Bonjour!
After forcing myself not to think about how excited I am for IAU in order to make it through final exams, and succeeding, I am now about to explode. I finished exams last Thursday, got home from college on Sunday night, and leave in a WEEK for France. I am so ready.
Except for that I still need to buy a carry-on suitcase, photocopy everything, figure out what I am packing, print off the contact numbers for IAU, etc. - close enough. J
My name is Lesley and I attend Wofford College, which is a small liberal arts college in the south. I attended the University of British Columbia in Kelowna, BC, Canada until I transferred Junior year; I wanted to experience somewhere entirely different during college, which is why I chose a school so far away. I expect studying in Aix-en-Provence to again be a chance to learn so much about another culture, and to likely be quite different from my experience in BC.
I am kind of nervous for the actual travel; I have a 14-hour flight, and will then take a taxi from the airport to Aix-en-Provence. The bus is a much more economical option, but my French is not amazing and I expect to be pretty out of it after the flight. IAU would have picked me up at the airport, but I am arriving a day early (much cheaper flight!). After crashing at a cute hotel and exploring the city a bit in the morning, I get to finally meet my homestay family – yay!
Expectations/ Anticipation -
I spent last summer working in Manhattan, NY, and get the idea that the style should be similar. I plan on packing mostly maxi dresses, sundresses, and a few trendy skirts and tops; my style expectations are high! This is the country of Coco Chanel and Christian Louboutin.
I also started looking around online for pictures of Provence, and it is beyond gorgeous. It looks like one of those places one would dream up for a painting. I bought a little lavender plant for my windowsill at home in anticipation of the gorgeous lavender fields.
Since January, whenever I get a break from studying, I have been reading Julia Child’s My Life in France, which is such a wonderful book. She talks about life in Paris and Marseilles, and, most importantly, French food and the culture surrounding it.
I intend to experience everything I can in this 6-week adventure that will surely be over much too quickly.
After forcing myself not to think about how excited I am for IAU in order to make it through final exams, and succeeding, I am now about to explode. I finished exams last Thursday, got home from college on Sunday night, and leave in a WEEK for France. I am so ready.
Except for that I still need to buy a carry-on suitcase, photocopy everything, figure out what I am packing, print off the contact numbers for IAU, etc. - close enough. J
My name is Lesley and I attend Wofford College, which is a small liberal arts college in the south. I attended the University of British Columbia in Kelowna, BC, Canada until I transferred Junior year; I wanted to experience somewhere entirely different during college, which is why I chose a school so far away. I expect studying in Aix-en-Provence to again be a chance to learn so much about another culture, and to likely be quite different from my experience in BC.
I am kind of nervous for the actual travel; I have a 14-hour flight, and will then take a taxi from the airport to Aix-en-Provence. The bus is a much more economical option, but my French is not amazing and I expect to be pretty out of it after the flight. IAU would have picked me up at the airport, but I am arriving a day early (much cheaper flight!). After crashing at a cute hotel and exploring the city a bit in the morning, I get to finally meet my homestay family – yay!
Expectations/ Anticipation -
I spent last summer working in Manhattan, NY, and get the idea that the style should be similar. I plan on packing mostly maxi dresses, sundresses, and a few trendy skirts and tops; my style expectations are high! This is the country of Coco Chanel and Christian Louboutin.
I also started looking around online for pictures of Provence, and it is beyond gorgeous. It looks like one of those places one would dream up for a painting. I bought a little lavender plant for my windowsill at home in anticipation of the gorgeous lavender fields.
Since January, whenever I get a break from studying, I have been reading Julia Child’s My Life in France, which is such a wonderful book. She talks about life in Paris and Marseilles, and, most importantly, French food and the culture surrounding it.
I intend to experience everything I can in this 6-week adventure that will surely be over much too quickly.