Pacques et Nimes

I must have jinxed it with my last post, because this weekend, our sortie en Camargue was cancelled because of the rain.  The clouds were threatening all last week, and so everyone was sure the weather was right when it was predicted to have le temps des grenouilles, or weather for frogs, on Saturday.  However, it wasn't nearly as bad as was predicted, and while it was nice to sleep in for a bit, we were upset that the weather didn't give a real reason not to go.  

Instead, we went into down for the day.  After lunch, we did a bit of shopping and spent quite a bit of time browsing through books at FNAC, the French equivalent of Borders.  Hannah and I decided the French really need to get with it and add a café to their bookstores...  they'd get a lot more money out of us!  Actually, there is a bookstore with a café where we really like to go and do work.  Unfortunately, it's an English bookstore so we can't peruse French books while sipping our noisettes.  Anyway, we headed after to the Renoir to see Cheri.  It is based off of a famous French book from the 18th century.  The plot was horrible, but the cinematography and costumes were beautiful, so at least it was pleasing to the eye.  

For Easter, I went with my family to my host mom's brother's house.  I was slightly nervous beforehand when Laurence casually mentioned "we are 18," but it wasn't as nervewracking as expected.  There were a several children so there was a chasse des oeufs, or Easter egg hunt.  However, the French don't have an Easter bunny, so it is just the parents that give chocolate and little toys.  I made friends with Ninoun, an adorable barely two-year old who kept bringing me the Easter eggs from the hunt.  It was adorable, she kept on smacking her lips pretending to eat them and then she'd give them to me.  Later, I made friends with Heloise, the "almost five year old" who wanted to play kitchen with me.  It was my job to gather all the flowers and then we started cooking.  When I asked was we were making, she responded matter-of-factly, un gateau aux haricots!  As if bean cake were the most natural thing in the world to make.  "Oh, but doesn't it smell good?" she asked after she added the "salt" and the "pepper" and mixed the ingredients together.  I also introduced Coline to the two-player version of cat's cradle, which she seemed to like just as much as I did as a 10 year old.  Even now it's addicting!

Monday was a jour férié, or national holiday, so we didn't have classes.  Instead, Hannah, Kari, Courtney, and I went to Nimes, upon the request of Hannah.  Loved loved loved it!  It helped that the weather had cleared up and so the sunshine was back.  The tree lined streets lead us to the garden where we ate our lunch:  

After picnicking on the grass, we started to explore the garden, which was so much bigger and more beautiful than we first expected!  

It has two Roman ruins: the Temple of Diane and the Tour Magne, which was originally built by the Gauls and then used by the Romans.  We climbed the very narrow staircase to the top of the tower and got a wonderful view of the city! 

 On the way back from the garden, we stopped at the Maison Carée, which was apparently the inspiration for the design of the White House.  Look familiar? 

 Surprisingly, you couldn't go inside.  Instead, there was a 3D film, a Nimes through the ages type deal that traced the history from the times of the Romans.  A little over the top, but nice to have a little rest.  

Our last tourist stop was the arena, which is the best conserved Roman arena.  It is so amazing to be in a place where having all of these ruins around is the norm!  It is still used today for bull fights, but we were able to go and explore all levels.  ...And may have even had the obligatory bull fight and gladiator battle.  

The short week this week is a good introduction to vacation, which starts tomorrow!  We head tomorrow to Nice and then take the train to Florence on Saturday.  On Thursday, I'll officially be on vacation with my parents for a week in Southern France!  

Les Pas de Van Gogh

Busy seems to be the theme for the semester.  Last weekend was great, as evidenced by my lack of an update.  On Saturday we had a sortie in Arles and St. Remy, "In the Steps of Van Gogh"-- my favorite so far.  These two provencal towns are where Van Gogh (pronounced Van Gog in French) completed most all of his famous works.  At each site of the paintings, the towns have placed a sign with the painting so you can compare and contrast what has changed in the last century!  It was pretty amazing to be at all of those sights in person.  We started out at the outskirts of Arles in the ancient Roman cemetery.  Apparently during the 19th century, it was the meeting spot for all the young couples in Arles.  It was indeed beautiful.  Besides, spring is finally starting to bloom in Provence, making the tree-lined paths even more impressive.  

Next we heading into Arles to see the first asylum where Van Gogh stayed.  The center has a beautiful garden and yellow arches.  So picturesque!  After a marché picque-nique in the park and delicious gelatto, we contined on to see the famous café terrace.  Look familiar?  

We also saw Roman ruins, where he painting the crowd without focusing on the actual setting.  That was a common theme in his work; he was more interested in people and interactions than the setting, even if it is a historical monument.  After following more of the "steps of Van Gogh," we arrived at the Rhone River, where he painted his first starry night.  I'm not sure if this is part of the designated tour, but our prof pointed out the house where he sent his ear when he started to go crazy...

Following suit, we headed to St. Remy, where he went to the asylum after this incident.  It was positively beautiful.  It is still a psych hospital today, and the women who live there take art classes and sell there pieces in the gift shop, which was really neat to see.  This is where he did a lot of his nature pieces, and we were in luck because the iris' and the olive tree were in bloom!  All in all, it was a wonderful day with finally the famous typical Provencal weather I've been hearing about!  

Sur le Pont d'Avignon, on y danse

After my Lyon visit, I decided that I have to be more knowledgeable about Aix.  I love being in France, but it is so busy that sometimes I forget that there is more than the little yellow schoolhouse where I spend my days.  As many times as I have walked past the marché, I have never really stopped to browse because I am always on my way to class.  So Thursday I had a little bit of time and decided to go in early and explore the city a bit.  The big marché, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, has a little bit of everything.  Clothes, shoes, bags, pottery, jewerly, soap, tableclothes, you name it. I found the old books particularly interesting.  There were a bunch of those old, beautifully bound books with the gold embellishment.  Now I just have to keep my eye open for one that I want!

Friday was another first: the theatre!  Laurence had gotten tickets for the tour of FAME for Friday night, so I had my first true cultural outing.  The Theatre de la Grande Provence is a huge beautiful complex that was built 3 years ago.  I climbed it on one of my first weeks here, because it is multilevel and you can take the stairs up to the top and get a great view of Provence and Mount St Victoire, but I didn't know it was a theatre then!  The show was interesting.  I had never seen it before, but apparently it is all the rage in France, and has been since the 80s.  The show is a cross between Chorus Line and Footloose and while not very profound, it was atleast entertaining.  It was especially interesting from a translation perspective.  The elements were so clearly American, yet suddenly in a French context.  I couldn't help but think how strange it would be to be one of these French actors... touring with a company, but never having any hope of making it to Broadway.  This one dream that is shared by every actor in America cannot be attained by the majority of the performers in France.  How does it feel to be representing something that isn't part of their culture?  The fact that the words were in French doesn't change the fact that it is so very American.  Do phrases that are huge in America (time is money) have the same impact for the French?  The only thing that wasn't translated was the chorus of FAME, and it was startling to all of a sudden hear (remember! remember!) from the ensemble when the lead was singing.  

It is totally foreign to me that the French are in a society where everything is influenced by a foreign language.  I rarely hear French music on the radio, and as a result, the public doesn't understand what it are listening to.  My host sister asks me every so often to translate what she is singing (this week was "You Can't Always Get What you Want").  I think of myself listening to French music, catching the words only if I really listen.  Imagine if it were like that all the time!  

Okay, enough pondering.  Saturday was the sortie to Avignon.  Before going to the Palais, we took a photo opportunity to view the 2 Palais et Pont d'Avignon from afar.  

We took the opportunity to sing the famous children's song that I don't recall ever actually learning as a child... Next, we went to the Vieux Palais de Papes.  During the middle ages, the Popes decided to leave Rome and set up headquarters in Avignon, which at the time was it's own territory associated with France.  Politics, politics.  In any case, the pope built a palace and stayed there for some time.  The Old Palace is today a museum with art from the middle ages.  Lots of religious scenes, especially Madonna and Child.  It was interesting but got rather repetitive.  

After lunch, we went to the Palais Neuf, the new palace.  It is much bigger than the old palace and was actually constructed at two different times, because it wasn't big enough at first.  It isn't a museum, but you can tour the rooms of the castle.  Unfortunately, all of the rooms today are bare because the paint is gone and the furniture and decorations were removed.  Heads of statues were cut off during the revolution because the church was affiliated with the monarchy.  So, unlike Versailles, it was hard to get a feel of what it would have been like to live there during the middle ages.  Except, it was quite evident that it would have been very cold and dark.  

After, we went on the Pont, despite the very rainy weather.  Indeed, sur le pont d'Avignon, j'y ai dansé, j'y ai dansé (on the bridge of Avignon, I did dance there, I did dance there) : 

Today was daylight savings here in France, so I am once again 6 hours from you eastcoasters!  Coline and I finally made cookies a l'americain with the chips that mom and dad sent me for my birthday.  Oatmeal chocolate chip!  Even better, I converted our recipe so it tasted like home.  This week I have fall registration and next week is housing lottery.  Where is the time going?

Weekend Lyonnais

I finally got to visit Jacquie in Lyon, and it was such a wonderful weekend!  She surprised me upon my arrival on Friday night with a belated birthday, complete with a delicious cake and stir fry (all the vegetables she knew I'd be craving!), and various wines from the region.  

Saturday, we met her friend Amanda at the train station bright and early and spent the day touring the city.  We started off at the Roman theatre, which according to the sign, could hold 4,500 people!  There were indeed many stairs, but once we got to the top, there was a beautiful view of the city.  

After seeing the ruins, we headed to the Basilica that is also at the top of the hill.  It was built to thank Mary for saving the city, and every inch of the interior was covered with mosaic and gold gilding.  

We went next to the Atelier de Soirie, the silk workshop, which with my love for printmaking was very exciting.  Apparently Lyon is famous for its silk.  The studio smelled like a printmaking studio, and all the screens and planks were in the workshop below and the hand-painted scarves and the final products were on the second floor.  

As Lyon is also known for their gastronomie, we went to a typical boucheron lyonnais for lunch.  While I didn't have the classic specialty (pied du cochon: pig feet! Even my host mom said she doesn't dare try it...), I did have a salad lyonnais, steak, carrots, scalloped potatoes, and for dessert, a praline pie that was bright pink!  

Next we headed to La Musee des Miniatures.  After some confusion in the beginning with random movie sets, we finally found the actual miniatures.  There were rooms at 1/12 size, miniature paintings, origami the size of my fingernail, and intricate cutouts that were done with scissors!  

After walking and seeing more of the city, we went to the Parc de la tete d'Or, which is a huge beautiful park with greenhouses and even a zoo!  After seeing giraffes, elephants, a leopard, and deer, we decided we were hungry, so we bought mi-gateaux for our gouter from a Lyon chocolaterie.  Before Amanda left, we went to FNAC, the French version of Borders.  I seized the opportunity. getting a bunch of recommendations from Jacquie and happily leaving with 4 new books!  Now, if only I had the free time to read them, but atleast I'm building up my library for the summer!

Unlike Aix, Lyon has a lot of diverse dining options, so for dinner, Jacquie and I went to an Indian restaurant.  Thankfully, I got to have the curry and ginger I've been craving since coming to France.  

On Sunday we went to the Musee des Beaux Arts, which is considered to be the mini-Louvre.  It was nice because it featured a lot of regional artists and art of Lyon.  After, we walked along the river and saw more of the city before I had to catch my train.  

Overall, it was a great weekend, and I wasn't expecting how nice it would be to have a vacation from Aix.  First off, it was so nice to see Jacquie and to be in an environment where I was totally relaxed and carefree with someone who knows me so well.  Secondly, even though Lyon is the second biggest city in France, it is so much more laid back than Paris, or even Aix.  Although I was slightly homesick in returning to Provence, I know that I have my parents' visit to look forward to in just under 4 weeks!

Partiels et Cassis

So I'm still settling in to the French education system.  This past week was midterms (where have the past two months gone?!) and I would have to say that it was onemore stressful than I anticipated, for several reasons.  Even when I have taken 5 classes in the US, I have rarely had midterms scheduled for the same week.  Even in finals week I've never had to take 5 exams. When I have big tests, I usually am not assigned research projects and given homework at the same time.  I generally have very little free time.  Last weekend was the sortie to Marseille, which left only Sunday to work.  When we combine all of this, it translates to very little time to study, a lot to study for, and therefore a week that I am very glad to be done with.  

I'm not sure how I feel about the French exam method.  It generally requires you to know all the information from every course, book, and article you have read.  Really, you have to know it all.  This is frustrating, because the test only has three questions.  Therefore, even though you presumably studied everything, you have to regurgitate all the information in great detail.  There is little room for error, and no room for creativity or your own thought on the concept.  This also makes studying a more difficult and longer process because being merely familiar with a topic does not help you when it is 1/3 of your exam.  

But!  I made it, and to celebrate the end of les partiels, Hannah, Ashlee, Emma, et moi planned our own sortie to Cassis.  It was the perfect day for a day sur la plage.  It is as if someone turned an on-switch for springtime this week.  All of a sudden, it's starting to get warmer, and the trees have started blossoming!  Yesterday was the first day where it actually smelled like spring.  French spring doesn't smell the same as in the states, but there is no mistaking the freshness in the air.  We arrived in Cassis around noon and had to walk 4km from the bus station to arrive en centre ville.  

We had planned to have a picnic on the beach, but after exploring for a while and discovering that the supermarche is closed from 12-3.30 so we went instead to a restaurant for pizza.  After, we went down to the beach to enjoy the sunshine, and finished off the afternoon with some gelatti!  It was a very good way to wind down from this week.  

Les Vacances

Alors!  I am back from a vacances tres bien passees.  Voici the (semi)abridged version:

The journey started on Saturday with my first TVG experience!  I must say, the train is indeed grande vitesse, because in a short three hours, we arrived in Paris.  After two mishaps with the metro, we found the correct subway stop for our hostel, dropped off our bags, and set off again.  We decided that we wanted to explore the city and see the Champs Elysees, and after asking a marchand for directions, he told us it's "just straight ahead."  Thinking we were relatively close, we started the first leg of what was to be our 6 hour walk.  

The hostel was in a great location.  We walked along the Seine, passing the Hotel de Ville, and not too long after, the Musee Picasso and the Louvre.  The whole time, it was just so hard to believe we were in Paris!  After a short photo stop at the Louvre, we continued following our path to the Arc de Triomphe, which seemed to be a short distance away.  After a bit of shopping on the Champs Elysees and some new sneakers for Ashlee's hurting feet, we finally arrived at our destination of the Arc, more than 3 hours after when we set off.  The new problem: how does one cross the 6 lanes of traffic of the rotonde to get to the Arc?  After walking around the circumference for a while, we discovered a set of stairs and the underground passage!  We ignored the "do not enter" sign on the stairs and emerged safely in the center of the Arc to watch some sort of military procession.  

We then decided that we wanted to see the Tour Eiffel at night.  That, too, didn't seem too far away until we arrived there an hour later.  Never the less, when we turned the last corner, it was wonderful to see the tower, which was twinkling at the start of the new hour!  After more mishaps to find a subway, we finally got back to the hostel neighborhood and ate a very Parisian timed dinner at 10.00.

Sunday morning we awoke to have the hostel breakfast of a baguette, pain au chocolat, tea, and orange juice.  We then headed to the Musee d'Orsay, which I was particularly excited about because it has all of my favorite impressionist art!  After lunch, we headed to the Ile de la Cite to see St. Chapelle et Notre Dame.  Hannah warned me that St Chapelle looks like "a moroccan restaurant" on the first level, and I would have to see I tend to agree.  The paint was all in primary colors with the repeating patterns typical of the middle ages.  However, the stained glass on the second level was truly amazing.  Each window featured the book of a different saint.  If only it had been sunny so I could really see the contrast!  Overall, the feeling of St Chapelle was much more touristy than a church.  We next went to Notre Dame, which I much preferred.  There was an organ recital going on when we were there, and it was evident that people were taking their time to appreciate it as a place of worship as well as for its historical and architectural value.  Interesting, despite the even darker skies, the Rose window of Notre Dame was far more contrasted and impressive than those at St. Chapelle.  

Monday we set off for our second museum experience: le Louvre!  We attacked the sections in chronological order.  First off, the Egyptians.  The Louvre has one of the largest Egypt exhibits, and what was especially captivating was the range of artifacts.  There was the hieroglyphics, but also preserved food (the bread from 3000BC looked like sea sponge!), a menu, pottery, games (dice!), sewing bobbins, musical instruments, jewelry, mirrors, and even tweezers!  

We then went to the Antiquity section.  It was so strange to see all of my art history pieces in person!  By far the most impressive was Nike, the Winged Victory.  I could have stared at it all day.  As is, we circled around it for a good 25 minutes.  

We then went to the Painting section to see the Mona Lisa and other French Romantic Paintings, then we also saw the Appartements of Napoleon III.

After the Louvre, we headed for a gouter chez Angelina's, which is renowned for their desserts and hot chocolate.  Or rather, melted chocolate.  It was so thick it required another drink in order to drink it!  

That evening, we headed back to the Eiffel tower to try to go to the top.  We started to realize a theme of the vacation: we seemed to have perfect timing for everything!  We waited for a short period of time, and ascended to the second level just around the time when the sun was setting.  Even though it was cloudy, the rain had stopped, and we were able to see the transformation of the City of Lights from day to nighttime.  After some time on the second level, we took the elevator to the very top!  Very narrow, slightly frightening, but absolutely worth it!  

Tuesday, we went to Versailles.  All we could keep saying was "Oh, Louis."  He was indeed the Sun King, and it was strange because despite the excess of gold and decoration everywhere, after a while it started to become repetitive.  He knew what he liked, and used it a lot.  The Hall of Mirrors was indeed beautiful with the light reflected in the windows, mirrors, and chandeliers.  I was disappointed in the gardens, because while I expected there not to be much in the way of plants, the fountains weren't working either.  

Wednesday followed Hannah's wish to see the Opera before leaving Paris for Normandie.  This was also a project of Louis XIV in his attempts to promote the arts during his reign.  I would have to say that this was my favorite site in all of Paris.  It was breathtakingly amazing, more so than Versailles in my opinion.  All the architectural elements were incredibly exquisite, but there was variation so that everywhere you looked, you were seeing something new.  The ballroom was similar to the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, but in my opinion, was more impressive.  

In the afternoon, we took the train through more beautiful French countryside to Caen.  In seeing so much green, I realized that there isn't a lot of grass in Aix.  I spend most all of my time in the very developed parts of the city, so it's all stone, sidewalks, and buildings.  Any sign of nature is carefully manicured and maintained by the city.  Strangely, they cut their trees off right at the branches!  In any case, it was nice to see real nature for a change.  

We met Ashlee's former host sister, Julie, for dinner.  She and her friends took us to Uncle Scotty's, clearly the typical representation of classic America.  If this is what the French think of us and our food, I'm afraid.  Everyone was wearing cowboy hats, there were slightly offensive (okay, and yet slightly entertaining) posters everywhere, and the food came in huge, tremendously greasy portions.  

 

Caen was much more laid back than Paris- a good break from our busy schedule in the big city! We explored the castles, churches, and Abbaye aux Hommes (where William the Conqueror's tomb is).  We also branched out in our cultural experiences and profited from the rainy weather by watching two movies- LOL and Le Code a Change.  We couldn't pass it up because the Caen cinema is only 3.60E if you are under 26!  Hannah and I also went to Mont St Michel on Friday.  It is an Abbaye and a very small town built on a tiny island on the ocean.  It was absolutely beautiful, and we caught it in late afternoon and saw the sunset!  Saturday, Julie's family took us out to lunch at one of their favorite spots.  It was evident that they go there a lot because when we entered, they gave bisous to practically everyone in the restaurant.  Definitely a small town feel a la francais!  After, we went with Julie to the Plages de Debarquement and finished off the afternoon with another fabulous crepe gouter.  

Finally, Sunday was the day of travel.  It was a wonderful week, but I was very happy to come back to Aix!  It is strange to say my vacation is over, because really, I have to keep reminding myself that I am still in France!

With the wheezes and the sneezes...

I know I've been kind of bad with detailed updates, but sometimes random facts are fun to know too.  In truth, it's hard to find enough time in a day to do all I need to do, much less catalog what's going on in my life.  It's bad, I know, and I'm trying!  

Anyway, you aren't missing out on much of anything because nothing too exciting happened this week.  However, nothing too exciting could happen this week thanks to la petite grippe that has circulating around France and which found a nice home chez my immune system.  I started getting sick last week, but it had the decency to wait until the weekend to take on full swing, and now I'm pretty much in the recovery stages.  (I hope!)  

Just to make sure that I'm en pleine forme for the start of vacances ce week-end, Laurence told me it would be a good idea to see the doctor this week.  Another thing to add to my list of French experiences!  

I tried to be good and research any terms I would need to describe my flu symptoms, and also my general health.  However, I am in France, and I am not well-versed in health lingo.  Thus, I present the following scene:  (Those of you who took Adv. Con and Comp can probably predict the faux-ami...)

Chez le Medicin, a play in one act:

Docteur: Do you take any pilules?

Moi: Oui, I take desip... do you want me to write it down?

(Docteur hands over pad of paper, and looks over perplexed as I write down 3 long names)

Docteur: "Tout ca?!"  (All of this?!)

Moi: Well yes, the first two are for this... and the other one for...

It was then that I realized that, in fact, pilule refers to only one very specific type of pill. Anything else is simply medicaments.  In retrospect, with all of the related vocabulary from Annie Ernaux's "l'Evenement" that I read last spring, I probably should have known that, but hey, at least now I have a funny story to tell?

Un, deux, trois et quatre

So I have just returned from my first participation du club: le swing!  Let me explain... as part of the program, AUCP requires us to join a club to help with the immersion process.  I actually noted before coming that there were free swing (or le rock) classes in Aix, and it turns out they are at the engineering school right across from ours.  Better yet, they are free, and I figured out another bus line to take, as mine ends at 8pm but the lessons don't even start until 8.30.  It was a fairly big room, but pretty packed.  Plus, it's open to anyone, but since it's held at the engineering school, there were boys!  The ratio was pretty much 50/50, which is impressive.  We learned a crazy over-under pretzel sequence that was somewhat perplexing but seemed to go over smoothly.  Swing dancing and French, two of my favorite things!  Just incase you have those two things in your future (or are curious), and so that I can remember, here is my newly acquired swing/rock dictionnaire francais:

Cavalier/ Cavaliere:

Leader/follower 

Note: these are very similar sounding words.  Attentive listening required. 

Le bon-bon: (or something sounding like that...)

Triple step.  (rock step, step ball change, step ball change)  

Le petit-souris ("Little mouse"):

A part of the over-under sequence where the cavaliere crosses under to the back of the cavalier, and then the cavalier lifts his arm over the fille so as to retain the normal stance

Le berceau ("the cradle"):

I forget the name for this en anglais, but it's when the pair is facing the same direction and their arms are linked... 

Paris, je t'attend!

Good news!

I have solidified my travel plans for the first break!  ...Or at least decided upon an arrival and departure destination: PARIS!!  Hannah, Ashlee et moi went on Tuesday to the train station to buy the Carte 12-25.  A card that, for the low, low price of 49E, reduces the purchase of train tickets.  Ashlee was lucky enough to snatch TGV tickets for 39E and 49E online that evening, but one hour later when I tried they were up to 74E and 49E.  (Sans the Carte 12-25, it would be 100E and 80E, though.)  So, realizing that the prices would just keep skyrocketing, Hannah and I caved today and went to the train station to by our tickets!  Even better, we are riding first class for an extra 2E per person!  We decided that that was definitely worth it.  We shall see!  So, departure at 9.40am 21 fevrier, and then returning on the 5.16pm train 1 mars.  

Now all we have to work on is hotel/hostel information, and what we are going to do in Paris, and where else we are going to go during the week.  Suggestions? 

Classes et Sortie a Luberon

So this week has been eventful for two reasons: the first week of classes, and the first Saturday

sortie.

First off, the classes:

AUCP has two required classes- French Cultural Patterns, and either Written and Oral Expression OR Translation.  Luckily, my TEF test results allowed me to place into translation.  Translation was my first choice for two reasons.  One, Written and Oral Expression seemed similar to my Conversation and Composition sequence at Muhlenberg.  If at all possible, I want to use my time in France to expand and broaden as much knowledge as possible.  Following that goal, Translation seems to be a perfect alternative because it allows me to combine my love of language, grammar, style, and editing.  Tuesday being the first class, the professor, Froncesca, gave us the first three pages of David Sedaris' "Holidays on Ice" and basically said "Go to.  I'll tell you on Friday if I think you should stay in the class or not."  Nothing like a little more pressure, right?  The next 75 minutes were spent with the grande dictionnaire, muddling my way through the transition of English text to a language that I have nowhere near mastered.  However, my reservations were settled on Friday when we got back our translations and no one was kicked out.  So far so good.  Even better, I get the feeling that this class is a lot more than mastering French.  As we'll be using different texts and articles, I'll get to expand my pretty much non-existent knowledge of English literature as well as compartmentalizing style and form.  In addition, a wide realm of texts means a wide realm of vocabulaire, which I hope will mean I'll emerge that much closer to being fluent.  

French Cultural Patterns is targeted at understanding the differences between American and French culture so that we can analyze and figure out the root of our stereotypes.  First lesson: stereotypes= bad.  However, generalizations= good.  We are reading two texts.  The first is L'etrangete francaise (for Mondays), a philosophical analytical look at how the French and American cultures emerged and how these beginnings created the difference values and beliefs of the cultures today.  The second is Evidences Invisibles (for Fridays), which looks at more quotidian aspects of the two cultures, pinpointing were the misunderstandings of cultural differences emerge.  The class for the first text is more text and lecture based, whereas the Friday class is more discussion and anecdotal, allowing us to analyze our own personal situations, such as why the French hate it when we smile or why the French don't like to talk to people they don't know.  (Abridged answers: the French value seriousness and believe in expressing the range of human emotions. Conversation is an affirmation of a relationship.  Therefore, if there is no relationship, conversation seems like a personal invasion.)

Art and Archaeology of Ancient Provence is my 3hour block on Wednesday mornings.  This week wasn't so exciting because the first hour was spent going over the syllabus.  The next two hours were going over historical facts and dates of the major civilizations in Antiquity.  My first impression is that the class would be a lot more interesting if the professor would speak faster.  I know that I will get more into it when we start to introduce archaeology/art aspects to the historical aspects and when we know enough that we can start discussing/ participating.  Straight lecture history classes are always dry for me.  

Literature and Painting is sort of a convergence of art history and literature.  It seems like it will be interesting because I can expand upon my general knowledge of art history and see how paintings influenced the literature style of the time.  

My last class is Drawing and Painting, but I am up in the air as to whether I wanted to switch it.  Originally, I signed up for the Painting class because even though it was a general class, its focus would be oil paint, which I am very unfamiliar with.  However, now they've merged the two classes it is going to be a mix of everything.  It sounds like it's well designed and would be beneficial, so I'm now just trying to weigh whether that or a different (non-art) class would be most beneficial.  

Whew!  Okay, on to the more fun part... La Sortie!  AUCP organizes Saturday outings every once in a while, and yesterday's adventure was to the villages of the Luberon, a mountain range about an hour north of Aix.  

Our first stop was Laumarin, which is at the foothills of the Luberon.  It is a medieval town with a fortress, a church, and a pigeonnier, a house for raising pigeons.  We walked around the perimeter of the town before entering to buy food for our picque-nique.  

The next stop was slightly fortuitous.  The small passageway in the mountain range was blocked, so we couldn't go to the planned lunch spot and instead had to detour all the way around the mountains.  We thus got to visit Gordes, which is esteemed to be one of the prettiest towns in France (they should show this every year, we decided!).  I can understand this statement: the town sits on the side of the mountain, and the building code states that the buildings can only be made out of stone.  Our first view of it was definitely impressive: 

The third village is Roussillon, named such because of the reddish color caused my the ochre soil.  We also got to explore the village, and climb in the mountains of ochre.  The colors were incredible!  

It was also interesting because the church interior was completely white, providing a stark contrast to the colorful soil and buildings.  

Also, all of our sorties are with the AUCP group in Marseille, where another Muhlenberg student is studying for the semester! 

Today was another patisserie day in the kitchen.  Coline and I made tiger butter, but since we couldn't get peanut butter, we improvised with Nutella instead.  Then we made cookies a l'americain: chocolate chip!  They came out alright but the recipe needs adjusting.  I'll have to figure out how to convert all my favorite American recipes so we can make those, too!

Fin, I think that about covers it... Props to all of you who made it this far!

Banalisation de l'extraordinaire

     The title of this entry reflects an idea that perfectly sums up the sensation that being in France has brought this far.  Simply put, if everything is elevated to the level of the extraordinary, than nothing can remain extraordinary.  While it is incomprehensible that I am actually in France, when I don't stop to think about it, everything seems perfectly normal.  While this past week has been full of firsts, there is also strange familiarity of it all. 

     My first 'first' was the 8am bus journey, which brings me to the rotonde in Centre Ville.  From there, I have to walk 15 minutes to the university.  

The building where we will have most of our classes.

    The schedule this week basically followed the same format.  We were greeted the first day with testing for placements... 3 hours TEF (test d'evaluation du francais) and then another that indexes our identity and perception of cultural differences.  After morning sessions with Lilli, the director of the program, we had classes in the afternoon designed to help us orientate ourselves to living in Aix: tours of the city, where to get cell phones, best places for lunch, etc. Our days ended around 5.30 or 6, which meant that by the time I got home, it was already 7 o'clock!  We were very grateful for our 2 hour lunch breaks, which allowed us to find food and have our first explorations of the city of Aix.  It is very beautiful: tree lined street, cafes abound, and so many fountains!  

     The most amusing part of the week was the 3 hour "Savoir Faire" class that we had on Friday morning.  So that you, too, can be culturally aware, here are the crucial points.  Never say bonjour more than once a day to the same person.  When setting a French table, the fork can technically face up or down, but the true French have it facing down.  Most importantly, though, is knowing how to give bises.  We spent a fair amount of time learning about this most-important yet impossible-to-master topic.  One kiss, two kiss, three kiss, four?  Lips, no lips? Answer: anything goes!  So we could practice taking social cues, we split into two lines to practice greeting and receiving.  45 minutes and plenty of kisses later, we felt we had progressed nicely in the bisous category.  

     The other revelation of the week was that of our language partners: French students learning English with whom we will have 1h of French and 1h of English conversation per week. Friday night, Hannah, Ashlee, and I went out for crepes with our partners.  Interesting discovery: the reason why we don't sound convincingly French isn't expressly because of our accents, but because of our rhythm!  Yesterday, we went into Centre Ville with the intention to dine before our bus lines stop at 8pm, only to discover that restaurants don't open for dinner until 7pm!  I also watched my first anime film with Coline.  Today, it was sunny for the first time so after dejeuner, we went for a walk in a nearby park.  Despite the unprecedented amount of rain here this past week, the January weather here is certainly nothing like what I left in Maine!

     I am looking forward to starting classes tomorrow, if only because it means a break from the orientation schedule.  We can try out all the classes this week before solidifying our schedules on Friday.  I've been impressed with the professors I've met so far, but I'll certainly know more by the end of the week.  

a la prochaine!

Lauren

 

   

Je suis arrivee!

Bonjour a tous!

     After much anticipation, two weeks of packing, and 17 hours of travel, I have arrived in Aix!  My first view of Provence once we poked through the clouds were the mountains, had a jagged stone shape unlike any others I've seen.  Much to my surprise, calling my host family earlier this week was more nerve-wracking than actually meeting them, if only because I was quite tired by the time I finally arrived at  9.30am (3.30 my time).  Laurence, my host mom, greeted my with a name sign, and after some creative placement of the bags in her tres petit car, we were on our way.  The car ride was full of questions about my life.  I also found out about the 14cm of snow last week- because of it, everything was paralyzed (Sort of like my experience in Pennsylvanie, I told her!) But, the children were happy sledding and making there bonhommes de neige, so tout va bien.  

     Still unsure about where of with whom I might be living, as we approached the house, I was told it was an appartement.  I first met Coline when I entered, who is in her 6ieme annee, so she is 10 1/2.  Cesar, Laurence told me, is obviously still sleeping because he is a typical 17 year old.  ("Oh, adolescence", Coline piped in.)  I have my own room with windows like the "bonjour" scene a la Beauty and the Beast.  After a little unpacking, Laurence told me the regular Saturday routine- tennis for Cesar and horseback riding for Coline, so I went along to see the stables.  I then got a demi-tour of Aix, seeing the bus routes and the university.  The rest of the day was mostly full of information I could only respond with various "oui, d'accord, ah bon, je vois, okay."  Soaking up all this new information (and in another language, no less!) is exhausting!  Later in the afternoon, Laurence's friend Valerie came with a gateau des rois, a king's cake, which has a piece of porcelain baked inside.  According to tradition, la petite de la famille announces to whom each of the pieces go.  Whoever gets the piece because king for the day (en fait, it was Laurence).  All in all, it was a very good introduction to la vie francaise.  

     Today, it was a "dimanche typique" a la maison.  Coline and I baked cookies- the perfect thing to do on a cloudy day!  Chocolate dough enveloping a piece of chocolate which of course melted when baked.  (Not French though, Jamie Oliver, the Naked Chef).  I learned that she loves Avril Lavigne and Coldplay, and like Blair, who I babysit for during the summer, her favorite show is Saddle Club!  It's nice to know that that on either side of the Atlantique, ten year olds are quite alike.  

C'est tout for now.  Tomorrow starts orientation a l'universite. 

a bientot!

Lauren

Par hasard, here is my contact information:

Lauren Jensen

American University Center of Provence

19, cour des Arts et Metiers

13100, Aix-en-Provence, France

And since I have internet, here is my skype: lauren.e.jensen