franceBonjour tout le monde!
I just wanted to let you all know that I have made it to France safely. It has been a looong week since I got here, but I'll try to tell you about it briefly...
After Tommy brought Dad and I to the airport, we spent 9 and a half hours on the airplane. I hardly slept on the plane because I was nervous and excited, so I watched the PED that Dad has worked so hard on (even though they don't really work, sorry dad). Our flight was delayed a couple hours so we didn't land in time to make our first connection on Air France from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Nice. Little did we know that we wouldn't make ANY connections, thanks to standby travel... After waiting in the cold and uncomfortable airport for many many hours, we eventually found out that we could get a flight from the Orly airport about an hour away by bus. So finally we made it to the Nice airport, and by the time we got to the hotel in Juan Les Pins it was midnight. Oh, I forgot to mention that one of my bags was "missing." NOTE: Do not check bags through when you're making a connection on a different airline. It was a long journey (from about 5pm to midnight the next day), but it was so worth it!
Dad and I met my landlord to get the keys and see the apartment before I moved in- this was of course the most important thing for me to do. The apartment is gorgeous! It is a small studio (I think 27 sq meters) and there are 2 of us living there, but it is fully furnished and has a rather big balcony with a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea. I can even hear the waves (though they are not big) at night when I am going to bed. I even have a TV which I like to watch because French TV is so entertaining. Mom, I saw La Roule de Fortune and instead of Vanna White, there was a crossdresser! I think that was only a one-night thing, but it was great fun. The TV is old and doesn't work that well, but it has all American shows dubbed over in French. All the Law and Orders, CSIs, Criminal Minds, game shows, and movies too. Anyway, watching TV is a good way to learn French as Dad pointed out to me.
Dad and I also travelled around quite a bit, after we were finally well-rested. We walked to Antibes (about 20 minutes if you go the right way, it took us much longer though- we couldn't find any taxis!), which is where many foreign students live. There are lots of restaurants, and old town, main bus/train stations, and a Picasso Museum (which I will visit eventually) in Antibes. I'm living in Juan Les Pins, which is a much cooler town if you ask me, with lots of little boutiques, and everything is right along the coast. Juan Les Pins is located between Cannes and Nice, about 20 minutes to Cannes and an hour to Nice.
We travelled to Cannes and found the main building with a red carpet and all. Oh, to all of you who have given so much money to Foxwoods, I'll have you know that we went to a Casino in Cannes and spent merely 10€. I'm allowed to drink and gamble here! I'm not as old as you folks, so this was my first time inside a casino hehe.. I learned about roulette and wandered around playing the 50eurocent slots. We ate the fixed price meal at a nice restaurant where dad got a million mussels for cheap, and we had a bottle of wine (so basically I had to carry Dad home hehe).
We also visited Nice, which is a real city. We took a train there -the TGV (train à grande vitesse = high speed train)- and there is a tram that brings you around the city once you arrive. Here we walked along the Promenade des Anglais, seeing the Hotel Negresco and a bunch of ritzy expensive places. I don't remember exactly what we did but it was a lot of fun and cool to be a big city. Remember though, it is still cold (in the 30s-40s), so it's not like there are any tourists around. In fact, even in my town Juan Les Pins not too many stores are open because it's off season.
And let's not forget the reason why I'm here: to study. Yeah right! (Just kidding, Dad...) The university that I am studying at is called CERAM Bachelors: EAI Tech Programme. It is located in Sophia Antipolis, which is a technology park (city) in the mountains with basically nothing to do unless you're a CEO. It's a 45 minute bus ride (or 20, if you take the fast one that doesn't come as often) from where I live, and I have 8:30s so I've been waking up at 6. It's so unlike me, I know!
There was a very very long Orientation day, which basically consisted of waiting in lines (there are about 60 international students here, 8 of which are from American University). That was on Tuesday, and then Wednesday I had my first classes. Classes meet in 3-hour blocks, once a week. Because I wanted to have long weekends to make for easy travel, I only have class Tuesday evening (4-7), all day Wednesday (8:30-7), and Thursday (830-5, with a 3-hour break). I'm taking a full 16 credits, which is 6 classes (1 1-credit course). Here are my courses:
- Production and Operations Management
- Advanced French (the highest level offered)
- International Management (I'm trying to switch into International Business)
- Photography
- Principles of Marketing
- SAILING!
I haven't been to POM or Sailing yet, but I'm definitely looking forward to Sailing. We are going to sail at Cap d'Antibes which is pretty close to where I live. It's going to be cold, but fun and interesting! Next weekend, I'm going on a Ski Trip which is sponsored by the school. The student organizations here have so much freedom: there are school-sponsored parties at local pubs. It's pretty awesome. It's less than 200€ and it's all-inclusive (meals, housing, rentals) for 3 days. It's called "Integration Weekend" because it's meant to integrate international students with French students, which I'm very excited for. There are a lot of French students in my classes, too, even though the classes are taught in English. I've become friends with a bunch of people at school but it's hard to meet up with them outside of school since I don't have a way to contact anyone. I'm still working on getting a cellphone and internet for my apartment; hopefully I can make progress on that this weekend. I also want to go to Monaco this weekend (it's only an hour train ride).
Okay, I'm trying to think of any other things you might be curious about (though I've probably shared too much already!)... About food: It's delicious. Fixed price meals are 3 courses and cheap for how big the portions are. At school they have baguette sandwiches, which I'll definitely be getting every school day. I have a small fridge to keep stuff at home but haven't had time to go grocery shopping yet. I did buy a bottle of Spanish wine though for only 2.60€ (the cheapest I could find), and it's pretty good. Wine and liquor are really cheap in the grocery stores (yep, liquor in grocery stores- like Columbus!). Oh I met someone here who lived in Columbus and moved to France last year, and also I met someone on an exchange program like mine who went to Southlake Carroll. I have been practicing speaking French of course.. My roommate is in my Advanced French class with me (she goes to AU too but I didn't know her before this, and she is originally from Korea), so we might soon start to practice together outside of class. Our apartment came with the French edition of Scrabble, which is the 2nd best thing about my apartment after the balcony. I always address people in French, except students in my classes because I don't know which ones are French yet. Most of the exchange students don't speak any French or don't practice, but I'm definitely trying since that is a goal of mine.
Please, if you have questions for me, ask! Not that I think I left much unsaid... It might take me a while to respond but I'll get to it eventually.
I love you all, and I do miss you all too. I can never forget those who I love even if I'm having a good time. So you should all come visit! :)
Love,
Emily
I just wanted to let you all know that I have made it to France safely. It has been a looong week since I got here, but I'll try to tell you about it briefly...
After Tommy brought Dad and I to the airport, we spent 9 and a half hours on the airplane. I hardly slept on the plane because I was nervous and excited, so I watched the PED that Dad has worked so hard on (even though they don't really work, sorry dad). Our flight was delayed a couple hours so we didn't land in time to make our first connection on Air France from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Nice. Little did we know that we wouldn't make ANY connections, thanks to standby travel... After waiting in the cold and uncomfortable airport for many many hours, we eventually found out that we could get a flight from the Orly airport about an hour away by bus. So finally we made it to the Nice airport, and by the time we got to the hotel in Juan Les Pins it was midnight. Oh, I forgot to mention that one of my bags was "missing." NOTE: Do not check bags through when you're making a connection on a different airline. It was a long journey (from about 5pm to midnight the next day), but it was so worth it!
Dad and I met my landlord to get the keys and see the apartment before I moved in- this was of course the most important thing for me to do. The apartment is gorgeous! It is a small studio (I think 27 sq meters) and there are 2 of us living there, but it is fully furnished and has a rather big balcony with a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea. I can even hear the waves (though they are not big) at night when I am going to bed. I even have a TV which I like to watch because French TV is so entertaining. Mom, I saw La Roule de Fortune and instead of Vanna White, there was a crossdresser! I think that was only a one-night thing, but it was great fun. The TV is old and doesn't work that well, but it has all American shows dubbed over in French. All the Law and Orders, CSIs, Criminal Minds, game shows, and movies too. Anyway, watching TV is a good way to learn French as Dad pointed out to me.
Dad and I also travelled around quite a bit, after we were finally well-rested. We walked to Antibes (about 20 minutes if you go the right way, it took us much longer though- we couldn't find any taxis!), which is where many foreign students live. There are lots of restaurants, and old town, main bus/train stations, and a Picasso Museum (which I will visit eventually) in Antibes. I'm living in Juan Les Pins, which is a much cooler town if you ask me, with lots of little boutiques, and everything is right along the coast. Juan Les Pins is located between Cannes and Nice, about 20 minutes to Cannes and an hour to Nice.
We travelled to Cannes and found the main building with a red carpet and all. Oh, to all of you who have given so much money to Foxwoods, I'll have you know that we went to a Casino in Cannes and spent merely 10€. I'm allowed to drink and gamble here! I'm not as old as you folks, so this was my first time inside a casino hehe.. I learned about roulette and wandered around playing the 50eurocent slots. We ate the fixed price meal at a nice restaurant where dad got a million mussels for cheap, and we had a bottle of wine (so basically I had to carry Dad home hehe).
We also visited Nice, which is a real city. We took a train there -the TGV (train à grande vitesse = high speed train)- and there is a tram that brings you around the city once you arrive. Here we walked along the Promenade des Anglais, seeing the Hotel Negresco and a bunch of ritzy expensive places. I don't remember exactly what we did but it was a lot of fun and cool to be a big city. Remember though, it is still cold (in the 30s-40s), so it's not like there are any tourists around. In fact, even in my town Juan Les Pins not too many stores are open because it's off season.
And let's not forget the reason why I'm here: to study. Yeah right! (Just kidding, Dad...) The university that I am studying at is called CERAM Bachelors: EAI Tech Programme. It is located in Sophia Antipolis, which is a technology park (city) in the mountains with basically nothing to do unless you're a CEO. It's a 45 minute bus ride (or 20, if you take the fast one that doesn't come as often) from where I live, and I have 8:30s so I've been waking up at 6. It's so unlike me, I know!
There was a very very long Orientation day, which basically consisted of waiting in lines (there are about 60 international students here, 8 of which are from American University). That was on Tuesday, and then Wednesday I had my first classes. Classes meet in 3-hour blocks, once a week. Because I wanted to have long weekends to make for easy travel, I only have class Tuesday evening (4-7), all day Wednesday (8:30-7), and Thursday (830-5, with a 3-hour break). I'm taking a full 16 credits, which is 6 classes (1 1-credit course). Here are my courses:
- Production and Operations Management
- Advanced French (the highest level offered)
- International Management (I'm trying to switch into International Business)
- Photography
- Principles of Marketing
- SAILING!
I haven't been to POM or Sailing yet, but I'm definitely looking forward to Sailing. We are going to sail at Cap d'Antibes which is pretty close to where I live. It's going to be cold, but fun and interesting! Next weekend, I'm going on a Ski Trip which is sponsored by the school. The student organizations here have so much freedom: there are school-sponsored parties at local pubs. It's pretty awesome. It's less than 200€ and it's all-inclusive (meals, housing, rentals) for 3 days. It's called "Integration Weekend" because it's meant to integrate international students with French students, which I'm very excited for. There are a lot of French students in my classes, too, even though the classes are taught in English. I've become friends with a bunch of people at school but it's hard to meet up with them outside of school since I don't have a way to contact anyone. I'm still working on getting a cellphone and internet for my apartment; hopefully I can make progress on that this weekend. I also want to go to Monaco this weekend (it's only an hour train ride).
Okay, I'm trying to think of any other things you might be curious about (though I've probably shared too much already!)... About food: It's delicious. Fixed price meals are 3 courses and cheap for how big the portions are. At school they have baguette sandwiches, which I'll definitely be getting every school day. I have a small fridge to keep stuff at home but haven't had time to go grocery shopping yet. I did buy a bottle of Spanish wine though for only 2.60€ (the cheapest I could find), and it's pretty good. Wine and liquor are really cheap in the grocery stores (yep, liquor in grocery stores- like Columbus!). Oh I met someone here who lived in Columbus and moved to France last year, and also I met someone on an exchange program like mine who went to Southlake Carroll. I have been practicing speaking French of course.. My roommate is in my Advanced French class with me (she goes to AU too but I didn't know her before this, and she is originally from Korea), so we might soon start to practice together outside of class. Our apartment came with the French edition of Scrabble, which is the 2nd best thing about my apartment after the balcony. I always address people in French, except students in my classes because I don't know which ones are French yet. Most of the exchange students don't speak any French or don't practice, but I'm definitely trying since that is a goal of mine.
Please, if you have questions for me, ask! Not that I think I left much unsaid... It might take me a while to respond but I'll get to it eventually.
I love you all, and I do miss you all too. I can never forget those who I love even if I'm having a good time. So you should all come visit! :)
Love,
Emily
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