Wine Tasting...and more

Ready for an update? First things first...

When living in the South of France, what do you do on a Friday morning when you don't have classes? Go wine tasting of course! We headed out to a local vineyard at 9am to do just that! It was beautiful out! It ended up getting a little hot but we all loved it! C'est fantastique, non? :)

This vineyard was beautiful and we got to meet the owner. We strolled among the grapes and learned about their wine-making process before tasting 8 different wines.

Good morning countryside of Aix!

So yummy....grapes in training!

Vin, fromage, et une baguette pour le petit-déjeuner? Don't mind if I do! It was so much fun!

This past week has been a whirlwind of activity! 

Tuesday: We had our placement exam at the school. It was a tad difficult because the written part was 26 pages (ughhh) but the oral was short and painless. 

Wednesday: We did a scavenger hunt throughout Aix to help us become more comfortable with our new city and it was great. Now I am beginning to discover everything Aix has to offer. All the little markets are absolutely amazing!

Thursday: We returned to school for student orientation and to get the results of our placement exams. I placed in the high-intermediate level (as expected). Beaucoup de bises to my CSUSM professor, mentor, and friend, Dr. Anover, because all those extra hours have paid off and I wouldn't have placed where I did without you! Merci beaucoup! I will have class everyday that will total 20 hours of class time per week! It's a lot I know but, I'm up for the challenge! Language/phonetics classes last about 13 hours per week and then the rest of the schedule is made up in electives! French students spend way more time in the classroom than American students! My shortest class is 2 hours! I will need to get used to that but all of my classes will be taught in French so I know I'll love it! Classes begin Monday!

:)

First full day in Aix en Provence

This town is absolutely amazing! Today was our first full day and we had a brief orientation this morning followed by a walking tour of Centre Ville which is the center part of Aix. 

This is the courtyard of our university. We will be moving to another building close by but for now this is where I get to study. Tough right? :)

The exterior of my school...the Université de Paul Cezanne Aix-Marseille III

The Cour Mirabeau! My apartment is literally just to the left of the fountain you see in the distance. I will be emailing that address out soon!! 

The bell tower...it rings randomly and sometimes for up to 5 minutes. It is beautiful

The three flags...European Union, French National flag, and the flag of Provence

This is one of the many beautiful squares in Aix. All the squares are surrounded by cafés and it is amazing. You can just sit and watch the people go by. 

I am completely in love with Aix en Provence. To me it is magic and it is hard to believe that I live here. I love everything. It has been great to just explore and use my French. It is already improving!! Well I am going to study for my placement test so I will update you all again later. We have a lot going on over the next few days so I will update you again soon! 

à bientôt mes amis! 

Je suis arrivé!!!!!!

I am in Marseille! 

Favorite part of the trip so far?? The plane from Dallas to Paris! From the moment I boarded, everything was in French! Even the crew spoke French! I was excited because when dinner came around, the flight attendant addressed me in French and I was actually able to respond. Go me! 

Everything has been relatively easy and I have found that I know a lot more French than I thought. I'm surprising myself! C'est génial! :)

Tomorrow I meet my roommates and move into my apartment so I will update everyone soon! Now it is time to relax and get some much needed sleep!

Je dis bonjour de Sud de la France! (I say hello from the South of France!)

Apartment in Aix

Apartment Pictures!!!!!! 

There are 2 double bedrooms and one single bedroom with 2 bathrooms. There will be a total of 5 students living here! Awesome!

It is located just on the other side of the Cours Mirabeau which is Aix en Provence's (much smaller) version of the Champs-Elysées.

This is our living room... 

View from the living room onto our terrace...we are on the 4th floor so we scored this awesome view!  

the terrace itself! So pretty!!! I bet we will spend a lot of time out here!

Kitchen...fully loaded! even a dishwasher!!

our little dining area...

and last but not least, the other side view of the kitchen!

I can't wait to meet the other 4 students who will be living here! We move in next week! Crazy how time has flown by! I will post more pictures once I'm moved in!