Let me start with the most sincere of apologies for being so bad at keeping up with this blog. I guess it's been about 3 weeks since my last one, I suck, I know. I'm sorry.
I've been having a good time since then though! We went on a trip to Monaco and Nice - beaches, casinos, and the medieval town of Eze. Nice was our first stop, everybody seemed to love it. Personally, I could take it or leave it. It was tons of fun to visit, and considering we only have about 5 hours to explore the city, I'd go back. But I'd compare it to Florida -- anyone that lives there probably moved there from somewhere else, and the rest of the country just visits for vacation. Don't get me wrong, it was just as beautiful as everyone will say on their own blogs, but it gets a rating of "underwhelming" from me. I liked Monaco a lot better, the position of the tiny tax-less country teetering on the edge of the moutainous mediterranean shore was simply more appealing to me. The layout of the city being more interesting, and the overall feeling that you're not living in the "real world" -- that it's a haven away from stress and strife, as surreal and inconceivable as that might be -- was a lovely way to spend an afternoon. We also visited Monte Carlo Casino while we were there, which was fun because we got all dressed up and got to spend the night out on the town, so to speak. But I discovered I am not a gambler. I spent 5 euros on a slot machine, lost 20 cents, and quit playing for the night. I went and found some gelato instead. Money much better spent.
Eze was really fascinating to me. I wish we would've had a bit more time to wander the old town, shop in the itty bitty stores, and eat at the claustrophobic-sized restaurants. The town is carved into the side of a mountain, its twisting streets more narrow than a small alleyway, and built completely out of the stone it's built upon. I love being in the middle of towns that old; it makes me think about the people who built it and the sheer number of people who have lived there -- who have walked there. The stories that must be tied to it. It's so amazing to think about the history of a place like that.
That was only one weekend...If you'll forgive me, I'll just word-vomit all over this post about what else has happened in the last three weeks.
I've spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to budget myself week-by-week and fail almost every single day to stay within my budget. The boulangeries just smell so good! And the coffee is just so convenient! And the clothes are just so cute! And travelling is just so easy! I swear, I can't be blamed for my poor ability to abide by a simple budget. I'm also an English major, so, numbers are not my thing to begin with.
My housemate and I have have received several notes in our rooms, taped on doors, balanced on our trashcans, etc. explaining the little things that we are doing incorrectly. Including, but not limited to, not wearing or storing our shoes in our rooms, not locking the door properly, throwing away the wrong garbage in our rooms, and storing food incorrectly in our rooms (even though we aren't supposed to keep 'too much' food in the kitchen). There's also this small detail of laundry... she won't show us how to use the washing macine. She'll let us put our clothes in the machine and take them out of the machine, but she won't let us push the start button while we're standing there. I can't say I blame her though, I have a very particular way of doing things in my own house at home too...so I see where she's coming from.
There's also the case of the mysterious missing toilet seat. This isn't new; we haven't had one since arriving. But it's still a curious situation considering there are holes in the toilet where a seat was once attached, it's just...no longer there. And have I described the shower construction? No? Well, it's a bathtub with a handheld shower attachment, no curtain, and nowhere to put the handheld so I can stand under it......Ahhh yes, the nuances of living in a stranger's home in a different country. As my creative writing professor pointed out last week: we must adjust to our circumstance, circumstances don't adjust to us. (I forget who said that though, my professor was using a quote).
Speaking of the nuances of a new living situation, we've also recently acquired another (part-time?) resident. Lauren and I aren't sure who she is. Her name is Corinne (I think), and the only concrete fact we have is that she goes to school with my host-sister MaryLou. Sometimes she sleeps here, and sometimes she doesn't, but we're never quite sure when she'll be here or when she won't be. There's a possibility she's the niece to our host-parents, but we aren't positive. And we can't ask because we're fairly certain they explained all of this to us at dinner the first night she was here, and we just didn't understand. Because, you know, they speak French, and our conversational ability stops at about "ca va? Oui, ca va." So instead of asking more about it, we just kind of smiled and nodded and continued eating...had I known she'd be another person to share our bathroom with in the mornings, I probably would've asked more questions.
Moving onto to school: Classes are all going really well..at least I hope so. That's the impression I'm getting anyway. I'm liking them, and my professors have been beyond generous with the lightness of my homework load so far. I have a feeling everything's about to pick up real quick though. My class on comparing educational systems has a portion that requires us to teach French kids English once a week, and even though I've only been twice so far, I'm really enjoying it.
I've gotten to the point where I can perform simple interactions with French locals completely in French and they don't even suspect me as a non-native speaker! (Okay, they can probably still tell. But, at least they don't immediately answer me in English when I try to order something off a menu). It's the small victories that keep you going, right? However, every time I say something, I pray that they don't ask me a follow-up question. Because I generally only rehearse the predictable responses beforehand -- I can't handle a fully spontaneous conversation yet...
I just got back yesterday from visiting Emily Yost (you better read this now that I've given you a shout-out, Emily!) in Malaga, Spain. Soo muchh funnn! Malaga is such a cool city, and if anyone reading this is ever in Spain, you should definitely make an effort to see Malaga. Besides the city itself being thoroughly enjoyable, it was so nice to see a familiar face and hang out with a friend from school after being gone for so long. Not to mention being able to sit/read/nap on a beach in October!
AND! If you do make it to Malaga, go to this cupcake boutique: http://juliacupcakesmalaga.blogspot.fr/
I am not kidding. Go! Buy a ticket to Spain and buy a cupcake from Julia Cupcakes...that one cupcake will be worth the entire trip. I had two while I was visiting -- one right as they were closing for the night, and one the next morning before they were even finished opening. I will forever remember this place as the best cupcakes I have ever tasted in my entire life, their apple-spice and cinnamon cupcakes...just YUM. My mouth is salivating just thinking about the cupcakes from there. Guys, they are SO good. I'm contemplating having Emily send me an assorted box of cupcakes now.
There was also a weekend in which absolutely nothing I had planned worked in my favor. Aix is known to have very, very, small amounts of rainfall throughout the year, so of course the weekend where I plan to do things outside everyday is the weekend that it rains everyday. Including storming on us as we attempt to hike Mt. Saint-Victoire and getting so soaked that it took my hoodie two and a half days to dry out. But, that means I've got all of my bad-karma and travel-mishaps out of the way, right? Here's to hoping, anyway.
I'm going to stop this post now, it's getting long. But I promise I'll post again before Friday! There are things I want to write about still, so, that will keep me motivated in my blogging this week.
I've been having a good time since then though! We went on a trip to Monaco and Nice - beaches, casinos, and the medieval town of Eze. Nice was our first stop, everybody seemed to love it. Personally, I could take it or leave it. It was tons of fun to visit, and considering we only have about 5 hours to explore the city, I'd go back. But I'd compare it to Florida -- anyone that lives there probably moved there from somewhere else, and the rest of the country just visits for vacation. Don't get me wrong, it was just as beautiful as everyone will say on their own blogs, but it gets a rating of "underwhelming" from me. I liked Monaco a lot better, the position of the tiny tax-less country teetering on the edge of the moutainous mediterranean shore was simply more appealing to me. The layout of the city being more interesting, and the overall feeling that you're not living in the "real world" -- that it's a haven away from stress and strife, as surreal and inconceivable as that might be -- was a lovely way to spend an afternoon. We also visited Monte Carlo Casino while we were there, which was fun because we got all dressed up and got to spend the night out on the town, so to speak. But I discovered I am not a gambler. I spent 5 euros on a slot machine, lost 20 cents, and quit playing for the night. I went and found some gelato instead. Money much better spent.
Eze was really fascinating to me. I wish we would've had a bit more time to wander the old town, shop in the itty bitty stores, and eat at the claustrophobic-sized restaurants. The town is carved into the side of a mountain, its twisting streets more narrow than a small alleyway, and built completely out of the stone it's built upon. I love being in the middle of towns that old; it makes me think about the people who built it and the sheer number of people who have lived there -- who have walked there. The stories that must be tied to it. It's so amazing to think about the history of a place like that.
That was only one weekend...If you'll forgive me, I'll just word-vomit all over this post about what else has happened in the last three weeks.
I've spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to budget myself week-by-week and fail almost every single day to stay within my budget. The boulangeries just smell so good! And the coffee is just so convenient! And the clothes are just so cute! And travelling is just so easy! I swear, I can't be blamed for my poor ability to abide by a simple budget. I'm also an English major, so, numbers are not my thing to begin with.
My housemate and I have have received several notes in our rooms, taped on doors, balanced on our trashcans, etc. explaining the little things that we are doing incorrectly. Including, but not limited to, not wearing or storing our shoes in our rooms, not locking the door properly, throwing away the wrong garbage in our rooms, and storing food incorrectly in our rooms (even though we aren't supposed to keep 'too much' food in the kitchen). There's also this small detail of laundry... she won't show us how to use the washing macine. She'll let us put our clothes in the machine and take them out of the machine, but she won't let us push the start button while we're standing there. I can't say I blame her though, I have a very particular way of doing things in my own house at home too...so I see where she's coming from.
There's also the case of the mysterious missing toilet seat. This isn't new; we haven't had one since arriving. But it's still a curious situation considering there are holes in the toilet where a seat was once attached, it's just...no longer there. And have I described the shower construction? No? Well, it's a bathtub with a handheld shower attachment, no curtain, and nowhere to put the handheld so I can stand under it......Ahhh yes, the nuances of living in a stranger's home in a different country. As my creative writing professor pointed out last week: we must adjust to our circumstance, circumstances don't adjust to us. (I forget who said that though, my professor was using a quote).
Speaking of the nuances of a new living situation, we've also recently acquired another (part-time?) resident. Lauren and I aren't sure who she is. Her name is Corinne (I think), and the only concrete fact we have is that she goes to school with my host-sister MaryLou. Sometimes she sleeps here, and sometimes she doesn't, but we're never quite sure when she'll be here or when she won't be. There's a possibility she's the niece to our host-parents, but we aren't positive. And we can't ask because we're fairly certain they explained all of this to us at dinner the first night she was here, and we just didn't understand. Because, you know, they speak French, and our conversational ability stops at about "ca va? Oui, ca va." So instead of asking more about it, we just kind of smiled and nodded and continued eating...had I known she'd be another person to share our bathroom with in the mornings, I probably would've asked more questions.
Moving onto to school: Classes are all going really well..at least I hope so. That's the impression I'm getting anyway. I'm liking them, and my professors have been beyond generous with the lightness of my homework load so far. I have a feeling everything's about to pick up real quick though. My class on comparing educational systems has a portion that requires us to teach French kids English once a week, and even though I've only been twice so far, I'm really enjoying it.
I've gotten to the point where I can perform simple interactions with French locals completely in French and they don't even suspect me as a non-native speaker! (Okay, they can probably still tell. But, at least they don't immediately answer me in English when I try to order something off a menu). It's the small victories that keep you going, right? However, every time I say something, I pray that they don't ask me a follow-up question. Because I generally only rehearse the predictable responses beforehand -- I can't handle a fully spontaneous conversation yet...
I just got back yesterday from visiting Emily Yost (you better read this now that I've given you a shout-out, Emily!) in Malaga, Spain. Soo muchh funnn! Malaga is such a cool city, and if anyone reading this is ever in Spain, you should definitely make an effort to see Malaga. Besides the city itself being thoroughly enjoyable, it was so nice to see a familiar face and hang out with a friend from school after being gone for so long. Not to mention being able to sit/read/nap on a beach in October!
AND! If you do make it to Malaga, go to this cupcake boutique: http://juliacupcakesmalaga.blogspot.fr/
I am not kidding. Go! Buy a ticket to Spain and buy a cupcake from Julia Cupcakes...that one cupcake will be worth the entire trip. I had two while I was visiting -- one right as they were closing for the night, and one the next morning before they were even finished opening. I will forever remember this place as the best cupcakes I have ever tasted in my entire life, their apple-spice and cinnamon cupcakes...just YUM. My mouth is salivating just thinking about the cupcakes from there. Guys, they are SO good. I'm contemplating having Emily send me an assorted box of cupcakes now.
There was also a weekend in which absolutely nothing I had planned worked in my favor. Aix is known to have very, very, small amounts of rainfall throughout the year, so of course the weekend where I plan to do things outside everyday is the weekend that it rains everyday. Including storming on us as we attempt to hike Mt. Saint-Victoire and getting so soaked that it took my hoodie two and a half days to dry out. But, that means I've got all of my bad-karma and travel-mishaps out of the way, right? Here's to hoping, anyway.
I'm going to stop this post now, it's getting long. But I promise I'll post again before Friday! There are things I want to write about still, so, that will keep me motivated in my blogging this week.