Tag: aix

DQY TZO

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What I meant was: Day 2. As I sit here in the AUCP computer lab I find myself overcoming yet another obstacle – a different arrangement of letters on the keyboard. Aut§ — I mean Zut! M has replaced L, Q has replaced A and I am left very confused. So excuse any and all spelling errors in these few sentences that took me forever to write. While hip hop might have saved Lupe, the only hope for my Internet is an ever-so-hard-to-buy/find WiFi Stick (pronounced wee-fee, here in France). Thus, I remain disconnected for another day. Oh the difficulties of equivalent technology in Europe…

When I took the TGV here a little over a week ago, I was filled with apprehension, fear of the unknown and hundreds of questions piling up in my throat and stifled back down by a barrier of language. And so to quiet my mounting fears I did what any normal 20-yr old would do: asked a question and hoped for the next song on my iPod to provide the answer. The wonder of Shuffle… And so I asked with great sincerity: Will I be O.K.? The gods responded with the song “Keep It Together” by Guster. (I know some of you are judging my music taste right now.) I was cal,ed -albeit not by much- by the answer I received and I thought it made sense. I was, afterall, talking to my iPod. But in another way, I got the answer I was looking for: “Im singing a new song now” in a new place with a new language and new friends. So its true, I need to keep it together through these first few weeks of crazy keyboards and new words and foods. And for me, with my first day of classes in session, ”everything starts today.”

Bienvenue a Aix!

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Finally – my first post from Aix! (Applause.) For any of you who aren’t Blackberry addicted, and thus haven’t been able to BBM me during this past week, I have no internet in my host home so blogging, Skyping and other things of that nature n’existe plus pour moi.

But I finally cracked the Tumblr code and figured out how to blog from BBerry – wahoo! Let the blogging commence…

The first week has definitely been a whirlwind – of emotions, experiences and time zone changes but I’m slowly getting used to (and falling in love with) my new surroundings. My host mother, Marie-Claire, is so nice and its getting easier everyday to have actual conversations as opposed to her talking and me nodding, smiling, and adding an occasional “oui.” Thank goodness!

As for my program, there are 32 of us that make up the American University Center Provence (AUCP) class of Fall 2010. 30 girls, 2 boys. So its basically the Tulane Freshmen class ratio but on a smaller scale in France. Other than the lovely Audrey Bowes, I didn’t know anyone before coming to school on Day 1. And making friends in French was definitely an unexpected curveball that made getting to know people much harder than its ever been for me. But, somehow, we all made it work!

And now, after a week of orienting and french reviewing, my first real day of classes starts bright and early tomorrow at 9am (ew) and I’m taking a break from my first reading assignment to sit by my sun-filled window to squint at my -2 size font and write my first reflection on Aix. Things are just getting started and I am so excited to finally find a rhythm to my day, complete with classes in French, baguettes by the mouthful and afternoon after afternoon spent in the shade of a cafe awning with an espresso by my side and a sea full of new people to watch. (Yes, I drink espresso now, Dad!) Bienvenue a Aix, readers! There is definitely more to come!