Because they are so fun, I've created a list of things running through my head that I need to report in on!
1) I will also be making a "to eat" list soon because after discovering a Moroccan restaurant near my yoga place last night, I decided I will continue being adventures & eating as big of a variety as I can while here! This past weekend, my friends and I ate at a Lebanese restaurant and did some big fixed menu thing, so it was fun since we had no idea what we ate, but, it was all delicious (and cheap-10 euros per person!)
2) My running routine is back in gear! Despite the cold, it felt great to get out there tonight and last night, today with my host sister. We're a good team out running because we make sure to walk/gab for as long as we just ran!
3) To add to my cold post from yesterday, I'd like to note how hysterical the Aixoises are right now–people watching the men shiver and hunch their shoulders in as they walk really cracks me up! If only they knew what it was like back home!
4) Speaking of, GO BEARS! Just read the headline but it sounds like (surprise) the Bears skated by last night to beat Green Bay. A win's a win, right?!
5) Also on the Chicago note, I heard "Chelsea, Chelsea" used in a TV ad tonight (I think for a French version of "Wife Swap," Liza, get excited...) so it would be impossible for me not to think about the faaabulous Chicago Blackhawks & their Stanley Cup Championship on the eve of my 21st this summer :)
6) I have decided "Desperate Housewives" is a really good show to watch in French in terms of comprehension–there are voice overs but those people do a good job of timing their speech with the original lips! It's pretty funny watching that show, of all things, as one of the snippets of what the French see of America.
7) I ate such a good crêpe from a truck today with Laura & Ali–I thought it was my first crêpe in the land of frogs, but how could I forget about a recent visit to Belle Epoque?!?! Well, this was my first NUTELLA crêpe (everybody freak out, I just said Nutella), and it was just as good as it sounds. No, better. I felt very French eating it as I sat against a fountain this afternoon. Chouette!
8) In class tomorrow we will be discussing the "Church" of Scientology, so naturally I can't help but think of my run-in with Tom Cruise in France three years ago at our hotel in Antibes, a town along the French Riviera between cinema-famous Cannes and beautiful Nice.
9) More on food. I also feel like I had one of my first VERY FRENCH meals, this time Julia Child would be proud. Our main course was some sort of lasagna-sized, gnocci-textured fromagey-pasta with a creme sauce. It was all I could do not go back for seconds on this, I chose more of the "tomato sandwhich" instead (I am dubbing it that since it was a sliced tomato with ham and mozzarella in between the layers, baked in a casserole–try it!).
10) Pain, Vin, Fromage, anyone?! Tomorrow is my first wine-tasting course, WOO HOO! Everyone is really excited for it, that is, except from some of the recovering students from Ocktoberfest, who are dubbing the next month "Sober Ocktober" after a fun/rough weekend...
11) My family is going to see Elton John TOMORROW!!! WOW!!! I am so jealous, and at the same time so happy. Yay for Elton love!!
Bonne nuit,
c
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
21 days until immersion...or cold weather.
As of Saturday, my classmates and I have been in Aix for 3 weeks, which is both easy and hard to believe. On the first day of orientation, our program director described to us a theory that it takes an average of 21 days to form a habit in her motivational lectures she used to get us psyched up for our language contract we all signed committing us to speaking French 100% while here. The way she described it, at the 21 day mark, we wouldn't default back to English when conversing with classmates, but it doesn't appear that that has quiet happened, yet. But, like a flicking a light switch off in the middle of the night, on our 21st day in Provence, summer was over.
I feel like someone just burst my bubble.
Don't get me wrong, I haven't been sulking since it started to get cold, but GOSH was that unexpected! I feel like there should have been better warning. For three weeks, we've been trapped in hot classrooms and felt obligated to eat ice cream to cool off in the afternoon (or, because it's simply irresistible). Today, I wore one of my heavier sweaters as a jacket and still shivered inside and outside! Maybe the cooler temps will help reality set in that I am actually in school and not on a dream vacation, but it certainly was a drastic change after three weeks of mild summer weather.
In other news, all the hype about Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" is true–the one thing I have to say that I really like her lyrics on the songs I've been listening to that haven't made the radio yet. Tristan wrote about it in his column here so check it if you're interested, he's one of our best writers for the Denisonian!
I hope the weather.com predictions of low 70s hold to be true so I can give my summer clothes one last spin!
à tout (bien sûr!!),
c
I feel like someone just burst my bubble.
Don't get me wrong, I haven't been sulking since it started to get cold, but GOSH was that unexpected! I feel like there should have been better warning. For three weeks, we've been trapped in hot classrooms and felt obligated to eat ice cream to cool off in the afternoon (or, because it's simply irresistible). Today, I wore one of my heavier sweaters as a jacket and still shivered inside and outside! Maybe the cooler temps will help reality set in that I am actually in school and not on a dream vacation, but it certainly was a drastic change after three weeks of mild summer weather.
In other news, all the hype about Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" is true–the one thing I have to say that I really like her lyrics on the songs I've been listening to that haven't made the radio yet. Tristan wrote about it in his column here so check it if you're interested, he's one of our best writers for the Denisonian!
I hope the weather.com predictions of low 70s hold to be true so I can give my summer clothes one last spin!
à tout (bien sûr!!),
c
Saturday, September 25, 2010
"The Chicago."
Strolling through the marché sure can make a shopping girl hungry. I spent the afternoon with my sweeter-than-Provençal-honey friends, Laura and J'aime (="I love... ," or, our nickname for Jamie) looking through the neverending number of clothing, pottery, soap, herb, trinket, memorbilia, and fruit/veggie/fish/cheese/meat stands at the Place de Precheurs and the Cours Mirabeau.
J'aime and Laura in front of La Rotonde
Being a tourist in my own city–pictured with my new scarf!
For lunch, we went to "Bagel Story" (English-named stores here crack me up) and were not disappointed. The shop featured bagels named after the best American cities. I, of course, could not pass up "The Chicago," which was basically a cesar salad on a bagel. Chicken, parmesan cheese, lettuce, and either a cesar/horseradish sauce, too. If anyone has ever eaten a bagel exactly like this in Chicago, please let me know, for now, I think that the French must associate my city with a cesar Salad... It was SO GOOD to eat a bagel, definitely just one of the ways we reminisce about America. Because, as awesome as Aix is, there are so many people and things we miss from home, and it's impossible to forget about how great they are.
From top to bottom, The New York, Onion bagel w/ beurre, and The Chicago bagels.
I will continue to take pics of my best meals I encounter (there are many) because, honestly, as much as it may seem like my way of making you all jealous at home, I'm snapping the shots because food that darn good deserves to be photographed.
Biz & à tout!
C
J'aime and Laura in front of La Rotonde
Being a tourist in my own city–pictured with my new scarf!
For lunch, we went to "Bagel Story" (English-named stores here crack me up) and were not disappointed. The shop featured bagels named after the best American cities. I, of course, could not pass up "The Chicago," which was basically a cesar salad on a bagel. Chicken, parmesan cheese, lettuce, and either a cesar/horseradish sauce, too. If anyone has ever eaten a bagel exactly like this in Chicago, please let me know, for now, I think that the French must associate my city with a cesar Salad... It was SO GOOD to eat a bagel, definitely just one of the ways we reminisce about America. Because, as awesome as Aix is, there are so many people and things we miss from home, and it's impossible to forget about how great they are.
From top to bottom, The New York, Onion bagel w/ beurre, and The Chicago bagels.
I will continue to take pics of my best meals I encounter (there are many) because, honestly, as much as it may seem like my way of making you all jealous at home, I'm snapping the shots because food that darn good deserves to be photographed.
Biz & à tout!
C
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Favorite French words.
I have spent some quality time as I parooze the selection of cafés, ice cream stores, and crêpe stands, thinking about my favorite words in the beautiful language I have studied for over 10 years. Here's where my list stands right now, by awesomeness.
10) "PVF." See earlier blog entry describing the idea behind our devise for the French, "pain, vin, fromage."
9) "Ciao!" This is so much better of a goodbye salutation than "au revoir" when talking with a friend, so Euro!
8) "Un truc." This word can mean a lot of things and sounds pretty; every member of my host family uses it to describe all sorts of things. One direct translation of it is "a trick," so it's a sort of slang expression for "thing." Fun.
7) "Un croque monsieur." You know what I'm talking about, the delicious, warm ham-and-cheese sandwich that I love. I'm thinking I may get another in the next several days, it's been a while.
6) "Pourquoi pas?" Literally translates to "why not?" Hilary Duff sang about it back in her "Lizzie McGuire" years, but that being said, it's a good thought to keep in mind when trying to make the most of your experience abroad.
5) "Puisse." I am a grammar nerd, and "puisse" is the subjunctive, third person singular conjucation of the verb "pouvoir" or "can" in English. It's used after certain expressions, which I make sure to use a lot because I love the sound of this word!
4) "Ça marche!" Basically my response to anything as a way of saying, "that's cool/that works for me/sounds great!" Being the easy-going person that I am, this expression works well as a filler for someone needing to expand her conversational vocabulary.
3) "Pardon." Simple, easy to say, can be used to excuse just about any simple mishap a typical American fumbles, and, for me, it's easy since I use "pardon" as my word instead of saying "what" like a typical American. Over here, all I had to do was change the accent!
2) "Cou cou." This is a greeting that people use to say hello to someone familiar, like the bird sound, it's pretty amusing.
1) "ohh la la." Big shoutout to Alix, one of my host sisters, on that one. She makes the expression sound so cute, and it's a great response to anything saucy.
Coming soon: food photos, balloon pants, and ... Simon Baker?
À tout! (another favorite expression of mine, currently climbing the charts...)
XOXO, c
10) "PVF." See earlier blog entry describing the idea behind our devise for the French, "pain, vin, fromage."
9) "Ciao!" This is so much better of a goodbye salutation than "au revoir" when talking with a friend, so Euro!
8) "Un truc." This word can mean a lot of things and sounds pretty; every member of my host family uses it to describe all sorts of things. One direct translation of it is "a trick," so it's a sort of slang expression for "thing." Fun.
7) "Un croque monsieur." You know what I'm talking about, the delicious, warm ham-and-cheese sandwich that I love. I'm thinking I may get another in the next several days, it's been a while.
6) "Pourquoi pas?" Literally translates to "why not?" Hilary Duff sang about it back in her "Lizzie McGuire" years, but that being said, it's a good thought to keep in mind when trying to make the most of your experience abroad.
5) "Puisse." I am a grammar nerd, and "puisse" is the subjunctive, third person singular conjucation of the verb "pouvoir" or "can" in English. It's used after certain expressions, which I make sure to use a lot because I love the sound of this word!
4) "Ça marche!" Basically my response to anything as a way of saying, "that's cool/that works for me/sounds great!" Being the easy-going person that I am, this expression works well as a filler for someone needing to expand her conversational vocabulary.
3) "Pardon." Simple, easy to say, can be used to excuse just about any simple mishap a typical American fumbles, and, for me, it's easy since I use "pardon" as my word instead of saying "what" like a typical American. Over here, all I had to do was change the accent!
2) "Cou cou." This is a greeting that people use to say hello to someone familiar, like the bird sound, it's pretty amusing.
1) "ohh la la." Big shoutout to Alix, one of my host sisters, on that one. She makes the expression sound so cute, and it's a great response to anything saucy.
Coming soon: food photos, balloon pants, and ... Simon Baker?
À tout! (another favorite expression of mine, currently climbing the charts...)
XOXO, c
Monday, September 20, 2010
French Yoga
Tonight, as mandated by my abroad program, I attended my first weekly "club" activity–vinyasa yoga, which is a style of yoga that tends to make you sweat since you get into some pretty intense poses, ect. Take that as you may, but for someone who's pretty happy already and doesn't need to spend an hour practicing breathing, it's a perfect style for me.
When I got to the studio, I talked with an older French woman who basically works there, it made me feel good to be able to converse easily with an everyday French woman out and about! I found out later that she's basically an instructor, but, don't hold your breath, she was not the best. No, compared to the nearly-naked skinny yoga guru man two mats down from me, she was normal. As we waited for the class to start, he started warming up himself in child's pose. To say his breathing was intense would be an incredible understatement. His warm-up breathing was so strong and intense that I thought there was an underwater oxygen tank in the room. He provided for some good entertainment for me as we did some of the side poses. I couldn't help but think to myself where I had seen someone like him before...
Yoga in French was way cooler than in the US. First of all, you can tune out the instructor if you want to "be with yourself," since you probably won't know half of her vocabulary for a yoga class, and for the other half of what she says, it's like a biology body parts quiz. Parfait!
Quick self-plug: I am continuing to write for the Denisonian, Denison's student newspaper for which I was the managing editor before going abroad. The website was just updated today and my "foreign correspondant" column was posted. I alternate writing in with another editor who is studying in Copenhagen this semester, so the column's title "The Denisonian Does Europe" is suiting. Here is the direct link to my first column in case you're interested, the next will be written for next Tuesday's issue.
http://media.www.denisonian.com/media/storage/paper1253/news/2010/09/14/Forum/The-Denisonian.Does.Europe-3933725.shtml
XOXO, c
When I got to the studio, I talked with an older French woman who basically works there, it made me feel good to be able to converse easily with an everyday French woman out and about! I found out later that she's basically an instructor, but, don't hold your breath, she was not the best. No, compared to the nearly-naked skinny yoga guru man two mats down from me, she was normal. As we waited for the class to start, he started warming up himself in child's pose. To say his breathing was intense would be an incredible understatement. His warm-up breathing was so strong and intense that I thought there was an underwater oxygen tank in the room. He provided for some good entertainment for me as we did some of the side poses. I couldn't help but think to myself where I had seen someone like him before...
Yoga in French was way cooler than in the US. First of all, you can tune out the instructor if you want to "be with yourself," since you probably won't know half of her vocabulary for a yoga class, and for the other half of what she says, it's like a biology body parts quiz. Parfait!
Quick self-plug: I am continuing to write for the Denisonian, Denison's student newspaper for which I was the managing editor before going abroad. The website was just updated today and my "foreign correspondant" column was posted. I alternate writing in with another editor who is studying in Copenhagen this semester, so the column's title "The Denisonian Does Europe" is suiting. Here is the direct link to my first column in case you're interested, the next will be written for next Tuesday's issue.
http://media.www.denisonian.com/media/storage/paper1253/news/2010/09/14/Forum/The-Denisonian.Does.Europe-3933725.shtml
XOXO, c
Sunday, September 19, 2010
The pictures tell all.
After a day at the beach today and a day hiking and visiting in some local villages, I don't think there's any better way to demonstrate the beauty and variety of the South of France than some of the pictures I was able to snap this weekend.
Many of the villages are constructed like the one below, the first one we visited yesterday, as the close proximity and enclosure aided themselves in defending their villages during war.
Below, atraditional dessert from the first village we visited in Lubéron (and a brioche chocolat just to top it off). It was perfect to share among 5 of us and was the perfect balance of sugar and smooth dough. We also each pitched in to get a piece of our "pic-nic" lunch (shout out to Audrey for the act of "faire le pic-nic!")
The second village we visited, where we "avons fait le pic-nic," had an incredible view that reminded me of Galena, the prettiest place in Illinois, outside of Chicago.
Colleen, Dana (a Kappa! we just met yesterday but I already love her like a sister!), Audrey and myself, taking a break from the "Rocky"-like hike we took to go to our "place pour le pic-nic." We had our Rocky arms & the tune going to motivate us to hike, hike, hike!
Lunchtime!
The colors here simply took your breath away; it was amazing to see such rich reds, yellows, and oranges in an area surrounded by green-covered hills and mountains.
As cute as Brouillon is, imagine driving a "DC Trip" bus through the especially-tiny European streets...takes driving in Europe to a whole new level.
Back in Aix, Laura, Ali, and myself out after an always interesting night with our language partners.
Today, we went to Marseille for the beach because in the South of France, when school starts, you can still act like it's summer.
The backdrop behind today's beach. I was simply taken aback by the drastic different architecture in Marseille and Aix, who are almost sister cities because of their proximity and fluidity with each other.
"Pourquoi pas?,"or as Kelly might say, "seize the day!"
Many of the villages are constructed like the one below, the first one we visited yesterday, as the close proximity and enclosure aided themselves in defending their villages during war.
Below, atraditional dessert from the first village we visited in Lubéron (and a brioche chocolat just to top it off). It was perfect to share among 5 of us and was the perfect balance of sugar and smooth dough. We also each pitched in to get a piece of our "pic-nic" lunch (shout out to Audrey for the act of "faire le pic-nic!")
The second village we visited, where we "avons fait le pic-nic," had an incredible view that reminded me of Galena, the prettiest place in Illinois, outside of Chicago.
Colleen, Dana (a Kappa! we just met yesterday but I already love her like a sister!), Audrey and myself, taking a break from the "Rocky"-like hike we took to go to our "place pour le pic-nic." We had our Rocky arms & the tune going to motivate us to hike, hike, hike!
Lunchtime!
The colors here simply took your breath away; it was amazing to see such rich reds, yellows, and oranges in an area surrounded by green-covered hills and mountains.
As cute as Brouillon is, imagine driving a "DC Trip" bus through the especially-tiny European streets...takes driving in Europe to a whole new level.
Back in Aix, Laura, Ali, and myself out after an always interesting night with our language partners.
Today, we went to Marseille for the beach because in the South of France, when school starts, you can still act like it's summer.
The backdrop behind today's beach. I was simply taken aback by the drastic different architecture in Marseille and Aix, who are almost sister cities because of their proximity and fluidity with each other.
"Pourquoi pas?,"or as Kelly might say, "seize the day!"
Friday, September 17, 2010
Contente.
Walking home today from a beautiful countryside dinner to celebrate my friend Ellyn's birthday, I couldn't help but think of the word 'contente.' In French, it's a way to say that you're happy, so I've been reminding myself to add it into the vocabulary as an alternative to always saying 'heureuse.'
I always forget to use this word because, to me, coming from English, it means something else. To be content with something in English is to be satisfied, at peace, and unbothered by everything that's around you. That is exactly how I feel, exactly 2 weeks after leaving on a jetplane for Europe.
Whether it's because I simply just ate the best meal of my life (I'm starting to feel a bit like my Nana, who frequently names her latest the best __ dish she's ever had!)
or because I'm taking the time to enjoy the French speed of life,
I can say that my favorite feeling being here is being content. (Please note that yes, I do realize I look like a US Open ball girl/a for-sure American tourist. I am, in fact, neither, but wore it with American pride–and a Lacoste hat!)
I have a weekend full of a class field trip to a local village, a language-partner exchange, and a end-of-the-summer-season beach trip (the Mediterranean, no big deal) ahead of me and another week of happiness and inspiration just behind me. The good thing is, I know neither of those two things are going away.
Before I wrap things up for the night, I should mention a few things:
1) I went to see Inception yesterday, en français. I do not recommend it for the native English speakers, seeing how it's hard to grasp in English, but if you have good company, it may be worth it.
2) I did laundry for the first time and made a bright-colored display of my underwear and workout gear to air-dry my clothes, very Provençal.
3) The French equivalent of the "Jersey Shore"-coined term GTL (Gym, Tan, Laundry) is PVF (Pain, Vin, Fromage). Hats off to Ali for noting that the French daily essentials are eating bread, wine, and cheese. This is a generalization though, as both myself and the French devour many more varieties of delicious food daily.
4) The French equivalent of Pigs-In-A-Blanket (pictured above), Americano Complet from the truck parked on a nearby sidewalk (thank you, Sage), and sweet tea from a mason jar (also pictured above) were my biggest food discoveries the past few days. Fingers crossed that I keep stumbling upon more.
Nighty night!
XOXO, c
La Rotonde, Aix-en-Provence, France
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
it's like lincoln park. nobody works.
This has been my big discovery of the day. Walking around the beautiful, new shopping area just south of the Rotond, I have discovered that, indeed, nobody has any work to do here. They all just have time to walk, shop, chat, and mange as they wish. It's great!
Last night I tested out my first cappacinno in France with friends at Happy Days. I really can't get over it, but I just love all the people I'm meeting here, we get along so well!
This morning I had my cinema class with a grand total of 5 people, which is actually the minimum number of students needed to keep the course alive, so we made a pact together to not drop the course as to keep each other happy. After 3 hours of french history, vocab, and syllabus-reading, as it relates to cinema, I was free for the day to enjoy the sunshine & shopping. Not that I bought anything, really, but it was a delicious day at least!
Colleen and I ate at a cafe just down the street from the American Center, where we split a Noçoise salad (presentation is everything, as my wise Sister Nana always says) that was in this cool, thin shell and had a really, really good semi-hard-boiled egg on top–great colors in the salad. Main course of margarita pizza, which made me think of the scene where Julia Roberts goes out with her friend for pizza in Napoli in "Eat, Pray, Love," or "Mange, Prie, Aime" as it's advertised here. Which leads me to my next obsession–the movie "Inception"–hopefully I will be going to see it soon here in France, because it was such a cool film and hey, I think Leo & Joseph-Gordon Levitt will still be cute with voiceovers:)
After checking out the H&M here with Colleen, I stopped in a cafe I had my eye on during my recent runs, La Crossainterie, where I sat down to read, but ended up meeting up with Ali to chat at a different nearby cafe! Life is tough here. We went through a store called "Maisons de la monde" and dreamed about future apartments back in the states, and then literally turned into kids in a candy store.
Tonight my host sister, Alix, and I went for a run together–this is going to be our routine on Tuesdays we've agreed. It was a riot, we had fun together. She showed me a nice road to take as a path, it's uphill on the way out and downhill coming home so I think it will give me a good chance to imitate my "bro" on his hill workouts. Maybe..
I'm off to eat with the fam and then back to Lisabeth Salander, I'm starting to get hooked to the second book...!
XOXO,
c
Last night I tested out my first cappacinno in France with friends at Happy Days. I really can't get over it, but I just love all the people I'm meeting here, we get along so well!
This morning I had my cinema class with a grand total of 5 people, which is actually the minimum number of students needed to keep the course alive, so we made a pact together to not drop the course as to keep each other happy. After 3 hours of french history, vocab, and syllabus-reading, as it relates to cinema, I was free for the day to enjoy the sunshine & shopping. Not that I bought anything, really, but it was a delicious day at least!
Colleen and I ate at a cafe just down the street from the American Center, where we split a Noçoise salad (presentation is everything, as my wise Sister Nana always says) that was in this cool, thin shell and had a really, really good semi-hard-boiled egg on top–great colors in the salad. Main course of margarita pizza, which made me think of the scene where Julia Roberts goes out with her friend for pizza in Napoli in "Eat, Pray, Love," or "Mange, Prie, Aime" as it's advertised here. Which leads me to my next obsession–the movie "Inception"–hopefully I will be going to see it soon here in France, because it was such a cool film and hey, I think Leo & Joseph-Gordon Levitt will still be cute with voiceovers:)
After checking out the H&M here with Colleen, I stopped in a cafe I had my eye on during my recent runs, La Crossainterie, where I sat down to read, but ended up meeting up with Ali to chat at a different nearby cafe! Life is tough here. We went through a store called "Maisons de la monde" and dreamed about future apartments back in the states, and then literally turned into kids in a candy store.
Tonight my host sister, Alix, and I went for a run together–this is going to be our routine on Tuesdays we've agreed. It was a riot, we had fun together. She showed me a nice road to take as a path, it's uphill on the way out and downhill coming home so I think it will give me a good chance to imitate my "bro" on his hill workouts. Maybe..
I'm off to eat with the fam and then back to Lisabeth Salander, I'm starting to get hooked to the second book...!
XOXO,
c
Monday, September 13, 2010
cobblestones beneath my feet
Today, when I was walking home from a oh-so-pleasant day of class and friends and sunshine, I couldn't help but smile about life right now. Really, how lucky am I?
I guess I've done a lot of walking over the last year because through my Topsiders I could feel the grooves of the cobblestones in one of the nearby, newly redone cafe areas. It's just so nice to be able to be walking around a place where I can focus on all the little nicities like the ground beneath me. Corny as it may be, that's what happiness really does to you!
I've been feeling a bit under the weather the last couple days, but it's hard not to be happy when you can go to the marché and minimart for a box of strawberries, an apple & a tomato, and then to the boulangerie (Joesph, of course) for a baguette to eat with some spreadable, delicious goat cheese. Not bad! Creatures of habit we are, a couple of the same friends of mine met up at the Belle Epoque for a "rhum raisin" scoop of ice cream. Later, we explored the Target of Aix, Monoprix, which even has an icey-cold supermarket in the basement! I went to the Tabac to refill my phone and also slip in a couple post cards and a "Marie France" magazine with Julia Roberts on the cover. Eat, Pray, Love, anyone?
I'm going to relax for a little bit more and then go for a "yog." You know, like Rob Burgandy says it. Later I'm going to meet up with friends at Happy Days–since it's not as easily to have friends over to our houses, it works out to meet up at cafés instead.
Don't know what will be "à table ce soir," but if it's as good as the big salad & pasta I had last night, I'm sure to be happy. I thought of my brother, Billy, since it was my first time having pasta here, and a pound of pasta at home is a daily necessity on the table for our accomplished athlete:)
Remember to smile today!
xoxo, c
Sunday, September 12, 2010
"oh let's get rich and buy our parents homes in the south of france"
Another day in paradise.
Last night was a fun night out–first at dinner with fellow Denisonians and later out with AUCP friends. It was nice being able to laugh about Denison over gnocchi and darn good French wine. The restaurant, Antoine, was an Italian place on the Cours Mirabeau, but the seating area is off the main drag and we sat under the stars in a sort of inside courtyard, not bad. A few blocks over we met up with some language partners & AUCP kids, too, I think it's going to be a good semester, we get along quite well. Nothing like a good Michael Jackson song (or two) to get the whole bar singing, right? Later we found yet another group of AUCP girls, tripling our group's size in a blink of an eye. Nonetheless, the bouncers weren't excited to see a gaggle of 15 Americans, so we'll just dominate the dance floor next time.
Today, Morgane and I went to Assogara (interesting name, I know) to find ourselves a new activity to do. Basically everyone in Provence was there, as all day long there were dance and martial arts performances going on as each organization showed off their clubs. We liked the hip hop group the best, where a shrimpy old man joined in to their fast-paced dance to Soulja Boy's "Kiss Me Thru The Phone." Some of the performers started losing rhythm because they were laughing so hard at this silly man, so eventually other pedestrians joined in on the fun. Further down the road, we passed by some Amish-looking people, who were dressed in costume people once donned here many, many moons ago. Our last dance we watched was "rock and roll" dance, which was not a bunch of people doing air-guitar, as I expected. Which group I join has yet to be decided, I'll keep you posted.
As we went up and down the streets, I got to further put into practice my favorite "faire la bise" practice as I saw both French and American friends all throughout the fair. After an hour of paroozing, I joined some girls at La Belle Epoque, an elegant cafe near the end of the same street, for a much-needed glass of milk. Is it normal to order milk in a nice cafe? No, not at all, but I couldn't resist when I realized I hadn't had a sip of milk since last being on American soil.
When I got back I had the most wonderful, jam-packed hourlong conversation with my family unit (Nigel, too). I went back upstairs to watch the end of Dirty Dancing with Morgane in French, it's just as lovable of a film with French actors' voices.
Tomorrow is the first day of class bright and early, but lucky for me, I have the afternoon free! If not tomorrow, I'm going to do some shopping at some point this week with friends–wouldn't want to go on a long sabbatical from one of my favorite activities?
Happy almost Monday, I hope the sun is shining on you, too!
XOXO, c
Last night was a fun night out–first at dinner with fellow Denisonians and later out with AUCP friends. It was nice being able to laugh about Denison over gnocchi and darn good French wine. The restaurant, Antoine, was an Italian place on the Cours Mirabeau, but the seating area is off the main drag and we sat under the stars in a sort of inside courtyard, not bad. A few blocks over we met up with some language partners & AUCP kids, too, I think it's going to be a good semester, we get along quite well. Nothing like a good Michael Jackson song (or two) to get the whole bar singing, right? Later we found yet another group of AUCP girls, tripling our group's size in a blink of an eye. Nonetheless, the bouncers weren't excited to see a gaggle of 15 Americans, so we'll just dominate the dance floor next time.
Today, Morgane and I went to Assogara (interesting name, I know) to find ourselves a new activity to do. Basically everyone in Provence was there, as all day long there were dance and martial arts performances going on as each organization showed off their clubs. We liked the hip hop group the best, where a shrimpy old man joined in to their fast-paced dance to Soulja Boy's "Kiss Me Thru The Phone." Some of the performers started losing rhythm because they were laughing so hard at this silly man, so eventually other pedestrians joined in on the fun. Further down the road, we passed by some Amish-looking people, who were dressed in costume people once donned here many, many moons ago. Our last dance we watched was "rock and roll" dance, which was not a bunch of people doing air-guitar, as I expected. Which group I join has yet to be decided, I'll keep you posted.
As we went up and down the streets, I got to further put into practice my favorite "faire la bise" practice as I saw both French and American friends all throughout the fair. After an hour of paroozing, I joined some girls at La Belle Epoque, an elegant cafe near the end of the same street, for a much-needed glass of milk. Is it normal to order milk in a nice cafe? No, not at all, but I couldn't resist when I realized I hadn't had a sip of milk since last being on American soil.
When I got back I had the most wonderful, jam-packed hourlong conversation with my family unit (Nigel, too). I went back upstairs to watch the end of Dirty Dancing with Morgane in French, it's just as lovable of a film with French actors' voices.
Tomorrow is the first day of class bright and early, but lucky for me, I have the afternoon free! If not tomorrow, I'm going to do some shopping at some point this week with friends–wouldn't want to go on a long sabbatical from one of my favorite activities?
Happy almost Monday, I hope the sun is shining on you, too!
XOXO, c
Saturday, September 11, 2010
pictas
The Cours Mirabeau, the Michigan Avenue of Aix. Notice the trees & the canopy they create, it's like I'm back in Hinsdale.
There are statues ect like this everywhere-they're hysterical-all making funny faces.
This is a advertisement from back in the old days, this was where one of the smaller main cities ended (there used to be two cities in what is now Aix, each was surrounded by a wall)
In one of the churches in Aix, it's composed of different parts with architecture stemming from Gothic and Medieval times–the difference is very visible both from the exterior and interior of the church.
I like this picta a lot :)
There are statues ect like this everywhere-they're hysterical-all making funny faces.
This is a advertisement from back in the old days, this was where one of the smaller main cities ended (there used to be two cities in what is now Aix, each was surrounded by a wall)
In one of the churches in Aix, it's composed of different parts with architecture stemming from Gothic and Medieval times–the difference is very visible both from the exterior and interior of the church.
I like this picta a lot :)
i love, love, love speaking french.
Hi everyone!
It's been a couple days since I last posted, sorry, I'm being all immersed in the culture here. Lots has happened and I'm still loving it all like crazy. It's been absolutely beautiful here (well, of course, right? I might have to stop saying that to avoid repeating myself...) and I've continued to take advantage of all Aix has to offer.
Wednesday and Thursday we were in class all day doing the same stuff as Tuesday: 3 hours of vocab/grammar/language classes each day and 3 hours of lecture or class with our program director, Lilli, who did a big overview on all sorts of logistical things we need to know. She really knows what she's doing and certainly is an inspiration speaker (in her French way!)
One of the things we did with her was assure that we were all prepared to dedicate ourselves to our immersion in French culture. We each wrote ourselves a promise to keep us close to our goal, mine which is that I will not surf the web in English (including blogging) for more than an hour and a half per day. My promise for this will be hard some days (like today, I'm just hanging out) but other days I don't even think about what's going on on Facebook, ect. It's all about balance, right?
Honestly, I have faith that I can use the internet as I wish and still benefit from my immersion in French. I've had no trouble not speaking English (except on skype!) and enjoying learning new words and observing other people speak. My host sisters are so fun to watch–every night at dinner time, the three of them come to the table ready to share what's going on with their day–a little different than the typical unenthusiastic way in which American teens talk about what's going on at school, eh? They're really fun & my whole host family has been so great to welcome me.
Yesterday was a fun day. We had a class on "Savoir Vivre" (knowing how to properly behave in French culture) taught by a very poised American woman who formerly worked at The Ritz Paris and Time Magazine. AWESOME! She works at AUCP so I look forward to speaking with her about her experiences. We spent a good half hour learning about and practicing "faire la bise," or the French kissy greeting as it's probably more easily known as by Americans. It was pretty funny going around practicing it with everyone else, trying to teach ourselves not to be awkward when meeting people! Basically, the rule is whenever you meet people for the first time in a familiar environment, usually through friends or family, you'll faire la bise. I think it's one of those things that Americans are severely afraid of, but really, it comes pretty naturally once you've done it once–and– I haven't had any "close calls" so all's good ;)
In the afternoon we had a couple hours to ourselves so I went back home to go for a run. At 3, we had a tour of Aix's architecture by a professor who will teach that course at AUCP. It was really interesting to see and learn some of the fun facts about the city's history. Sort of like our fun facts from the boat tour, right Liza?
Here is my favorite tidbit:
Aix and the south of France was an area where the dinosaurs were way back in the day. How cool is that? They are continuing to discover different dinosaur eggs in the area, maybe of Velosaraptor (sp?) Newman, anyone? I'm, of course, refering to one of the best movies of all time, Jurassic Park, and one of the charcters played by Wayne Knight, the infamous "Seinfeld" character of Newman. Ahh, good times.
But that's not all! Wednesday and Thursday I went out with my friends from AUCP with some French guys who we know through the language partner program. On Wednesday we went for Audrey and a couple other people's birthdays (there were 13 of us!) to an Irish pub and later an outdoor cafe. Thursday we hung out with the guys at their appt/suite in the dorms for their school and then went out dancing. It's nice that we have the language partner program because otherwise it would be much more difficult/sketchy meeting guys. Our friends are cool so no worries there.
Speaking of language partners: I have officially met mine! François is his name and he's actually much older than the other guys--26--most are our age or a bit older (not bad, eh?) François is "un homme d'affaires," as an accountant but also takes night classes, busy busy! We met last night at the big match-up event where we, the Americans, had to walk around the garden searching for the French guy (or girl) who had our name--hah! Unfair, I thought. Anyway, after the highly-anticipated match up, a group of my friends & our language partners went out to dinner at the first place we could find a table large enough to seat 10 of us. Ali and I, my date for the night ;), went all-out and share "Le Big Hamburger," it was just as good as they are back at home. Sometimes on a Friday night you just want to eat your favorite foods, right?
After dinner we walked home and I joined my host family at the table as they had a family over for dinner. It was perfect timing because I got to put in to practice some of my newly-learned French manners skills. Not that it's much different from the US, but I'm getting there.
Today I slept in and have just been lounging around because I'm a little tired after the first week.
Food recap:
Monsieur Croque-Monsieur: The owner of a little "snack" shop near our school is AWESOME and his croque monsieur is even better. I went back a second time, bringing a dozen other students with, great success.
Cafe du Palais: After the tiring 2 hour walking tour yesterday, Ali and I went over to a nice outdoor cafe in search of some delish ice cream and we found 4 other friends who had the same idea. I love everyone in my program!
Yesterday I had a quick make-your-own-salad and yogurt in a modern, cheap-eat shop.
At home, food has been awesome. Today for lunch I tried eggplant and we also had delish tomatoes, ham, and fromage après. Last night I tried a slice of apple pie when I got back and I liked it a lot!
We had some homemade tomato pizza, quasi quiches with spinach and goat cheese, and an herbed peach dessert. I forget what we had the night before that, but I'll bet ya it was good..
Tonight I'm going out with the Denison girls in Aix, looking forward to our little reunion of sorts, and tomorrow there's a big club/non profit fair I'm going to with Morgane, my oldest host sister, so I can choose an activity to join. Did I mention they're awesome? I've spent some time chatting with the middle one, Alix, about the night scene after going out (she's my kind of girl!) and Auriane always make me smile with her friendliness.
In the next post I'll put my fave photos!
Thank you AGAIN everyone for all your support, my mom says I've got a good following, I really appreciate it! Feel free to comment or send me an email if you want more details...as much as it may seem that I have told, I could really write a whole book with everything wonderful about this place!
Bisous, C
It's been a couple days since I last posted, sorry, I'm being all immersed in the culture here. Lots has happened and I'm still loving it all like crazy. It's been absolutely beautiful here (well, of course, right? I might have to stop saying that to avoid repeating myself...) and I've continued to take advantage of all Aix has to offer.
Wednesday and Thursday we were in class all day doing the same stuff as Tuesday: 3 hours of vocab/grammar/language classes each day and 3 hours of lecture or class with our program director, Lilli, who did a big overview on all sorts of logistical things we need to know. She really knows what she's doing and certainly is an inspiration speaker (in her French way!)
One of the things we did with her was assure that we were all prepared to dedicate ourselves to our immersion in French culture. We each wrote ourselves a promise to keep us close to our goal, mine which is that I will not surf the web in English (including blogging) for more than an hour and a half per day. My promise for this will be hard some days (like today, I'm just hanging out) but other days I don't even think about what's going on on Facebook, ect. It's all about balance, right?
Honestly, I have faith that I can use the internet as I wish and still benefit from my immersion in French. I've had no trouble not speaking English (except on skype!) and enjoying learning new words and observing other people speak. My host sisters are so fun to watch–every night at dinner time, the three of them come to the table ready to share what's going on with their day–a little different than the typical unenthusiastic way in which American teens talk about what's going on at school, eh? They're really fun & my whole host family has been so great to welcome me.
Yesterday was a fun day. We had a class on "Savoir Vivre" (knowing how to properly behave in French culture) taught by a very poised American woman who formerly worked at The Ritz Paris and Time Magazine. AWESOME! She works at AUCP so I look forward to speaking with her about her experiences. We spent a good half hour learning about and practicing "faire la bise," or the French kissy greeting as it's probably more easily known as by Americans. It was pretty funny going around practicing it with everyone else, trying to teach ourselves not to be awkward when meeting people! Basically, the rule is whenever you meet people for the first time in a familiar environment, usually through friends or family, you'll faire la bise. I think it's one of those things that Americans are severely afraid of, but really, it comes pretty naturally once you've done it once–and– I haven't had any "close calls" so all's good ;)
In the afternoon we had a couple hours to ourselves so I went back home to go for a run. At 3, we had a tour of Aix's architecture by a professor who will teach that course at AUCP. It was really interesting to see and learn some of the fun facts about the city's history. Sort of like our fun facts from the boat tour, right Liza?
Here is my favorite tidbit:
Aix and the south of France was an area where the dinosaurs were way back in the day. How cool is that? They are continuing to discover different dinosaur eggs in the area, maybe of Velosaraptor (sp?) Newman, anyone? I'm, of course, refering to one of the best movies of all time, Jurassic Park, and one of the charcters played by Wayne Knight, the infamous "Seinfeld" character of Newman. Ahh, good times.
But that's not all! Wednesday and Thursday I went out with my friends from AUCP with some French guys who we know through the language partner program. On Wednesday we went for Audrey and a couple other people's birthdays (there were 13 of us!) to an Irish pub and later an outdoor cafe. Thursday we hung out with the guys at their appt/suite in the dorms for their school and then went out dancing. It's nice that we have the language partner program because otherwise it would be much more difficult/sketchy meeting guys. Our friends are cool so no worries there.
Speaking of language partners: I have officially met mine! François is his name and he's actually much older than the other guys--26--most are our age or a bit older (not bad, eh?) François is "un homme d'affaires," as an accountant but also takes night classes, busy busy! We met last night at the big match-up event where we, the Americans, had to walk around the garden searching for the French guy (or girl) who had our name--hah! Unfair, I thought. Anyway, after the highly-anticipated match up, a group of my friends & our language partners went out to dinner at the first place we could find a table large enough to seat 10 of us. Ali and I, my date for the night ;), went all-out and share "Le Big Hamburger," it was just as good as they are back at home. Sometimes on a Friday night you just want to eat your favorite foods, right?
After dinner we walked home and I joined my host family at the table as they had a family over for dinner. It was perfect timing because I got to put in to practice some of my newly-learned French manners skills. Not that it's much different from the US, but I'm getting there.
Today I slept in and have just been lounging around because I'm a little tired after the first week.
Food recap:
Monsieur Croque-Monsieur: The owner of a little "snack" shop near our school is AWESOME and his croque monsieur is even better. I went back a second time, bringing a dozen other students with, great success.
Cafe du Palais: After the tiring 2 hour walking tour yesterday, Ali and I went over to a nice outdoor cafe in search of some delish ice cream and we found 4 other friends who had the same idea. I love everyone in my program!
Yesterday I had a quick make-your-own-salad and yogurt in a modern, cheap-eat shop.
At home, food has been awesome. Today for lunch I tried eggplant and we also had delish tomatoes, ham, and fromage après. Last night I tried a slice of apple pie when I got back and I liked it a lot!
We had some homemade tomato pizza, quasi quiches with spinach and goat cheese, and an herbed peach dessert. I forget what we had the night before that, but I'll bet ya it was good..
Tonight I'm going out with the Denison girls in Aix, looking forward to our little reunion of sorts, and tomorrow there's a big club/non profit fair I'm going to with Morgane, my oldest host sister, so I can choose an activity to join. Did I mention they're awesome? I've spent some time chatting with the middle one, Alix, about the night scene after going out (she's my kind of girl!) and Auriane always make me smile with her friendliness.
In the next post I'll put my fave photos!
Thank you AGAIN everyone for all your support, my mom says I've got a good following, I really appreciate it! Feel free to comment or send me an email if you want more details...as much as it may seem that I have told, I could really write a whole book with everything wonderful about this place!
Bisous, C
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
It rains in the south of France?
Last night & earlier this morning it was rainy in Aix. We started at 10 this morning and for most of the week, so I left with a couple extra minutes to saunter through the downtown with the time and ended up running into the marché, which happens several places in the town on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. On Saturdays, everyone raves about all the great clothes they sell. SWEET.
This morning we heard more from our wonderfully professional program director who gave us the class schedule, which was exciting. Why? Because, with the classes I'd like to take, I won't have any classes Wednesday, Mondays and Thursdays are long, Tuesdays and Fridays, one class. Oh, wait, I forgot. I'm also going to take a wine-tasting class. So a couple times I'll have class Wednesdays so no big deal, I won't sleep the day away. I'll probably just be busy hanging out with my (hopefully) awesome French language partner and doing some community service and my "club," basically any outside activity that I'm interested in. I think I'll be able to handle it;)
Anyways, the world keeps getting smaller, as a couple of my classmates know the same people as I do and other connections are made. So far everyone's getting on well, but I guess when you're speaking a foreign language that helps since we can only make small talk at this point. Honestly though, despite of the language barrier, we're getting to know each other and having fun joking around & such.
This afternoon we had French classes for 3 1/2 hours straight. It was long but at the same time interesting because I got to meet some of my future professors, who were all different but very fun. One of them I will have for 2 classes, approx. 3 or 4 hours one day of the week, and he was great.
But my highlight for sure today was my 2.5 euro croque monsieur. SO GOOD. I've been looking forward to it (and many more...) for a long time. The cheese was on the outside of one side of the bread and it was served immediately off the griddle, so good.
After class I went with a couple other students to get a European phone finally since my program recommended it and I'm afraid American phones eat money for breakfast. The place was called The Phone House, probably to attract English speakers. It was pretty economical but I'm just going to have to play the plans by ear, I have no idea how much I'll be texting/calling at this point.
Tonight we had another yummy dinner: salmon w/ onions and tomatoes on top, baked potatoes (served sliced in half), salad, and of course yogurt for dessert. I forgot to report in but last night was wonderful too, we had a vegetable meledy of asparagus, califlower, brocolli, carrots, served together as a dish, in addition to salad and bread. Last night I went for one of my best runs of my life and I meant to write about it because it was honestly so freeing, so it probably put me in a good mood for the rest of the day. And I got to skype my bro, pops, and mom (AND NIGEL!) so that made me happy, too.
Tomorrow I think will be similar to today, but there's an adventure in everything, right? A demain.
C
Monday, September 6, 2010
Another day in paradise
DAY ONE: ORIENTATION, MEXICAN FOOD, FRANGLAIS
it's nice not having any clouds, eh?
the petits roues au centre d'Aix
you can just see the history of the city in the buildings
a larger outdoor cafe somewhere among the small windy roads of the city's center
WOW I love this place!!
Day 1 of orientation was great! I was so happy to have met so many other nice students who are also in my program--there's 32 of us, 2 boys and 30 girls. Woa. Not surprising in the least, but the cute French boys will balance things out I think. Seriously. It's so interesting...they are attractive in a different way from Attractive American Guys. Yes, I did treat that as a proper noun, since it's not commonplace all the time, am I right girls? To any American Boys reading this, I don't mean to offend, but I'm surrounded by Europeans, what can I say? :)
Back to class. We learned all about phones, health, safety (which we don't have to worry about..don't worry, parentals, I'm very contentious despite the fact that there are no "bad areas" or places to not walk thru during night, and I'm lucky since I live so close and in a nice area). We got some time to mingle together and introduce ourselves over thé, café, et des biscuits on the terrace, which is located between the two gorgeous buildings. I'll take pics later. In addition to our program, the center is also used by local French students who come to learn English, Spanish, German, and Italian.
We had 2 hours for lunch at 12h30, which is when we were introduced to our french language partners, who we'll meet with one on one for the semester. This was the first major boy sighting. Most go to the engineering school across the street (how convenient) and were 22 years old. When they walked in the room, no one said anything, but you could so tell the girls were all suppressing their smiles as they looked over the attractive lot. Needless to say, lunch was fun. Their English is good, similar to our French I'd say, but I just love hearing the French speak (both languages), it's cute seeing how others attempt our challenging language. What ends up happening is that they want to practice English, ask us a question in our lang., then we respond in French.
Now, where do we go for lunch, a group of 4 French students and 10 Americans, a traditional cafe, you think? No. We go to the French equivalent of Chipotle. Evidence Below.
My first burrito was in France...funny how the world works, ya?
Later, we barely made it back on time since there were only two people working the shop when we put in our large order. Back at "The American Center," as it is known locally, the afternoon was filled with test taking for language evaluation and another exam for understanding our stance on cultural diversity. Sounds like something Pops may have had to do at work...?
Fun things I've noticed so far:
--Americanism. It's everywhere people, and it's so amusing. The music--Taio Cruz, "No Speak Americano" (aka GREAT dance song), Gaga, Katy Perry--you name it, the French are rockin' to it. My host mom has similar music taste to myself and my mom, too, as we were surfing YouTube together showing each other songs, ranging from Empire of the Sun (aka hipster group with an English name/played at Lolla, but are secretly French...) to ACDC-it was so fun. She broke out the dance moves yesterday with the other moms just like my mom would with her friends at the end of a party, it was really cute. And my host sisters were SO embarrassed, as any teenager would be when their parent's try to be cool, right? Haha.
--Cars. MY HOST FAM ALSO HAS A MINI!!!! Morgan gets to drive it, but since she hasn't had her license for 2 years, she has one of those magnetic bumper stickers on the back with an "A." I forget what it stands for. Also, as expected, every car is just as short as a Mini, except the giant Louisana pickup I saw today. Evidence below:
SO out of place, right? It made me laugh.
--Skype. It seems like this is the most solid piece of technology (along with my laptop) that I know I can count on. I've skype even more people since last posting--Lenaaaa (in Copenhagen!), Billy:) and Pops. I'm becoming quite a fan I must say.
Less than a week til classes start, but I'm more excited for them to start now to give myself a bigger purpose & because I'm going to be surrounded by great people!
Bon nuit tout le monde!
c
it's nice not having any clouds, eh?
the petits roues au centre d'Aix
you can just see the history of the city in the buildings
a larger outdoor cafe somewhere among the small windy roads of the city's center
WOW I love this place!!
Day 1 of orientation was great! I was so happy to have met so many other nice students who are also in my program--there's 32 of us, 2 boys and 30 girls. Woa. Not surprising in the least, but the cute French boys will balance things out I think. Seriously. It's so interesting...they are attractive in a different way from Attractive American Guys. Yes, I did treat that as a proper noun, since it's not commonplace all the time, am I right girls? To any American Boys reading this, I don't mean to offend, but I'm surrounded by Europeans, what can I say? :)
Back to class. We learned all about phones, health, safety (which we don't have to worry about..don't worry, parentals, I'm very contentious despite the fact that there are no "bad areas" or places to not walk thru during night, and I'm lucky since I live so close and in a nice area). We got some time to mingle together and introduce ourselves over thé, café, et des biscuits on the terrace, which is located between the two gorgeous buildings. I'll take pics later. In addition to our program, the center is also used by local French students who come to learn English, Spanish, German, and Italian.
We had 2 hours for lunch at 12h30, which is when we were introduced to our french language partners, who we'll meet with one on one for the semester. This was the first major boy sighting. Most go to the engineering school across the street (how convenient) and were 22 years old. When they walked in the room, no one said anything, but you could so tell the girls were all suppressing their smiles as they looked over the attractive lot. Needless to say, lunch was fun. Their English is good, similar to our French I'd say, but I just love hearing the French speak (both languages), it's cute seeing how others attempt our challenging language. What ends up happening is that they want to practice English, ask us a question in our lang., then we respond in French.
Now, where do we go for lunch, a group of 4 French students and 10 Americans, a traditional cafe, you think? No. We go to the French equivalent of Chipotle. Evidence Below.
My first burrito was in France...funny how the world works, ya?
Later, we barely made it back on time since there were only two people working the shop when we put in our large order. Back at "The American Center," as it is known locally, the afternoon was filled with test taking for language evaluation and another exam for understanding our stance on cultural diversity. Sounds like something Pops may have had to do at work...?
Fun things I've noticed so far:
--Americanism. It's everywhere people, and it's so amusing. The music--Taio Cruz, "No Speak Americano" (aka GREAT dance song), Gaga, Katy Perry--you name it, the French are rockin' to it. My host mom has similar music taste to myself and my mom, too, as we were surfing YouTube together showing each other songs, ranging from Empire of the Sun (aka hipster group with an English name/played at Lolla, but are secretly French...) to ACDC-it was so fun. She broke out the dance moves yesterday with the other moms just like my mom would with her friends at the end of a party, it was really cute. And my host sisters were SO embarrassed, as any teenager would be when their parent's try to be cool, right? Haha.
--Cars. MY HOST FAM ALSO HAS A MINI!!!! Morgan gets to drive it, but since she hasn't had her license for 2 years, she has one of those magnetic bumper stickers on the back with an "A." I forget what it stands for. Also, as expected, every car is just as short as a Mini, except the giant Louisana pickup I saw today. Evidence below:
SO out of place, right? It made me laugh.
--Skype. It seems like this is the most solid piece of technology (along with my laptop) that I know I can count on. I've skype even more people since last posting--Lenaaaa (in Copenhagen!), Billy:) and Pops. I'm becoming quite a fan I must say.
Less than a week til classes start, but I'm more excited for them to start now to give myself a bigger purpose & because I'm going to be surrounded by great people!
Bon nuit tout le monde!
c
Sunday, September 5, 2010
c'est charmant
la vie français c'est fantastique, non?
SALUT! JE SUIS EN FRANCE!! okay, back to english for all yall americans.
I'm happily sitting in my room at my host families now, getting ready for the first day of orientation tomorrow. I think I'm adjusting well to la vie francais, if you ask me, it's not that hard to get used to the life! So far, everyone (well...almost everyone, back to that later) has been extraordinarily kind and warm to me, including my host family. Elisabeth & Axel are the parents and there are 3 girls, just like my mom and her sisters, who are 19, 16, and 14. Very cute, each has a different personality.
I've been busy busy since arriving yesterday afternoon after an interesting trip. As much as I love to travel, I have to say that sometimes I get stressed while doing it, as calm as I try to be. After a tearful (and I mean tearful) goodbye to my sweet sweet parents, I stood in line for a while for sa-cur-ity (yes, like bon qui qui would say it!) and then headed to my gate at the end of the terminal. After careful consideration, I chose to dine solo in Tuscany since I would probably only have a petit meal on the plane, which is what it turned out to be. After a seafood bisque and caprese salad, I was good to go. It's actually kind of fun eating at a restaurant alone! Well, then things took a (short) sour turn. My goal here with the blog is to be honest & describe all my experiences, right? Well, to be honest, I was quite annoyed at an airline employee/ the airline itself, because the bag which I had so carefully packed to be my carryon luggage was too large and too heavy for their regulations. The reason this upset me is because I have used this very same bag many a time on other airlines as my carryon, but alas, it was not to be I guess. After searching through for my bag to transfer my most important items to my already jammed purse, I was invited to the front of the line to board, which I guess sort of made up for it. Anyways, my flight was just fine, watched some "You've Got Mail" and read bits of a couple books to will myself to sleep, but I guess the 2 hours sleep only helped me fall asleep faster the next night!
When I arrived I met another student in my program, Jamie, who had just as much luggage as myself and was very nice. My family was there to meet me & then we were on our way to Aix. Let me just say, being here and seeing all these people that are lucky enough to live here, to me it's just a dream! Once we got to my host family's house, my host mom, the youngest daughter and I went on a walk through the village looking at the shops, ect. We spent some time in one as Orléan (sp?) was in need of a bathing suit, so we dug through the sales til we found the perfect one for her :) Later, we had a delicious soup provençal full of veggies and Activia yogurt as dessert--those close to me/Denison friends will know that this made me happy because Activia is awesome!! I love the taste of it, and the fact that it's ridiculed so much, it's funny. Anyways, safe to say I'm well adjusted to the time and fully rested after a 12 hour sleep last night...I amaze myself sometimes, you know?
Today we went to a family friends' house for a birthday party/gathering, it was really fun! I had just read yesterday the section on dinner parties in my "French or Foe" book (shout out to Mme Armstrong for the helpful hints it gave me!), but this group was much more relaxed than the parties described in the book, but that's mostly a region difference, I believe. We were there for probably 6 or 7 hours this afternoon, it was really fun, and delicious food (duh). Not surprisingly, everyone of all ages does the "embrasse" or French-kiss-greeting, as its probably know, in this sort of social setting, even to me, the new one! We ate foie gras (pas mal de tout!), shrimp (served in and out of shell/body), ratatouille aka delicious veggies & a great movie, and more! I met a girl from the other family who is 22 and kindly invited to take myself or friends, too, to Marseille for a dinner out or to some of the beach parties while it's still warm! By the way, I get the feeling it's going to stay summer-like here for a while. Awesome.
After the big meal, we came home and had a smaller meal later of a rice/mozerella/corn/tomato/tuna mix and salad. I've been hanging out and skyping with some sweet, sweet Denison friends aka Christina, Mary, Emily, Stephanie, Jen, Liza and Kelly, who all were around, it was so nice! You girls are a riot.
Tomorrow starts orientation & in a week classes! Ahh, it's going to be a tough semester...not! I can't wait to explore this city more--I'll start taking pics and have them up on the blog asap!
Hope everyone had a great weekend & pass along any fun stories, I love getting US updates!
XOXO, c
PS--Fun fact of the day: the reason why the streets in Europe are so narrow is because back in the day they didn't want lots of sunlight reaching the streets since it's so hot, so the buildings block it well. I am not sure if I knew this before (and you may have, too, but when my host mom told me yesterday it was a refresher for me.
Bon nuit!
SALUT! JE SUIS EN FRANCE!! okay, back to english for all yall americans.
I'm happily sitting in my room at my host families now, getting ready for the first day of orientation tomorrow. I think I'm adjusting well to la vie francais, if you ask me, it's not that hard to get used to the life! So far, everyone (well...almost everyone, back to that later) has been extraordinarily kind and warm to me, including my host family. Elisabeth & Axel are the parents and there are 3 girls, just like my mom and her sisters, who are 19, 16, and 14. Very cute, each has a different personality.
I've been busy busy since arriving yesterday afternoon after an interesting trip. As much as I love to travel, I have to say that sometimes I get stressed while doing it, as calm as I try to be. After a tearful (and I mean tearful) goodbye to my sweet sweet parents, I stood in line for a while for sa-cur-ity (yes, like bon qui qui would say it!) and then headed to my gate at the end of the terminal. After careful consideration, I chose to dine solo in Tuscany since I would probably only have a petit meal on the plane, which is what it turned out to be. After a seafood bisque and caprese salad, I was good to go. It's actually kind of fun eating at a restaurant alone! Well, then things took a (short) sour turn. My goal here with the blog is to be honest & describe all my experiences, right? Well, to be honest, I was quite annoyed at an airline employee/ the airline itself, because the bag which I had so carefully packed to be my carryon luggage was too large and too heavy for their regulations. The reason this upset me is because I have used this very same bag many a time on other airlines as my carryon, but alas, it was not to be I guess. After searching through for my bag to transfer my most important items to my already jammed purse, I was invited to the front of the line to board, which I guess sort of made up for it. Anyways, my flight was just fine, watched some "You've Got Mail" and read bits of a couple books to will myself to sleep, but I guess the 2 hours sleep only helped me fall asleep faster the next night!
When I arrived I met another student in my program, Jamie, who had just as much luggage as myself and was very nice. My family was there to meet me & then we were on our way to Aix. Let me just say, being here and seeing all these people that are lucky enough to live here, to me it's just a dream! Once we got to my host family's house, my host mom, the youngest daughter and I went on a walk through the village looking at the shops, ect. We spent some time in one as Orléan (sp?) was in need of a bathing suit, so we dug through the sales til we found the perfect one for her :) Later, we had a delicious soup provençal full of veggies and Activia yogurt as dessert--those close to me/Denison friends will know that this made me happy because Activia is awesome!! I love the taste of it, and the fact that it's ridiculed so much, it's funny. Anyways, safe to say I'm well adjusted to the time and fully rested after a 12 hour sleep last night...I amaze myself sometimes, you know?
Today we went to a family friends' house for a birthday party/gathering, it was really fun! I had just read yesterday the section on dinner parties in my "French or Foe" book (shout out to Mme Armstrong for the helpful hints it gave me!), but this group was much more relaxed than the parties described in the book, but that's mostly a region difference, I believe. We were there for probably 6 or 7 hours this afternoon, it was really fun, and delicious food (duh). Not surprisingly, everyone of all ages does the "embrasse" or French-kiss-greeting, as its probably know, in this sort of social setting, even to me, the new one! We ate foie gras (pas mal de tout!), shrimp (served in and out of shell/body), ratatouille aka delicious veggies & a great movie, and more! I met a girl from the other family who is 22 and kindly invited to take myself or friends, too, to Marseille for a dinner out or to some of the beach parties while it's still warm! By the way, I get the feeling it's going to stay summer-like here for a while. Awesome.
After the big meal, we came home and had a smaller meal later of a rice/mozerella/corn/tomato/tuna mix and salad. I've been hanging out and skyping with some sweet, sweet Denison friends aka Christina, Mary, Emily, Stephanie, Jen, Liza and Kelly, who all were around, it was so nice! You girls are a riot.
Tomorrow starts orientation & in a week classes! Ahh, it's going to be a tough semester...not! I can't wait to explore this city more--I'll start taking pics and have them up on the blog asap!
Hope everyone had a great weekend & pass along any fun stories, I love getting US updates!
XOXO, c
PS--Fun fact of the day: the reason why the streets in Europe are so narrow is because back in the day they didn't want lots of sunlight reaching the streets since it's so hot, so the buildings block it well. I am not sure if I knew this before (and you may have, too, but when my host mom told me yesterday it was a refresher for me.
Bon nuit!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Tomorrow!
I cannot believe it, but I just have one day left before I leave-wow! It really is surreal. I just hope that when I leave the good things say the same and that Labriola Bakery's chocolate chip cookies are still as delicious as ever when I come back!
My exciting news I have is that I have found out who my host family is, where they live, and have even spoken to them! Thanks to the powers of Google Maps (who would have ever thought they'd have street view on the neighborhood streets in Europe?!), I have found out that my family lives in a cute, green house with a tennis court down the street and a "pharmacie" and a gym nearby. I'm probably going to be able to walk to my program for school so that's nice.
Here's the funny part: I called my host family, not knowing whether or not they had kids, to say hello. A woman answers, so I think, BINGO!, it's my host mom! I go on to ask about how she is (all in French, by the way..), if she has any kids, if it's correct that they'll be meeting me at the airport. Well, it was not quite my host mom...it was one of the daughters! I guess I've had my funny mix-up experience already, right? When I got off the phone, I just laughed at myself. My host mom seemed very friendly and I found out that they have three kids in their teens–very similar to my roomie Lena's host family situation, if I'm not mistaken.
Anyways, I'm off to celebrate everything American. Next time I write in, I'll be on the other side of the pond!
PS--Above is a picture I took when in France in 2007–just thought I'd get you (and myself!) ready for the beauty that is the south of France!
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