Thoughts

Sooooo.....yes. I know I'm a day late....I apologize for that. A lot of stuff yesterday blew up...like booking my trip to Amsterdam for next weekend!!!! That means I had to put this post off for a day...I apologize for my lack of punctuality this week.

Moving forward to this week's topic:

I don't know if the title tipped you off on this or not, but this week, I'm going to give you a little window into simply what has been going through my mind on a random basis. These thoughts range from what I miss about America, to a little food stand in town that I really want to try, to a random thought about a person on the street.

1. "Man, these buses are actually really punctual." This is actually something that went through my head a lot for the first few weeks and now, not so much. I think it could have something to do with the fact that there has been a pretty large demolition project on my route that has been taking away a full lane of traffic. Either way, I think the bus system here is much better than anything I've experienced in America. Some of my friends here would probably disagree, but believe me, taking the bus, no matter how punctual it is or isn't, is a MUCH better alternative than walking the 2 miles to the city to get to class everyday.

2. "Holy crap, I'm in France." This thought goes through my head a little more often than I would like to admit...I've been here almost a month, so you'd think I'd be used to Aix by now and be able to call it home...This is not the case. This thought usually occurs after a class that has been particularly entertaining. I'll leave class to go to The Cave (a hangout and homework area here at school) and while I'm walking, I'll hear French all around me and think, "Holy crap, I'm in France."

The really cool part of that is that I can understand a lot more of what I'm hearing than I could when I first arrived. Even my host mom has told me on multiple occasions that my French has gotten wayyyy better since my first day here. That is without a doubt the best compliment I have received in the past month. I'm hoping that I'll be kind of close to fluent by the time my family comes to celebrate Christmas with me here.

3. "Todd Helton just retired and I didn't get to see his last game at Coors Field." This thought definitely dominated my mind today. I've grown up watching the Toddfather play first base for the Colorado Rockies and he became my favorite player of all time. Hell, he's the reason why I wore 17 for most of my youth baseball "career." I would have given anything to be in Denver last night to see how it all played out even just with my family in front of a TV.

I will always remember the iconic image of him throwing his arms in the air after catching throw from Troy Tulowitzki for the final out in the 2007 NLCS. Words cannot describe how much Todd Helton meant to my childhood and my life with baseball. He is one of the main reasons why I fell in love with the sport in the first place. He will definitely be missed in the Denver sports world.

4. "Man, I really want to try that place!" This thought goes through my head all the time. I could not even begin to list the restaurants I walk by on a daily basis that I want to try but haven't had a chance to yet. French food is amazing (obviously) and the restaurants are as well. I have been able to try a number of great restaurants since being here, but it seems like the list is always growing and will never be conquered. Which is fine, because it will just give me another excuse to come back all the time for the rest of my life.

5. "THESE YACHTS ARE AMAZING!!" Ok, I'll admit it: this thought didn't go through my head while I was in Aix. SHOCKER, I know. While we spent a day in Saint Tropez last weekend, we walked by some of the most amazing and biggest yachts I have ever seen. One even had automatic doors to get inside, because, ya know, why not?? That day I vowed that I will own a yacht at some point in my life, even if I have to wait until I'm into my 60's.

I think I am going to stop there for now with my random thoughts. I know this post is a bit shorter than the other three, but time is running short and I need to head out to meet some people to start the night.

But before I go, I will update you on what I have been doing for the past week and what is on tap for the next week.

This past weekend was a fairly relaxed one compared to what I've been experiencing for the first three weeks. We just spent Saturday in Saint Tropez seeing yachts and then going to an AMAZING beach. That definitely has been my favorite day trip so far. Saint Tropez is an awesome seaside town. I know that I'll be back as much as I possibly can (when I can afford it).

This weekend, as in tomorrow, I'm heading to Nice again, but for the weekend this time. I'm heading there with one of my friends. I'll be riding the TGV for the first time and I'm really excited to finally travel like a local. I'm really looking forward to a nice relaxed weekend of eating local seafood and spending a lot of downtime on the beach.

I apologize for the lack of pictures this week. I didn't take many good pictures over the weekend. If you want to see the kind of yachts I saw, just google "huge yachts in Saint Tropez." I guarantee that you'll find what we saw.

Until next Wednesday (hopefully), have a great week and I hope you enjoyed this week's installment of my life abroad!!

Stereotypes

I can't believe it's already Wednesday again!! On my walk to the bus this morning, I realized that I owed all of you another post tonight and thought, "Wait, didn't I just do one a few days ago?" That's just how quickly time is passing by and I'm still absolutely loving every second here.

Anyway, over the past week I was thinking hard about what to write about in this week's entry, and I thought that a good topic to cover would be addressing some (no, not all) of the popular stereotypes I, along with many other Americans tend to have about the French.

A little side-note: everything in this post is solely based on the experiences I've had so far. These are, by no means, the end-all-be-all explanations of them. Remember, I've spent my time here only in the south of France. The culture differs greatly further north (you know, around Paris).

Ok, here we go...

1. The French Hate Americans: This is probably the most popular stereotype Americans hold about the French and it is 100% false, as far as I'm concerned. However, it makes sense as to why many people (myself included) think/thought this. The French are extremely proud of their heritage and of their culture. Does that sound familiar? Does that sound like how we view our own American heritage and culture? It's not so much that the French don't like Americans. It has more to do with the fact that two extremely proud cultures tend to butt heads when put together.

I found one simple remedy to this conundrum (if you can even call it that): I am embracing the French culture and paying attention to as many social queues as I possibly can. Not only do the French immensely appreciate this, they often can't even tell that I'm not from France.

I must say that this is the one stereotype I was happiest to learn was untrue. Of course I have a huge amount of pride being American, so France was always kind of a sore subject before this trip. I would always joke with friends before leaving that I would definitely pretend to be Canadian. I can happily report that I can tell people that I am American without any trepidation.

2. All French People Smoke: This is one incredible exaggeration, but it's not far off....As I mentioned in my last post, I absolutely cannot stand how much cigarette smoke I have to walk through on a daily basis. However, not everyone here smokes. I have seen some French people have a similar reaction as mine when walking through someone's secondhand smoke.

The main difference between America and France, I think is the stigma associated with smoking. In America, it is seen as an annoying habit that no one should ever take up, unless you're drunk, of course (even then, I don't see why it's a good idea). However, here, there is no negative stigma associated with smoking. Sure, there is the routine warning on every pack of cigarettes, but it's almost a social symbol here.

To my host-mother's credit (she does smoke, unfortunately) because when she asked if I smoke when I arrived and I told her no, she commended me for avoiding it. That told me that the French do know it is bad for them, but many just don't care.

3. The French People Are Arrogant and Rude: This is just not true. They are, however, more standoffish than most Americans are used to. Think of the last time you walked down the street or across campus. How many people did you exchange smiles with? A lot? A few? Chances are you exchanged smiles with a number of friends and strangers. People in America are generally quite friendly with each other. A simple smile on the street is just a gesture of goodwill.

It is completely different in France. Here, exchanging courtesy smiles on the street just is not part of the culture. A smile on the street might mean something completely different and might have an ulterior motive associated with it. This is one of the main reasons why, I think, people see the French as arrogant and rude. They just don't smile much. It is not a reflection of anyone's character.

This took me at least a week to get used to. At home, I smile at nearly everyone I pass on the street or on campus at DU. It took me by surprise to a certain extent when I wouldn't get any smile in return on my walk to school. Once I realized that it was just the French keeping more to themselves and it wasn't a reflection of what they saw in me, I got used to it and I have embraced that way of interacting with strangers, at least for the time being.

4. The French Smell Awful and Never Shower: No. Just no. In no advanced civilization is this actually socially acceptable. Even my host-mom wants me to shower everyday and she makes sure it happens. I can't even have the occasional lazy day!! I have not passed by someone who smells extremely awful once. Sure, there are some people who have bad body odor, but there are people who are cursed with that everywhere.

As far as I'm concerned, I think the French are MORE aware of their hygiene than Americans. People in France care about how they present themselves. From their finely coiffed hair, to their (usually) great sense of style, to how they smell, and even how they walk, they care about how others see them. I think this is a quality more people in America could embrace.

5. The French Have No Sense of Urgency: This one is absolutely true, especially in the south of France. I won't say that there are no such things as deadlines, but there is just no urgency to get anything done. This would drive many Americans and most of my friends absolutely crazy. Coming here was a complete change of pace from America. Things just don't move as quickly here.

View of the city of Marseille from Notre Dame de la Garde

For example, over the weekend, we went on a day trip to Marseille (I know, SO far away, all of a 20 minute bus ride away). After we spent an hour at a GORGEOUS chapel overlooking Marseille, we went down into the city for lunch and to check out the city. We were pretty hungry, so we decided to sit down and try some of the Marseillaise cuisine, AKA seafood. We ordered, and about an hour and a half later, our food arrived at our table. This would never be acceptable in America, but here it is practically expected (thank goodness no tip is expected here...). The mussels were delectable, but, from an American point of view, they really weren't worth the wait. From a French point of view? It was just another lazy Sunday.

This way of life permeates life beyond the restaurants. There is a huuuuuge project happening downtown on one end of the Cours Mirabeau (big street that is kind of the center of Aix). They are improving the sidewalks and planting some new trees and making the entire thing look amazing. They've been working on this since at least a month or two before we arrived and they've barely made any progress. I haven't had a chance to see when they were planning on finishing this project, but I know that in our fast-paced society in America, they would be feeling the public's pressure to pick up the pace. Here? It's normal. It's really not a big deal to the locals.

To be completely honest, now that I've gotten used to it to an extent, I rather like the change of pace. Everything is always GO GO GO at home. It has been nice to slow down and experience the present rather than always thinking and worrying about the future. If nothing else, the past two and a half weeks have taught me that the future can wait; it's coming no matter what I do to prepare.

Now, here's a little update on what I've been up to over the past week and what's on tap for the coming week:

This past weekend, we went on two day trips around the south of France. On Saturday, we spent the day in Nice and went to the beach. It was absolutely GORGEOUS. Then on Sunday, we spent the afternoon and evening in Marseille. We saw an AMAZING church which happens to sit on the highest ground in Marseille and provided some amazing views of the city.

The center candle is the one I lit

This weekend, on Saturday, I'm going to Saint Tropez with a number of people from IAU and some other friends from other study abroad programs here in Aix. Don't worry, I will definitely be posting some pictures from that trip on here next week.

While we were at Notre Dame de la Garde in Marseille over the weekend, I said a prayer for everyone back home living through the rains and the flooding and I lit a candle for you. Even though I am over here having the time of my life, I haven't forgotten home and what has been going on. You have been in everyone's thoughts and prayers here. We all hope that you're safe and sound.

I hope you all have a great week ahead and I will be shooting another one of these out to you in cyberspace next week!!

Beach in Nice

Same Beach in Nice

Inside Notre Dame de la Garde

Ceiling of Notre Dame de la Garde

Grimbergen

As I mentioned in last week's post, I wanted to go above and beyond a simple "this is what has been happening in my life" blog.

Don't get me wrong, my life has been absolutely jam-packed with adventures all over the south of France, but this trip is about much more than simply going on adventures in Europe. As cliche as this is going to sound (and it is VERY cliche, I know), this trip truly is about finding out who I truly am. That is the secondary intent of the blog (the first obviously is letting you all in on my life and what is going through my head here).

So without further ado, my first "deep," if you can even call it that, blog post: some of my favorite and not-so-favorite things about Aix-en-Provence.

Favorite

Food:
Honestly, I think this one was a given. I have not had a single bad meal since being here. If you're friends with me on Facebook you'll know that even the Mexican food here is to die for. The pasta Carbonara that I have had on multiple occasions from a little hole-in-the-wall just up the street from IAU (school). But again, you can't go wrong with the croque-monsieur from another little hole-in-the-wall just down the street from IAU in the other direction. I could go on and on and on about the food here, and I'm sure there will be many more discussions related to it throughout the semester.

Alcohol:

I don't mean this in the American "drink to get drunk" way. I mean that alcohol is one of my favorite things here because the way it works here, it adds to any social situation, rather than detracts from it, as it does all too often in America. Here, we haven't really gone out to get absolutely hammered, though I won't deny that some of us have ended up that way after a few too many drinks, cause hey, we ARE still in college! However, in my experiences so far, alcohol acts as a catalyst in social situations. Every night, at dinner with my host mom, she gives me a glass of wine. That single glass, while not enough to really even give me a buzz, is enough to lower my inhibitions enough to take some chances with the French language. The same can be said about when we go out at night.

Grimbergen:

I suppose this could fall under the alcohol category, but I wanted to give some explanation for the title of this post. Grimbergen is one of my new favorite beers and my favorite drink when we go out at night. If you want an American beer to compare it to, it is very similar to Blue Moon or Shock Top, though it is not exactly the same. It is a wheat ale, which is one of the reasons why I like it so much. But it has a very distinct flavor to it. I can't quite put my finger (or taste-bud) on it. If you're ever in Europe and have the chance to try it, I would most definitely recommend it!

Public Transportation:

I know, this is one that you would have expected to fall under the least favorite parts of Aix, but answer me this, can you say that you ride to work or school in a Mercedes every single day? I didn't think so. Every single bus in Aix was manufactured by Mercedes-Benz. This is the first time in my life that I actually look forward to riding the bus everyday. The only downfall to public transportation here is that it only runs until about 11 at night and isn't working on Sundays, but again, I get to ride in a Mercedes everyday.

The City:

I realize how vague that sounds and kind of is. But I love everything about Aix so far. It is extremely easy to get around, the buildings all look as though they come out of a story from the 1400s (which they kind of do), and the infrastructure is actually quite good. In just a week and a half, I know my way around a large portion of the city. In contrast, it took roughly 3 and a half to 4 weeks as a delivery driver this summer to truly get a feel for the streets of downtown Denver which isn't that large of a city. By no means is Aix a large city (under 200,000 people live here), but it isn't laid out in a grid like every American city is. I feel like I am really getting a feel for Aix and I can't wait to become more of an expert by the time I leave in December.

Friends:

As cliche'd as it is, I have made some AMAZING friends since coming here a two weekends ago. The best part is, not all of them are American. I have made friends from Sweden, Canada, France (obviously), Brazil, Italy, and a number of other countries. These are the people that I talk to on a nightly basis whenever we go out as a group. My friends from IAU though have been a true blessing. I came here feeling extremely alone with very few people outside of my family to turn to. After a week and a half, I have so many more real friends, and I must say, two of them stand out more than others: Diego and Jared. The three of us have been practically inseparable since we met each other the day after we arrived in Aix. In fact, we struggled on the bus back from La Ciotat to figure out who sat where because there were only two seats in each row. That is how ridiculously awesome our friendship has become.

Least Favorite:

Smokers:

In the week and a half that I've been here, I think I have inhaled more secondhand smoke than I had in my previous 20 years of life combined. It is downright awful. Yes, I know, I'm in France, so I might as well deal with it, and I am. I don't exactly have a choice! But if there was one singular thing I could change about France, it would be the prevalence of smoking. I thought it was bad when I had to ask someone to put their cigarette out on campus at DU. I would absolutely kill to have that atmosphere here right now.

Walking in the City:

Before coming to Aix, I've never walked somewhere on a regular basis wondering if I was going to get hit by a car or by a motorcycle. Those days are gone for the next four months. One of the most annoying things about this city is that pedestrians and vehicles share the street. Downtown, many of the streets are one way and double as a sidewalk and road. I have almost gotten hit by a side mirror so many times that I've lost count. It's not like I have much room to dodge them either. When I'm trying to dodge the car itself, I have to basically rub my shoulder on the wall of a building, so I can't really make any more of an effort to avoid the mirror. After the smoking situation, this is the most annoying part of walking in Aix.

Distance:

I live about 2 miles from downtown Aix which is why I have to take the bus to and from class everyday. However, it is not the bus situation that makes me hate the fact that I live so far from downtown, as I mentioned above. It is the fact that late at night, after my night has ended, I have to walk those two miles home. Yes, it will help put me in better shape, but tell that to my aching feet every night. I think I walk an average of 4 or 5 miles everyday that ends with me going out that night. In the sense that I really am trying to get into better shape, I absolutely love this. But the lazy, more dominant side of me absolutely hates it.

I'm sure that I could come up with more topics in each category, but I think this is a good place to stop for now. I am having the time of my life here in Aix. And outside of the smoking situation, I would not trade a single thing for the world right now.

Classes started yesterday and I really think I am going to enjoy every single one of the classes I signed up for. I will have a discussion on my classes in a few weeks, so if you're interested in that, keep logging back on and reading my blog!!

As far as what I've been doing during my time here, we've been extremely busy. Of course we've been going to and from class this week, but over the weekend, we had an excursion to the beach at La Ciotat, a small town on the Mediterranean Sea near Cassis. It is an absolutely gorgeous town with some awesome beaches. While we were there, we had the opportunity to swim in the Mediterranean, which I most definitely did. It might have been a mistake as I cut my hand and my foot. The rocks underwater are extremely sharp and many of us learned that the hard way, unfortunately. It most definitely did not take away from how amazing that day was, though.

While we (the early-start program attendees) were in La Ciotat, the rest of the program arrived to Aix and we are slowly starting to meet everyone and continue to make more amazing friends!!

Last note before I sign off and go to bed: you are not going to want to miss next week's blog. We are going to Nice and Monaco on Saturday. I am sure I will be raving about everything from that day. It is one trip that I've been looking forward to since I found out that I was coming to Aix for this semester.

Until next week, good night and have a great week. Thanks for logging on and taking the time to read about my life in Aix-en-Provence!!

The Start of Something Amazing

Well, the day finally came last Friday (August 30th): the day I would leave the life I had come to know and love so well to venture to a city I had barely heard of. After these past five days, I can truly say that stepping onto that plane in Minneapolis to leave America was the best decision I have ever made.

My trip started as most trips do: nothing special. On Friday, I flew from Denver to Minneapolis (whose airport is absolutely AMAZING), Minneapolis to Paris, and then Paris to Marseille. In all, the trip took roughly 18 or 19 hours and somehow I was lucky enough to sit in "Premium Economy" on my flight to Paris. Essentially this means that I got to sit in an aged First Class section. This definitely set the tone for what else was to come once I arrived.

When I finally made it to the Marseille airport, understandably, I was absolutely exhausted. That didn't mean that I wouldn't be greeted by one of the most exuberant and happy people I've ever met: my host mother, Camille. She immediately saw me and we exchanged bisous (you know, the French/European thing of going cheek-to-cheek twice and making a kissing sound). From that moment forward, I have spoken no English whatsoever with her.I truly believe that I got really lucky in that sense. One of my main goals for while I am here is to become (mostly) fluent.

As soon as we arrived at her house on Saturday afternoon, I realized that I would be living a pretty considerable distance away from downtown Aix and school (roughly a 2 mile walk). At first, I thought that this was going to be a nightmare. But then I found out that the public transportation system in Aix is absolutely amazing. Its buses are extremely clean, the drivers are very helpful and polite, and they STAY ON TIME. which is definitely key.

Anyway, the first night I was here, I think Camille noticed that I was somewhat tired but also quite stressed and overwhelmed by the fact that I was in a brand new place with a totally different language. Because of this, she offered me a glass of Scotch Whiskey on the rocks before dinner. It was exactly what I needed.

After that drink came the French dinner....my, oh my, the French dinner....

Many French families serve their dinner in a few different ways. Camille serves the main course followed by having a baguette with some AMAZING cheese followed by dessert. In America, generally, we stop with just the main course unless dessert is in the works. Here, it is absolutely expected that you eat all of that without worrying about getting too full. It is, however, acceptable to say "Je n'ai plus faim" which means I'm no longer hungry. But the food is just so good that you almost never want to say that. In a later blog, I will offer a rundown of what the Provencale cuisine is like because it will take up an entire blog entry to even scratch the surface.

Back to the summary of my time here...on Sunday, I slept the day away on accident. Jet lag definitely got the best of me that day. That afternoon, though, I got my first taste of the city of Aix. Camille drove us downtown and we walked to my school for an open house to just get to know many of my fellow classmates. From the second I set foot in the IAU building, I knew I had found some amazing people. We all hit it off with each other immediately and even started making plans to get to Oktoberfest.

After that, the Immersion Program started. We have been spending all day everyday in downtown Aix getting to know each other and the city. Among the MANY things we've done this week include a Provencale cooking class on Tuesday, a wine tasting and tour of the vineyard at Chateau La Coste on Wednesday, and going to the French market to get some fresh produce before having a picnic at one of the most gorgeous parks I've ever seen.

After all of this during the day, we went out in Aix to experience the nightlife and my goodness, Aix has a great nightlife scene. The bars are always a lot of fun, and though we haven't actually gone to any of the discotheques (dance clubs), we are definitely planning on doing so this weekend.

I have made so many friends from all over the United States and all over the world over the past 5 days that I'm legitimately shocked that my head isn't still spinning. I can honestly say that choosing to come to Aix a week early was the best decision I could have made for study abroad. That is not to say that my experience here would be any worse if I hadn't come when I did. I'm sure that it would be. This week has been integral in shaping what my experience here is going to be like for the next 4 months.

I would like to sincerely apologize if this blog entry has kind of danced around and makes no sense. Today, I've been running on a total of 9 and a half hours of sleep over the past three days. That nightlife is really having an effect on me!! It is most definitely worth it, though!

I wanted this first blog to be a kind of rundown on what we've been doing here since I arrived. In the coming months, I'm hoping to have more thought-provoking and reflective entries because, after all, that's what Study Abroad is all about, isn't it??

I will see you all (well not actually, but in a way) next Wednesday for another quick peek into my life as a student in Aix-en-Provence!!!