So I had arrived in Aix. After a very long flight with no sleep, and a shorter flight, again with no sleep, I was very tired. On the plane I kept thinking what will I do when I arrive. Would we drive around Aix on the way home from Marseille to see the city or would I walk around exploring le centre ville? When I finally arrived at my homestay, all I wanted to do was eat and fall onto my new bed and sleep the day away. Since I had no food here, sleep wasn't an option until I had explored the city and found food. Lunch that day was a baguette from Monoprix and my housemate and I bought a bottle of wine to go with it. After exploring and getting a bit lost for three hours, Hannah and I returned home. I unpacked a bit and I knew I shouldn't sleep to prevent even worse jet lag but I couldn't help it. Just an hour I told myself as I fell asleep. Two hours later I woke up, still incredibly tired. I unpacked some more and finished off the day with a simple dinner of lentils.
Sunday morning, I slept in after being awake half the night. After breakfast, we left again to keep exploring Aix. Little did I know that as we left at noon, I wouldn't be returning home until 10. During those 10 hours, we wandered around Aix, found l'ecole, ate another baguette, attended the open house, met a bunch of new people and ordered dinner in French. It was quite a busy day, full of walking (I tried to use mapmyrun to see how far we had walked during all those hours but I couldn't remember exactly where we had been so I stopped tracking at 6 miles). I now understand why the French people are all skinny. Each day I have walked at least 5 miles. Even at Penn State where my classes seem a mile apart and 2 miles from my dorm, I have never walked quite this much.
Orientation and the first day of classes went really well. Already, after a full day of classes all in French, I think my French is improving. It seems as if my classes will contain a lot of readings. Not that I can complain, I love to read, normally thought, my books are in English. I'm really looking forward to my History of Provence class. Three things I love, all combined in one class, history, French and Provence. Plus, it includes little excursions around Provence!
This weekend, we will be traveling to Nice and Monaco. I think that Nice is one of my favorite cities in France, mostly because of the beautiful beach with its clear blue water. I hope to spend most of my day there even if it won't be that warm. I might even go swimming if its not too cold. After Monaco, we are visiting the medieval city of Eze and the Fragonard factory. I'm not nearly as interested in the perfume factory as I am in the ancient city. I visited it once for a very short amount of time and I was intrigued by what lay behind each turn of the street. So this weekend will be incredible! Also this weekend, I will be breaking out my camera. So far I have been really bad about taking pictures but soon I will start.
Along with the first day of classes, comes the first round of homework so until the weekend, I will be very busy staying on top of my homework.
Sunday morning, I slept in after being awake half the night. After breakfast, we left again to keep exploring Aix. Little did I know that as we left at noon, I wouldn't be returning home until 10. During those 10 hours, we wandered around Aix, found l'ecole, ate another baguette, attended the open house, met a bunch of new people and ordered dinner in French. It was quite a busy day, full of walking (I tried to use mapmyrun to see how far we had walked during all those hours but I couldn't remember exactly where we had been so I stopped tracking at 6 miles). I now understand why the French people are all skinny. Each day I have walked at least 5 miles. Even at Penn State where my classes seem a mile apart and 2 miles from my dorm, I have never walked quite this much.
Orientation and the first day of classes went really well. Already, after a full day of classes all in French, I think my French is improving. It seems as if my classes will contain a lot of readings. Not that I can complain, I love to read, normally thought, my books are in English. I'm really looking forward to my History of Provence class. Three things I love, all combined in one class, history, French and Provence. Plus, it includes little excursions around Provence!
This weekend, we will be traveling to Nice and Monaco. I think that Nice is one of my favorite cities in France, mostly because of the beautiful beach with its clear blue water. I hope to spend most of my day there even if it won't be that warm. I might even go swimming if its not too cold. After Monaco, we are visiting the medieval city of Eze and the Fragonard factory. I'm not nearly as interested in the perfume factory as I am in the ancient city. I visited it once for a very short amount of time and I was intrigued by what lay behind each turn of the street. So this weekend will be incredible! Also this weekend, I will be breaking out my camera. So far I have been really bad about taking pictures but soon I will start.
Along with the first day of classes, comes the first round of homework so until the weekend, I will be very busy staying on top of my homework.