Blog Abroad

Good morning! I think it's 3:30 there now, but here I've already eaten breakfast. I think Wednesday is laundry day, but I'm not allowed to use the washer so Catherine washes and dries my clothes. I don't have courses on Wednesday so I think I will use my Wednesdays to go to a local cafe/library thing and do homework. And I can go to the market and get a couple things to make lunch Thursday and Friday. Like bread and cheese or Spinach for salad or something. I found a couple cafes not too far from the centerr where I can get a slice of pizza or a giant sandwich or quiche or something like that for only 2,50 euros so Mondays when the big market isn't open I can go to one of those and maybe still have something leftover for Tuesday. Or Tuesday you can buy a whole rotisserie chicken with potatos for 4,50 euros and I can save my leftover chicken for Wednesday. Anyways, moral of the story is I'm starting to find the tricks to being a student in Aix.

Also I talked with the director and she told me to go ahead and try the translation course and if the professor thinks it's too hard for me then I can take the grammar course, but she's afraid grammar is too basic for me. But I also need the credit at Winthrop so we'll see. And the the French Society course only has room for 15 students so in case I can't get in to that, I tried the Image Abroad (rough translation or the course title) course, which I hadn't realized was a literature course and most of the literature I already read in French Lit last year. So I hope there's room in French Society but if not I can handle the literature.

It's my understanding that French courses in general are more lecture-based, but I can tell the professors are trying to include us and encourage questions so that's good.

Also, I think I'm beginning to figure out Catherine. I think she's either a laugh or be very intense kind of person, so as long as I stay unwound and laugh with her, we have a nice time. We watched a French comedy theater on tv lastnight and I didn't understand most of it, but she was laughing so I sat there with her and tried to understand what I could.

Other than that I don't have too much to tell you today. Saturday I'm going to the villages of Luberon: Lourmarin, Boonieux, and Roussillon. Then Sunday I'm going with Catherine and her granddaughter and her son to a market I think and then he owns a restaurant so I think we're eating there for lunch and then we're going to see the Aix Philharmonic Orchestra. I'll post lots of pictures and let you know all about it.

Hope you have a good day! Bissous!