Back in the US and Post-Program Reflection

I am finally back in the United States after spending an unforgettable month in France, and without a doubt, I miss it already.  Everything: the food, my host family, the beautiful French language spoken from people's mouths, the clear blue waters juxtaposed to the hills saturated with quaint houses, the architecture...not to mention my Abbey Road friends and teachers!  I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend the summer in between high school and college than in this program and in France, and I was so blessed with the Chris Meyer scholarship and opportunity to go.  A month in a foreign country can really change you, as it did for me; you start to see the world from a different point of view, and you don’t believe everything you did before was “the right way.”  Now that I’m back in the United States, I see and do everything a little differently; I have brought back bits and pieces of France with me, and not just in terms of photos (although I did bring back 11 gigabytes of photos back..) or French goods.  


The day after I came back to the states, I went grocery shopping.  Standing in the huge, spacious grocery store, it hit me that okay, maybe America does everything bigger. Bigger houses, bigger grocery stores, bigger cars, longer showers…but is it really better? Going to France made me realize that, no, bigger is not necessarily better. Sure, a big house is nice and great for house parties, but it’s not the big house that makes you happy.  It’s long dinner conversations with family, a sense of coziness, and a sense of security. 


The sun shined every single day while I was in France, except one, and it definitely reflects how happy I was there.

As for the actual program, I thought it was great. The staff,  Fabien, Hélène, Sirine, Mary and Vanessa, were all really friendly and hard-working; after all, it was them that taught us, accompanied us to various cities, planned transportation from the train station to our respective homestay houses, etc.  I cannot thank them enough.  I thought it was an extra bonus that everyone there (except Mary) was native French who learned English as their second/third language.  For example, during conversation class with Sirine, I would learn so much more about the non-apparent differences between French and American culture, as did she, because we were Americans and she was native-born French.  Plus, their pronunciation was on-point, enabling me to better comprehend the French accent as well as speak it.  It was also helpful, however, to have Mary, a native American who specializes in French, because she was able to translate any French (in French tours, for example) for those who aren’t as proficient in French and because she was able to relate to us Americans and our habits. She was also really helpful in leading us around Paris and/or other French cities because she had taken history courses and had visited them before.

As for my French, I think I have improved immensely, and I am almost (if not already) fluent, thanks in part to my adherence to the “French-only” contract. I am able to carry conversations with my French family or people on the streets without any hesitation.  Before this program, never would I have believed I could approach any person on the street and ask questions or talk in French without worry.  I am able to understand everyday conversation, as well as most of what is said on the news; plus, I do not have to think in English before translating to French—the French comes automatically, with a few blips in vocabulary. Furthermore, I am proud to say that while in Paris, I picked up a couple days worth of Le Figaro, a French newspaper, and commenced reading the news in French. For the most part, I understand it, and can read more quickly than I did before.

My favorite activities were, without a doubt, parasailing, banana boating and snorkeling in France, just because they were so fun. And to be honest, I loved all of the weekend day-trips (to Nice, Monaco, St-Tropez, San Remo, etc.) because there was always something new to see and somewhere new to go, whether it’s the old village, the beach or  the shopping area. 

I’m going to end this reflection with my homestay experience.  The homestay experience was, without a doubt, the best part of this program, and I would not have chosen any other program if given the chance. The homestay was where I learned the most about French culture, improved the most my French, and was the happiest.  Through the two-hour long dinner/breakfast/lunch conversations with the Mulet’s, I got to understand the essence of being in a French family and how it operates. The French quirks, if you will.  And I would like to thank the Mulets with all my inexpressible gratitude. Thank you for talking with us, understanding us, cooking for us, doing our laundry…merci, merci, merci. Not enough merci’s I think. The Mulets will always remain my secondary family.

I don’t want to say goodbye to France, and I won’t, because I know I will be back. Somehow, I feel like France is such a good fit for me, and like a magnet, it will pull me back into its embraces. Who knows how soon?  Hopefully during college, either a semester or year or summer abroad. And although French is not necessarily related to my major or future career path (neuroscience/health and societies, medicine), I will continue to study and learn it because learning is not about learning for my job.  Learning it is about opening my mind and my horizons; it’s for my own pleasure…because I have fallen in love with the Côte d’Azur and all that France has to offer.

Paris!

So for the last few days, I've been in Paris with some kids from the Nice, St-Laurent and Aix-en-Provence program, and let's just say that it's been so cool, yet so tiring! Especially after a month in the Cote d'Azur.

I don't mind looking like and saying I'm a tourist in Paris. Because I am. Come on, it's my first time in Paris--I got to enjoy it that way.

Our hotel is right near the Eiffel Tower and really comfy; the first night, we went to a restaurant, Moulin Rouge (the cabaret after which the movie is named), Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. Montmartre is a hill and the highest point of Paris, so you can see the whole view of Paris from above; it's also the site of many artists who can draw your sketch in a few minutes...of course, famous artists like Monet and Picasso used to come here.

The next day, we headed to Musée d'Orsay, which houses a lot of art, and especially famous Impressionist paintings; I enjoyed it, especially in comparison to modern art. Afterwards we went to the Jardin de Luxembourg and took advantage of the last day of soldes (sales) in France before heading to another Parisien restaurant.

And today, we went to the Louvre (massive--and LOTS OF PEOPLE). Mona Lisa? Forget about it. It's tiny, and there's at least 500 people in between you and the smile. But I really enjoyed the Louvre and its artifacts and paintings, considering I've been studying of all of in history (Egyptians, Greeks, Renaissance, Napoleon, etc. etc.). As if walking around for 3 hours wasn't tiring enough, we also decided to head towards the gorgeous Opera and famous Galeries Lafayette (kind of like Bloomingdale's) filled with all kinds of chic brands and designers...but I kind of just plopped on the very top floor (my legs were exhausted).

Atop Galerie Lafayette

Guess where.

I introduce to you...the most photographed woman in the world.

Last few days...

I can't believe it's my last full day here in St-Laurent-du-Var. France has been amazing, to say the least. I am so grateful, first and foremost, to my homestay family, the Mulet's, who have taken care of me this past month! I will miss two hour-long dinner conversations and their open arms. I am also grateful to all the teachers/instructors who had tried so hard to make this experience both educative and fun: Fabien, Vanessa, Sirine, Hélène and Mary--thanks! And of course, I am thankful for all the friends I have made on this trip, without whom, this trip would not have been as memorable.

Last night, we celebrated at Dylano, the first restaurant we went to, and had a delicious meal (Delaney and Shannon had the most spectacular cakes for their belated birthdays!). Afterwards, we sang karaoke on the hilltop of St-Laurent-du-Var...what a great way to end the trip--by singing our  hearts out (albeit in English).

I have learned so much here, and there is no doubt that I am more confident in my French skills, above all in listening and speaking. Who knew that I would be able to navigate the cities by myself, able to speak French to shopkeepers, waiters, etc? Who knew that I would be confident enough to approach strangers and be able to converse with them in a foreign language? I think Abbey Road has changed that.

I will no doubt come back to Provence and the Côte d'Azur to experience the sunny weather, beaches, fabulous shopping and friendly people. And I have, without a doubt, fallen even more in love with France (before, I was just in love with the idea of France. Now, I'm in love with France, having lived here for a month). I want to come back in college or during the summer-- and explore even more of France.

Gah I'm not good with gushy good-byes, but St-Laurent-du-Var, it's been a good one.

Now tomorrow, I'm off to Paris, to see the iconic landmarks and paintings, historic streets and French cafés...I'm excited to be in France for at least another four days.

Talent Show and Farewell Video

Last night, July 26th, was the night of our anticipated (?) talent show! We practiced all day yesterday for our respective acts (albeit a little reluctantly), and in the end, it was a crazy night (for me anyway).

I had practiced my song "Sur Mes Gardes" with Sam and made a video with Morgan, Rachel, Rachel, Anne and Shannon (see below), but when I arrived at the "Mini Boule" they realized that Macs didn't work with the projector...apparently I was the only one with a PC, so I had to go back to my host family's house, grab it, and then made sure it worked. It did, after some fumbling around. But then there was a problem of converting the video from a Mac to a PC, and then, to my dismay, my mousepad didn't work because it was disabled during the fumbling around (I didn't realize how it was disabled until afterwards). Thus, I had to maneuver through the flash drive to find the videos--all through the keyboard. And then there were problems with volume, etc. Meh. I learned that Macs and PCs do not mesh well.

Aside from that, everything went well--our host families were too nice, and we had some funny, as well as "aww pretty" acts; Parker and Drew sang "Boyfriend" by Justin Bieber (in French and English), a few did skits of the Three Macarons and Little Red Riding Hood, Sam and I sang, Emma and Nikki danced, Bridget and Christina showed off their drawings, others did a photo montage, the summary video, and of course, some girls did danced to the MIKA song "Elle m'a dit" in these neon color, retro swim suits from H&M--it was pretty epic. But here's some little samples:



Voilà the video that I helped film and make! A little nostalgia...

Food!

My long overdue video that couldn't upload because of Youtube and slow uploading speed... :(
But it's here now!

Flying in the air and flying into the water (separately)

Today has been the most fun days so far--I have been laughing so hard that my abs are getting a workout (something that has not happened since the beginning of the month).

We had our normal class in the morning before heading off to Nice for parasailing and banana boating.

The sun was out and it was beautiful, as always. In Nice, the water is the clearest and bluest of all of the beaches, like that at St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Three at a time, we went parasailing along the coast--the second time I have done parasailing since I did it beginning of high school in Outer Banks, NC. I love it then and I love it now. 

You literally feel like you're flying, and not just flying in an airplane. Like in-your-dreams flying. Like I-wish-I-had-this-as-a-superpower flying. Your feet are dangling and the view is...one that people never see unless you go parasailing along the Côte d'Azur because, I mean, you are up in the air over the Mediterranean see. I wish I could have brought my camera up there to remember the coastline, and there aren't words to describe it...spectacular. 

Up in the air!

After that, we had the chance to go banana boating which is basically like tubing except you do it with 5 other people, and you straddle the Flyfish and hold onto the handle for dear life, kind of like bull riding (but with two hands.) And oh my goodness, I screamed and laughed my head off it was so exciting and wild. The boat was going so fast that the "flying fish" was literally almost flying off the water, bringing us with it. I was trying so hard to hold on, but it was futile--I kaplombed off the boat (while laughing of course). But that force, combined with the fact that the friction of the seat and bottom of the raft were so low (water made it slippery) made it so easy to crash into the water. It was so absurd and hard and the fact that everyone was yelling made the ride so thrilling. 

Needless to say, Nice is an awesome place, and the parasailing and fly fishing/banana boating brought some excitement into a day at the beach.

Hitting up the boats and starlight at Antibes and St-Tropez

Our excursions along the Côte d'Azur continued Sunday and Monday with trips to Antibes and St-Tropez--Antibes is known as the second biggest port for private boats after New York. It is also know for having housed Picasso for a period of time as he cranked out his works. At Antibes, we visited Musée Picasso which used to be Picasso's workshop area, and saw works such as La Joie de Vivre and others with lots of sea urchins, goats and women. After, we just walked around the shops area (like all the other villas--what else?) before heading to our meeting spot...and we were greeted with thunder and claps lightning. We had a twenty minute sprint to the train station in the pouring rain. As the French say, "Il pleuvait comme un vache qui pisse." Not very pretty but we were literally holding out beach towels over our heads.

Musée Picasso

Monday, we took a bus to St-Maxime before heading out on a boat to St-Tropez--a little town known for its glamour (many stars seem to visit) and boats. We saw a ton of luxurious boats and yachts that we would have loved to board...as well as restaurants, creperies, glaceries, high end shops, ready-to-wear shops, etc.  The view of the sea ad the hills was gorgeous as always, and after walking around, we headed back to St. Maxime to lounge on the beach and eat at a restaurant (which was delicious). I had the Salade Niçoise and Rum Raisin and Amarena ice cream! Then it was a long 1.5 bus drive back to St-Laurent...

Boat ride to St-Tropez!

St-Tropez

St-Tropez

Tropizienne! A St-Tropez specialty, kind of like a creme/bread sandwich--mmm.

Soirée and Italy!

The night of the 20th was a fun one, albeit quite American. The Nice group joined us at Club Nautique along the St-Laurent-du-Var beach line. We had a nice French dinner with a live band singing a mix of familiar and unfamiliar songs before heading to the beach for some pictures; then the real fun began--we began dancing, which was quite fun. Still, it wasn't until Cyrielle, a Nice program instructor, plugged in his iPod and sang his heart out to Adele that everyone became entranced in the music. (Cyrielle apparently came in 4th place on X-Factor France!) And then we just started partying and dancing to American songs. It was absolutely a blast, especially since I love dancing, especially especially to music I know. We got home at midnight to get some sleep for the surprise trip of the month... To San Remo, Italy!

Like all other Mediterranean villas, San Remo offers a beach and shopping, palm trees and awesome food. But all in Italian of course. Others were raving and dreaming about Italy but to me, France is just as cool, with just as beautiful of a language and history and culture. Anyway, back to Italy. 

It felt a little weird to be in a foreign country whose language I didn't know. At least in France, I could communicate in French. On the other hand, I don't even know how to say yes and no, hello and good-bye in Italian until today. When we went shopping, I felt a mental barrier when I realized that I couldn't really communicate what I wanted to. In France, I could whip out whatever I wanted to say to store owners, no problem...here, a mere 1.5 hours away...I couldn't. It felt a little weird! Imagine traveling to Washington D.C. and having to speak a different language? Europe is just so diverse. 

At San Remo, I lounged at the beach, ate authentic gelato (pistachio and this black cherry flavor), and, for dinner, ate bread with sauce, pesto pasta and tiramisu. So Italian. And so delicious. Although I'm still a little sad I didn't get to taste the pizza or cappuccino here. But there's always a chance to go back for a longer period of time (rather than just a day.) and I'll definitely be prepared with a guide book and phrase book if I do. 

Ciao!

Cyrielle!

Italy

Lovely pesto pasta

And of course, the delicious tiramisu

Snorkeling

Yesterday, July 19th, was definitely the highlight of the week so far: snorkeling at Villefranche. Nestled away from the foreign tourist crowd, Villefranche offers clear blue water (thus, the Côte d'Azur), rocky beaches, cute old Ville with streets from the 16 century, and such a nice view of houses above the sea. And the fact that we went snorkeling today made my week.  

We hopped on a boat where the snorkeling instructors drove to a place in the sea with a plethora of sea creatures and marine habitats. We pulled on wet skins and goggles and fins before jumping in the azure water below a cliff that housed gorgeous mansions. 

It was pretty breathtaking and I wish I could have taken pictures... But alas, I don't have an underwater camera. But I guess I'll try to describe a picture with words. 

Above the surface, the sun, the sky. Below, a whole different world, inhabited not by humans or insects but by coral, sponges, sea urchins and fish. The water was perfectly clear, unclouded by any sediment or pollution-- if anything was obscured, it was obscured by my huge snorkeling goggles. Fish, the size of my ring finger, dodging and swiveling around.  An octopus, camouflaged into the coral. Purple Sea sponges, the simplest of animals, waving with the current. And the most breathtaking-- when the coral reef drops suddenly so it's just the deep blue sea, a school of silver, slim fish. Thousands and thousands almost at your fingertips. As soon as your hand is just...there...the fish dart away. Nice try, but never going to happen. 

Of course, the best part is being freed of the cumbersome snorkel mouthpiece and diving deep into the sea and swimming down under with the fish. So fun.

The instructors were experts and brought up sea urchins from the bottom of the sea for me to hold and touch...

And while snorkeling, a major nostalgia moment. Made me think of China and when I went to.. Can't remember. But I went snorkeling and scuba diving. People got stung by jellyfish, I saw turtles, the instructors handing out jellyfish cream afterwards. Don't remember much--I was 7. 

Something about the sea attracts me. Just it's vastness and deepness and sense of infinity and surprise. And I'm a swimmer, so that helps. I don't like the beach, but love the sea. 

Monaco and Fragonard pictures

Monaco!

Le palais princier and the changing of the guard (we went inside!)

Beautiful Monaco view

Above the aquarium overlooking Monaco and the sea!

Fragonard and all its goodies

Testing out all the perfume scents...tough decisions.

Quote

Favorite quote I saw when visiting Fondation Maeght:

“Celui qui se perd dans sa passion à moins perdu que celui qui perd sa passion. »

S Augustin

"Those who get lost in their passion have lost less than those who lose their passion."

I love this quote. Love love love!

Classtime

So up until now, I've been pretty much ignoring our classes and focusing on our expeditions and tourist-y stuff. But I don't mean to ignore it- they're interesting and we do it every day. It's just that the expeditions are even more interesting to blog about. 

But I will focus on my classes. I'm in niveau 3, the highest level, with Vanessa. Each day, we have a different topic, whether it's the press, the patisserie, movies, etc. At the beginning, we started off conducting surveys and talking to the people of St-Laurent but it varies a lot now. For newspapers, we each bought a newspaper and read a few articles; we even had to invent and write our own news articles...and at the end we also are writing our own gazette for the Abbey Road immersion program, describing what we did and adding photos. For the patisserie lesson, we first read an excerpt by Proust about him having an out of this world nostalgia moment when he tastes a madeleine, and then we went to the patisserie, bought pastries we never tried before, and wrote our thoughts, emotions and sensations while eating it. Some people thought it was a bored but I thought it was creative. I had a tarte aux citron meringué which was basically a lemon bar mixed with an apple pie and marshmallow. It was quite delicious. But then again, I wanted to try everything. But If I did I would get fat and I would not have any money. C'est la vie.

(side note: I tried an authentic baguette, perfectly toasted.. It was quite delicious)

During my elective, conversation, we usually sit at a café and discuss various topics, like food, fashion, etc. I enjoy just sitting and talking in French because that's what I imagined myself doing here. 

Today, we visited Nice and the Cours Saleya, the famous marché in nice. We went around discovering what vendors had to offer: spices, fresh produce, soap, paintings, confitures/jams, olive oil, etc. in the US, I don't get these open markets, but I absolutely adore them. And there are plenty here so I'm happy. 

So while in class we learn vocabulary and writing, it is mostly during dinner I practice speaking and listening French--I probably already mentioned this, but I laugh and learn at the dinner table with my family, and dinner actually last 2 hours. We talk about everything, and the family likes to joke a lot. Highlights? When M Mulet tries to speak English and we misinterpret it as him trying to say something in French because he has such a heavy accent.

And when they speak French in a Quebecoise accent. 

Monaco et Eze

            On Sunday, we went to the lovely principality of Monaco, and visited the Prince’s Palace (of Prince Albert) as well as the Musée Oceanographique in Monaco; afterwards, we traveled to the small town of Eze, which is perched upon a mountaintop, to visit the perfumery Fragonard.

            Monaco was charming, like all the other cities along the Côte d’Azur, with its tall buildings on high mountain tops. Unfortunately, it’s not very big; around the size of New York’s Central Park. Still, there’s always something enticing about princes and princesses…I mean, I can’t help but draw connections to Prince Rainier and Prince Charles, marrying Princess Grace Kelly and Princess Diana, respectively—both loved, and both who died tragically early in car crashes and leaving children beyond…

We visited the palace which was awe-inspiring, but not as magnificent as Buckingham Palace.  In Buckingham Palace, there’s more bling, more rooms, more history and, most of all, more people.  Perhaps the Grimaldis cannot really compare to the grand Windsors of Great Britain, but they’re still royalty nonetheless.

After that visit, we walked around the small towns before immersing ourselves in the aquarium filled with seahorses, jellyfish, stingrays, and interesting fish…trust me, Damiana got a lot of crazy pictures of the fish and us posing with the fish.  It was fun, but I wish we had taken the time to go to Monte Carlo and seen the casino. Of course, I have seen the casino in Las Vegas, but I wanted to see the real Monte Carlo…ah well.

Afterwards, we also visited the small town of Eze, home to a parfumerie-factory called Fragonard. If you didn't know already, Provence is very well known for flowers. And what do they use these flowers for (besides decoration)? They make perfume with them of course! And that's what happens at Fragonard, a top perfumeries in France. At the factory, we learned about how they get the essential oils from flowers (through steam distillation), their very own "Nose" ("le nez" who can detect over 2,000 different smells--we regular humans can only detect 60 distinct smells if we're lucky, according to the tour guide. And there are only 50 Noses in the world, and they are the only ones who can create new scents. They can't smoke or drink or eat spicy food or else their sense of smell goes away. It's pretty amazing! I wider how much they get paid, what their training is, and how they were discovered or how they discovered their own sense of smell. 

        Anyway, we saw where they made soaps and perfumes, and at the end of course, smelled the perfumes they had to offer. By the end my nose was overwhelmed but I'm sure my body smelled good.

Joyeux Le Quatorze Juillet!

            Happy Bastille Day! Or as the French call it, le quatorze juillet, or July 14^th. (Kind of like the 4^th of July). What is Bastille Day and why do the French celebrate it?

            Okay, here’s a little bit of a French history lesson. As you may know, there was a French Revolution shortly after the American Revolution, which rebelled against the power of the king in favor of the power of the people. Bastille Day commemorates the storming of the Bastille on July 14^th, 1789; the Bastille was a prison which was known for holding political prisoners whose incendiary writings seemed traitorous to the royal government.  Thus, the Bastille was thus a symbol of the absolutism of the monarchy.  Although there were only seven people in the Bastille when it was captured, it marked the beginning of the French Revolution and signaled that the people did not accept the king’s absolutist power anymore.  Thus, it is the birth of the sovereign Nation.

            So it’s kind of like the fourth of July, in terms of celebrations, fireworks, festivities, etc.  And this year, we get to go to two fireworks sessions: one the night of July 13^th at Cagnes-Sur-Mer and one the night of July 14^th at St-Laurent-du-Var. 

 The fireworks and festivities were so fun; it’s night time (around 10pm or 11pm), and both kids and adults are out roaming the closed off streets along the beach. Kids are carrying around fish bubble guns (what happened to the good ol’ days when they had to take the effort to blow the bubbles?), light contraptions, balloons, cotton candy and ice cream…vendors sell churros, socca (Nice speciality—chickpea crepe, basically), and coffee/tea…people stand in incredible roller coaster-like lines to buy this delicious food…there’s a concert with a group singing Black Eyed Peas…so many sights, foods smells. I loved it.  It literally was the best night so far here in France—and why not?

Nice is nice

            What fun stuff have we done this week?  Well, one highlight was going to Nice (the most popular tourist destination in France perhaps): to make pottery, to watch delicious French candies being made, to explore, and to be almost blown over from the wind.

            Nice is absolutely gorgeous.  It literally has water so blue and clear that it rivals that of Bermuda’s.  

We also visited a Confiserie, or a candy shop, during my Conversation elective. There were so many unique flavors and types of candy, like crystallized, sugared rose petals or mint leaves; chocolate with violet in it, violet/rose/mandarin confitures (jams), etc. etc. They were delicious.  

Finally, we scooped around the coastline to see the agitated sea and the Promenade des Anglais (English Promenade). It was so windy that day that I was literally bent at a 90 degree angle trying not to fall over. The water was closed due to the “frappant” waves, but there were still a ton of people on the beach. 

I can’t wait to go back to Nice and to learn more about the old village, about the people who were here (Picasso, Matisse, Chagall), and about the historic and cultural sites!

Fenocchio and all the flavors!

     I don’t know about you, but I think French has awesome food.  Especially awesome sweets.  And especially awesome ice cream.  There is one particular ice cream place called Fenocchio in Nice that deserves one blog post alone to itself. It literally has more than 80 flavors (“parfums” in French) of ice cream and sorbets, ranging from your typical chocolate to Bailey’s (Irish whiskey) to Calisson (French bonbon), to Chocolat Gingembre (Ginger Chocolate) to Speculoos (this gingerbread flavor) to Pistachio to Nutella to Rose to Avocado to Tomato….okay I won’t go on and on, but you get the idea, right? It’s like ice cream heaven. And get this—you can get up to 15 flavors of ice cream (but that will set you back about 23 euros). It’s crazy! And there’s so many people there waiting to get ice cream too--it's extremely popular with tourists and natives alike. 

    Me, I got the Nutella flavor (so good), and tasted some Speculoos (tastes like a gingerbread house in Christmastime). 

    Here are some pictures (unfortunately there was glare on my camera from the glass protecting the ice cream, so these are pictures from their webpage). 

     They look appetizing. 

    Oh, and I thought it was hilarious that right across the plaza, there was another ice cream place called Pinocchio. There was literally one person buying ice cream there—everyone else was at Fenocchio. What a knock-off!  

Soap Carving and St Jean Cap Ferrat

Soap sculpting! Yes, we are in a dance room.

So... pretty...

Yes, I took this picture. It could be on a postcard, I know.

Me helping make the gateau chocolat batter

Et après! A little bubbly, but tasted so good.

The fun never stops!

     Monday, we had a special workshop in which we carved designs onto soap bars to make “soap sculptures.” Vanessa, one of our Abbey Road teachers, does this in her free time and passed the hobby down to us. Apparently, soap sculptures are a specialty of Thailand, where they can make beautiful soap sculptures in ten minutes. Unfortunately, the same artistry was not endowed to me. I tried to carve a seashell into my soap bar, but I thought it was really bad (trust me, I’m not an artist). Others, were more artistic—Damiana drew a woman on hers which was really good, and Rachel carved a really neat pineapple.  When I first heard of soap sculptures, I thought it was weird, but it’s like any other art: like snow sculptures, wood sculptures, etc… It’s so simple: you just need a bar of soap, a petite carving knife, and your imagination and at the end, you have a masterpiece (well…not in my case). Although it didn’t have anything to do with French, I liked the workshop (despite the fact that it occurred at 10pm at night…)

     Tuesday, we went to St. Jean Cap Ferrat, a beautiful peninsula near Nice. Like all of the other places we have gone to, St. Jean Cap Ferrat was gorgeous: mountains/hills, clear blue waters… I really liked St. Jean Cap Ferrat’s beach because I could see little sea anemones and fish swimming along with me in the water. And the water felt so good…I literally felt like I was a mermaid. Of course, we also saw expensive yachts (with water slides) floating along the bay and castle-like houses along the peninsula—all the girls were claiming these buildings as their houses haha.

During our time at St. Jean-Cap-Ferrat, we also had a cooking workshop where I helped make un gateau chocolat (chocolate cake).  Others helped make une salade niçoise (cucumbers, olives, anchovies, tomatoes, eggs, olive oil, etc.), rice with fish, sausage with a tomato sauce (a specialty of Réunion, an island of France), tarte aux pommes (apple pie), fruit kabobs, etc. It was pretty delicious.  As they say, the best meals are the ones you prepare yourself.  Okay, maybe that isn’t exactly true, but I felt good eating what I had made.

     Here’s a little side note about la cuisine en France—I noticed that French people do not snack. What’s more, they eat in smaller portions and they like to have time to savor everything. In cafés, young people like to lounge around with their cafés and food…during dinner time at my host family’s house, we literally spend two hours eating and talking (well, 15 minutes eating and 1 hour 45 minutes talking) from 8pm to 10pm.  It’s definitely different, but it’s cool.

     Oh, and speaking of French cuisine, they have magnificent boulangeries et patisseries with various assortments of croissants, pain au chocolat, macarons (I tried them for the first time…sooo good), other specialties…I love going to these small shops in France. 

     Anyway, that’s enough of talking—I know there’s still so much more to say, but I have so little time (so much to do here in France!) 

Cannes et St-Paul-en-Vence!

          This weekend has been so tiring but worth it. Saturday, we took the train to Cannes, France, the site of the famous Cannes Film Festival.  It’s a site of glamour and celebrities, beaches and shops, etc. We basically could do whatever we wanted in Cannes; me, I went on a tour of la vielle ville (the old city) where I saw le Castre, an old castle/building for monks back in the 12^th century and climbed up the tower there—there was such gorgeous views…you have on the French Riviera (Côte d’Azur) not only the beautiful Mediterranean but also the serene mountains—the best of both worlds. After that, I went to the beach (I am so tan, it’s not even funny) and went shopping along the mini shops they have. I also walked along the promenade, played volleyball, and just hung out with everyone from both St-Laurent and Nice (they joined us). 

           Sunday, my roommates and I went to the local market in St-Laurent-du-Var. Now, I love these local markets because there’s so much to see, so much to buy—and all at a good price. In the afternoon, we went to St-Paul-de-Vence, which is a gorgeous ville perché (perched village) in the mountains, frequented by the famous and painters because it’s so gorgeous. We visited Fondation Maeght, a famous modern art museum there; although I don’t think I’m that into art, my favorite painting there was La Vie by Marc Chagall. After we went to the museum, we had an hour and a half to explore the little “ruelles” (streets) of St-Paul-de-Vence with gorgeous views and cute shops. And I’m glad I brought travel guides because I didn’t realize how famous these places were until after I went—only then did I read my travel guides and find out all about the things I already learned.

Other than that, things are going really well. I’m actually in the middle of reading an Agatha Christie book, Le crime de l’Orient-Express, in French! And it’s going well—I just need some help with some vocabulary, but that’s all.

           Here’s some pictures of the weekend!

The lovely view from Le Suquet (the mountains and the sea!)

The gorgeous sunset over the beach

The little "ruelles" of St-Paul-de-Vence!

Look at those photobombers...

Gorgeous, of course.

The beach, experential learning, and a visit to the mayor

The past few days have been pretty exciting—so exciting, in fact, that I haven’t even had a chance to write a blog post.  But I will do so now!

We were placed into our French language groups (I’m in niveau trois – advancé!) and elective groups (I’m in conversation) where we basically practice experiential learning. For example, I think I have approached 1000 Laurentin(es) so far (je me plaisante) asking for their names, asking them questions about cinema, asking them questions about la festivale de Cannes… at first when they told us we had to do that, I froze up—me? An American, speaking to native French? But then I realized that was the only way I was going to get better. After talking to some people in the streets, in the park, on the little playground they have, I realized that Laurentin(es) are very open and nice! They’ll have a conversation with you, ask where you’re from, ramble on about favorite American actors/actresses…it’s so awesome. And I feel like it’s always exciting to talk with natives rather than sitting in a classroom. By the way, all of our teachers are French natives except for one, whose English but is going to graduate school for French--this is absolutely fabulous because sometimes I converse with one of the teachers in French, and they know all the French culture quirks and such. And of course, they can guide us through France.

Besides our classes, we have also gone on excursions; for example, on the fourth of July, we went to the St-Laurent-du-Var beach (see pictures)—and it was absolutely gorgeous! The water is so blue and bright, and when I went swimming…it was magnificent. I could swim in the deep portion of the sea all day because it felt so good. We went to the restaurant Dylano after and ordered anything ranging from pizza to omelettes to salads (and the funny thing is, they have huge portions, but apparently the French don’t usually allow you to take the leftover food in boxes! L ) and, after, desserts. The tarte tintin and the mi-cuit chocolate cake? Delicious.

The day after, we took classes as well and took a tour of la vielle ville (the old city) of St-Laurent-du-Var; we learned about St. Laurent and his fate (he was burned alive on a grill), about St-Laurent-du-Var’s history, about the Gueyeurs who carried people on their shoulders across the Var, etc. Then we went to the town hall where they make city decisions.  It felt so cool to talk with some officials about the government, how it’s different from the US (unitary vs. federalist), etc. We also met the mayor and after, they had a little presentation on civil baptisms in France as well as how gay marriage has not been legalized in France but is put on the agenda for next year’s general assembly. Maybe to some people this was boring, but my interest was piqued, especially since I was on the We the People team, unit Four—which included comparative governmental systems.

That night, we also went to a concert of un sossie (imitator?) of Johnny Hallyday. Apparently, he’s the French Elvis Presley and was popular all over France. Me? Let’s just say I don’t really like rock/hard rock/songs that I don’t know or can’t sing too. It was cool to see how French concerts differed from American concerts though…which was…not very much. In both situations, the audience is actively clapping, dancing, etc. which I thought was cool, and there are a lot of lights and sounds and such.

Other interesting things or differences here in France…

•           The French take short showers (5 minutes) and it’s really bizarre to them that Americans take 20-30 minute showers.
•           There are only two periods in France when a store can advertise SOLDES (sale) – one month in January and one month in July.  Literally every store has a sale, and there are massive crowds at the mall.  This sale period is sanctioned by the government. All other times a store has a sale, it’s called a “Promotion.” Thus, we came here right in time for all the massive sales, which is exciting.
•           The French do eat bread with every meal.  And no, not everyone is carrying baguettes, although I do see people from time to time doing so.
•           There are a lot of bugs, and I’m getting a lot of mosquito bites.
•           It’s also sunny and I’m getting very tan.
•           Apparently, the rich in France get taxed very heavily, so they usually move to Monaco, Luxembourg, Switzerland, etc. to avoid taxes.

I simply just love having conversations with M. et Mme. Mulet (along with my roommates) because they talk (in French) about anything from the drinking age to religion in France to French history to how bees are dying to the weather in St-Laurent-du-Var…the dinner table is truly the moment when I learn a lot about the part of French culture that I can’t experience directly. I also think I’m becoming more fluent; I can definitely understand almost everything that anyone says in French, it’s just about perfecting my speaking skills and gaining more practice there. I hope I can be fluent by the end of the program!

Anyway, we’re going to Cannes today (Cannes Film Festival anyone?), so lots to see and do! I will probably post some stuff about that later (in whatever little truly free time I have haha).

Talking about marriages and civil baptisms

Us overlooking Nice!

Me with the Mayor of St-Laurent-du-Var

Pic of the entire group overlooking St-Laurent from the Mayor's place!