AIX AIX AIX AIX AIX! We made it to Aix-en-Provence! What a drastic change in scenery, people, and vibe. We are definitely not in Paris anymore! The train ride down to Aix was beautiful - full of little identical cottages, endless shades of green, and majestic mountains in the distance.
We arrived on Monday, and saw the Wellesley Center on rue Emile Tavan, and after some logistical meetings, we headed off to our respective apartments and families. Kirstin and I are living with a host family here in Aix for the next four months, and they are very lovely and kind people. There's Marie, Christophe, and Nathan. The house is not too big, but it is beautifully decorated and neatly arranged. The colors in the house are beautiful!
For the rest of the evening, we had a delicious dinner, followed by a night out dancing at a nearby dance studio! Marie and Christophe love to dance, so we accompanied them, and Christophe even danced some swing and salsa with us!
Tuesday we had a meeting with the bank to finalize our bank papers, followed by a tour of La Fac. My goodness, the fac is scary!! (Sidenote: La Fac = University of Provence). Its main building is this large, kind of ugly, kind of falling apart building, half of which is under construction. Also btw - classes started. On Monday. We're just going to miss a good week-2 weeks of classes because Masson thinks they're unnecessary....But anyway, the tour took a good 2.5 hours, and we were all pretty exhausted by the end, especially with the heat (high 80s in Aix this whole week!). We are all a little intimidated at the moment, because we're unsure what classes to take, we're unsure where the classes are, and we're unsure why we're missing 2 weeks of classes. So it is all a little overwhelming à ce moment-là, but I'm sure everything will get better! Tout va bien!
Today - I also had the horrific, but worthwhile experience of sitting in on a French class! 5 of us decided to go to "Questions Sociales", located in the amphitheater in Sciences-Po. We were lost within the first 5 minutes of the lecture. The professor's voice, amidst the frantic typing of the French students on their computers, was just inaudible. We gave up after 5 minutes, and just sat in amusement for the next 55 minutes, before leaving at break-time. Dreadful - but amusing indeed.
But have no fear! I was able to go to the Wellesley Center today and read some of the old evaluations from previous students in Aix, and their recommendations for courses. So that was super helpful (thank you, les étudiants anciens!), and I feel more comfortable choosing classes, now that I can base my decision not on how cool the titles sound, but on real evaluations by real students. Yay!
And just some pictures of beautiful Aix. :)
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| Cours Mirabeua - le Champs-Elysées of Aix |
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| Marché! |
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| Just a pretty street with pretty Aixoise trees! |
Also - mail makes me happy!! We even get little mailboxes at the Wellesley Center with our names on it :)
Amy Wang
c/o Centre Wellesley College
16, rue Émile Tavan
13100 Aix-en-Provence
France
bisous!
