Reflections...

In the time leading up to this trip, I was feeling somewhat ill-at-ease.  I was having a hard time justifying my reasons for spending the money to go abroad over the summer.  After all, I am not a French major, and I felt like taking a trip just to fulfill one of my academic hobbies was a little self-indulgent in the face of the economic crisis.  Traveling instead of working made me feel a little guilty.  Even though I will actually be graduating from music education on time, which is saving a nice bundle of money, I just didn't feel like my own interest in the French language and culture was a legitimate reason to take the trip.

All of this has changed since I've been here, and I think that this trip has been completely worth it.  There are some great people in the program, and I love my host mom.  I'm excited to have made some new friends here.  On the academic side, I've actually learned a lot in French phonetics that I think could have some interesting crossovers with the way I think about music and flute.  It has also improved my pronunciation and understanding of the French language.  I have also had a chance to explore some of the sights of Provence and use my French in utilitarian and expressive ways.  

I guess my problem with my French student identity was that I felt that music and French are mutually exclusive, that I would have to choose one or the other.  I kind of blame the University for this because it is not easy to schedule courses in both music and French.  I also feel like so much of my world has been musical in the last three years that people don't really know this whole other side of me (that I even forget about sometimes).  In the past few days though, I've realized that French really does just bring me joy, and I want to keep it up and find ways to use my French to connect with people, especially through music.  Over the weekend, I was talking to Jenny, our program director about a job she'd found at a French immersion school in St Louis.  For the first time, it occurred to me that such schools must have music programs, and I could totally teach music to kids in a French immersion setting!  Yesterday, I visited the Conservatoire de Musique in Avignon to talk to the people there, and I may be able to observe some music classes in French in France later this week if I get lucky.  I'm beginning to see a niche opening up to me that I had previously believed didn't exist.

While all of these experiences have assuaged my previous worries, I just received an e-mail that completely solidifies my justification.  I recently sent an e-mail, on Jenny's recommendation, about gaining an endorsement in French on my teaching certificate.  To be endorsed to teach high school French, you need to pass the French content test through ICTS and have 20 hours of coursework.  Before this trip, I had 19 hours of French credit, and I couldn't fit any of the French I wanted to take into my schedule.  By studying abroad, I gained enough credit hours to fulfill the requirement for the endorsement without even knowing it!  Now, I'll just have to pass the French certification test, and I'll be certified to teach music and French.  I really couldn't be happier about my decision to go abroad, and if any of you all are considering studying abroad, I absolutely encourage you to do it!

Photos and Adventures

So my time here is rapidly drawing to a close, and I realized that in all of my jetsetting, I haven't taken the time to adequately explore Avignon, which is an amazing city in its own right!  So, yesterday I took a two hour solo walk around Avignon.  Here's where I walked:

It looks pretty far on the map, but really it's less than 2 miles.  First, I walked along the ramparts, and looked at all the cool places to hide and shoot from.  If I weren't wearing a skirt, I would've climbed all over the them, but I may have to save such mischief for another day... Some photos:

I also saw this van in my walk along the ramparts.  Yes, it has a Playboy bunny logo, and yes those are window shades.  There are no back seats.  It's totally a shaggin' wagon.  (If this van's a-rockin', for the love of Dieu don't come a-knockin'!)

Also took some photos of the Pont d'Avignon/Rocher des Doms.  I think Rocher des Doms/Jardin des Doms is my favorite thing in all of Avignon (yup, better than the bridge).  So gorgeous... and it's so cool how the ramparts just meld into the natural landscape in this structure.

After that, my camera batteries ran out though.  Today, armed with fresh batteries, a bottle of wine, and all sorts of picnic goodies, Anna and I climbed up the stairs to the Rocher des Doms for more exploring.  We climbed up the tower in the photo above, and got all the way to the highest point on the Rocher des Doms (a place we lovingly called "the truc."  You know, we should go climb like... the thing... the truc!  the TRUC!!")  There's a phenomenal panoramic view of the surrounding area, and we took some awesome pictures.  We also had a great picnic with 4 kinds of cheese and split a twist-off bottle of rosé between us.  Lovely day!

SDF's en France

So, being from the suburbs, I would like to begin by noting that my experience with homeless people in the states is very limited.  Deerfield had only one homeless person when I was growing up.  He was so unique in this aspect that I decided to give him a name (Copernicus) and report sightings to my friends.  I've seen a lot more homeless people here than at home.  In France, not only are homeless people seemingly all over the place, but SDFs (sans domicile fixe) are much more active in asking for handouts or just making your acquaintance.  I have never talked to a homeless person in the United States, but I have talked to numerous SDFs and beggars in France.  I have been approached on the street, in restaurants, near the beach, and at tourist attractions for change.  Interestingly, though, there are also some wayfaring wanderers in Avignon who just want to tell you their story.  Today, my friend Sam and I ran into one.  It's funny, Sam's had a couple really crazy things happen to him in Europe (including being deported from Spain to France by the Spanish Policia for forgetting his passport), and I have my own stories, but this nutjob totally blew our stories out of the water!

We were sitting on a bench at the foot of the Palais des Papes studying for our phonetics quiz when a tanned, bearded French guy sat down next to us.  He had a purple sparkly backpack, and he reeked of booze.  He pulled a mug out of his backpack and filled it with some red wine.  He then proceeded to dunk a baguette into the wine and listen quietly as Sam and I wrestled with the infamous "e caduc" of the French language and tried to understand the rules of French syllabation.  After we finished, this guy started talking to Sam.  He began by asking if Sam spoke French, and then mentioned that he had lived in Wyoming for two years and that his grandfather was Scottish, so he spoke some English.  Then, he told us this story about how he became a member of the Cheyenne tribe (the details of the following fantastic story can in no way be verified or confirmed, haha).   Apparently, he was a blacksmith, and one of his clients was a Native American tribe.  He had horse's foot between his knees to shoe it.  As he was working, the horse stood up, but he managed to keep the horse's foot between his knees and finish working.  The chief was so impressed that he declared that this guy must be special.  In an intense ceremony, they cut our friend's hand, and the chief cut his hand, and they exchanged blood in order to become "blood brothers."  They gave him the name "Cheval Debout," or "Standing Horse."  So yeah, apparently we were chilling with a French member of the Cheyenne tribe, haha.

After that, he informed us of his deportation from the United States after gaining citizenship.  Apparently, his sister was a member of the French communist party, so by association, he was too suspicious to stay in the US.  He was given a week to leave the country, and he has never been back since.  He has hope to return now because of Obama, haha, and the improving relationship between Americans and the French.  At about that time, Sam and I made our exit.  As we were walking away, Sam and I agreed that his deportation story might be even better than Sam's... and we couldn't believe that we spent about 15-20 minutes talking to a drunk guy with a little kiddie backpack.  Oh, France :-P

Mes Aventures Artistiques à Paris!

So, now that I've been back in Avignon a few days, I suppose it's about time I blogged about my trip to Paris over the long weekend!  See my Facebook albums here, here, and here!  (in chronological order)

I got all of my packing done on Thursday night, and I managed to fit everything I needed into my one shoulder bag.  Incredibly, I seem to have finally learned the art of packing light! 

We left Friday morning at the absolute crack of dawn.  I was up at 4:30, and I was a little worried about my walk to the train station because right around the time I was getting ready to leave, I heard a crazy homeless person screaming to himself.  Luckily, he disappeared by the time I left (I looked out my 3rd story window first to be sure!).  At the train station, I met up with most of the Paris crew: Derek, Michelle, Martha, Qin, and Katie.  We waited a little while for our taxis to the TGV station.  As we started to wonder how many people in Avignon could possibly need a taxi at 5:30 am, we discovered that Kristen had stolen one of our taxis!  No harm done though, as French taxis actually drive at the speed of light!  We had quite a taxi ride to the TGV station.  It might just be that I am not used to speedometers in kilometers per hour, but we were really cruising through these narrow little alleyways and roundabouts.  To make things even better/more dramatic, William Tell was playing on the radio.  It was so perfect.  I felt like I was on a steeple chase around Avignon.

The TGV ride was great.  I watched the sunrise over some mountains out my window, and then slept most of the way.  Once we arrived in Paris, we bought a carnet of Metro tickets (10 tickets) and made our way out to Montmartre to find our hotel.  Derek emerged as the Metro man.  He strode purposely through the metro stations guiding his gaggle of giggling girlies like a mother goose, haha (I couldn't resist the alliteration).  The Paris metro is really easier than it looks however.  We never had to wait more than 5 or 10 minutes for a train.  

We couldn't check into our hotel for about 5 hours, so we had to kill some time in Montmartre.  We started by visiting Sacre Cœur, which sits high on a hill in Montmartre.  At the foot of the hill, where we were, there are tons of guys hawking their wares, everything from Eiffel tower keychains to sunglasses to fake designer purses.  The most amusing tourist trappers, and the most wiley, however, was this roving band of Senegalese guys, one of whom managed to ensnare Derek... literally.  He approached Derek as the girls all scurried up the hill in a chorus of "non merci"s.  He asked Derek to stick out his finger so he could tie a knot.  Before he knew it, Derek was trapped!  The guy started crafting a bracelet for Derek then and there.  As he made it, he asked Derek where he was from and had a nice little chat.  When he had finished, he made Derek pay for the bracelet.  Derek gave him 1,50€.  Live and learn!

After visiting Sacre Cœur, (and managing to evade the bracelet hostage-takers on our descent), we still had time to kill, so we decided to visit the infamous Moulin Rouge (when in Montmartre...).  Some people seemed disappointed that it wasn't quite as glitzy as Nicole Kidman's digs in the movie, but it was still kinda neat to see it in person.  We also found it funny/ironic that there is now a Starbucks directly across from the Moulin Rouge (tourist trap much?).  Of course, the area where the Moulin Rouge is located is pretty seedy.  The line-up of the shops pretty much goes as follows: kebabs, sex shop, street crêpes, live show, café, lingerie shop, etc. etc.  Food and sex... and some odd fabric stores.  On this little jaunt, we happened upon the Musée de l'Erotisme.  Seeing as it boasted 7 stories of erotic art and and entry fee of a mere 5€ for students, it seemed like an attraction not to miss.  The group split off at this point.  Michelle, Derek, and I all went into the museum.  I think it was fittingly sketchy that we all paid the admission fee entirely in change!  

The museum was actually pretty interesting, and not as smutty as one would think.  It explored the way sex is viewed in different cultures and had a lot of depictions of erotic symbolism in history.  Most amusingly, for those of you who are Dolemite fans, I got to see the vinyl album cover for the Rudy Ray Moore Christmas album!  (Merry Christmas, Baby).  Fittingly, it's Rudy around the Christmas tree with a bunch of naked women, may he rest in peace.  We had a lot of good laughs and saw some goofy stuff that isn't entirely blog-appropriate, but ask me about it sometime!

Humorously, while the eroticism museum cost 5€, the Louvre was free to students!  Clearly, aesthetic value cannot be represented through currency, haha!  (Poll: Who would win in a fight: DaVinci or Rudy Ray Moore?).  In any case, I managed to visit just about everything I had hoped to in the Louvre, including la Joconde herself (the Mona Lisa), Winged Victory, Psyche and Cupid (my favorite), Venus de Milo, and Hammurabi's Code.  While I had seen all of these things at the Louvre before, you always notice something different about a work of art each time you see it in person.  For instance, this time, when I went to see Venus de Milo, I walked around to the back, and I noticed for the first time that she has her hair pulled back in a ponytail with a ribbon.  I had always thought that she had short hair!  So that was interesting. 

Also, with the release of Angels and Demons, I was in a Dan Brown mood, so I took this photo with the pyramids filmed in the DaVinci Code movie, which are supposed to be an example of the union of the symbols for female and male:

In that same Dan Brown vein, it occurred to me that this famous sculpture has a similar form to it.  Granted, his books are full of historical inaccuracies and warped portrayals of Christianity, but they're a fun read anyway.  Not sure if this sculpture was intended to be a union of masculine and feminine as Dan Brown describes, but it's a fun thought to entertain (see the "V" created by cupid's wings and the point created by his leg and her body?).  It's a beautiful depiction of romantic love, and definitely my favorite work of art at the Louvre:

Saturday was filled with even more art!  We visited the Musée d'Orsay, which I actually like better than the Louvre.  It is a lot more manageable in terms of size, for one thing, and I love impressionism.  Plus, it's a very pleasant museum with lots of natural light:

At the Musée d'Orsay, I got to see some less familiar works by famous artists, as well as a lot of really famous ones.  So, while I saw one of Monet's haystacks:

I also got to see this painting... Impressionist Turkeys!!!  (also by Monet).  Awesome, who knew?  Definitely not one of those things you see in a textbook.  I got such a kick out of this, mostly because turkeys are not an animal I see commonly depicted outside of Thanksgiving in the U.S.  Love it, though:

We also went to the Centre Pompidou to get a truly well-rounded art museum experience!  The Centre Georges Pompidou is a really modern building with a really inventive design scheme.  All the pipes, ducts, and plumbing, are visible on the outside of the building instead of being encased.  The Centre Pompidou is also home to the Musée National d'Art Moderne.  I was determined to visit this museum because friends had recommended it to me.  Plus, I had just had a big heart-to-heart with my cousin Evan about modern art before leaving Chicagoland, so I felt like I had an homage to pay.  No one else was too keen on the idea, but they followed me into the line anyway.  I asked a nice couple from Lille (in French) if the visit would be worth the wait.  I ended up finding out that they had a son in Houston working for a gas company, and they told me all about the museum.  Talking to strangers always pays off, haha.  As it turned out, everyone but me hated the museum.  At the very least, they got a great panoramic view of Paris, though (see Sacre Cœur?!):

I saw a great exposition of wire sculptures by Calder.  I didn't take any pictures of the art there because modern art seems like something you have to experience in person, somehow.  I also had a really cool experience in the Kandinksy exposition that really changed my perspective on modern art.  I think I've had a habit of examining most art at face value for its aesthetic qualities: craftsmanship, technique, line, color, etc.  With some art, that works, but with some modern art, it doesn't really jive.  Anyway, I happened upon a guy who was explicating some of the paintings in French, and I listened in to see how much I could understand.  The painting seemed abstract and haphazard to me, just splashes of color.  After his explanation, however, the symbolism and flow of the painting came into focus for me.  It was meant to depict the cycle of life and an interchange between humanity and spirituality.  It symbolized reincarnation.  It definitely gave me pause and made me wonder how much art out there I just totally don't get yet.  It was such a cool experience.  

Anyway, to complete my artsy Parisian experience, I created a little art myself.  I sketched the Neptune fountain in Versaille, and started a sketch of the Rose Window at Notre Dame.  If you think you have an appreciation for the minute details in gothic architecture now, wait until you try drawing it!  Holy cow, it is SO time-consuming!  I'm still working on that sketch.  I'll have to scan my sketches later to add to this post.  

On the whole, it was a very art-filled and culturally enriching trip!  I still can't get over the fact that I payed more for modern art and a goofy erotic museum than I paid to see the Musée d'Orsay and the Louvre!  I can't decide what that means about our society... either old art is for everyone but new art is only for an elite few, or I just got lucky!  Who knows.  In any case, thanks for reading!  Hopefully I'll have more stories soon!

Punch every identity thief in the face.

So yesterday, I decided not to bring my computer to school because I felt like I had been spending too much time on the internet and not enough time out in the real world.  I had a nice day, and after class, I went to H&M with friends to buy a sweater for my trip to Paris.  My card was rejected.  I went out to the street to try it in an ATM.  No dice.  I went home to call my bank and see what the problem was.  In my first attempt, my cell phone ran out of credits.  I had to use my host mom's phone to call the bank.  In my call, I was a little annoyed at first because I called my bank weeks ago to notify them that I would be in France, and I figured that some purchase I had made in Marseille had caused them to freeze my account.  Needless to say, I was somewhat embarrassed to discover that my bank had actually caught a real fraud.  My identity had been stolen.  This jerk had been attempting internet purchases with my card all day.  Fortunately, only $63 got through before my bank froze the card, and I will get all that money back.  I was really lucky, and my bank is UPS-ing a new card as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately for me, that debit card was my only way of making purchases while in Europe, and I'm leaving for Paris on Friday.  I couldn't even put more minutes on my cell phone.  Not only that, but it took me a few hours to finally get in touch with anyone from home.  Also, this is a four-day weekend in France, so it is difficult to say when UPS will get my new card to me at my host mom's apartment.

Summary:

Cash in wallet: 1,27€

Money in suitcase: $130

Cell phone credits: 0

Miles from home: 4415

Leaving for Paris: 2 days

New card arriving: ??

Fortunately, some really awesome people have come to my rescue!  My mom is wiring money to my host mom, who has already lent me enough money for my weekend in Paris.  Also, Anna took me out for dessert last night, which made me feel a heck of a lot better about things.  I'd venture to say that a blackberry tart and some rosé heals all wounds!  Today, I managed to turn my $130 into a measly 83€ (which is better than nothing!) and recharge my cellphone with credits.  It wasn't easy, however.  

After discovering that the Avignon branch of the Bank of France, where you can exchange money without commission is currently defunct (not doing exchanges), I went to what I thought was la Poste.  The post office in France is also a bank and provides a variety of other services, including exchanging money for a fee.  That building had some homeless dudes on the steps, though, so I went to the Institute to eat lunch and go back later because I was feeling exasperated.  Upon arriving at the Institute around 11:40, one of my friends warned me that la Poste is actually over by the train station and that they stop exchanging cash at 12.  So I sprinted to la Poste and got a ticket just before 12.  At the post office in France, you take a number and wait for a cashier to call you up to the counter.  It's actually a lot less hectic and unpleasant than American post offices.  It was also really clean, bright, and modern.  Unfortunately for me, I didn't realize that you have to have your passport with you to exchange money (D'OH!).  Luckily, though, the counter didn't actually close until 5pm.  So, I went home and grabbed my passport, then went to class.  After class, I made my way directly to la Poste, and on this third and final effort, I got my money!!  And I managed to get more credits for my cell phone.  All in all, feeling a lot more secure at the moment.  Also, I am happy to say that I managed to conduct all of these transactions on my own hundreds of miles away in FRENCH.  Thank you public school education!  I'm a big kid now :-P

Moral of the story: Bring more than one form of payment abroad and have an emergency stash of cash.  Identity theft is real.

Marseille=Amazing.

(see the previous post for my pictures from Marseille!)

In my young adulthood, I've certainly had some adventures that fell flat.  Being a suburbanite, I don't always have the best luck with my forays to metropolitan locales.  In Chicago, it almost always seems to be raining, or the museum we planned to visit is closed/expensive, or some other unforeseen factor sours the adventure.  You'd think that I'd learn to plan ahead or come up with a plan B, but I'm still too much of a stubborn romantic!  And besides, sometimes you have a day that justifies a more spontaneous approach.  Our visit to Marseille was definitely one of those lucky days!  We saw so much neat stuff and had so much good luck!

First of all, the weather was gorgeous.  It was hot and dry with a nice breeze.  After getting off the train, there was some consternation as to how exactly we should go about getting to the Vieux Port.  Eventually, some of us just started walking and following signs, which miraculously led us to exactly where we wanted to go.  I was able to ask for maps for everyone at the tourist office and find out which buses to take to the beach.  (Score 1 for Emma's French skillz!)  After we had eaten some lunch, we were at odds as to what to do first.  We started to walk in the direction of La Cathédrale Notre Dame de la Guarde, but it was the hottest part of the day, and just as we were starting to have some second thoughts, we found the ferryboat out to the islands off the coast of Marseille.  Within a few minutes, we bought our tickets, found some bottled water, and hopped aboard.  (Many "I'M ON A BOAT!!!" jokes ensued, of course!).  The coastline was gorgeous, and the view from the water was phenomenal.  

After a short ride, we got to the Château d'If.  This military fortress-turned-prison was really interesting.  It is essentially like a much older French Alcatraz of sorts.  Plus, it is one of the settings of Alexandre Dumas's Comte de Monte Cristo (the Count of Monte Cristo).  Edmund, the main character, was imprisoned for eight years on the island in the story.  Marseille also plays an important role in the plot.  The views from the prison windows are breathtaking, which makes it hard to imagine what it must have been like for the religious and political prisoners who were held there.  We took tons of photos and enjoyed the crazy Mediterranean wind!

Once we had returned ashore, we realized that we could take a bus up to the cathedral.  Within about 15 minutes, we were on a bus!  We managed to get in and out of the cathedral and have a look around within an hour; we even got back to the Vieux Port on the same bus ticket.  After a quick turn around at the Vieux Port, we were on another bus out to the beach.  We were there just long enough to take a quick dip without me getting a sunburn!  (Hoorah!!  Perhaps the greatest success of all.  Emma's skin: 1.  Mediterranean sun: 0).  

We had just enough time for a quick dinner at MacDo.  This was my first French McDonald's experience, and I think French MacDo is better than at home!  In my Happy Meal, I actually got what looked like a Capri Sun pouch of apple sauce that you squeeze into your mouth.  It was so cool!  You can also get chocolate mousse for dessert.  And oh yeah, Daniel ordered a beer!  Too funny.  Gotta love regional McDonald's options!

All in all, we had a lot of good luck and a really good day.  Not to mention the fact that I got to spend time with some totally cool people.  I love Marseille!

Marseille!

Stories soon to come, but for now, check out pictures from beautiful Marseille, France!

Arles

Check out pictures from my day in Arles!

Arles is a city in the south of France (about 20 minutes from Avignon by train, see map!).  When we arrived there, we went to visit the "arènes," the Roman amphitheater.  This was, I think, the first Roman ruin I've seen in real life, so it was really exciting!  The cool thing that I've noticed about ancient structures in Europe is that, in many cases, they are still functional in spite of the fact that they are hundreds of years old.  For example, this amphitheater is still home to bull fighting, concerts, and theater productions, and the Palais des Papes plays host to huge theater audiences during the Festival d'Avignon.  We also saw another "vestige romain" (Roman ruin) during the course of our day.  We happened upon some Roman baths.  My photos don't really do them justice, unfortunately, but it was a big brick structure with multiple chambers, so the baths could be heated to different temperatures by wood-burning fires.  Those Romans!  Sounds like it would've been a pretty sweet hang, they just needed a swim-up bar and some tiki torches... or not :-P

We also visited St Trophime, a Roman church.  Because it was really hot and sunny, we spent a lot of time in the cool, shady cloister, which has some interesting carved columns and a big courtyard.  Apparently, these columns in the cloister and the carved tympanum (the decorated arch over the entry to the church) are some of the finest examples of Roman sculpture(see photo album!).  We also took a quick look around the sanctuary, which is cavernous with huge Roman pillars.  They also had a chamber filled with relics from the Crusades.  

Arles is also home to a pretty sizable open air "marché."  We walked around the crowded market, and they were selling everything from meat and cheese to clothing to produce.  There were vendors selling Provençal soaps and fabrics as well as herbes de Provence and other wares.  Unfortunately, I was really hot and rather hungry, so I didn't spend a lot of time in the market.  Instead, some friends and I went to a nearby café to get lunch.  By the time we had finished, the entire market had been disassembled and the streets had been cleaned.  It was like the whole thing just disappeared within an hour.  Talk about Swiss movement!  

Definitely check out the photo album, and thanks for reading!  xoxo, Emma

More Photos!

Click here to see more photos from my first week in Avignon!

Photos from Day 1

Click here to see photos from my first day on Facebook!

Ma Première Bêtise :-P

Today, we had our orientation and a tour of Avignon.  At lunch, we went to a restaurant outside the wall called le Bercail.  To get there, we had to take a little boat across the Rhône and had a great view of the Pont d'Avignon.  I happened to sit at a table with two of the French teachers and Isabelle, an assistant from the Institut.  We had a very pleasant conversation.  I learned about French superstitions, and learned the words for landscaper (paysagiste) and weeds (les mauvaises herbes).   Just for you, mom!  

Anyway, at one point, we started talking about organic food.  I began to describe the book I'm reading, In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan.  I made an attempt at an eloquent description of Americans' attachment to nutrition over food, but I got stuck trying to come up with an adequate description of "processed foods."  I said something like, "euh... vous savez, c'est quand la nourriture est pleine de... de... préservatifs, c'est ça."  Unfortunately for me, "preservatives" is a false cognate.  Instead of saying that the foods is full of preservatives, I said that "uh... you know, it's when the food is full of condoms!  That's it."  I got a bit of a funny look from Isabelle.  She said... euh... tu veux dire les conservateurs, je quoi.  And I realized my mistake as my friend Derek had a good laugh at my mistake.  Isabelle went on to say "yes, so you don't want to carry 'conservateurs' in your purse and 'preservatifs' in your food.  That might give boys the wrong idea..."  Won't be making that mistake again :-P  In other news, there are condom "distributeurs" in the street on the outside of pharmacies, in the wide open.  I guess it's good that they want people to be protected!  Gotta love the French.

Le Voyage

Wow, now that was an epic journey!  Got to O'Hare at 1:30pm, flight left at 4:15 pm.  Had a cute little glass of red wine on the flight, but I still didn't fall asleep.  Landed in Düsseldorf at 7:15am.  Waited around Düsseldorf airport a few hours.  Took some photos with goofy German billboards and browsed at the duty free shop.  Also realized that German people, from our observations, seem to be quite tall.  Flight left for Paris around 10:45am.  Got in to Paris around 12ish.  Waited in the train station at Charles de Gaulle until our TGV left at 4:52pm.  The US totally needs TGVs... I love trains.  Made it into Avignon at 8:10, where I met my host mom.  That's about 24 hours of transit, and I have been awake for about 32 hours.  Holy jetlag, Batman!  

But I am here safe and sound, and my host mom is totally great!  She lives about two minutes away from the Institut on foot, right on the main street.  I have my own room with internet, and she couldn't possibly be a nicer host!  Over dinner, we talked about our families, the difference between French and American diets, even Weight Watchers!  (Yes, they have Weight Watchers in France... her dad and stepmom are on it and have lost 20 lbs a piece).  We also talked about Obama and the recession.  Okay, so I know talking politics on the first night sounds like a mistake, but we really saw eye to eye, so it worked out (phew!).  Dinner was yummy, and I got to have French bread and my pick of cheeses.  Feeling surprisingly at home. 

The Packing...

Thanks for checking out my blog.  I'm hoping to update it periodically from l'Institut in Avignon!  Look for stories and pictures soon!

The past week has been crazy!  I've made the transition from my Music 314 final (ultimate brain drain) to saying good bye to some of my most favorite people to celebrating my mom's birthday to seeing Andy off to prom to packing.  Oh yeah... packing.  I'm supposed to leave for the airport in less than two hours and I'm not packed.  So I should probably cut this post a bit short.  Ah well, what fun would adventures be if we were always prepared for them?