In just five short days since arriving in France, I’ve gone from living out of a suitcase in a hotel room to tanning poolside in my new homestay.
After being thrown at potential living arrangements Hunger Games-style on our second day here, I’ve settled in. I am now in the process of learning the nuances of living in France.
Fortunately, my biggest obstacles so far are only doing my grocery shopping before the stores close — as nothing here is open 24 hours — and battling the wind that is intent on blowing every window and door in the house open at all hours.
So far, one of the most surprising parts of being in Aix-en-Provence is the relative ease with which I’ve been able to speak with locals. The last two times I was in France, I spent the first few days timid about trying out my French skills, but this time I jumped right in.
It’s certainly helped that, in many situations, I’m forced to.
For example, the owner of the house doesn’t speak any English, which made moving in and paying the lease interesting. Every time someone hears my accent and starts speaking in English, it’s a struggle to convince them that I can communicate in French.
I expect that the longer I stay here and learn the local customs, the less it will happen. The past few days have been such a whirlwind of activity that I forget I’ve only been here five days and have approximately 10 months to go to learn the essentials.
This week starts a completely new aspect of the trip: school. While classes at Aix-Marseille Université don’t start for about three weeks, until then, I have an accelerated class that meets every weekday. I’m excited to finally be on a regular schedule and know what to expect out of the French schooling system.
I’m not so excited about four straight hours of class in the morning, but I guess sacrifices have to made in order to live in the south of France for a year.
As I mentioned in my first column, traveling around Europe is a huge reason why I decided to spend an entire year abroad instead of a semester or summer. On the second night in Aix, other students and I were already discussing where our top destinations are and how to plan our first trip. It’s crazy to realize how accessible places like Prague or Dubrovnik are compared to the United States.
On a smaller scale, every time I walk by the local train station in Aix, I’m reminded just how easy it is to hop on, pay a few Euros and be in another beautiful, provincial French town in less than an hour.
In the next couple of weeks, our program is taking a weekend trip to Marseille, the second-largest city in France, which is only 30 minutes away.
This week, though, I’m content to stay in Aix and continue to learn the winding, cobblestone streets sans Google Maps.
rarosens@indiana.edu
@rachrosenstock
