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!!
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