Cursive French Is Impossible To Read

Hello!

My classes started yesterday. (Monday) I started off the morning with a three and a half hour French class. I also got switched to a different placement group on Monday so my schedule changed. After my classes I got a piece of pizza in town, they fold their pizza in half here. It is much easier to eat while you are walking that way! 

It was kind of fun walking back to my dorm meandering through side streets trying to find a shortcut while eating my pizza. Felt like I had gotten a little grasp on what I'm doing here! 

Tuesday, I started my new class schedule which is nice because I don't have classes on Mondays! Holy guacamole, you guys. This is hard! I have a 3-3.5 hour French class 4 days a week. Having to focus on every single word that my professor says for 3.5 hours is exhausting. If I zone out for even just a minute I am lost. My longest class is 3.5 hours and my shortest class is 2 hours... After a day of just 2 classes, all I want is to go to bed. I know it will get easier as I get more comfortable in my classes so I am definitely looking forward to that! 

I don't have a whole lot to report so far for this week. Just trying to get my feet on the ground here. I will let you know how the rest of my week turns out and what my plans are for the weekend later this week. : )

Thank you so much for following my adventures so far and reading my blog! I am always excited to post on here and keep you updated. 

Sunday Funday

Our first weekend in Aix is coming to an end and our classes start tomorrow! I'm pretty nervous about classes starting but everything will be great once I am in the swing of things! Our classes are right in town, not on the school campus because we are doing a different program than the rest of the students at the university.

I wandered around town today with my friend Catherine. All of the shops were closed, with the exception of just of a few bakeries. It was relatively empty around town which was what I was hoping for! I needed a day to be a tourist and take some pictures.

A lot of cats hang around my dorm...  

Teeny tiny driveway! I don't know how they got out of their car!

The fountain in the center of town.

Either Marseille or Aix-en-Provence has been chosen as the "Cultural Capital" of Europe this year so they wrapped the trees on the main street in town!

Some of the pastries at a shop!

Catherine and I walked up a huge hill to try and get a good view of everything. 

There are a lot of fancy doors around town that are all different colors! 

Endless winding of streets that are all so beautiful. It's easy to get lost.

There are little places like this all over town when you can buy all sorts of food!

My first crepe was delicious! 

My favorite picture from today.

Feel free to email me at vzq914@utk.edu or find me on Facebook if you want to know anything in particular or if you want a postcard!

Pepper Spray Is Illegal In France?

Bonjour! 

I have been here for about five days are things are going swimmingly! (Minus the fact I am having a little trouble adjusting to the time change!) I took a couple pictures so you can get an idea of what my room looks like! 

     It is very small so there isn't much to show! : ) Yesterday (Thursday) We explored town a bit more and found a less expensive grocery store, which took us 2 hours to find. I successfully asked for directions! Although, I didn't really catch what the directions were when they told me.. We would reconvene outside and I would say, "Well I heard turn right." And my friend would say, "Well, I heard turn left." So we had an interesting time finding that but we finally made it! We spend most of our day wandering around Aix. 
      Before I arrived in Aix, I signed up for a "Buddy Program" in which they place you with a boy or girl who lives in Marseille and they can show you around and help you get settled. Well Thursday night, Karlee and I had dinner with Andréa, my "buddy", and her friend Michelle. We ate at a local Chinese restaurant in town and we all hit it off great! We had a wonderful time and look forward to seeing them more! 

     Remember when I said I was having a hard time adjusting to the time? Well, Friday we had to meet at 9:30 to go find out the status of our placement tests. I overslept and woke up at 9:33! 
     After finding out the status of our classes and placement tests we spend the rest of the day exploring and wandering around Aix, doing our best to try and get our bearings in this new city! 
     I tried 2 different kinds of quiche today. My second piece of quiche was spinach & salmon. It was delicious! The pastries that are in cafés here look absolutely HEAVENLY. There is no other way to put it. They are picture perfect, they almost look fake. I will try to take a picture one day so I can let you take a peek. : )

I am trying to get pictures on here soon!

Barf Bags Make Good Bookmarks/Plastic Bags Don't Prevent Leakage

Hello! Hello!

So sorry it took me awhile to get on here and post something. I didn't have internet or any way to call once I got here.

      Okay! So, let's get down to business. I arrived on Monday around noonish or so. My adviser/coordinator met me at the airport and then she took me to my dorm. The drive to Aix-en-Provence was very pretty and I was mesmorized by the general splendor. You can see mountains in the distance which reminds me of Knoxville. I think those are the Alps we can see from here but I am not too sure.

     Once I got to my dorm I unpacked a little bit then went exploring around the campus. My adviser told me there was another girl here from UT as well and we are in the same program. Once I'd had my fill of exploring I hunted her down and she showed me around town a little bit and helped me get some food!
     The local grocery is called "Monoprix". It has mostly everything that you would need. Imagine a Target condensed into a 4-5 story building with each floor designed for certain products! The food in Monoprix is very limited because part of the French culture is being able to buy the things you need to cook with at separate shops in town. For example,  "le Jardiniere" is a local shop with fresh fruit, vegetables, & cheese. Or, at a boulangerie/patisserie you can buy all sorts of bread or pastries.

    On Tuesday morning, I woke up and found my way to Monoprix by myself and bought a blanket because they don't provide you with much bedding here in my dorm room. I have a room all to myself and my own bathroom. I could probably touch both sides of my room if I laid down on the floor and stretched out my arms. My bathroom is probably the size of a bathroom on an airplane, except try to fit a shower in there somehow.
     We met up with the rest of our group and went to work on setting up our bank accounts and phones. The town of Aix-en-Provence is beautiful. Everything is within walking distance, the grocery store, the bank, the phone store, any kind of shop you could possibly think of. You can take a bus into town for one Euro but I would rather buy a baguette with that one Euro than a bus ticket when I can just walk!
     That leads me to baguettes! I bought my first baguette on Tuesday and it was delicious! My friend and I made some pasta in the kitchen on my hall and we ate our baguette with some cheese for dinner. That pretty much wraps up my Tuesday!

     Wednesday, we all had to take our placement tests. The placement test had 2 parts. A written test then an oral test with one of the instructors. The written part of the test was 27 pages long and took us 2 hours! It was hard but I will take whatever placement I get. C'est comme ca! (It is what it is.) The oral part of the test was kind of comical for some of us. I felt like mine went okay, but then again I wasn't really sure if I was pickin' up what the instructor was puttin' down. We wandered around town the rest of the day and I ate dinner at a local cafe with my friend for dinner.

    On Sundays most shops and restaurants are closed here so some of us are going to explore when it isn't as busy in town. I will bring my camera with me and take some pictures and get them uploaded as soon as I can!    

I miss everyone!!
-Lorann

The Countdown Is Over

     Hello, friends! My countdown is over! If you are reading this, I am probably en route to France by now! I will fly from Memphis to Chicago, Chicago to Boston, Boston to Madrid, then from Madrid to Marseille. I should be arriving around noon (France time) on Monday, January 21st. (They are about 7 hours ahead of Memphis time.) Just in case you didn't know, I have taken French for almost 5 years and this trip has been in the making for about 1 year. I am majoring in Speech Pathology & Audiology at The University of Tennessee at Knoxville as well as minoring in French. I am very excited to document my travels and adventures on here so I hope you check in often! :) 

A little background...
     Marseille, France is the 2nd largest city in France. It is neatly nestled between sea and hills in Southern France along the Mediterranean Sea. It is a port city where the summers are warm and dry and the winters are mild. Marseille is known for what is called the "Mistral" (meaning "masterly"). The Mistral is a strong, cold wind that occurs during the winter and spring. It has a big impact on the climate in Marseille and it is known to bring in big storms! But, that's enough talk about weather for one day!

If you are looking at a map of France, this is where I will be :)

I will update you once I arrive!

One Week Until Departure!

I have one week until I hop onto an airplane for my big adventure! The nerves are starting to set in and I am having trouble distinguishing between the excitement and fear! Needless to say, I am very excited but I am ready to be there and settled in. :)

Check in on my blog every once in awhile for my adventures and travels while I am abroad. I will try to post regularly about what I am doing! 

-Lorann