Abroad @ MindSay 
study
Hello again everyone!
It's been a long few weeks since I've written so I'll try to condense it as much as I can into this email. In case you don't make it to the end, please just know that I love hearing from all of you! Please keep me in the loop on all the happenings in the US! The easiest way is obviously just to send me an email, but you can send me a letter at 32 Av de l'Estérel; Studio n°50; Juan-les-Pins, France 06160, or you even can call me at 011 336 47 78 12 00. Also if you can only read a few sections, check out Sailing at least because that is by far the coolest thing I have done so far!
Okay, on to the good stuff!
Ski Trip (Jan 15-18)
I went on a ski trip with Interculture, a student organization of CERAM, for a long weekend. We went to Val d'Allos, about a 3 hour bus ride from Sophia Antipolis. It was a beautiful ride, a scenic route through snow-covered mountains of the French Alps.
This was basically my first time skiing (I went once before in Colorado with the family, but hardly remember it). The first day was pretty hard for me, especially since I skipped the debutant slope and went straight to the top of a mountain. It was a bad idea- I eventually had to take the lift down (I know, I'm pathetic!), but I did get to practice my French while learning to ski. I spent most of that day either falling or trying to get up, but it was still a lot of fun and beautiful to be up in the mountains. The next day I stuck to the beginner slopes, so hopefully next time I go skiing I'll be a lot better!
All of us CERAM students stayed in a hotel/apartment building with 6 people to a room (about 80 students total). I roomed with 5 girls from Colombia and Venezuela (they go to school in Miami). The first night there were a few parties which were a lot of fun (like living in a dorm again!), but after noise complaints, we went to a discotheque the next night. I stayed in the last night- my body had to recover!
Inauguration ( Jan 20)
From what I could tell, most French people were pretty excited about Obama's inauguration. Kind of a funny story, actually – On Tuesdays I have class from 4-7, and Obama's speech started at 6 here. About 8 of 12 of the students in this class are AU students (the rest of my classes are diverse, but this one is a requirement for us business majors), and we all ended up leaving the class during the break at 5:30 to run home and catch Obama on TV. We were all so jealous of our friends back in DC who were there! Our professor was very understanding though- she actually tried to let us watch the inauguration in class together, but the internet wasn't working. Nevertheless, I got home just in the nick of time, only to find that live coverage of Obama's speech was dubbed over in French! I caught most of it, and could still hear him in English a little bit in the background, but it just wasn't the same. Although it was pretty cool I have to admit.
Monaco (Sunday, Jan 25)
I had a very long weekend (Thursday morning through Wednesday morning) because a couple of my classes were cancelled last minute, but I couldn't find any last minute deals for trips. Also I was a little unprepared and unsure about what to do for booking flights (I'm so used to flying standby!), and it's hard to navigate the TGV website for trains. I actually really wanted to go to Milan but couldn't find a cheap train last minute. It turned out that I caught a cold toward the end of the week, so I had to rest a lot anyway.
On Sunday, I decided to take a daytrip to Monaco by myself, just to get out! I tried to go a few weeks ago, but couldn't because the trains were on strike. It was a beautiful sunny day, one of the warmest yet (still chilly though). It's less than an hour train ride (€10) east of me, and I got to see many beautiful places through the window that I hope to visit for an afternoon (Villefranche-sur-Mer, Cagnes-sur-Mer).
A little info about Monaco: Only 0.75 sq mi, it borders only France and the Mediterranean. 30,000 residents, of whom 20,000 are super rich and live here because there's no income tax. It's independent technically but its state minister is appointed by the French President, and all the utility companies are French. Prince Rainier, married to Grace Kelly, died in 2005, and their son Prince Albert took over. "Princess Grace" and Prince Rainier are both buried there, actually inside the cathedral (which I missed). There are 3 main areas: Monaco-Ville (or Le Rocher), Monte-Carlo, and La Condamine. Monaco-Ville is mostly on a rock and includes the old town and the palace. From here are absolutely beautiful views, and I'm sure I could see Italy. Monte-Carlo is the other side of Monaco, which is where the famous casino is and the nightlife. La Condamine is the area in between (it makes kind of a U shape), which is the port with all the yachts docked, and lots of surprisingly cheap cafes along the water.
I got there around 11:15am just in time to watch the changing of the guard in front of the palace. I walked all along the rock (more like a hill), where there are beautiful gardens and pathways looking out onto the sea and the city. I went to the Musée Océanographique (the Jacques Cousteau Aquarium), which is on a cliff and was built in 1910 by Prince Albert I. Jacques Cousteau himself directed the aquarium for 17 years. Beautiful views, again, of the sea from here too.
After walking along La Condamine and eating at a sidewalk café for lunch and hot cocoa, I made my way to the casino. Only my second time to go inside a casino ever! To get into the super fancy casino costs money but there's a small part of it that you can go into for free off to the side with slot machines, so I went there and spent €21. Mom would be so proud! Apparently it's a new thing that you only have to be 18 (not 21) to get in, because all the signs still said 21 with 18 written over. I didn't get even get IDed though. As far as I could tell there were no coins at this casino: you just stuck your euros right into the machine and when you were done, it spit out a paper ticket with the amount you had left on it, and you could either use that as your cash out voucher or use it on another machine. After having some gelato I caught a train ride home around 7:30, after seeing the city a little bit after sunset too. I hope to go back to Monaco for a fancy night out, to go to a nightclub and gamble a little more. Also going to the Grand Prix in May would be awesome if I could find a way to get cheap tickets!
Sailing
Today I went sailing for the first time! If I stayed here for 4 months and never the left the apartment except for one day to go sailing, I think I'd be happy. It was by far the greatest experience I have had here yet. There were 7 students there today (there might be more next week), so 3 of us went on 1 boat and 3 on the other. As soon as we got there the prof (Nathalie) had us change into our wetsuits, and we immediately started putting together the boats! (I got my wetsuit a couple days ago from the huge sports store Décathlon, which was actually a hike from the bus stop.) We learned how to tie the knots (lots of 8s) and put up the sails. She spoke in French for the terms and English for explanations (we were all English-speaking), but also French sometimes and looked to me to translate for her! It's pretty neat because I'm definitely learning how to sail in France in French. Our prof rode in a motorboat while the 2 sailboats full of students headed out to sea. It was amazing. In the US I don't think we would have even touched the boat on the first day of class, but here we learn by doing, which is a lot better. Our objective was to learn how to steer today, but we also ended up learning a bit about the sails too. Turn into the wind, tightening and loosening the sails (la grande-voile et le foc), pull and push to steer… It was so amazing. Today we sailed from the shore to the cap, there and back 3 or 4 times, for about an hour. It took longer to carry the boat to/from the shore and set up/take down than anything else, but eventually we'll get it down. The water was so blue, and it was gorgeous weather (not too windy, thank goodness!). I can't wait to go out again next week!
Misc
I now have a library card, student ID card, bank card, and Carrefour loyalty card in my wallet, all from France! Oh, the library in Antibes is called Médiathèque not Bibliothèque, so I guess the language is evolving! Carrefour is like a super-duper-Walmart, except without all the controversy. It's bigger than Costco or Sam's but nothing sold in bulk and a lot more variety. Four aisles dedicated to wine, and lots of cheese and fresh meat, but then on the other side there are computers, mattresses, dvds, clothes, pretty much everything.. In the same building but outside of the registers are regular chain stores. You can pretty much find anything at Carrefour, and everyone seems to go there. Oh, you have to pay extra for plastic bags in grocery stores (usually like 3-5 cents), and at Carrefour they only have reusable bags (10 or 60 cents) that you can buy if you didn't bring your own.
As far as studying French, I'm still speaking it to all the locals and some students. I think I may be improving but I'm still way too far from becoming fluent. Classes are going well, I admit I haven't really studied much yet but there hasn't been much to do. Profs are really understanding about us exchange students wanting to travel and explore on nights and weekends, but by the end of the semester I will have lots of group projects due and more work coming up soon with midterms only in a few weeks. Also my spring break is the last week of February and I'm thinking about doing a trip to Rome and Athens- let me know if you have any suggestions though! I should be getting internet in my apartment next week, so hopefully it will be easier to contact me!
Food is delicious here, have gotten a few rotisserie chickens, tried soupe de poisson when I was sick, made steak and potatoes one night, and of course lots of wine and cheese. I found one cheese that is really delicious, but tonight I had one that is really disgusting and I might just throw it away if my roommate doesn't want it. Today there was a big strike all over France, which was anticipated all week. I think things should be running normal again tomorrow but half of the buses and trains didn't work today, and lots of schools (not CERAM) and stores were closed too. I love how powerful the people are here. If there's something they don't like that's changing, you're sure going to hear about it. I think people are too passive in the US and we let our government run too much. The government should listen to the people, not the other way around!
Okay, enough for now, sorry it is so long but this is also my record so I didn't want to leave too much out! Tomorrow I head to Brussels for the weekend with 3 other students. I'll keep you updated but please if you have any advice or comments, please share with me too!
Love,
Emily
Hello again, everyone!
I know it has been a long time since I’ve shared my stories with you, but I hope you haven’t forgotten about me! I miss you all so much, despite all my fun adventures around Europe.
So, we’ve got some catching up to do. I just got back from a trip to Barcelona, and a couple of weeks ago I went east on spring break to Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Munich, and Strasbourg. Tonight I’ll email you about my trips to Brussels and other random things I’ve done, but stay tuned because I’ll email again soon about my spring break trip and Barcelona!
Brussels (Jan 30-Feb 1)
I took my first weekend trip with Chris, another exchange student at CERAM from California. We decided to go to Brussels for no better reason than a cheap direct flight from Nice, but it was definitely a great place to visit. We stayed in a pretty nice hostel – actually Van Gogh used to work in the same building! My favorite thing in Brussels was the Fine Arts Museum, where I spent hours and got to see David’s Death of Marat, one of my favorite paintings ever. The museum also featured Dutch artists like Bruegels, Van Dyck, Rubens, and my personal favorite Hieronymous Bosch.
Perhaps more importantly, the food in Belgium was incredible. When I wasn’t eating a gaufre (waffle) on the street with a crunchy sugary filling, I was snacking on “French” fries or sampling chocolates. But I also ate real meals, like moules-frites (yum!) and Flemish beef stew. Not to mention all the beer I drank that weekend, and I don’t even like beer! I drank Kriek, an authentic Belgian girly-beer which tasted just like cherry soda, at a bar which holds the Guinness World Record for serving the most kinds of beers – over 2000! I didn’t mind drinking it even though I found out that Belgian beer is apparently so good because of the bacteria in the sewer water that runs under the city.
Other attractions – I walked around the Grand Place square taking in the beautiful architecture, and I saw Mannekin Pis, a statue of a peeing boy which has many legends behind it, and often wears elaborate costumes with a convenient hole. I saw him bare, but was able to catch a glimpse of many of the costumes he’s worn at the National Museum. I also went to the Comic Strip Museum, so you can be jealous that I learned all about the Smurfs in their home country. I saw the business district of the city too, seeking out the EU headquarters and European Parliament buildings. I also saw the Atomium, which was a large statue built for the 1958 World’s Fair, showing a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times.
I wasn’t expecting much from Brussels, but it turned out to be an amazing trip, and I was even able to speak French there (though they also speak Dutch). I’d like to return to Brussels for some more waffles, but next time I’ll venture out to the beautiful city of Bruges too.
Festivals: Games, Lemons, Mimosas, and the Nice Carnaval
February was a month of festivals in France. I went the Cannes Festival des Jeux, which was held in the same building as the red carpet and recommended by my French professor. It was just as it’s called: a festival of games. I was just a spectator, but if I wanted I could have played any kind of game I wanted; they had everything from Mahjong to Guitar Hero, as well as new games they were testing out. It attracted a very fun crowd, young and old. I also went to the Festival du Citron in Menton (on the France-Italy border, about an hour by train), where there was a huge parade of floats made completely from lemons and oranges. I had some very sour lemonade here.
Before I go further, let me clarify that mimosas are more than a delicious cocktail; a mimosa is also a beautiful yellow flower that blooms in winter in the south of France (after being imported from Australia) and is used to make perfumes. I didn’t make it to the Mimosa Festival in Mandelieu-La Napoule, but I went on a tour (in French) which guided us through the Massif du Tanneron (hills which include the largest mimosa forest in Europe) and to a perfume factory in Grasse.
Last but not least, the Nice Carnaval is one of the Riveria’s biggest events (along with the Cannes Film Festival and the Grand Prix). You can’t walk along the Promenade des Anglais or go to Place Massena during this 3-week festival without getting completely covered in silly string and confetti. I went to one of the nighttime parades and saw the very bizarre and monster-size floats making their way through the streets, with crowds of people (adults and kids alike!) getting into silly string wars. The litter at the end of the night was ridiculous, but even I think it was worth it for that much fun.
Private Plane Ride
One last thing before I let you go: Because CERAM has an aerospace engineering major, I was able to find a student (a licensed pilot though) to take me on a private flight for a small fee. I say private because it was just me and him, but no one else would have fit on the 2-seater plane! So, as co-pilot, I was able to take control for a little while. We had a lot of fun up in the air and spoke French the whole time, not to mention the beautiful view of Cannes and the Riviera, flying from the Cannes-Mandelieu airport to Fréjus and back. It was definitely the most exhilarating experience yet – it even beats that first time I went sailing on the Mediterranean. I’ve been on the water, over the water, and now since it’s getting warmer outside, I can’t wait to get IN the water!
Well, that’s enough of my adventures for now… Oh yeah, I should probably mention my classes so you guys keep thinking I’m a good student! Haha just kidding, I’ve been doing well in my classes actually, already had one round of midterms and another round is coming up next week. Classes are pretty easy here compared to AU, but that might just be because I’m in a totally different mindset here. One culture shock though: apparently a lot French students cheat. Don’t worry, I haven’t become THAT French.
Thanks for reading, and please, keep in touch! Like I said, I’m having an amazing time, but I really do miss everyone from home.
Love always,
Emily
PS: Check out my photo albums on Facebook for some pics!
OK, I have a little time now to catch you up on my adventures… In my 11 days of travelling alone during the first week of March, I went to many cities. Some common themes of the places I went: synagogues, WWII, astronomical clocks. All-in-all, I had a really amazing time, and it was even a learning experience (in many different ways). But I was happy to return “home” to my bed and a familiar language in France!
Berlin (Feb 27-28)
I started my trip by flying to Berlin. I stayed at the “world famous hostel” (www.famoushostels.com) called The Circus. I instantly became friends with the 5 18-year old Scottish girls staying in my room, and I had a lot of fun my one night in Berlin. From then, I knew it was going to be a great trip and easy to meet people. I explored the city on my own the next day, staying only in the Mitte area, seeing Checkpoint Charlie (touristy replica of a guard house at an old crossing point between the east and the west), the Reichstag, and remnants of the wall. This was only the beginning though, and I went on to learn much more about WWII throughout the rest of my trip.
Prague (Feb 28-Mar 3) & Terezín (Mar 1)
In Praha, I stayed with one of my best friends Erik, who is studying abroad there this semester through AU. It was so great to hang out with a true friend! I had heard good things about Prague, but I found it to be too overrun by tourists, though it’s still a beautiful city full of cobblestone streets and old, impressive buildings. Erik was in class during the days I was there, so I explored mostly on my own. I walked everywhere from Wenceslas Square in Nové Město (New Town), to the astronomical clock and market in Staré Město (Old Town), to Starnonová (Old-New Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Europe) in Josefov, over the Charles Bridge to Malá Strana and the castle. I saw Frank Gehry’s Dancing Building, and Erik and I took the funicular up Petřín Hill at night. The highlight of my time in Prague: the Franz Kafka museum, which Adam recommended to me. It was a lot of fun too to use the Czech koruna, not the euro! For food, I had goulash soup with dumpling bread (kind of reminded me of the Ethiopian spongy bread) and delicious sausages from street vendors. I also tried hot mulled wine, which was ok but nothing compared to a glass of cool French wine.
While I was in the Czech Republic, I tagged along on one of Erik’s field trips to what used to be Czech’s largest concentration camp, Terezín. This was an amazing experience, though I’m not really sure how to describe it, so I’ll give you the facts. About 180,000 Jews were sent to Terezín in total, about 40,000 died there from bad living conditions (not extermination), and 90,000 people were deported to other camps (namely Auschwitz), of whom 86,000 died. Terezín was used as propaganda by the Nazis: At first it was promoted as a safe haven and resort for Jews, tricking many into coming here toward their death. The Red Cross even came to check on Terezín in 1944, but they made a good report as everything was staged for them. It was really a remarkable experience to have a guided tour around this place, and I learned so much from it.
Budapest (Mar 4-6)
The 7-hour bus ride from Prague to Budapest was actually quite comfortable, and it was fun to ride through the snowy Czech countryside and pass through Slovakia. Budapest was the one city I did not have a hostel booking for, but I found one easily and a great one at that, called Carpe Noctem. Budapest is actually 2 cities in one: Buda and Pest. Buda is the touristy side of the river with the castle perched on a hill, and Pest is the lively side with more things to do. The geography reminded me of Prague, and again it was nice to use a different currency: the Hungarian forint. I stayed mostly in Pest, but took a walking tour of Buda on my last day. Food was delicious: for dinner one night I had garlic creamy soup with a piece of fried bread covered in sour cream and shredded cheese, and some delicious meat and potatoes with more sour cream and shredded cheese. I went to St. Stephen’s Basilica (where I saw St. Stephen’s 10,000 year old mummified hand), saw the gothic Parliament, and walked along Andrassy Blvd to Heroes’ Square. Keeping with the theme of visiting record-breaking synagogues which I started in Prague, I took a tour of the 2nd largest synagogue in the world (after NYC), coincidentally with an AU alum and a couple from around Dallas. I also stuck with the theme of learning about WWII, and went to the House of Terror museum, in a building where prisoners used to be held and tortured. In the last few hours I had in Budapest, I went to the Turkish bath Széchenyi Fürdö. It was nice but our private pool and hot tub in Colleyville is nicer! Overall Budapest was really a ton of fun because I met so many people in the hostel, and they knew how to make their guests have a good time.
Munich (Mar 7-9) & Neuschwanstein
I took an overnight train from Budapest, which was an experience in itself since I slept on the top bunk. Waiting for my room to become available at the world famous Euro Youth Hotel, I wandered the empty streets tired at 6am in the snow, then went on a walking tour (same company as I had in Buda). It was a good thing I had a guide, because apparently Munich has a lot of “silent” or hidden memorials around the city, which I heard the rest of Germany thinks is a cop-out. In Marienplatz I watched the Glockenspiel clock display, similar to Prague’s orloj but longer. After some rest, that night I went on a “Beer Challenge” – put on by the same company as the walking tour, and we visited Munich’s most popular beer halls, including the Hofbrauhaus. The next day I went with the 2 women who were staying in my room (PhD students in Netherlands) to the Neuschwanstein Castle, about 2 and a half hours away by train and bus. This castle was the inspiration for Disney's Cinderella castle. It worked out well to have a group of 3 of us since we could buy a group train ticket and save some money, but unfortunately I was pretty sick with a cold that day. I wasn’t incredibly impressed with the castle, probably because the paths which offer the greatest views were closed due to snow. It was beautiful though and great to be in the mountains.
Strasbourg (Mar 9)
I left Munich early in the morning and had about 8 hours to spend in Strasbourg, which turned out to be one of the greatest parts of my whole trip. It was such a relief to return to France! As much as I love traveling, I missed France for the culture, bread, and language that I had gotten so used to hearing every day. In Strasbourg, they spoke a mixture of German and French in the streets, but it was French enough for me! It was such a beautiful city too; I really hope to go back someday for longer than just a few hours. In my little time there, I went to the gothic cathedral and watched the astronomical clock at noon, mainly to get out of the cold rain. I knew I was back in France because even the astronomical clock was running late, and it actually stopped working in the middle of the show! My spring break trip ended with a bang, though, as I happened to be in Strasbourg on the first night of a European Parliament session. Somehow, I ended up watching the MPs live in session! It was like watching CSPAN, but a little more interesting because of all the different languages being spoken (there was a radio that I tuned into which had translations into many different languages). I left straight from Parliament to the airport to catch my flight back to Nice.
…And back to Juan-les-pins!
Once I got home, I only had one night of rest before a good friend of mine came to visit me in JLP! He took a trip to Europe during his spring break from AU, first stopping in Paris then staying with me in JLP for the week, and we went to Barcelona together that weekend (where we met up with Erik, so I got to see him twice!). It was certainly a long couple of weeks for me, but I finally was able to catch up on sleep and enjoy the increasingly-warm weather right here in Juan-les-pins last weekend. It’s getting closer and closer to the end of the semester, but I feel good about how much I have already done, and now my plan is to just stick around here and enjoy life at the beach, though it’s nothing like Misquamicut in Rhode Island with the family :)
Love and miss you all, more than you probably think,
Emily
Photos: http://picasaweb.google.fr/lh/sredir?uname=emily.groffman&target=ALBUM&id=5315255278661740769&authkey=Gv1sRgCNPUjueFxeC_rQE&feat=email
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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