Tuesday= Arrived and got settled.
Wednesday= Took the placement exam at IEFEE. I couldn't get all the way through the test-- which basically means I'm not fluent-- but I already knew that.
The courtyard of my school.
The Windows from which I will gaze when day dreaming in class.
The Windows from which I will gaze when day dreaming in class.After lunch, we returned to the institute for the dreaded oral exam. It went a little something like this:
Professor: "Something something something I didn't understand in French"
Me: "Repetez lentement s'il vous plait." (Repeat slowly please)
Professor: "Something something something I sort of understood in French" (but her face softened and her speech slowed in such a way that she looked like she was speaking to the mentally impaired)
Me: "Uh....... J'aime Aix." (I like Aix)
Professor: Blank stare.
Me: Shoulder shrug.
Wednesday night my roommate Annie finally arrived! She is quiet, but has done some really amazing things. Last semester she taught English and Biology in Uganda, Africa. She lived in a cement hunt and had no running water. The only food available for consumption was eggplant, nutella, bananas, and tomatoes. On her vacation in the fall she went to Kenya and climbed Mount Kilamanjaro. She came to Aix with no background in French, and she has already picked up some necessary phrases. She is planning on attending Princeton in the fall. She makes me wish I had considered a gap year to explore the world-- as there are some amazing programs out there.
After cooking a pesto dinner with warm nutella apples for desert with Allison, Haley, Karinne, and Annie, we went out to meet some French people out and about. We stumbled upon a seemingly charming Frenchman ("Your eyes, they are so beautiful!") with "vodka a la poche" (vodka in his pocket). After determing his level of drunkness as "wasted" we declined his offer for his vodka and his insistence that I say "I am crazy for your ass" in French (we asked someone later what he was trying to get us to say). Apparently, he was not a not-so-charming Frenchman.
We finally found a cute little bar named "Le Petit Bistro" and had a quick drink before heading home.
Thursday: Shopping in Aix. I bought a cookbook to aid my French and my French cooking. That night, we made the first recipe-- macaroni au fromage et jambon (macaroni and cheese with ham). C'etait parfait!
The dish before it went in the oven.
Allison and Haley waiting for dinner to be served.Friday: Tour of Aix with Pam.
That evening, we had a group Abroadco dinner at a picturesque restaurant on a side-street in Aix. We were served three courses. I had a delicious vegetable tart, cod in a lemon butter sauce, and a chocolate gateau for desert. I guess what they say about the French lingering over meals is true-- dinner took us about 2.5 hours.
Friday night we really went out in Aix.
First stop: O'Shannons-- an Irish pub where we met two French boys, one from Madagascar.
Second stop: Le Petit Bistro where I met a French boy who was really helpful with my pronunciation.
Third stop: IPN, a dance club. It was this cool, underground bar with a dance floor that was absolutely packed by the time I left at 2:30 a.m. I carried my shoe in my hands as I hobbled home. The dancing was the highlight of my night.
Saturday: Free day. Annie and I slept in, got a bus pass, ate warm, delicious crepes, and made dinner again.
Sunday: Tour of Marseille, more details and pictures to come.
If you can't tell, I'm loving it already.
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