I am finally in Aix-en-Provence. After 11 hours in transit I made it to Marseille where two Abroadco students from the past semester greeted three of us from the Munich flight. They took us on the bus to Aix, where we briefly met our program director, Pamela, before she sent us off to our homestays and apartments.
Before I go any further, I must discuss my travel. First, I booked with Lufthansa this time since British Airways lost my luggage and I didn't want to deal with Terminal 4, Terminal 5 nonsense in Heathrow. The Munich airport terminal was alien to me. Maybe if I hadn't taken French first I could do it, but I do NOT understand German at all. But I was so hungry when I got to Aix because once I finally found a place to buy food in the Munich airport, the only food I wouldn't have to ask for over the counter was cut up pineapple. I know I could've tried English, but it's the first time I've ever been in a country where I wasn't at least operational in the native language and it wouldn't have felt right.
While I don't understand a word of German and never endeavor to try, Lufthansa beats British Airways hands down. Better food, absolutely doting flight attendants, maybe even better selection for in-flight movies. Also, there were no delays, even though it had been snowing for hours when we left Munich.
So my program director sent me to meet my host mom with the two students who greeted us at the airport. Madame Marie-Dominique Orsoni lives in (or perhaps right on the fringe of) the old city. The streets are incredibly narrow and are filled with pedestrians, except when the occasional car comes along. I played around with paint and Google Maps to try to give an idea of how Aix is laid out. The green lines are the old city, the outer orange ring marks what I think is considered the "centre
ville", and the purple line is the famous Cours Mirabeau. The biggest fountain "La Rotonde" is at the western end (the circle to the left labeled D17). Pictures of these places are to follow eventually.Last night I got settled in in my room. Madame Orsoni lives in her apartment with her cat Miya (I don't know if that's how it's spelled). She has one son who has a 4 year-old daughter Anna. Marie-Do is very talkative and likes watching TV, even reality shows like the French version of Survivor (same title, just say it Frenchily). She seems very laidback and gets along well with my program director, whom she knows from hosting other Abroadco students.
Today I took my placement test at the Institut (des Etudes Françaises pour les Etudiants Etrangers...l'IEFEE). There are probably at least 5 private study abroad companies who have brought students to this one school. To explain the exam instructions there were translators for English, Chinese, and Japanese. And I know there were at least a few Germans and a group of very chic, overly tanned Italian girls. So even though I won't be taking classes with French students, being with people who speak a different native language should prevent me from speaking too much English. That's the plan anyway.
The test was fine. The written part took probably an hour and a half and then the oral exam was just 5 minutes with a professor. After I did both of those I kind of wandered around Aix on my own, got lost a couple times, bought some pasta for lunch. It's not too warm but the sun is really nice. I can't wait to see the Cours Mirabeau when the trees get leafy.
That's it for now. Tomorrow I have a free day and will be figuring out my cell phone situation. Then Friday I find out which level I placed into for classes, and all the Abroadco students are going out to dinner on our director's bill. Saturday is free again, and Sunday I'm going to Marseille with the Abroadco kids again.
A bientôt!
Maggie B.
French Fun Fact: In French, a woman "tombe enceinte" or "falls pregnant".
