monday. The waiters
made fun of our poor French but that is going to be the case for a while. We
savored two drinks over the course of the night and laughed and relaxed and got
to know each other it was fantastic but I now know why people don't go out on
Monday: It makes getting up on Tuesday very difficult!
Two
classes with the same Professor today. He walked into class wearing shorts,
hemp sandals, and the kind of puffy collarless shirt that Fabio wears, with
less exciting sleeves. His hair was set in an untidy ponytail with hair going
every which way. He is from San Mateo and moved to France as young man, found
love, lost love to cancer, and stayed in the place they loved. I have yet to
figure out if he is one of the most interesting people I will meet here, or
only the most arrogant, time will tell that.
Samedi
12 Septembre
Went
to Nice today with school. I have been there before and was equally unimpressed
with it this time. The history was quite impressive but the rest of the city
has been quite rundown since its glory days when Grace Kelly and Carey Grant
ran around the city in “To Catch a Thief.” But a fun day anyway. I broke apart
from the girls I had been hanging out with and sat down with random people at
dinner who seem to be a better match for me than the others. It has definitely
been hard to meet people with the homestay program. Everyone is spread about
the city and the only time we really see each other is in class. It is a good
thing I am not shy or I would most likely be miserable.
Cassis
was the opposite of Nice in my mind, but my host family thought I was crazy
when I said I liked it better. It is a small fishing port near aix where
Matisse and Picasso spent many years. It is quaint and reminded me of the
French version of a small New England town. The beach was amazing and I spent
all day baking in the Mediterranean sun. C’est Bon. I will be going back there
many more times before I go home! Classes this week with lots of homework, whoever
said that study abroad classes were easier lied, or at least never studied at
IAU. I am already up to my ears in work but the classes are all interesting and
the professors are great so I don’t mind doing it. I hope to go to Barcelona
this weekend but plans are not set yet.
We
all keep mentioning how we feel like our life in the United States is so fast
paced compared to life here. Even my host family has a way more laid back
lifestyle. They have two hours at lunch during the week in which to eat lunch
and take a nap. Everyone should get that! I do all of my homework for lack of
anything else to do, in a good sense. When I am bored I walk around the city
and simply look at the architecture, as it is that breathtaking. Weekends are
filled with beaches and sleeping. I can get used to this.
Mardi
15 Septembre
Rain
Rain Rain. It hasn’t rained in Aix since July, so of course it pours for a week
when the New England girl gets here. I must have brought it with me. It is
rather cozy; it makes you want to drink a cappuccino and read a good book but I
do miss walking around the city on my breaks.
My
class of 9 girls went over my professor’s house last night for dinner and a
movie. Considering he was the only other male, we were all quite skeptical and
kept making jokes about how terrible the night could turn out. He picked us up
at school in his mid 90’s Peugeot and drove us out of town and parked at the
edge of the woods. So needless to say, the jokes and stifled laughter
continued. We walked into the woods a little way to find a 17th
century traditional French home with stone walls and a smoke coming out of the
chimney. The place was almost
entirely original and made us all remember that we were in fact, in France. We
had a large dinner of pasta and red wine and conversation was not scarce. It
was nice to finally have another chance to get to know some people here. He
lives alone in the house in the woods as he is a widower and apparently has
students over for dinner quite often to fill the house with noise. It was a
lovely evening.
Today
I only had one class and it is still pouring and cold. I have sufficiently
wasted the day listening to music and hanging out in my room, something I have
not done since I have been here. It has been kind of nice, but only as an
alternative to exploring the city. I should start studying now; it is funny how
the weather interrupts my scholastic motivation. Our cat Milie had surgery today and is little body is
currently entirely wrapped in bandages even down her legs, so is trying to
hobble around the house and kind of just falls over its kind of funny and kind
of really super sad at the same time,
poor Millie..
Samedi
19 Septembre
Very little has happened, as rain has been happening. Nobody wants to trek into town for a glass of wine in the pouring rain and exploring on my own is not enjoyable in the rain either. I was supposed to go to Barcelona this weekend but it never happened, hopefully things will get brighter (literally). However, thanks to the European heritage weekend all of the museums in Europe are free. Picasso, Cezanne exhibit here I come..
Complacency
is the end to growth and learning, in my opinion. College is for growth,
intellectual experience, and adventure, if one can be so lucky to find one.
With these thoughts in mind I gave up spending time with my college friends and
a comfortable semester with the professors I know and love to hopefully stumble
upon some adventures. After months and months of planning, I am writing from
Aix-en-Provence, France. The city is set between the foothills of the Alps and
the beauty of the ocean speckled with lavender fields and wineries. So here I
go, off to live with a family in a country with a language I don't speak and
customs I am unfamiliar with. But that is why I decided to study abroad, to
wake up everyday feeling nerves and apprehension at the challenges that lay
before me, and to meet them head on.
Say
tuned...
