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!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment