Fun things!

Today I woke up slowly as I love to do on Tuesdays and took a shower, got dressed, made my bed, and ate some breakfast. I made my lunch and threw it in my bag and then went to class. I was there early as per usual so I tried to do a bit of homework and research into hostels in Paris. I think it is actually cheaper for Grace and me to get a super budget hotel than to stay in a hostel. Which I think is a bit strange but I am rolling with it. I haven’t booked anything yet because we both need to look at transportation there but I think that it is a done deal and we WILL be going. I need to see if it is cheaper for me to leave from Barcelona and go a day earlier than Grace or if it is better to come back from Barcelona on the bus and leave the same day as her. We shall see.

My classes were cool today. I got more info on the French Revolution and learned that July 14^th isn’t the day of the Storming of the Bastille but is actually the day of the fete de la federation which was like this huge party that was in France after Louis the 16^th pretty much became the prisoner of the people and had to do whatever the Third Estate said. But I guess that each year the news people tell everyone that this was the day of the Storming of the Bastille, but it was not! So that is funny. Also the story of how Louis and Marie Antoinette tried to leave France to go to Austria but got caught is a funny story. They got caught near the border because the King was hungry and was dressed as a bourgeois but he ordered like the most expensive stuff on the menu. And then some other guy in the Inn noticed he had the same profile as the guy on the coins. So I thought that was pretty funny. 

For lunch I ate my delicious PB&J. Now I weigh 305285 pounds. ;-) Actually I was looking at the nutrition facts between PB and Nutella and the difference is that PB has more calories (barely) but a ton more protein and less fat. So I think that it is actually better for you. But anyways then it was time for World Literature. We talked a bunch about Satan as we are reading Paradise Lost. It is always interesting and I was able to finish the bible phrase about how it is harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. I felt pretty proud of myself. After that I walked into the hallway and ran into Kelan who told me that him and Julia were going to go to Happy hour at 5 if I wanted to wait and join them. I said sure why not since I had nowhere to be. So I figured I would go read in the school for the next hour and a half. 

On the way back to the school I passed a sign to an exposition of paintings that I had passed a few times but hadn’t explored. I figured why the heck not now? So I went down the steps into this like gallery room. It was just one lady there and I said Hi which you are supposed to do all the time whenever you go somewhere. The lady who was probably a bit on the older side came over and started talking to me! Which was a bit strange but nice. She asked where I was from and stuff we probably talked for ten minutes and then she asked if I would stay here while she ran to the bathroom and guard the stuff. I said of course! And she left. I wasn’t supposed to take photos but I figure it wouldn’t hurt for my blog so I quickly snapped a few of the room and went on looking at the paintings. She came back and kept talking to me as I made my way around the room looking and talking about what I liked in each one. She asked my favorite and I said so far that one but I really liked them all, which I did as they were all really colorful and probably took a lot of work. I learned about half way through that they were HER paintings!!!! I thought she was just the one in charge of them! The artists name was Paule Romas so I thought that was a guy’s name! Kacy fails! But she was super nice. She complained that it was cold and I told her Oregon is much colder so this was still warm for me. Also that it rains all the time in Oregon. When we went through all the paintings another lady came in who was from Belgium and so we talked with her a bit as well. They were both VERY nice. I went to leave but noticed she had some posters with her art on them so I figured that would be fun to get a poster to remember how nice these ladies were to me. And when I went to pay she would NOT take my money! I tried everything! She signed my poster and then told me to hang up “a bit of sunshine” in my room at home so that I would have some when it rained. J I was very happy and thanked her many times before happily departing on my way with good faith that people can always be nice to one another even if they are from drastically different worlds. 

I went back and started reading but sooner than I thought Kelan came down looking for me so that we could go. Julia soon joined and I retold them the story of what had happened. I told them that they should go check out the paintings because they were so pretty! And it is free! We went down to Happy hour where Kelan and I split the tab on two “Sex in Aix”s which I think is just like a sex on the beach? It was like coconut, orange juice, and strawberry? I think? I don’t really know but it was very good! We talked about problems we had run into with our hosts or what interesting things we had learned. Kelan talked about how he has the opportunity to stage manage for a reading in November but it is also the week his parents are coming to visit. So he wanted to know what we thought he should do. 

After that I went back home and was doing a bit of homework when Paul came in with a balloon. Of course then he wanted to know if I would play with him. So we did that for probably about half an hour until he got bored and wanted to play on my ipod. He thinks it is a phone but I have told him like 5 times that it isn’t. Today he said why do you have two phones? Meaning my Ipod and my phone so I told him again. For dinner we had lasagna which was very good. I ended up eating a lot of it as I was pretty hungry. After that I introduced Paul to one of my Pokemon Tumblr followers and he scrolled endlessly through it telling me who has genders and who doesn’t and which cards he has. I think he is pretty excited for the new game.
 

He then left and I got online. I had jokingly to Cassidy told her she could join me in going to the Fete de Lumieres in December. I thought it was totally a crazy idea. When I got back to my computer we started talking details and where she could stay in Aix. I started trying to find cheap hostels or hotels or something. I went out to talk to Madame to see what she would say if I said I had a friend who was coming to visit in December because I didn’t want to ask if she could stay here since our program like forbids it. But she was like yeah if she wants to sleep with you I have no problem with that it would save her lots of money. And I was like are you really sure like six times and she was like Yeah of course! So I went and told Cassidy and she said that her coming here might actually happen and then all of a sudden she had a ticket to come on December 5-15! YAY!!!!! Oh my goodness I am so excited!!!!!! Someone is coming to visit and see where I live and everything!!!!  I am pumped :-D!!!!! We are going to Lyon first and then after that back here and she can get lost in the city and everything!!! I’m sure she will have a blast! And I know I am looking forward to it!!!

Grocery Shopping

Compared to my last uneventful day today was REALLY uneventful. Did the usual morning thing and then went to class. After that I went to the Monoprix to get some lunch foods that I can start to take with me to school so I don’t cost as much to eat each day. I ended up spending 30 Euros to get everything which was 1 spiral notebook, pencil case, tiny jar of PB, jelly, bread, Oreos, some pretzels, goldfish, a PowerAde, sandwich bags, a uncle bens rice pouch (microwavable) and some bananas! It really wasn’t a lot but I think once I don’t have to spend over 4 Euros on a tiny peanut butter it will start to be cheaper. It was kind of cool to see all the different things that they had and next time I need some food I want to go to the super market stores that are outside of town just to walk around for a bit. I would have to take the bus though but meh. I think that is an experience all in itself. After I made myself the first PB&J since I did OC, I started in on the homework. I read for a few hours and then decided that I was done. I finished all the homework for tomorrow so I figure I’m probably fine.

When Madame got home I asked her where she would want me to keep the food I bought and she started trying to figure out why I was buying breakfast food (in her opinion) since that was her job. I explained it was for lunch though and then it was all good. I showed her my PB because she asked what I bought and she told me it was bad for my health and was going to make me fat. I just laughed it off because most of us Americans are getting that same thing from all our hosts about peanut butter. She cleared me a shelf though and it was good. 

Then I went to my translation class which really doesn’t seem very hard yet. It is difficult in that you need to understand both languages but the professor is really nice and because it is a translation class we get a mix of French and English which I really like. It’s nice to make comparisons of the two. Also no one in the class but me knew what agates were. So I had to explain. The class is really nice though and there are only ten of us in it so it is intimate, just how I like my French classes!

I got home and uploaded the rest of my pictures onto Facebook and discovered my second French album had been set so that only I could view the pictures. Whoopsie that won’t work! So I changed it. For dinner we had the rest of the chicken and diced potato fry hash brown things. They were god and so was the cheese. After that I went and Skyped my beau before getting a facebook message from my friend Grace from Oregon Crusaders who is currently studying in Denmark wondering when I was free some weekend to go to Paris. It turns out that she is free during my fall break so we are going to try and see if we can make that work! Because that would be awesome!!!

After that I talked to Madame a lot about holiday sad traditions and where I wanted to go and she told me where the best place is to go and at what time of the year. It was a fun conversation which included Beebow being a dork.

After that I put my blog up and went to sleep J

Marseille

Today I woke up around 9:30 to meet everyone to try and go to a museum before the school trip to Marseille. I had breakfast and talked to Madame who asked if I had heard the big rain storm last night. I told her I had even though I hadn't because I'm used to it but I had noticed it had rained. I got dressed and did my thing and donned on my raincoat. Before I left though Madame told me to change my coat because it was going to get nice again. On my way to meet everyone it rained though but it was no biggie. We met at the Cézanne statue as per usual. Sophie and Lauren went to go check out the market while I waited with Julia for Kelan. I guess that we weren't going to the museum because we found out that it wasn't actually in Aix... Oops. Julia and I talked about going to Italy one weekend because she can't go during fall break when the other girls are going because she is going to meet her boyfriend in Amsterdam. I told her that I would love to go to a Italy with her some weekend so she is going to send me which weekends she is free! Yay! A travel buddy! 

Kelan never showed so we went to find Sophie and Lauren but ran into Kelan first. We eventually all met up and decided because the market wasn't as great as per the rain, that we would get lunch at a cafe before going to meet the bus. I got a Panini and a cherry coke but then ran to monoprix really fast to buy some q-tips so that I could break my other fifty bill. I got back and Claire had joined us. After lunch Sophie, Lauren,  and Claire went to find a fruit bread. Kelan, Julia, and I stopped and watched some belly dancing people dance. It was pretty cool. By that time it was about noon and time to head to the buses. We had the nice bus this time which had very nice seats.

I will be the first to admit that this day was not as fun and nice of a trip as yesterday. Not because of the location, but because my ear tricking hurt and the stupid bus guide lady kept going on and on and on and on. Not about like the places we were going but with like the most basic of French culture that any moron who has ever taken French would know. And I know you are thinking but Kacy not everyone has as much French experience as you. But this is false! We are on the advanced French bus! Which means everyone already knows that not a ton of French people dive because the piece we is expensive. We already know that French eat dinner later than Americans. We already know that Marseille is the fifth largest city in France. You really don't need to say it 6 times! And no I'm not exaggerating but I was counting!!! She yelled at us for talking within the first ten minutes because she said she was you g to talk for 20 minutes and then we would have time to talk amongst ourselves but then she never Shut Up! And she was on the overhead talking SO loudly that you could’t tune her out!!! It was ridiculous! We had to listen to her annoying voice the whole hour there and half hour in between locations and almost all of the time back! Everyone was just talking about how she needed to just shut up. She really did do a number to the experience of the trip. It would have been a lot more fun if she had talked for five minutes about where we were going and then sat down and stopped talking. That really would have taken the trip from a 6 to a solid 9. It was ridiculous. Okay end rant. But I'm still annoyed and my ear just feels word now.

When we got to Marseille the first view was to the sea where there were about 6 cruise ships docked. They looked really cool. We drove through the commerce district of the city in order to get to the centre ville. When we got there we drove around the marina in the center city to get up the hill to the Notre-Dame de la guard. It is a huge and beautiful cathedral that looks over the entire city. 

When we got off the buses we hiked up part of the hill more and everyone got out their cameras (which our lovely bus guide had told us not to take out and only to take pictures with our eyes because someone might try and steal our cameras.) to take pictures. We all ignored the bus guide just as we tried to do the way there. How could you not take pictures of this because it was so gorgeous. We walked up the hill and then up a bunch of steps to get to the entrance. It was sooooo windy! Being right on the sea and being on the hill the wind was very strong and very crazy.

 

I got some pictures and then headed into the “Crypte” It was actually really cool in there. I made an offering of a euro in order to light a candle which I can now say that I did! Though I don’t know if you are only supposed to do that if you are catholic? Oh well. But inside the little hall there was the choir practicing singing so I got a little video clip of that. I also got a bunch of pictures. Next I left the crypte and went to the main hall. It was goooorgeous. There was a big boat theme because of it being on the coast and such and it being such a large commerce town even like a really long time ago. There were lots of paintings of boats on the sea as well as boats hanging from the ceiling. The tiles as well had a lot of waves and boats. The hall was very gold and red. I think that the gold was really cool and though I didn’t really find out I think that it was real. I took a bunch of pictures there and then on my way out I noticed they were letting some people up some side stairs so I followed them and got to go up on top of the cathedral, like above the main hall where the windows were. It was really windy up there! The view was amazing though and after looking out on the city we got to go in the hall and be really close to the ceiling so we could see the work up close. It was super cool. Then it was up on the roof on the other side and then back down. As per usual it seems I bought a few post cards in the gift shop. I can’t decide if I am really going to send them or if I am just going to keep them? They are cool though, and probably the cheapest thing you can buy at the gift shops. It was a really cool experience to go to this cathedral because it was so old and decorated so nicely. It’s hard to believe that things that beautiful exist all the time and not just when we are there to see them.

When we got back on the bus (after getting yelled at by our bus guide not to walk in the road because cars might be coming after we looked and there were no cars coming) and the headed back down to the Centre ville. We got let out to do whatever for two hours. The weekend was le jour patrimoine which means from what I gathered that all the French museums and stuff are open and free across the country for just this weekend. So naturally everyone and their mom and chat are going to the museums. They told us we could and my group went and tried but it was an hour long wait just to get in so we decided not to. We walked around Fort Saint-Jean which was the area around the museum. This museum is also brand new this year which didn’t help us with the crowd control situation. Fort Saint-Jean I really don’t know much about and was going to Google but my internet is so crappy tonight there is no way. It was pretty cool looking though and very old. 

Oh also from the Cathedral you could see Chateau d’If which is where they put Edmond Dantes in the count of Mote-Cristo for all you literary folk. Kelan and I really wanted to go there by boat but we didn’t have enough time. We were sad.

After walking around the fort we decided to go get a drink at a café. We wandered around the marina until we found one and then sat down. The place was a little busy and there was only one waiter so I took a while. I ordered tea but he mixed up how many of what (because he never wrote it down) and so I ended up with hot chocolate which is fine but I really had wanted tea! Oh well another day. I took it and it was good. Apparently Kelan owed me money from last night doing the bill at dinner so I didn’t have to pay for it anyways. It is very difficult to do paying of the bills here. They don’t do split tabs so you need to have exact change all the time and every time it just becomes a big headache for everyone to figure out. And then once everyone takes care of their own money and figuring out that they did it right we have to redo it all again to make sure that we have enough total and no one did math wrong. It is a bit of a nightmare which is why Kelan bought my drink. I had forgotten so I was like oh okay whatever. 

After that the girls wanted Crepes so we went to the first crepe place and she said she was out of batter. So we went to the second which was obnoxiously expensive and then to a third where they had enough batter for three crepes but that was all. I kind of wanted one but not really so I just decided to pass. The other girls went back to the expensive crepe place and got them after we cleaned out the third. Kelan had a PB&J and I was super jealous but I hadn’t bought sandwich stuff yet because I was waiting for PB to arrive in a package from my mom that I thought was in the mail. We sat on some steps and just kind of chilled. We didn’t have a very high key day just because we all had headaches from the bus ride and all the stairs and stuff at the cathedral had kind of wore us out. Also we were pretty mentally tired from taking it all in. I would say that Marseille is nice-ish but by no means my favorite French town. The cathedral was the highlight and awesome but the city itself was one that could be missed. Nice was way nicer and fun with more things to see and was also a lot friendlier. The people in Marseille were a bit rude.

When we got back I was walking back thinking about getting a crepe when Daniel walked up behind me to walk with me. We tried to go to “crepe a gogo” but they were closed because it was a Sunday. Darn. Maybe tomorrow after sandwich stuff shopping? But I was just ready to get home considering I still had homework. I got home and started uploading pictures from the last two days but my internet started crapping out every two minutes and I gave up. Madame says that it is because of the storms in France right now. Madame bought a rotisserie chicken and olive oil and some kind of spice potatoes for dinner. It was pretty good. I like chicken. I spilled a glass of water on accident all over the floor. I was not happy about that but she said it was no big deal. I got back to homework after dinner or tried to anyways but because it was online I needed internet and whenever I had it the site would not go where it was supposed to but rather to someplace else. I got very frustrated. Luckily I have the number of a guy in the class named Patrick who I texted and he told me 1) where to go to on the site 2) how to find the answers 3) that it only takes about five minutes to do. So looks like I will just go to class early tomorrow in order to make sure I have the homework done. I think that means no Skype time though… 

But the internet thing really put me on edge. Also I found out mom hadn’t sent my package yet like I thought so I had been climbing 3 flights of stairs everyday to check my mail when there was no reason to… -.-‘ Oh well. I’m grateful she is sending one at all with how much international boxes cost. I find it ridiculous.
 

So today I have not been in the best mood but I feel like understandably so. I am really exhausted mostly and wish I had a weekend to recoup. But I don’t because that was my weekend. Oops. They made the time go fast though having the trips. I just wish I could go on a trip that didn’t feel so rushed or disorganized. Because it is one thing to not have a plan and go with the flow, but it is another thing to have a plan and then not follow it because you can’t get organized. 

Goodnight. Here’s to hoping I can even get text up on the blog tonight!

Nice and Eze

(What a clever title! I am so good! (though it is pronounced like niece!))

Today I woke up at the lovely hour of 6:20 and was shocked that I wasn't in a hospital. I had this horrible dream that I was driving to Astoria but the drive was like all these huge cliffs and then like this speeding car and police came up behind me and the fast car hit me and we got in like this huge crash. I was still alive but like I blacked out when the police got to me because they had to arrest the other driver first. And the dream felt so real that I thought I was waking up to be in a hospital but instead was in some strange room. Then I had one of those freak outs because I didn't know where I was. But then I was like oh yeah I'm in France. Waking up here is difficult for me because it isn't the same set-up as my rooms at home so often at first I don't recognize it.

But I woke up and had a quick breakfast before heading out to meet the bus at 7:30 to go to spend the day in Nice. I got some money for the day/ weekend/week out of a different machine and it was mean and have me a two fifties instead of smaller bills. Big bills here suck because no one ever wants to take them. A 20 is like already bad but a fifty is like oh man not so good to have. But I rolled with it and took note of that machine bing not so good and then went to find the buses. I had a bit of trouble finding the hotel but luckily I had left myself lots of extra time to get there so as not to be left behind. After some confusion of who was on what bus and which bus was which number we got on. My bus is for the advanced French students so all our information stuff is in French. Kelan is my bus buddy we decided for these trips. We got on the bus and though I tried to keep my eyes out the window I couldn't help but fall asleep for part of the way. We stopped at a gas station rest stop and we all went to the bathroom and got snacks. I bought a little Starbucks frappuccino thing to tie me over for the day and break one of my fifties. Then it was back on the bus!

We passed by Nice and went instead to Eze which is a smaller town where we toured a perfume factory. Sounded like a cool idea but it was really difficult to hear our tour guide in the small space talking in French when the other groups were being loud and another tour guide was speaking English. It was difficult to keep the mind in French mode and she was being so quiet and the English lady too fuzzed to really hear anything. We got to sample some different like pure extracts like lemon, rose, strawberry (my favorite), coffee, lavender, and chocolate. That was probably the funniest part of the tour as well as seeing how they use the molds to make the soaps. The gift shop was kind of cool but everything was pretty expensive and I really didn't care about buying perfume. We only had an hour total in Eze including the slow and mandatory perfume tour. Kelan and I ditched the gift shop in order to try and get to the town to take a few pictures. We took the way the bus lady told us but it most definitely didn't go to town but to a little look out into the valley where you could see the Mediterranean. We took some pictures and then were sad that we had to go back. We waited around for people to be done in the gift shop and then got back on the bus to go to Nice.

On the way there our bus guide prattled on for far too long about nothing in particular and repeats herself way too many times that everyone just tuned her out. We all were also vey distracted by the beautiful city and coast out our windows. When we got off the bus we had to follow our bus guide to the meeting place in front of a statue of a naked guy who was vey nicely done but he was not nearly as exciting as the beach. The bus lady held us there for too long saying the same things she had already said before letting us leave. By that time we had about an hour to do whatever before we could meet back to go either on a walking tour of some parts of the city or up the side of the cliff called a chateau that had some ruins and waterfalls. We walked a bit before we found a place where we could buy some sandwiches that we could then take to the beach. I bought a piece of strange pizza and a slice if apple pie which was very cheap. I also ran down and bought a few postcards before the rest of the group got their food. Kelan and I quickly wolfed our food don because we both really wanted to go in be Mediterranean  I swim. The other girl wanted to sunbathe so we left all oh stuff with them and then went and jumps in. The other girls complained that I was too cold but I thought it was really warm, warmer than Oregon and warmer than swimming pools that I am used to! A bunch of other IAU kids soon joined us and it was a lot of fun. The water is so blue that it is unbelievable. It is also supppper salty. I accidentally engulfed some water and thought I was going to throw up from all the salt. It is nice bought because the salt helps you float so you don't really need to swim very much to stay above water. The shore was really pebbly but once you got in the water and couldn't ouch bottom it was awesome. There were waves by they acted more like softly not like breaking waves in Oregon and you would float up with them which was pretty fun. I really enjoyed myself and it was a really amazing experience. I want to do it again!

Eventually I got out and we went to track down some ice cream before meeting back at the naked guy to climb the over three hundred stairs. We didn't actually count but that number was thrown out. When I counted it was well over that but I eventually lost interest and lost track. We found an ice cream place and by the time we all got ours we had to run to meet at the guy. I got chocolate in a cone and it was super delicious. 10/10, would buy again. After meeting up we walked to the entrance and started climbing. It really is like super high up there. But the views were breath-taking!

My vocal cords gave me a bit of trouble when his creepy guy clearly checked me out when I passed him while he was on the phone and after words he stood up and started to follow me. I quickly went two stairs at a time and ran to catch up with the others who really weren't far ahead but I wanted to be safe.  But other than that they didn't get too uncomfortable. The waterfalls were kind of cool and it was nice to get a little spray after climbing so much. We sat down near the top for a while to just take it all in before we had to go back down to leave.

Kelan and I quickly ran to the top where we found another awesome view and a really good deal of 7 postcards for 2 euros. So of course I bought some more. I haven't actually sent any yet though... Oops. I figure they will be expensive to send. Though beside the point there were a ton of postcards with like half naked girls on the or random kittens. That was pretty bizarre. But we went back down and then went to the naked guy to meet everyone to leave. I was like super thirsty but because we had to be there at a certain time we didn't stop. Long story short, our bus guide told us the wrong spot and time. So we met earlier than we had to and then walked to a location five minutes away to meet everyone else. But because there were multiple meeting places it was pretty much a crap shoot and no one knew what was going on. We didn't leave until 5:15, which was very obnoxious because I was sooo thirsty.

We stopped luckily about 30 minutes down the road at a real rest sop to use the bathrooms really quickly. Kelan took my water bottle to the bathroom but then I decided to go as well and we both discovered that the sinks here were so short it was impossible to get water in the bottle. Luckily after waiting for the buses to be sure they had everyone (a 20 minute process even though only 15 people got off the three buses) the bus guide asked if anyone wanted to buy a bottle of water for a euro from the bus. This is actually. Really good price and I definitely jumped at the chance! The bus ride back was beautiful or is rather since I am writing this on the bus currently. I told Madame that I was going out for dinner tonight with friends because I only have 6 dinners a week. But the plan is to go home and de-salt with a shower first before re-meeting up.

We ended up going to the 24 hour restaurant which has a lot of seafood. Luckily they have other things as well so I ended up going for something that had chicken in it which ended up being fries and chicken baked in crumb or something? It was very good! Kelan is living with a girl from Sweden who came with us to dinner and she was really nice. I spent a lot of time talking to her because she was on the end and everyone was kind of ignoring her. She was really nice though! After dinner we went to an Irish pub for a drink and I tried a Tequila Sunrise which was pretty good. I liked the orange juice/grenadine part more than the tequila but it wasn’t too bad. A little spendy for my tastes but it was good. My ear has still been hurting so after one drink I decided to leave and Kelan and the Swedish girl seemed glad to have a reason to leave because they were getting bored, so they walked me home. Apparently there is like a new gang in Aix? Apparently? And also the other night this one girl got mugged from IAU 10 minutes from her house after the guy who was walking with her left. So they are really cracking down on us to be sure and have a buddy and not carry a lot of important stuff on us at night and to take taxi’s even if we live close. I live five minutes from that bar so it wasn’t a long ways for them to walk me home, and the street I walk takes a little bit longer but is much more populated. 

I feel like this doesn’t like accurately depict how crazy and cool my day was but I had a pretty great day. I am really glad that I got to go on this trip.

Boutiques and Bags

Today I fought stubbornly against the construction to sleep in. I used earplugs and after that my headphones to combat the noise. After I woke up to go to the bathroom Beebow snuck into my room which I didn’t realize until he started attacking my feet for doing my sleepy food wiggle. I then had tot kick him out. Eventually I gave up with sleeping and went and took a shower. When I was getting dressed I got a text from Cassandra asking me to get lunch with her. I looked at the time and it was almost 11:30! Oops! I quickly gulfed down some of the breakfast food or else I knew Madame would notice I hadn’t eaten and went to meet Cassandra. We sat in the cave (student lounge) for a while talking with some other people before setting out to find some pizza! Which I hadn’t had in over a week which in Helwig Pizza Time is like an eternity! We found a good place to get slices for 2 euros and both got one. It wasn’t as good as the pizza I had here before but it wasn’t so bad. We then went and ate downstairs and talked to some more people.

Then it was time for the Scavenger Hunt through Aix, which is really why I woke up today! We got in groups of three and I was with Sophie the girl from Oregon and a girl named Morgan who likes to make it well known that she is in the French Honors program (which really I could have done if I wanted t but I didn’t. And basically means that you take a certain French course). They both were nice but not very fast… The scavenger hunt was also a race to see who could get all the information and be detailed in their answers and then get back to the school first. I took that to mean let’s do this thing fast! They took that to mean hey let’s walk slowly and take a lot of time at each place. Morgan ran into the Tourism office to get a map and no joke we were waiting for twenty minutes before we went in and found her chatting it up with the person behind the desk about Aix and getting every brochure the place had. I pretty much gave up then on being a winning team. Then we went to the crepe place where they both bought crepes and then we went to the movie theater, American book store, Monoprix, American food restaurant, and Coffee shop. Each place they wandered and looked and browsed which is fin because they were getting to know the places and stuff but they were very slow. I was the navigator and they were the writer and reader. They also wrote very slowly. But it was all good after I decided to just go with the flow.

We came in next to last and I don’t even think we had all the answers filled in correctly but so it goes. We went and hung out in the cave while we waited an hour for the associations or clubs around Aix to arrive to talk to us. Pretty soon I got a text from mom and soon after a facebook from dad both talking to me about my day. Then they both told me almost at the same time to go and buy that bag! I was so excited! On the way to get it I was telling Cassandra that if they didn’t have it there anymore I was going to cry. And sure enough when I got there… It was gone! As were all the other bags. I asked the sales lady if they still had them and she gave me a sad face and I said “Noooo!” But then when I asked her if they sold them she said no that they had moved them to another boutique! I was very elated then and she offered to take me to there. I happily agreed and explained to her how much I had wanted to buy it and how I had been walking past it and always thinking of how joli it was. She asked if I was staying in Aix and I told her that I was a student and she wished me a good time here. She was very nice and it was very nice of her to show me the way. It was about a five minute walk. She grumbled as we had to weave our way through tourists in front of the Hotel de Ville or courthouse. And I laughed and told her that they ca be a bit annoying, which is true they really can be in the way a lot. But then again when I am being a tourist I am sure that I am the same way! I was very happy to have my new bag. The sales lady tried to put it in a giant bag which I never understand why people always try to do that… It is a bag so it doesn’t need handles or a bag! It is a bag! 

We went back and decided with a group of other people in the cave that after the club thing a few of us would go to Happy Hour at the bar down the street. The club thing was really cool. I bought an Erasmus card which gives you discounts at a lot of places for 5 euros, and got information about the different clubs and such. There was a woman there from a Christian church that does service in English on Sunday nights that I hope to be able to go and try out. I don’t think that I will be able to this weekend because of the afternoon trip to Marseille but if I have time I will. She seemed really nice. I also got info on the locations for the next couple trips that the one guy George plans for international students. One of which is a 4 day 3 night trip during the beginning of fall break to Barcelona, Spain for 150 euros. Which seems like a lot but it includes transportation, lodging, and having everything preplanned. I like that and because it is at the beginning of break I could get a group who wants to do that and then we could leave from Barcelona to go to Paris or Italy or somewhere else for a few days. I think that would be really fun!

There also was info for a cooking class for 4 two hour sessions for 100 euros, which seemed cool but a little expensive for me so I don’t think I will be doing that but it seems like it would be fun. But there are a few student organization things that I signed up to get emails from which I can just delete if they don’t interest me. Better to be well informed and have options I decided than to be bored with no clue.

After the club thing Cassandra left because she didn’t have time to get a drink before needing to be home for dinner but I went with some other people to have a drink anyways. I had a Monaco it was good and didn't taste like beer. We had fun I think and talked about a lot of stuff. It was nice to get to know some other people and some of them are in a few of my classes. After a while Madame called wondering if I would be home for dinner and I told her I would be there in a few minutes. We had pasta with white sauce and ham which was delicious. And Paul and Madame put a egg yolk on theirs. Not cooked but I didn’t because eggs tend to make me sick which we talked about a bit more in depth. But it is a bit strange why I get sick from eggs by themselves but not if they are with other things like in cake or whatever. But it was interesting. It was good and then I gave Paul a piggyback ride before I went and Skyped Thad. Who ended up meeting Paul and Jean-Claude by happenstance of them showing up suddenly but it was funny to me! 

 

Tomorrow I go to Nice at 745 in the morning. We are I guess stopping at the medieval town of Eze before hand and then there are a few different things that we can choose to do in Nice. I hope to hit up the beach a bit though!

DD &D: Dirty Dancing and Dominos

I slept in pretty well this morning and didn’t wake up until 10. I had the weirdest dreams though I can’t remember them. When I finally rolled out of bed I went to school to use the better wifi to do some homework. While I was sitting there contemplating how I was going to keep my computer alive for an hour and a half without it being plugged in. One of my friends told me how to put the pdf documents that we needed into my iPod. It was an amazing thing! I had no idea that I could do that on an iPod! I was quite happy. European history was good. My professor is French but knows English but he hasn’t used it in three months so it is a bit choppy but we all understand. He is very young and talks really quickly. He also is a tour guide in the city in his spare time. We are learning about the French Revolution right now which is interesting to hear his take on it being French and how he says most other French people saw it. After class I went and got a sandwich and ate half and a peach. It was good. Also I learned today that the school building used to be the chapel of a monastery in the 1600's. SO that is pretty cool and explains why the inside is so cool looking. I will get pics tomorrow.

Then I went to World Lit. My professor for this class is an ex-beach bum. He lives in an old chapel turned loft. He also wears funky glasses where one frame is a circle and the other is a square. He is very quirky but I like him. He seems to know a lot. I felt really smart today since we were discussing Paradise Lost and I had already discussed the book before in the Winter before my tonsillectomy it was cool and I was pretty good at knowing good topics to bring up during the discussion. That book is pretty difficult so I am glad that I have had some outside experience.

After class I went and hung out in the student lounge for about an hour talking to people and trying to get to know some more people. When I came home I Skyped Chels and Roz back home; Jessica got there while we were talking and started moving her stuff in so I guess that I have a new roommate but only sort of because I’m not actually there… But it was good to talk to them.  After that I got a phone call from Madame who was downstairs with Paul and asked if I wanted to come down. So I went downstairs and they were trying to construct the domino tower thing that was on the box so I helped with that. Paul kept having me make lies of the free dominos so he could knock them over. His dominos are plastic and some are set up on quarter of a circle track things that band five dominos together. You can then connect them to these tower things to make inclined spirals. They are pretty fun looking and kind fun to play if you are a seven year old boy. But they are fun. After we finished that we came upstairs and Madame started making dinner. Paul showed me some kung fu and then when he got yelled at to stop running around he came and put his feet on my lap and sat down. Naturally I tickled them. So then we did that for a while until he got a book of a bunch of cat pictures and I pretty much got the French version of “Kittens inspired by Kittens!” He would make commentaries for each cat and it was pretty cute. Then dinner was ready and we had chicken nuggets and French fries. It was pretty good, and followed as usual by bread and cheese and a little bowl of ice cream/sorbet. Paul went home then and Madame and I started watching Dirty Dancing. I’m following pretty well considering that I haven’t seen it in English. Though I still haven’t figured out why the blonde is sick in bed…?

That bag is still there! And I would probably maybe buy it if I had the money to spare but since my financial aid hasn’t come in yet I have had restraint. I know one day soon though I will walk by and it won’t be there and I will be sad. It is a simple bag but I just like it for some reason. I just learned financial aid wont be disbursed until the end of the month... :-/

Tomorrow I don’t have class because it is Friday but there is a team scavenger hunt thing tomorrow which I think could be a good way to get to know more people. I think I will do that from 2-5. I just need to make sure that I am not carrying a ton of books because my back is starting to bother me. But I got Ibuprofen so I will probably just take some before. 

Not much of an exciting day but not all days will be!

Smoothie anyone?

This morning Madame was home so doing my morning routine gets a bit trickier. I had class at 9 in the new building which is a few minutes farther away so I had to leave a bit earlier leaving not much skype time. My class seemed good but also a bit frightening because it is in French and the final exam which is 30% of the final grade is Oral… zut… I knew some people in my class including this guy Will who always by happenstance ends up following me to school because I guess he lives close by me maybe? We think so. But I never realize he is behind me until we are like almost to the school so that’s odd. Claire was also in my clas as well as this really nice girl named Mary who also did early start.

After class I went back to the other building to work on the computers and Will and another girl were looking at booking a trip to Geneva next weekend. And I sort of got thinking that I don’t really have anyone right now that I could ask to go on a trip with me even though I have friends? So then I started feeling a bit down. Also I didn’t know anyone to go to lunch with since my class gets done at 10:30 and that is a pretty early lunch. I texted Cassandra who is really nice and then wandered around because she didn’t text me back. She finally did after about a half hour and I walked back to the school to meet her. I figured we would just grab something close but she wanted to walk around to go to a sushi place. We stopped in at the monoprix and I bought a chicken Caesar wrap plate thing. Then we went to the sushi place she knew but then she changed her mind. Then we walked across town to a pasta place. Where she changed her mind… Meanwhile I am getting hungry and grumpy and I’m already sad. Luckily she tends to monopolize the conversation which was fine for me today. After a while though she was wearing on me from walking too much/being sad/hungry/not giving input. I finally was like kay bye and went to find somewhere to sit and eat.

As I was eating my wrap it was like a plate with it cut in pieces and there were like two different tortillas and I was stupid and thought nothing of it. The package said what was in it and I made the mistake of thinking Tapenade was the olive thing that we had made last week in the cooking class…. NOPE. About three minutes after eating it I went and threw up in the trash can. This was only super embarrassing. I don’t like fish and don’t tend to eat it often but not knowing what it was at first I tried to swallow it anyways and then my stomach was just like nope send it back. So that was pretty awful…

I came home and brushed my teeth and then did some reading homework. I then read some game of thrones before going out to my translation class at 5. That class I know a lot of people and actually met a girl from Portland who goes to school in California so I am not the only Oregonian here! Yay! But it is a pretty small class of 12 or 14? But not a lot of people, it seems like it will be fun but also work. The classes here may just seem like they will be hard but they all seem pretty frightening to me after just the syllabus day. After that I went to the Monoprix to get something to put my papers in and a highlighter.

On my way back home I ran into Laurence at the door to get in and she didn’t let me in almost because she didn’t recognize me with my hair down. I have been wearing it up all the time because it has just been too hot but now it is starting to cool down with the wind chill. I love it! We went to her apartment where Paul and Madame were playing dominos so I helped Paul set them up and he would knock mine down whenever I tried. So obviously I did the same to his. It was fun and then we came back up for dinner of mashed potatoes and Sausage. It was quite delicious and I was hungry after not really having lunch kind of… But it was very good! And I made sure to say that a lot. Then I had talked to Kelan at class and he had told me that the girls and he were going out tonight and that I should go with them. So I decided I would go.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—. I took the one most populous and traveled by so as not to be in danger.

I went to the fountain to meet them and the girls were there but we waited for Kelan for 25 minutes and he never showed up… When I got home he had changed his mind and told me on Facebook but a lot of good that does me with spotty internet… The boy needs a phone! But I went out with the girls and met Julia’s French friend who goes to the military school here. He was nice but had to run to get back to school because we took so long waiting.

We ordered fruity cocktails and when they arrived we were surprised to learn that we had misunderstood and they were only smoothies with no alcohol. OOPS!!! That was a bit of a misunderstanding then! But we had fun I think even though we were non alcoholic. It was a bit weird for me because Kelan wasn’t there though. But eh…

No one wears backpacks here. It is like not a thing. I was walking by a café today and some French girls at a café pointed at me motioned at my backpack and then laughed… So that felt pretty shitty. Side note that really has no relevance to this. There is this super cute oversize brown leather bag at a little place that I walk by everyday and I want it so badly but it is 65 euros. It is really cute though and It would fit a lot of stuff in it. I really want to buy it but I feel like it is a lot of money even if I did use it all the time which I would… :-/

Also Madame did my laundry today. I learned that she irons everything as well. I also learned that she does some laundry for some guy for extra money. She didn’t tell me this but I figured it out when she was doing some buys clothes and I asked if they were Jean-Claudes and she said no. Then 20 minutes later she called some guy that it was done and it was 20 euros. So I am so deductive. But when she did my laundry I forgot to put my bras in a bra bag so the underwire broke out of the fabric… so not is jabs me in the side which makes me sad… but I really don’t want to buy another because I fear how much that will be… Bleh… Clothes here are insanely priced…

I can’t wait to get back to the home of the way less expensive.

First Day of (Real) Class

This morning I had hoped to be able to sleep in. I say that because at exactly 8 o’clock the wonderful sounds of a jackhammer next door gave me the pleasure of not needing an alarm clock two hours and a half later… But I tried to sleep with the aid of ear plugs but it was on and off sleep from then on out. I finally gave up at ten and went and did all the morning stuff. I then went and printed out a copy of my schedule and talked to Cassandra for a bit while she tried to get a train ticket. After that I went and sat upstairs while I waited for my housing meeting to start.

The housing lady said that the food issue should resolve and that I shouldn’t take anything she says personally. The French like to make a fuss she said but they don’t mean anything by it, they just like to make a fuss. That made me feel better. 

After that I went to European History. My professor seems pretty cool and young and he is also my professor for my monuments class that I start tomorrow. He seemed cool so that is good. We are doing just before the French revolution up to the start of the firs World War. After that Cassandra (who is in that class) and I went to a place and got a sandwich. We ate outside the new building and met a few new people. I forgot their names already… oops. But they seemed nice. Neither was in my class though. 

The new building is still clearly not done but we are moving in anyways. The building is interesting as the floors aren’t level by any means and it is all unfinished tile. They added an elevator and new windows and it has created an interesting look of the old and the new. My next class was World Lit where I learned that our subject matter is works containing Angels and/or Demons. Which is interesting but unfortunately we are reading three books from Paradise Lost… Which I have read a lot of already and I find it a tough one to get through. I asked Rosalyn to send me an email with photocopies of my book though because it has notes in it already J Win! Thanks! The other works I don’t recognize so that is good. Claire is in that class with me though so that is nice. 

After class I went to tackle finding a phone. I found Phone house which had the same deal as everyone else but with a different phone. So I said sure, which ended up being great because no one else has T9 so it is a total pain for them, but I do! And I have Jewel Quest on mine!!! Talk about winning! I had to give them a copy of my passport to get it which seemed odd. When I got home I was talking to Madame and realized they had left my laminated passport copy in the scanner so I had to run back and get it. Though I was coming from a different place so I took a different route. On the way I passed a Card shop with a Magic poster out front so on the way back from getting my copy I stopped in and bought a few packs for the dudes in my life who play, (2014 I figure I could buy a few of the new set when they come out?). But it was funny because the people in the card shop are the same type of people who hang out in card shops in the US. Pretty sure the cashier guy thought I was lost though. They were 3,80 euros so $5.04 a pack. 

When I came back I did homework and Skyped Thad and thought I was going to Skype the roomies but one of them wasn’t home… So that didn’t happen but later I guess. I did homework and then we had dinner of Croque Monsieurs, and cheese and an ice cream bar.

I also learned today we aren’t going to Cassis this weekend but going to Nice instead, which is fine by me! Then Sunday we are going to Marseille. Should be fun and I am looking forward to it, only a few more days ‘til then. Tomorrow I have class at 9 and at  5 so I have a lot of free time in between to do homework or whatever, so I should have either a low key day or a very NOT low key day.

Before I went to bed Madame and I watched the France v.s. Russia soccer game. I went to bed with France winning by two.