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
