Monday, September 28, 2009
On my way to a dinner party, with the ultimate accesory, bread
This is the stair case of the building I live in. A hotel from the 1700's. Not bad, right?
Claire, Avignon, and Cassis!
So my friend Claire is studying in Paris this semester, and came to Avignon to spend this past weekend with me.
It was marvelous. Although a new adventure is fun, it's always nice to have a familiar face around. Plus it gave me an excuse to do the touristy stuff here, like actually go INSIDE the Palais de Papes, which I had been in front of a gazillion times, but never went in!
So the weather here is gorgeous. It's the end of September and 80 degrees and sunny. I am indeed in the Mediterranean, and I love it. I went to the beach last weekend...........and I managed to go again this weekend! But I think my desire to run away to these little beach villages on the weekends, is because of how stressful the week is! For as small of a town as this is, goodness can it get crazy! It's just sooooo loud with cars, and people in the streets everywhere. Not to mention the added fun/stress of taking a full load of college courses in a foreign language, in addition to my internship! I guess this is all a good test of will for me. There are times when I just love it here, beautiful scenery, great food, the sunny weather, but other times, I'm truly surprised at how stressful it can be. But I guess this isn't vacation. This is study abroad. So I try to cheat a little, make vacation on the weekend, and not do any homework and escape to the ocean side! My friend Federico at the institut, who is originally from the Columbian Coast, is my partner in crime. He got some great advice from his host family on where to go.
This Saturday, Claire, Federico and I went to Cassis, and man, if I can afford it, that is where I wanna retire! It's about a 2o minute train ride from Marseille, which in total is about an hour and a half train ride from Avignon. Cassis was originally settled by the romans, and is the ulimate example of southern france beauty. It takes about an hour, walking from the tran station to reach the beach, but on the way you past vineyards, and beautiful homes. And when you make it to the port and beach, it's the unique smooth rock beaches, with crystal clear, bright blue water. It was divine. As long as the weather permits, I'm going to keep trying to go back to Cassis or to another town on the water.
And then Sunday, Claire and I had some local fun in Avignon. We ate a lovely, traditional provencal meal, on the shores of the Rhone at le Bercail restaurant. It was definitely a meal fit for royalty. Terrine of chevre and eggplant and tomatoe, roast lamb, salmon, pomme frites, lemon tart, and a full bottle of our local rose wine, naturally............
We left the restaurant in a food coma, which made our trek back across the Rhone, off of the Ile de Barthelesse alot longer and slower. But it was all good. We then went to the Palais de Papes, and spent a couple of hours exploring in there. Interesting history. Very cool.
*Oh and I left out the interesting factor of this weekend, which was that I was/am extremely sick. Luckily, the pharmicists here are like doctors and can prescribe you medication. So after buying nasal spray, cough medicine, and some sort of advil cold thing, I am feeling a bit more like a person. It was weird being so sick, in such sunny weather. But c'est la vie. It was bound to happen.........
And now it is back to reality. Time to write 2 papers, and a philosophy analysis! WOOT!
It was marvelous. Although a new adventure is fun, it's always nice to have a familiar face around. Plus it gave me an excuse to do the touristy stuff here, like actually go INSIDE the Palais de Papes, which I had been in front of a gazillion times, but never went in!
So the weather here is gorgeous. It's the end of September and 80 degrees and sunny. I am indeed in the Mediterranean, and I love it. I went to the beach last weekend...........and I managed to go again this weekend! But I think my desire to run away to these little beach villages on the weekends, is because of how stressful the week is! For as small of a town as this is, goodness can it get crazy! It's just sooooo loud with cars, and people in the streets everywhere. Not to mention the added fun/stress of taking a full load of college courses in a foreign language, in addition to my internship! I guess this is all a good test of will for me. There are times when I just love it here, beautiful scenery, great food, the sunny weather, but other times, I'm truly surprised at how stressful it can be. But I guess this isn't vacation. This is study abroad. So I try to cheat a little, make vacation on the weekend, and not do any homework and escape to the ocean side! My friend Federico at the institut, who is originally from the Columbian Coast, is my partner in crime. He got some great advice from his host family on where to go.
This Saturday, Claire, Federico and I went to Cassis, and man, if I can afford it, that is where I wanna retire! It's about a 2o minute train ride from Marseille, which in total is about an hour and a half train ride from Avignon. Cassis was originally settled by the romans, and is the ulimate example of southern france beauty. It takes about an hour, walking from the tran station to reach the beach, but on the way you past vineyards, and beautiful homes. And when you make it to the port and beach, it's the unique smooth rock beaches, with crystal clear, bright blue water. It was divine. As long as the weather permits, I'm going to keep trying to go back to Cassis or to another town on the water.
And then Sunday, Claire and I had some local fun in Avignon. We ate a lovely, traditional provencal meal, on the shores of the Rhone at le Bercail restaurant. It was definitely a meal fit for royalty. Terrine of chevre and eggplant and tomatoe, roast lamb, salmon, pomme frites, lemon tart, and a full bottle of our local rose wine, naturally............
We left the restaurant in a food coma, which made our trek back across the Rhone, off of the Ile de Barthelesse alot longer and slower. But it was all good. We then went to the Palais de Papes, and spent a couple of hours exploring in there. Interesting history. Very cool.
*Oh and I left out the interesting factor of this weekend, which was that I was/am extremely sick. Luckily, the pharmicists here are like doctors and can prescribe you medication. So after buying nasal spray, cough medicine, and some sort of advil cold thing, I am feeling a bit more like a person. It was weird being so sick, in such sunny weather. But c'est la vie. It was bound to happen.........
And now it is back to reality. Time to write 2 papers, and a philosophy analysis! WOOT!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
So I have been here for about 3 weeks now, and all is going pretty well. I have finalized my courses at the institute, and I've decided to take Philosophy, specifically existentialism, something I didn't plan on taking, and I really like it!
I also started my internship today, with GRAIN, the grande initiative in Avignon, a non profit organization that works with people who want to start their own businesses. They work with micro-credit and other forms of financial aid, as well as providing business, legal, and financial guidance. I was beyond scared to start, after a very somber, scary first meeting with my boss, but I think it went pretty well today. I needed to realize anything I do correctly, or anything I understand is a plus, and they'll be impressed, rather than me thinking I'm "under performing" because I'm not working in my native tongue.
Last weekend was a lot of fun. The institut brought us to the Camargues, the region in the South of France, known for their horses, bulls, and flamingos. Afterwards we went to a small town, Sainte Maries de la Mer. It was great! I spent most of my day in the beach, and swimming in the Mediterranean. There were bull fighting arenas there, a tradition still alive in the south of France, and I wanted to go, but our bus was leaving a half hour after it started. Maybe another time.........
All and all things are going pretty well. School is school. It's definitely challenging, not only because of language, but because the classroom etiquette is different, and a lot of work is required. But I figure what doesn't kill me, doesn't kill me, or as some would say, "makes me stronger", but in the end I'm sure I will have become a beast at French, and will have been glad that I didn't have some totally lax semester abroad, like most americans do.
I also started my internship today, with GRAIN, the grande initiative in Avignon, a non profit organization that works with people who want to start their own businesses. They work with micro-credit and other forms of financial aid, as well as providing business, legal, and financial guidance. I was beyond scared to start, after a very somber, scary first meeting with my boss, but I think it went pretty well today. I needed to realize anything I do correctly, or anything I understand is a plus, and they'll be impressed, rather than me thinking I'm "under performing" because I'm not working in my native tongue.
Last weekend was a lot of fun. The institut brought us to the Camargues, the region in the South of France, known for their horses, bulls, and flamingos. Afterwards we went to a small town, Sainte Maries de la Mer. It was great! I spent most of my day in the beach, and swimming in the Mediterranean. There were bull fighting arenas there, a tradition still alive in the south of France, and I wanted to go, but our bus was leaving a half hour after it started. Maybe another time.........
All and all things are going pretty well. School is school. It's definitely challenging, not only because of language, but because the classroom etiquette is different, and a lot of work is required. But I figure what doesn't kill me, doesn't kill me, or as some would say, "makes me stronger", but in the end I'm sure I will have become a beast at French, and will have been glad that I didn't have some totally lax semester abroad, like most americans do.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
My host family and school
So I've been in Avignon for about 6 days now, and I'd thought I'd share with everyone a little bit about my host family and schooling.
I live with Madame Colmant and her 3 daughters, on the top floor, in a building from the 1600's, that used to be a hotel. Napoleon used to live down the block. It's ridiculous. I'm a few blocks from the ramparts (the old surrounding walls) and from the Pope's Palace and the famous Pont (Bridge) d'Avignon. I live in the center of town, and just a 5 minute walk from the insitut, which is great.
Everyone is very nice, and I am so glad I have host siblings. Marie Charlotte, or Sha Sha, as they call her is my age and goes to school in Lyon, so unfortunately she will be leaving in about a week to go to University. However, she already invited me and her sisters to come visit one weekend.
Then there is Aurelie, who is 19, and she goes to la FAC here in Avignon, and should be here all semester. She is very nice and talks a lot me.
And then the baby of the family is Marine, she is 15, and hilarious. Very animated, and just starting their equivilant of high school. She calls herself the "big boss", but said in a very french accent. She's my enterainment.
Madame Colmant is a divorcee with a boyfriend Didier who is very friendly. Apparently the name Colmant, which is her ex husbands last name, and her family name Huily aer very, very well known in the South of France in the restaurant business. Both family's own restaurants, and Corinne (my host mom) works most nights during the week in a restaurant here in town.
So basically its a girl party most of the time which I love, besides when we hang out with the cousin, thibaud, who is a chef and lives down the block. He's a clown. He made me play video games with him. I sucked at it.
I've only had a few days of school so far. I'm still trying to figure out which courses to take, as well as the possibility of having an internship. I'll be dicussing it tonight with M. Alcaras, which will impact how many classes I will take. I also signed up for the opportunity to be a teaching assistant in an english class in a grade school or middle school. I think it could be so much fun! But much is still yet to be determined. I don't want to spread myself too thin. But the insitut is cute. It's an old chapel they've turned into an academic center with classrooms, and a library and a salon.
All in all, things are going well. It's hard moving in with strangers and speaking a different language all day, but I feel my living situation couldnt be any better, and it's definitely getting better day by day. I just wish my host family had a pet. I miss Taco and Sparky so much! But the weather is beautiful, sunny and high 70's or low 80's. And the food is delicious. I eat very well :)
I'll write more soon! Off to class.
Oh and if anyone wants to write me besides email, my address is
17 Rue Petite Fusterie
84000 Avignon France
I live with Madame Colmant and her 3 daughters, on the top floor, in a building from the 1600's, that used to be a hotel. Napoleon used to live down the block. It's ridiculous. I'm a few blocks from the ramparts (the old surrounding walls) and from the Pope's Palace and the famous Pont (Bridge) d'Avignon. I live in the center of town, and just a 5 minute walk from the insitut, which is great.
Everyone is very nice, and I am so glad I have host siblings. Marie Charlotte, or Sha Sha, as they call her is my age and goes to school in Lyon, so unfortunately she will be leaving in about a week to go to University. However, she already invited me and her sisters to come visit one weekend.
Then there is Aurelie, who is 19, and she goes to la FAC here in Avignon, and should be here all semester. She is very nice and talks a lot me.
And then the baby of the family is Marine, she is 15, and hilarious. Very animated, and just starting their equivilant of high school. She calls herself the "big boss", but said in a very french accent. She's my enterainment.
Madame Colmant is a divorcee with a boyfriend Didier who is very friendly. Apparently the name Colmant, which is her ex husbands last name, and her family name Huily aer very, very well known in the South of France in the restaurant business. Both family's own restaurants, and Corinne (my host mom) works most nights during the week in a restaurant here in town.
So basically its a girl party most of the time which I love, besides when we hang out with the cousin, thibaud, who is a chef and lives down the block. He's a clown. He made me play video games with him. I sucked at it.
I've only had a few days of school so far. I'm still trying to figure out which courses to take, as well as the possibility of having an internship. I'll be dicussing it tonight with M. Alcaras, which will impact how many classes I will take. I also signed up for the opportunity to be a teaching assistant in an english class in a grade school or middle school. I think it could be so much fun! But much is still yet to be determined. I don't want to spread myself too thin. But the insitut is cute. It's an old chapel they've turned into an academic center with classrooms, and a library and a salon.
All in all, things are going well. It's hard moving in with strangers and speaking a different language all day, but I feel my living situation couldnt be any better, and it's definitely getting better day by day. I just wish my host family had a pet. I miss Taco and Sparky so much! But the weather is beautiful, sunny and high 70's or low 80's. And the food is delicious. I eat very well :)
I'll write more soon! Off to class.
Oh and if anyone wants to write me besides email, my address is
17 Rue Petite Fusterie
84000 Avignon France
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
A little recap of the Tour de Force
So I am two days away from going to Avignon, and leaving lovely Sion Switzerland behind; thus, I thought I might provide a little recap of the places I've been so far.
Dublin was the first stop on our euro Adventure. All in all, I'd have to say Dublin has a bit too much of America's culture wound into it in terms of music, fashion, and food, especially the area our hostel was in, Temple Bar, but if you tried hard enough, and asked a local where to go, you can still find a pub that plays traditional music, that pours the perfect guiness, and has the perfect mix of locals and visitors. The Brazen Head, which is the oldest pub in Dublin by far was my favorite, fulfilling the previous mentioned criteria. They had live music, and at one point, I ended up on stage singing some british pop song from the 80's I never heard of. Hence my profile picture. It was a great night. Lot's of dancing! We also made a visit to the Guiness Factory. Rather interesting, and they are very giving in terms of tastings along the way. And the tour ends with a free pint in the gravity bar, the top level over looking all of Dublin. We also took a tour of Trinity College, and saw the book of Kells. But my favorite day we spent in Ireland, was when we took a little bus tour to Malahide Castle, a bit north of Dublin. On the way home, the tour stopped in this fishing village called Howth. It was right on the coast, and after a few evenings of hearing Brown Eyed girl blasted fom the bar our hostel was connected to, the group of us decided we wanted to spend a bit more time around this area, avoiding tourists, and scouting it out. So we asked our bus driver if it was cool if we didn't catch a ride back with him, and where we should go. He seemed delighted we had such an interest in the area and suggested we hike down the coast for some fantastic views, and told us where to get the best fish 'n chips in town. So that's just we did. Now, I , not really expecting any hiking for the day, combined with my desire to dress well while in Europe, was wearing heeled leather boots and a rather exspensive sweater. But not wanting to miss out on some beautiful scenery nor receive massive slack from the young men I was traveling with, decided to go for the hiking, not really knowing how long, or how far we were going. Long story short, we never figured out really where the paved path was, and we felt a bit like sheep herders, or a character from Braveheart, roaming through plants and flowers as tall as we were, while being blasted with the fresh Irish Ocean Breeze. This was the Ireland I was waiting to experience!
Next stop was Englad, and thanks to my cousin Morgan, we had a lovely flat to stay in, located in the excellent neighborhood of Clapham. We took a tour of the House of Parliment, which was just soooooo interesting! And it was so cool to be in the House of Commons and House of Lords, just knowing all the crazy traditions, and pompe and circumstance they have maintained over the years. Westminster Palace is beautiful. We also visited london tower, which was neat. But probably the most amusing day was when decied to rent a car and drive to Stone Henge. Out of the group of 4 of us, only two of us knew how to drive manual, and I was not about to try doing that on the OTHER side of the road, so John, who drives a stick regularly, was up to the challenge, and for whatever reason, England seems to not mind renting cars to Americans despite the obvious difference in opinion on which side of the road is proper to drive on. Nonetheless, after a a stressful drive through London, we made it out to the motorway, and safely made it to Stone Henge. On one hand, it's truly just a pile of rocks, but luckily, they provide electronic guided tour head set things, that provided all the history and details that make this particular pile of rocks special. I think the boys were just looking for an excuse to rent a car, and thought Stone Henge was the perfect bait for me. Well, it worked.
Next up was Amsterdam. And believe it or not, 4 American college age students ALL did not like it. We all quickly understood that just because somethings are legal, would not mean we would do them all the time. My advice is to head straight for the Van Gogh Museum since it was the only redeeming quality in Amsterdam, not spend more than 30 minutes in the red light district, and to not fall into the canals, because they looked awfully dirty. It was a bit of a bust. Thank god were only spent 2 days there.
But then there was Paris. Lovely Paris. Tensions were running a bit high after 2 weeks in cramped quarters, but I still managed to enjoy the lovely surroundings. It was my first time at Musee d'Orsay, which has everything: Monet, Manet, Whistler, Van Gogh, Renoir......it was an amazing collection. It was my second time at Notre Dame Cathedral, but it was no less breath taking as the first time. Same with the Tour Eiffel. We went at night when it sparkles, and brought a few bottles of wine and hung out. It's so simple, but so fun! We also went to the catacombs, which was creepy cool. Very dark and damp, and you're underground for a long time.
One of my favorite afternoons was when John and I made a trip to Sacre Coeur, watched some street performers dance and play the drums and then sat at a cafe and wrote some post cards. The weather was lovely, and the cafe was in arms reach of the church. It was great.
Two of the members of the Tour de Force left back home for the states from Paris, while Corey and I ventured onwards to Switzerland to see Valerie and her family! And man they didn't want any time! They told me we were going to the mountains and were going to stay over night in a hotel. Sounded great to me. And they weren't kidding. We drove for about a half an hour up a mountain, then took this tram thing up the side of it, and then hiked for two hours to reach our hotel. It was so cool. The hotel sat 2300 meters up and was from 1892. It was literally on a slant, but had some rustique charm. I said to Valerie's mom in french, "Je suis pas sure si ici est la fin, ou le debut du monde" (I'm not sure if this is the end or the beginnig of the world) Pretty much sums up how I felt. It was quite the Swiss exotique experience. And then on the way back, just in case our nerves werent fried from the altitude in the mountain and sleeping on its edge, we stopped at a suspension bridge over a gorge. Literally, planks of wood were missing, I nearly had a heart attack, but walked the full length there and back. Besides that we have just been enjoying the cute cafes and shops of Sion. Corey left today, so now it's just us girls, and I leave for Avignon in 2 days. CRAZY! I still kind of can't believe I'm spending the semester there
since I've been all around Europe already, but hopefully it will be great! All the swiss keep telling me I'm going to develop a cute, and slightly abnoxious southern french accent and that the food will be great. Works for me.
Dublin was the first stop on our euro Adventure. All in all, I'd have to say Dublin has a bit too much of America's culture wound into it in terms of music, fashion, and food, especially the area our hostel was in, Temple Bar, but if you tried hard enough, and asked a local where to go, you can still find a pub that plays traditional music, that pours the perfect guiness, and has the perfect mix of locals and visitors. The Brazen Head, which is the oldest pub in Dublin by far was my favorite, fulfilling the previous mentioned criteria. They had live music, and at one point, I ended up on stage singing some british pop song from the 80's I never heard of. Hence my profile picture. It was a great night. Lot's of dancing! We also made a visit to the Guiness Factory. Rather interesting, and they are very giving in terms of tastings along the way. And the tour ends with a free pint in the gravity bar, the top level over looking all of Dublin. We also took a tour of Trinity College, and saw the book of Kells. But my favorite day we spent in Ireland, was when we took a little bus tour to Malahide Castle, a bit north of Dublin. On the way home, the tour stopped in this fishing village called Howth. It was right on the coast, and after a few evenings of hearing Brown Eyed girl blasted fom the bar our hostel was connected to, the group of us decided we wanted to spend a bit more time around this area, avoiding tourists, and scouting it out. So we asked our bus driver if it was cool if we didn't catch a ride back with him, and where we should go. He seemed delighted we had such an interest in the area and suggested we hike down the coast for some fantastic views, and told us where to get the best fish 'n chips in town. So that's just we did. Now, I , not really expecting any hiking for the day, combined with my desire to dress well while in Europe, was wearing heeled leather boots and a rather exspensive sweater. But not wanting to miss out on some beautiful scenery nor receive massive slack from the young men I was traveling with, decided to go for the hiking, not really knowing how long, or how far we were going. Long story short, we never figured out really where the paved path was, and we felt a bit like sheep herders, or a character from Braveheart, roaming through plants and flowers as tall as we were, while being blasted with the fresh Irish Ocean Breeze. This was the Ireland I was waiting to experience!
Next stop was Englad, and thanks to my cousin Morgan, we had a lovely flat to stay in, located in the excellent neighborhood of Clapham. We took a tour of the House of Parliment, which was just soooooo interesting! And it was so cool to be in the House of Commons and House of Lords, just knowing all the crazy traditions, and pompe and circumstance they have maintained over the years. Westminster Palace is beautiful. We also visited london tower, which was neat. But probably the most amusing day was when decied to rent a car and drive to Stone Henge. Out of the group of 4 of us, only two of us knew how to drive manual, and I was not about to try doing that on the OTHER side of the road, so John, who drives a stick regularly, was up to the challenge, and for whatever reason, England seems to not mind renting cars to Americans despite the obvious difference in opinion on which side of the road is proper to drive on. Nonetheless, after a a stressful drive through London, we made it out to the motorway, and safely made it to Stone Henge. On one hand, it's truly just a pile of rocks, but luckily, they provide electronic guided tour head set things, that provided all the history and details that make this particular pile of rocks special. I think the boys were just looking for an excuse to rent a car, and thought Stone Henge was the perfect bait for me. Well, it worked.
Next up was Amsterdam. And believe it or not, 4 American college age students ALL did not like it. We all quickly understood that just because somethings are legal, would not mean we would do them all the time. My advice is to head straight for the Van Gogh Museum since it was the only redeeming quality in Amsterdam, not spend more than 30 minutes in the red light district, and to not fall into the canals, because they looked awfully dirty. It was a bit of a bust. Thank god were only spent 2 days there.
But then there was Paris. Lovely Paris. Tensions were running a bit high after 2 weeks in cramped quarters, but I still managed to enjoy the lovely surroundings. It was my first time at Musee d'Orsay, which has everything: Monet, Manet, Whistler, Van Gogh, Renoir......it was an amazing collection. It was my second time at Notre Dame Cathedral, but it was no less breath taking as the first time. Same with the Tour Eiffel. We went at night when it sparkles, and brought a few bottles of wine and hung out. It's so simple, but so fun! We also went to the catacombs, which was creepy cool. Very dark and damp, and you're underground for a long time.
One of my favorite afternoons was when John and I made a trip to Sacre Coeur, watched some street performers dance and play the drums and then sat at a cafe and wrote some post cards. The weather was lovely, and the cafe was in arms reach of the church. It was great.
Two of the members of the Tour de Force left back home for the states from Paris, while Corey and I ventured onwards to Switzerland to see Valerie and her family! And man they didn't want any time! They told me we were going to the mountains and were going to stay over night in a hotel. Sounded great to me. And they weren't kidding. We drove for about a half an hour up a mountain, then took this tram thing up the side of it, and then hiked for two hours to reach our hotel. It was so cool. The hotel sat 2300 meters up and was from 1892. It was literally on a slant, but had some rustique charm. I said to Valerie's mom in french, "Je suis pas sure si ici est la fin, ou le debut du monde" (I'm not sure if this is the end or the beginnig of the world) Pretty much sums up how I felt. It was quite the Swiss exotique experience. And then on the way back, just in case our nerves werent fried from the altitude in the mountain and sleeping on its edge, we stopped at a suspension bridge over a gorge. Literally, planks of wood were missing, I nearly had a heart attack, but walked the full length there and back. Besides that we have just been enjoying the cute cafes and shops of Sion. Corey left today, so now it's just us girls, and I leave for Avignon in 2 days. CRAZY! I still kind of can't believe I'm spending the semester there
since I've been all around Europe already, but hopefully it will be great! All the swiss keep telling me I'm going to develop a cute, and slightly abnoxious southern french accent and that the food will be great. Works for me.
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