Cliché

Bonjour tout le monde!

I’ve been in France a week now, and the more I see, taste, smell, and experience, the more I realize I need to find a way to document everything, so I’ve decided to be a total cliché and create a blog.

So where am I, exactly? Aix-en-Provence, France. A beautiful little city about 30 minutes from the Mediterranean Sea.

A for Aix!

Aix was built primarily in the 17^th century, and walking down the cobble stone streets, staring up at the iron-barred windows with their shutters wide open, it’s like stepping into a time machine. On one of our first days in Aix, we were taken on a tour of the city, and we stopped at a church to learn a little bit about the history. The tour guide explained that parts of the church had been added at different times in history; the first being in the 15^th century, the second in the 17^th, and the third in the 18^th. We went inside the church, and in the 15^th century rotunda-like room filled with pillars, lit only by the stained glass ceiling, there are still remnants of the pool where children were baptized. It still blows my mind to think that that church was originally built before America was even discovered.

One of the streets of Aix

Cathédrale Saint-Saveur (3-centuries cathedral)

Remnants of the paintings in the 5th century part of the Cathedral

Place de L'Hotel de Ville

Place d'Albertas

Despite the amount of history and antique architecture in the city, it is, in fact, quite modern. Aix, as it turns out, is a bit of a tourist town (which is unfortunate for a student like me, because that means everything is rather expensive). There are boutiques, restaurants, and cafés lining the streets where the aforementioned 17^th century-styled windows line the sky, which makes walking down the streets a rather paradoxical experience. However, being in a modern city does have its perks, such as a wide array of patisseries (I’m making it my goal to get a croissant from each one in order to discover which is the flakiest and sweetest), amazing shoe stores (and I’m not even that drawn to shoes), and this gelato shop that has a Nutella-flavored ice cream that you should never ever get. Because - I promise you - you won’t stop thinking about how badly you want it again afterwards. Seriously. I had it on Friday, and I’m still thinking about it. It’s the following Thursday. I bought some Nutella, and once I cave and buy ice cream, I will be determined to find a cheap way to re-create it on my own. Wish me luck.

So what am I doing here? It’s the second semester of my junior year at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and I’m studying abroad. However, this semester, I’m going to be a student at Aix-Marseille Université. The largest university in France, and a piece of shit. In France, universities are primarily just one building (as opposed to the American idea of – in some cases – an entire city devoted to the school). And this building looks as though a janitor has not stepped into it in about 20 years. There is graffiti everywhere, there are cobwebs in every corner, there is no central heating, and the toilets don’t have seats…or toilet paper. What I did not know before I got here was that the French don’t pay NEARLY as much money as we do to go to school. In order to get the French equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree, a student must attend school for 3 years. Their first year is free, and the other two years, they’ll pay a grand total of about 1,400 € a year. Compare that with the almost 9,000$ I pay for tuition at Madison. And that’s in-state.

One of the hallways in the "Fac"

Graffiti and peeling paint...I wasn't kidding

Aw. Eugene <3

At least the walk to my school is somewhat nice...

Université Sciences Politique D'Aix-en-Provence 

(Political Science school where some of the kids in my program attend. Built in 1792. 

Famous alums: Émile Zola and Paul Cézanne)

So as romantic as the image is of the South of France, there are definitely things here that – put very nicely – one would describe as “charming.” For example, my apartment. I’m living in a two-bedroom apartment with Kate, another girl from my program. We moved in yesterday, and are quickly discovering more and more “charming” things about our apartment. Like the radiator that doesn’t seem to work. And the lack of flooring in the corner of my bedroom. And the lack of air circulation which make the apartment smell slightly like a wet towel that’s been sitting out for weeks. And the 8-inch hole in the corner of the kitchen that goes to God-knows-where. Our landlord said something about it having a valve to turn on the water in the courtyard? Who knows.

Speaking of my landlord, let’s talk about him for a little while. Dr. Guigou (pronounce Guee-Goo – hard “G” on both syllables) is a psycho-analyst (psychologist who practices Freudism; a theory that is practically extinct in todays society because it includes such theories as men being sexually frustrated because of their latent fear of being castrated by their fathers…you get the point), and is therefore quite an interesting man. I had been warned about him by the girls who lived here before, and when he came to sign our lease, he was exactly what I expected. I opened the door to a mid-sixties man with thin tufts of gray, curly hair and enormous glasses that take up about half of his face. When he spoke, he mumbled, and never looked you in the eye. And for a not-native French speaker, it was nearly impossible to understand a single word he said, so I just nodded and said “Oui, d’accord.” He didn’t come with any paperwork, but instead wrote the conditions of the lease on a piece of paper and had us sign it. Oh. And he doesn’t have a phone. So if there’s ever a problem with the apartment, Kate and I are more or less on our own.

The perks of living in France J

However, it’s not ALL horrible and “charming.” There are actually some really charming parts of living in this apartment. Like the spiral staircase that brings me up to the loft where my bedroom is. And the two-story windows that essentially make up one side of our apartment. Also, said windows open up to one of the most picturesque stone-wall enclosed courtyards; complete with a little set of white iron table and chairs, a fountain, and grass infested cobble stone (for the purposes of making you jealous, let’s pretend that I’m actually allowed out in the courtyard). Also, I found out that the furniture in the apartment (armoires, dressers, couches) is most likely hundreds of years old.

 I think I can easily make it feel like home. As long as I can find a place to buy some candles. And a new space heater. Since I’m pretty sure I broke the one that was here.

Courtyard (AKA my backyard)

Anyway, overall, my first week here has been full of surprises, adjustment, and overall love of my new home. I can't wait to keep exploring and learning more about the beautiful city of Aix. 

À bientôt!

Elie