Leaving

My realization that this is all coming to end has slowly but surely started to hit me. It hit me when we finished our last final yesterday and I immediately celebrated with a nutella filled cookie. It hit me when I left the American Center one last time. It hit me when Caroline left last night. It hit me when I hugged Lisa goodbye before we embark on our flight tomorrow (big yes for being together then). It especially hit me when I punched in the password to get into my host mother's place one last time.

My dear friend Mimi wrote us all a facebook note last night about her wonderful experience, and how she learned a lot about herself. I always wondered what that meant, because I never took the opportunity to evaluate how much I had learned about myself in this short period of time. When I walked without my Ipod over to my last Saturday outdoor market, I realized how much I feel as though I have changed. A change that I feel like is long overdue, and a change I didn't anticipate would happen.

When I went to Israel a few years ago, everyone said your life would change there and I felt a little empty not feeling the same affects as most people did. I felt change, yes, but some of the people who I went with were looking at real estate there. But I feel like change happens gradually, without you knowing, and you don't realize it happens until you're about to encounter another change. In this case, coming home.

I learned a lot about myself within the comfort zone of my independence and my aloneness. A lot of study abroad experiences involve constantly stepping out of comfort zones to get accustomed to a lifestyle you never think you're going to be able to adjust to. I suddenly find the enjoyment in just being myself, rather than a dependence on any other people. Being alone is not lonely.

I feel like I have a lot of things to thank for that. The first, is the obvious. Aix-en-Provence is so quaint and fantastic that you want to relish in every moment that you can with or without people. Another thing to thank, is the fact that I came to France single. Not because I dated many French boys (not many. I'll elaborate on this more later in this entry), but because I was flooded with having to do more things alone. I feel like it's easy to completely accept yourself when someone else is also accepting you at the same time. In serious relationships, I feel as though it is inevitable to feel a safety blanket. This is not to negate the good, but another facet.

I have become more accustomed to, and in fact, embraced, discovering new things on my own and not wanting to tell someone else right away. Rather, wanting to remember moments that you share with yourself, because you're the only person that can love certain memories in the way you remember them. In spite of discovering things like the mere horror of Brussels with Lisa and Caroline, the memories you create by and for yourself are more important when it comes to bettering yourself, as well.

There is no point in feeling awkward when you're waiting for a person, because people are always waiting. There is no point in doubting a fashion choice, a life choice, or any other type of choice that can welcome judgement because people are constantly making personal choices themselves. Etc., etc.

These are things that I never really understood until recently. I was always aware of them, wanted to change them, and wanted to constantly be a better version of myself, but being a study abroad student floods you with personal growth that you don't even realize.

When it comes to bettering myself here, I also have to thank my amazing friends for that. In spite of a few unhappy people in the program who displaced their unhappiness on the rest of us, I really loved the people in my program. Here we all were, changing, and learning, and it didn't have to be recognized out loud to recognize it.

More specifically, with Caroline and Lisa since the three of us kind of found each other from the beginning. When Caroline left last night, I realized how good friendships are so good when the bring out the best in you. I love my friends who are already in my life so much, but to share a study abroad experience with two people who you have an incredible kinship with is special in its own way. I felt more spontaneous, and every moment was always hilarious. We had our rituals, and we had our random moments that made each day full of comedy. Towards the end, I realized my closeness with other friends, too, which is also going to be difficult to leave.

One topic that always ensured perpetual comedy, concerns the French men. Between their text messages, dating style, and copious amount of cultural misunderstandings, dating in France has been the most hilarious experience of all. Not that our french text messages are probably all that great, but one of my favorite english text messages has got to be this one:

"When you arrive, you make me ringing!"

Translation: "When you get there, call me!"

Obviously I knew what this meant right away, but it makes me wonder if "you make me ringing" may also be some sort of sexual come on for the French. Their moves are for the most part outdated that this would not surprise me one bit. French people also use SO MANY EMOTICONS. One guy I was seeing once sent me a text message with two emoticons in one, which was an exception to the one per text rule which occurred almost every time.

French men are also feminine. Yes, I know, doesn't this make them romantic? Sure, of course it does. But I'd rather some good old fashioned American flirting than a nutella crepe to lure me into a relationship. They also love to touch each other in appropriately. There was a period of time in which one of my French Squeeze's happened to be the best friend of Lisa's French Squeeze, and the two of them would inappropriately slap each other's genitalia as if were the most normal thing on earth. Denying they ever made out did not have Lisa and I convinced at all. Nonetheless, it was fun to go on a double date (the one time) and he took me to Cassis one time and picked me up from the airport when I came back from Copenhagen. He once offered to take me to "salad and pink wine," but the offer seemed like too much of a joke. But everyone loves a good language barrier, thus making this "thing," whatever it was, interesting. These guys loved how much money they had, and weren't afraid to talk about it. They would go to this club and inappropriately buy a 150 euro bottle of Jack Daniels just to have a table. If you have that money, that's great for you. But let's talk about it for 2 more hours.

That was my second Squeeze. My first French Squeeze was really really kind, but it just wasn't for me. As opposed to Americans, they don't ask you to if you want to be their girlfriend (which I'm not so sure really exists anyway in America). They sort of just... assume.

No, not sort of. They assume. I had been seeing this guy for about a week, and by seeing, I mean a cafe, a glass of wine, or a walk in the park from time to time (no, seriously, these things happened), and all of sudden he started calling me his girlfriend. Really now? At first I went along with it because I figured more feelings could start to develop and why not? However, relationships emotionally move much slower here, inevitably, because there is a language barrier. He understands English pretty well and we spoke French most of the time, but a good part of our relationship was finding the other one adorable because of something he/she said in French/English. Nonetheless, breaking up with him was awkward because the relationship only lasted about a month, and also Aix-en-Provence should be renamed Ex-en-Provence because I saw him everywhere the rest of my semester. Like I said, Aix is small.

There were some mini-dates as well but those really aren't important. I think my point has been made. I don't want to say that I'm not a romantic, but sometimes it's just too much. Sometimes, you want to be treated like a person, not a like an American Girl. I think being an American Girl is put on such a pedestal here, because the French guys think you're going to be enamored with them simply because they are French guys. But here's the thing French guys: for the most part, you make me awkward. Thanks for the fun, laughs, good times, but you shouldn't text us girls so much. Also, what's it like being a man? When you know, get back to me.

In all seriousness, dating in France was FUN, and enriched my experience so much more.

This is long, I know. I just wanted to say a lot. I love Aix-en-Provence so much, and you should really make it down here. I'm going to miss walking down the street, buying a baguette, and finding half of it is gone by the time you get to where you want to go. I'm going to miss all of the wildflowers that grow, the greenery all around the city, and pace. I'm anxious to get back to New York, but putting anxious in a sentence with New York is no surprise. I truly feel this has changed my life, and I can't wait to carry that part of me with me whether it be in my basket bag or with how I look at myself.

What an experience. I really don't know what else to say. Thank you for reading this whole long thing if you did.

I have so much love in me, so thank you Aix. Best semester of my life. Hands down.

At 2:40 pm on Sunday the 23rd, I'll be home!

The Final Countdown

4 days. I leave in 4 days.

I am currently packing instead of studying for two finals on Friday, and I remember blogging when I was packing to go TO Aix. I actually may need to buy another suitcase, but I think I should be okay. A lot of my suitcase is filled with gifts I got for apparently everyone and their mother. Do you think I can bring herbs on the plane? Or is that something you need to check? I got SO MUCH chocolate because I feel like it's really hard to shop for guy friends in the South of France. Unfortunately, packing made me so stressed I ate one. So that means someone is getting one less chocolate bar.

Bittersweet feelings. So so so bittersweet. I love it here and I love the niche I've found, but there are so many things. I miss New York. I miss my friends. More than that, I miss my family a lot a lot. I wish I could be home to see my brother transition into being a college freshman. I've always been incredibly close with my family, especially my brother, and I never realized how lucky I was to go to college so close to home. I also miss performing. I miss Americans, as well. Take that last one as you will.

Meanwhile, Lisa's birthday was yesterday and it was epictastic.

Finals in France?

No thanks.

Cannes..

... WAS FANTASTIC! What a wonderful few days this has been. We saw Tim Burton on the yacht marina. That is all. Not to mention, Cannes is a lovely lovely ville.

A reason why the French are so dramatic upon seeing Michael Douglas waving in his car:

French girl: Michael Douglaus! Il est trop sympa! Il fait le "coucou!!" (Translation: Michael Douglas! He is so nice! He says hello!) A you have to be there moment? Perhaps.

Lazy Thursday, if you will

Today we went to Cassis and the Calanques, two of the most beautiful areas in the South of France. Chasty's language partner, Guillaume, was awesome enough to take us, the day was incredible and I felt so French. We had to climb all of these mountains and rocks that were all facing the Med Sea. Eventually we hiked down and put our stuff down in this little beach/rock area that hit the water. The med is so clear and blue and amazing.

After a nice dip in the water, we even jumped off cliffs!! I was terrified. I couldn't believe all of the little boys that were so reckless... it made me wonder if I was ever that reckless as a child. Probably not.

And if we didn't feel French enough, we had a picnic on the rocks with wine, baguette, cheese, chocolate, apples, etc... basically, the gang was all there. To the right is where we were.

Got a nice little color! I plan on stepping off the plane into America with a French glow if that's possible.

ALSO the Spectacle yesterday actually went surprisingly well! So well, that our director cried. It was... surprising. She also gave us too much wine beforehand. Thanks Lilli. I guess it's pretty cool that we put on a theatre piece in French.

This gem of a picture is Caroline and I in art class.

10 Days Left.

Yes, I realize it has been a while. I have been so caught up that I forgot that I had a blog!! Yeah, I know, excuses are great. Anyway, I can't believe that this is all winding down, my finals are next week, and I need to start thinking about how big the extra suitcase I need to buy will be.

Tomorrow we have our "Grand Spectacle" for our Theatre class and our art class. Naturally, I would be excited about this. However my paintings look like children's art work and our Theatre teacher, Jean Claude, has only rehearsed one of my scenes once.

When I was in 1st grade I was a French artist for Halloween because that was my aspiration at the time. How strange an aspiration, since not only was it achieved at the age of 20, but my artwork is so bad that it looks like it actually was from first grade. In addition, in spite of Jean Claude's lack of time management and the same black tight pants he has worn since the first week that leaves unfortunately nothing to the imagination, the Theatre spectacle should be really fun since we're essentially laughing the whole time. Let me set the scene: the opening sequence is us walking around in costume to Viva La Vida. Yes, yes, and yes. I am also pumped to meet all of the host mom's after hearing stories about their promiscuous ex-husband's or over indulged cats.

Another thing that just happened, was the Grand Ball last saturday! It's publicity ad called it "The Night of Grand Prestige" with 10 ambiances, 10 rooms, and many bars. The Grand Ball was at the engineering school where most of us have our language partners/ex language partners/rock and salsa class, and it was essentially prom part 2. Minus the dates, because everyone just kind of goes. Minus the prom drama (PROMA copyright Evan Schwartz), because everyone just kind of goes. Like I always say, the proof is in the pudding, and if the pudding was a conglomerate of pictures, we had a grand ol' time. It was fun seeing our "friends" from Rock and Salsa class, since they generally don't take us seriously anyway. We also ran into every person we knew from our 4 month cluster of French friends. This part of the night was 50% incredible, 25% awkward, and 25% classic Aixoise.

I am so sad this is all coming to a close, but I still have 10 more days to really "sink my teeth into." My french has gotten better, so much so that I actually dreamed in French last night... or so I think. I remember having a dialogue with someone in French, and the person kept saying to me "I don't understand what you're saying!" So yes, I dreamt in French.

Thursday I'm going to Cassis, which is a beautiful town facing the Med Sea. I had been taken there a few months ago when it was a little cold, but I get to go again when it is warmer. The first time was still beautiful but second time's a charm. And then FRIDAY we're going to Cannes to check out the film festival and do some exploring... you know, the things we do best. I am so excited about Cannes. When I was in 8th grade, my mom got me a sequenced tank top that said "Cannes," and I remember saying "MOOOOOOM WHAT'S A CAN? WHAT DOES THIS SHIRT MEAN?" I'm glad that when I was 13, after having been exposed to the film world more or less, I was still so well rounded. Speaking of well-rounded, when I told Craig I was going to Cannes he said: "Like in Entourage?" I love my brother.

Hopefully this rain in Aix will stop. Hopefully the volcano will stop. Hopefully I can get home in 1o days.

SPRING BREAK...

... WAS SO LONG!! Especially thanks to the volcanos. Basically, we got stranded in Brussels, but ended up in Paris before going back to Aix which ended up being quite lovely.

Anyway, Spring Break was a whirlwind. Just like I did with Spain, I'll write the top ten things in no order about each country we visited:

Brussels

1. Belgian Waffles

2. Unlimited Chocolate Samples

3. Museum of Musical Instruments and the Comics Museum

4. Fries with unlimited sauces

5. The big grand place/square filled with lovely buildings and many outdoor cafe's. We had a happy hour there, and it was our first drink to kick off the break

6. The Delirium Cafe - over 2000 beers with tons of flavors like COOKIE

7. Finding Kebab Street

8. The underwhelming peeing statue which mirrors how underwhelming Brussels is as a city

9. The fact that Brussels looks like the Bronx

10. I can't even think of 10 ugh Brussels

Prague!!! By far my favorite.

1. Seeing Obama - we went a beer garden and the street was closed off so we couldn't cross it. All of a sudden millions of motorcycles -- really, millions!! -- rolled by and police cars and then a limo with Obama in it! He was in Prague signing some treaty or doing some President stuff.

2. The walking tour/learning history and wishing

I paid more attention in high school. Particularly the Jewish history. The jewish quarter in Prague was named that by Hitler. Hitler thought that after WWII all of the Jews would be exterminated, and the Jewish quarter of Prague would be like a museum. It was so disturbing and it gave us all the chills.

3. The PUB CRAWLS were so fun (meeting people, getting a good old taste of Prague night life)

4. All of the architecture

5. The exchange rate - about 25 crowns to 1 euro. Going shopping and seeing 1100 crowns pop up after a purchase is a funny moment

6. The things you can eat and drink on the street like the famous Prague pastry and mojitos

7. I got to see Allie again! She ended up being in our room in the hostel!!

8. Taking Wizzair from Brussels to Prague. Wizzair is a pink plane. It was terrifying and dangerous and wikipedia says it should go out of business rather soon. Feeling good to have survived it.

9. All of the tourists that randomly jumped into a picture with us, and now we have a series of nine photos.

10. Because we can't understand Czech, we accidentally bought raw turkey instead of raw chicken at the supermarket. A man on the line behind us kindly informed us. We also met characters all over the supermarket, including an old man who pulled Caroline aside to practice English.

Amsterdam

1. It is just so lovely with all of the canals and rather short buildings

2. The walking tour, the history, etc. I became a history nerd this vacation

3. Anne Frank House was so unbelievably touching

4. Going to the Keukenhof, the worlds largest/most photographed tulip garden. We then biked around the garden fields and some more of the Netherlands. It was like being in Narnia which has been a lifelong dream. There was also an amazing zip line!!

5. Bacon pancakes and Banana pancakes... Amsterdam is known for pancakes which were so delicious

6. Seeing the canals of Amsterdam at night

7. The homeless man that served us breakfast at our "hotel," but it was really a hostel

8. First hearing about the volcano and not thinking that it was an actual reality

9. Taking pictures in the I Am Amsterdam sign... not because it was particularly cool, but so touristy, and everyone does it, so why not us?

10. Being unbelievably disturbed by the women galavanting in windows in the Red Light District

Other fun facts:

We were scheduled to leave back for Aix on a Saturday morning, but we got to the airport and every sign said "cancelled" like Home Alone.

We went back and forth from train stations and airports to get refunds and new tickets. The train station was insane. The guy who sold tickets said for three people the cost of a train to Marseille, a town close by, would be 444 euros (about 650 dollars). We literally were so delirious and overwhelmed that we laughed in his face and couldn't stop laughing either. It was one of our better moments. Then he said the train was leaving from Paris in a half hour and we couldn't make it anyway. We took a train to Paris anyway to deal with it there. We just needed to get out of Brussels, by any means necessary.

Eventually we got to Paris, and after waiting on another long line, we we informed that we couldn't get a train back to Aix monday night. This whole process has so far taken 12 hours. Luckily Caroline's friend had space in her apartment in Paris, the weather in Paris was incredible, and I got to have a lovely dinner with Becca!

The fact that we are back in Aix seems like a dream. I actually woke up in the middle of the night, terrified, because I had no idea where I was. Luckily the weather in Aix is currently unbelievable and warm and I love it.

Actually though, I come home in a month IF I can get home. The volcano stuff is evidently getting worse, and the volcanic ash can melt the engines of the plane which would just make the plane FALL from the sky. If we have to take a boat home, I plan on redoing all of Titanic minus the sinking part.

I. LOVE. PARIS.

Basically, this was one of the best weekends ever. Lisa and I did so much in a short period of time, and we essentially felt like we were on our honeymoon.

Thursday night, we thought the TGV would be a "nightclub," since we got in at 11 pm. American and French friends alike told us this, and everyone lied. We took naps and ate snacks and listened

to Justin Bieber. When we arrived, and throughout the rest of the trip, we successfully navigated the French metro! I forgot how much I missed a good subway to get you around. Lisa's friend Nikki was awesome and let us stay with her in her apartment in the Latin Quartier, which is amazing. We didn't realize that we had passed the Sorbonne and the Jardin de Luxumberg until daylight was upon us Friday.

Friday we woke up early and metro-ed over to the Eiffel Tower. We had thought we had taken the wrong subway stop because we made a 300 degree turn instead of a 360 turn off the subway. Once again, accidentally, we found the Eiffel Tower. We meandered over like little children, and then we climbed to the second "observation deck." Climbing it was not only good exercise, but just incredible on

the whole. The Eiffel Tower really is more beautiful in person than in pictures. That picture is us on the Eiffel Tower, Tom Cruise proposing to Katie Holmes style.

After, we walked over to the Arc de Triomph, walked down the Champs Elysée, walked to Les Invalides, Le Petit Palais, Place de la Concorde, got caught in a terrible rainstorm, went to Le Louvre, the Jardin de Tuileries, and we saw the Pont Neuf (the bridge). At Le Louvre, we saw the Mona Lisa, the Aphrodite sculpture, Milo et Venus sculpture, the Sphinx, Hammurabi's Code, and a bunch of other amazing things. We posed like the sculptures for pictures, and that's how we made friends. After this adventurous day, we stumbled into Chatelet Les Halles where shopping really called us.

Saturday, again waking up early, we took the metro to Le Sacre Coeur which is fantastic. Especially climbing up the tower... by the way, so much climbing in Paris. So. Much. Climbing. Afterwards, we walked around Montmartre, saw the I Love You in many languages wall, did more shopping, went to the Cemetery and saw many a cool graves like Degas, Emile Zola, and Hector Berlioz, walked by the ever so anti-climactic Moulin Rouge, felt uncomfortable by Pigalle, searched the Jewish quarter for falafel, and had Chinese food which was delish. Luckily it rained during lunch, so by the time we walked over to the Opera House the rain had stopped. After that fun-filled group of activities, we went to this huuuuuuge department store called Lafayette and went to the top floor, in which one can get an amazing view of Paris. Everytime we climbed a significant amount of stairs, 30 pictures followed. Talk about classical conditioning.

Saturday we just decided to walk all the way back to the Latin Quarter. We decided we must have walked 7 miles that day, or something that impressive.

Sunday, our last day of romance, we went to the Notre Dame bright and early. We were soooo confused as to why it was more crowded than usual, and we realized it was Easter Sunday. How we ACCIDENTALLY went to the most famous church in all of Paris on Easter Sunday is just something we would do. After walking through the service, we waited online for about an hour to climb more stairs to the top, but it was beyond worth it. For one, the people in front of us kept going to the souvenir shops to buy things to keep them warm. Their total list included: three new pairs of gloves, 1 large cup of coffee, a beret, a scarf, and a pair of socks. This was really a sight for cold eyes. Then we saw the Jardin de Luxumberg which reminded us of the scene with "16 going on 17" in The Sound of Music. Actually, Lisa and I must have sang it for about 10 minutes.

After more walking around and unfortunately heading home, we had decided that it was a fantastic weekend. For one, we've been learning about all of these things in Paris since we were in 6th grade, and to see them as a reality was just... unreal? Also Paris has got to be my favorite city I have traveled to thus far. Copenhagen is a close second, but Paris is well... Paris. Not to mention, Aix is a dreamworld. Ahhh I hate superlatives.

The weather was more fickle than a girl picking her outfit for a first date. Rain, shine, overcast, mildly cloudy, and as we got on our train home it started to HAIL.

Anyway, tomorrow, we leave for Prague, Brussels, and Amsterdam with our third partner in crime, Caroline, who we missed very much.

Passover!!!

I just gave an adorable little passover seder during lunch time.

We read the plagues, but instead of dipping our finger in wine each time we read a plague, we drank un petit gout of wine. Jews and Non-Jews came and everyone got a taste of Schackner Passover culture! I passed around the afikoman cover, and I had everyone analyze the picture. After each person analyzed the afikoman cover, they got a piece of candy! When I hid the afikoman, everyone went bananas and it was great. I had everyone contribute a little bit, and the winner, Sarah, won 5 euros!

I also questioned, "Why is this night different from any other nights?" and not many people knew, especially because we did the seder during lunch time. Nonetheless, everyone broke Matzah and got a little tipsy before their afternoon classes. I would say it was a great day.

Spring is alive and well

Saturday our fantastic art teacher, Pamela, took us on a sortie to Arles and Saint Remy. The architecture and ruins were fascinating. There were all of these graves that Pammy want us to take a picture in... classic Pammy. We also saw a theatre that I really want Jean-Claude, our theatre prof, to take us to. And then we went to this fantastic marché!! We got a box of pears (or bears) for only 1 euro, and 10 chocolate croissants pour 2 euros, and then we all got adorable espadrilles (Sp?) to kick off the season. After lounging in the most adorable park, we went to the playground and had more fun than you could imagine.

We then got to see the mental institution Van Gogh stayed in! It really was quite beautiful. It is still a mental institution today, but only for women. It was great to be back at Barnard for a little bit.

In three days, I leave for Spring Break: Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Prague. 15 days of glory. It's weird because we keep saying how much we need a vacation. Yes, the AUCP is a bit of a fake school, but still tiring. As hard as it may be to believe, I actually do a decent amount of homework. I cannot wait for the adventures that Lisa and Caroline and I go on, because we're so good at stumbling upon hilarious and wonderful people and places.

I've also been going running regularly (clears my mind, keeps me in shape) and tomorrow I am hosting a passover seder. HAPPY ALMOST BIRTHDAY EMILY WALLEN!!!

Fan2

Fan2 is the name of the French magazine I bought today, which is essentially the J-14 of France. With Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber on the cover, I rationalized buying it because my level of french is probably comparable to that of a teenage girl.

I get really excited as Thursday approaches for two reasons. The first being, that it's Thursday. The second, that it's the day of my choir which I love. I would say about 90% of the choral singers are 60+ and they are hilarious. The Soprano 2's have more sass than you would imagine, so luckily that's my vocal part. After my chorus days of middle/high school, I never thought I would do a choir again. However, each week as I walk to my new choir, I have fond memories of performing "Got to Get You Into My Life" (and 2 and 3 and 4 and), "America" from West Side Story, "Cherish," and "My Sha-la-la-la-locker's Stuck."

Today my mother sent me a delicious package of passover goodies. To name a few: mini chocolate covered matzahs, chocolate covered matzah, matzah, jellies candies, matzah ball soup mix, KEDEM'S GRAPE JUICE (A MILLION TIMES YES), macaroons, and a series of haggadah's. There are a few Jews here at AUCP, so I think we're going to try to have a Passover seder. Non-Jews want to come too... and what's a Schackner passover seder without the respective non-Jew each season? I don't know how I'll be able to do it in French, but I could try to communicate the other French way like with copious amounts of food.

Copenhagen...

... WAS AMAZING. Not only was it great to see Allie, Copenhagen is absolutely beautiful and I could totally see how it is the happiest place in the world. The culture is fascinating, and I wish I could live there to experience what Allie's experiencing. We did so much in such a short period of time! My first night I arrived late, but we walked around the center of Copenhagen which is lovely at night. The city is so full of life, and hearing everyone speak Danish is like hearing a bunch of people with marbles in their mouth. Nonetheless, the language is incredibly cool.

The next day, Allie took me to one of her favorite Danish bakeries. If I studied abroad in Denmark, I would eat way too many pastries than a person should have. If I studied abroad in France, I would eat way too many pastries than a... wait... yeah...

Then, we went to the castle where the Royal Family lives. After asking three separate sets of tourists to take a successful picture of us, we moved on to a town called Christiania. Marijuana is legally sold there (and I believe I saw heroin, but I am not really sure what it looks like), so the atmosphere was quite... quaint? You're not allowed to take pictures in the town because naturally, the drug is not legal everywhere else. Allie also mentioned that the no pictures thing also has to do with something about the Denmark modesty, but I don't get it/probably heard incorrectly. We then made our way over to the Carlsberg's Brewery, which was particularly exciting for me! That wednesday, for Saint Patrick's Day (Happy Birthday Mom!!), I had my first Carlsberg beer! My friends suggested it, and who would have thought that my new experience with a new beer would follow me all the way to Scandinavia?

That night we went to ICE BAR which is incredibly COOL (no pun intended). Right before Ice Bar, Allie introduced me to a Denmark-ian drink called "Fisk," which is essentially cough medicine with a twist of mint and European culture. The best part was, we drank it in a random South African influenced bar. Ice Bar is a bar made of ice. They give you these large coats and you galavant around a below freezing Ice Box.

Hold on a second, I can't resist: "There's an Ice Box where [Denmark] used to be."

Anyway, you then drink a drink in an ice up. Each song that was playing had the word ice in it, I guess to go along with the theme. The thing was, it wasn't that cold. Yes, it was below freezing, but incredibly bearable. Allie's friends and I concluded that the idea of the Ice Bar is actually one big placebo affect, and there is a man with a camera making fun of all of this. These guys must of really made fun of us when we all proceeded to try to eat the ice cups. If anyone goes to an Ice Bar and finds these cameras, then I'm not going to say I told you so. After Ice Bar, we went to another bar and drank like the Danish.

The next morning, after another delicious pastry my stomach mocked me for, we took a canal ride around Copenhagen! We saw the Little Mermaid, the Black Diamond, A Famous Church, and I even listened to some French people speak French. This made me very happy. Allie and I did other wonderful things, but I can't remember at the present. Although this morning, I navigated myself around the Danish metro system all by myself.

Other things I noticed about Denmark: everyone is beau-ti-ful. And when I say beautiful, for those of you who understand this, picture Allison saying "beaauuuuuuuuutiful!!!" Also they are tall. I felt very short. The kroner is also confusing. Why do the numbers have to be so big?!? I actually missed the Euro. And no, I didn't see that one coming. Nonetheless, it was an incredible weekend. If you have the chance, go to Denmark. And Provence. Come here, too.

Children

So today I finally started my community service. I'm working with 8 year-olds, and today was their version of Carnival at the school so everyone was in costumes. First of all, hearing children speak in French is absolutely adorable; I could not stop smiling, and I loved every moment. Going to college in New York City has really numbed my feelings about children, and every time one walks by I generally feel annoyed. However, I think that is just New York City children... because these children made me elated.

The theme for my class was pink and purple (I don't get it). All of the girls dressed up as princesses, and all of the boys dressed up as girls. Maybe this is why French men are more in touch with their metrosexual side than American men. Because everyone was getting into costume, it wasn't a real class day. So while the teacher helped some students, the rest ran around and were drawing on the chalkboard.... she didn't even care!! I remember being 8 and sitting in class thinking how COOL chalk was and how I WISHED my teacher would let me draw on the chalkboard.

When I return next week, I get to teach a lesson in English about New York and I don't know what to do yet. At least midterms are over. That is a relief. Time for some fievre Aix... bring it on.

And Happy Birthday Katy!!

The Nutella Muffin

So we made a fantastic discovery here in Provence; the Nutella Muffin. Basically, one day Ellie wanted a chocolate muffin from the patisserie we go to everyday. As she finished her muffin, she, and everyone else, was elated to discover that Nutella was inside.

Now, we all look forward to the days in which we walk like a pack of wolves to buy this piece of heaven. Picture a delicious fluffy chocolate cupcake, but instead of the frosting on the outside, it is on the inside... and the inside is Nutella. I think I'll try to make them next semester for our power suite, because living without these things is going to be like Disney Channel living without Miley Cyrus.

Time to go running!

It's Snowing?!

So it's snowing. Provence has taken a turn for the worst. As I walked to my Rock Dance class tonight anticipating the good times about to be had, I couldn't believe my eyes. Last week was "Fake World" weather, and today was "Real World" weather. I blame you, New York. New York had snow going bananas, and now the snow has crossed the ocean into our lovely little world that is Aix-en-Provence.

Nonetheless, our spring break is officially booked!!! Brussels, Prague, and Amsterdam. Yes, Yes, and YES. I also believe we are going to try to make our way over to Paris before we start our spring break, since we have found free options for housing around the world. This option is called couch surfing, and Caroline and Lisa and I created a profile on a couch surfing website to meet friends from millions of different places. Don't worry Mom, this is safe.

ALSO Copenhagen in a week! ALSO the great BALL at Arts-et-Metiers is on Saturday!

The Return of the Little Mouse

So remember when I said going abroad was like living in a fake world? You have no idea.

Tonight, I went to dinner at Genevieve's daughter's house, and we dined with her daughter's fiance and his parents. First of all, Genevieve driving is the most frightening thing in the world. It is as if Craig (my 17 year old brother), Marissa (one of my very best friends from Long Island), and a bear are sharing the drivers seat. Every time she accelerates, it's an acceleration closer to my death. I am 80% sure that she will get in a car accident by the time I leave here.

ANYWAY, just as a back track, if you can recall I encountered a very outgoing Croatian man in Madrid from our hostel who called me his "little mouse." We never ever had a real conversation; he just coined this phrase. Here are some of the things he said to me and my friends. Mind you he was drunk and has a heavy Croatian accent:

"Little mouse! I want to buy you for a hunk of cheese! Or two! Or a horse!"

"Little mouse, where is our litter?!"

to my friend: "Where is my wiiiiiiiife?!"

and at dinner the next day, because everyone made dinner in the hostel, he threw a piece of cheese at me, completely sober:

"Good evening little mouse!"

I swear on all of the chocolate crepes in the world that I did nothing to provoke this kind man. I just hope no one ever offers to buy me for a horse again.

Basically, I thought my days as a little mouse were over. But alas.

Back to the present. After dinner, we had dessert. Dessert is three courses: cheese, cake, coffee. There is a way to cut a circular cheese and a way to cut a square cheese. When were taught this during the first week of the AUCP, I was unsurprisingly not paying attention. Thus, I made an incorrect incision in the square cheese, and the future father-in-law of Genevieve's daughter started to laugh at me, as did Genevieve, and soon the rest of the table. Then they all laughed and exclaimed: "un petit souris!!!"

Now this didn't register, because these people preceded to make me drunk in spite of the midterm I have tomorrow that I told them all about. What is a "souris?" It is a mouse. What is "petit?" Little. This table of people called me a little mouse. WHAT. I AM IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE. I'm sorry, but am I universally a little mouse across the ocean? This was more humorous to me than anything. And to explain the Croatian man story in French to this tipsy bunch would have been as difficult as to explain Barnard's relationship to Columbia in french.

In conclusion, this is a fake world. Where am I? Clearly the best place on earth.

Traveling Shamveling

In spite of Barnard housing trying to ruin my experience, there is so much that I look forward to all of the time. For example, we've been counting the "best days of our lives" since we've been here, and we're already up to 8.

Similarly, we are en route to exploring Europe! For our spring break which is for 15 days starting at the beginning of April, we're going to Brussels, Prague, and Amsterdam! And in a few weeks, I'm probably going to Copenhagen to see my lovely Allie. And then in May we're probably going to Paris and Cannes! I know "probably" isn't a yes, but "probably" translates to "should we put this on my credit card, too?" So "probably" means yes.

Current forecast: 55-60's, sunny, everyone eating lunch outside all the time. How's the weather on the Northeast, doing?

Et voilaaaaa

We are back from Spain, everyone, and what a grand old time we had. Barcelona and Madrid were fantastique, but Madrid a little more so. First of all, I love the people in my program. Second of all, I decided to make a list of the top 10 things I liked about each part of Spain, in no particular order. I'll try to post pictures dans le near avenir, but "I can't make any promises, I can't make any promises" (shout out to my family entourage time).

Barcelona:

1. Renting bikes and biking all over Barcelona from Park Guell to biking in the rain towards the Arc de Triomph

2. Park Guell/Sagrada Familia (spelling?)/ all of the gaudi architecture

3. Picasso Museum. Enough said.

4. The cocopuffs at our hostel for breakfast. And to pull a Miley Cyrus here by putting a related idea under one number (i.e. "7 things"), when the random 8th person who was placed in our room, whom we named "Caveman," gave us his bottle of scotch

5. The grand market with exquisite juices, fruits, veggies, SAUCISSON, you name it

6. The day we spent frolicking around the marina

7. Getting lost and getting found (nonetheless by a welcoming Starbucks sign)

8. Having our hostel next to hooker alley and seeing what prostitution really looks like

9. Our final incredible supper with tapas and mojitos (not like Real Housewives of New Jersey)

10. Las Ramblas/ the animals sold on Las Ramblas

Madrid:

1. The Way Hostel. Way Awesome. And particularly cooking dinner there. Especially the dinner in which we wore our fancay dresses and our slipper socks.

2. The commencement of the Spanish Olympics (laaaadies!)

3. Meeting people in our hostel from Mexico, Croatia, Argentina, and whatnot. Whether or not these people were some of the shadiest characters (Miguel) or some of the most incredible characters (an over 6 foot Croatian man who drunkenly referred to me as his "little mouse" without ANY pretext for about 36 hours)

4. Going to the Prado and the Thyssen museum in one day. And specifically, the coat check man at the Thyssen who asked in all seriousness, if little boys and little girls watch the Disney Channel. Because he loves it. This was creepy.

5. Bar crawling and Club Joy

6. The collectively hilariously miserable morning we all woke up at 5:30 am to catch the flight to Barcelona

7. Sol. A wonderful town.

8. EFing like it's nobody's business

9. The palace!

10. When Lisa lost her coat. I'm sorry, had to put this on there.

Other gems from the bus:

1. Celebration cookies!!!

2. Eating many many baguettes

3. Playing MASH

4. Listening to hours upon hours of pop music with the "mom of the week"

5. The moment everyone turned their phones back on when the bus rolled into France

The trip was so so amazing, and we got to celebrate our one month anniversary with Aix, and what an anniversary it was.

And sometimes we travel

After "fairing the bise" to Aix on a "fievre-esque" Friday night (does anyone get this except three or four people), we "classically" say goodbye as we venture off into Spain. We have no idea what we're doing yet so we're depending on our 8 hour bus ride to make the official plans and spill all of our secrets. That is so what bus rides are for. Middle school field trip to the planetarium anyone? Is that spelling correct?

Apparently Caroline overheard our directrice saying how "8 girls going to Spain is so touristy and not French," but sometimes she forgets that we are American, and not French. And to be fair, I don't think we'd want it any other way. I think one of the funniest things of the night was walking home and then running into Lisa again because she only knows how to get home from one direction. Classic. Lisa. Also Ben wanted to know that if in R.Kelly's "Ignition," it's really a pick-up line to American girls to say "The way you do the things you do, remind me of my lexus coup."

One last dark chocolate crepe before the bus ride.

G-d I love studying abroad. PS, Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold" is another universal language.

Tablette du Chocolat

So I've essentially given up on this 21 days things. Our transition from french to franglais to anglais to english has been incredibly fun! Firstly, "tablette du chocolat" means "tablet of chocolate" which is the idiomatic french expression for "having a 6 pack." Now why do we know this? Our Oral and Written Expression Professor, Jean-Michel, taught us that! These are things I'm learning here and so much more. The context was an explanation by Sam of "The Situation" or "Le Situation" on the Jersey Shore. The more I've been here, I am starting to concoct a list of UNIVERSAL languages: food, love, and the Jersey Shore.

EVERYTHING else is wonderful as well. Certain content has recently been deleted as a result of new facebook friends.

Other things: We are going to Spain in a week!! Next Saturday, we are leaving for Barcelona and Madrid, or a week of Spain life and the much looked forward to nap in the middle of the day. On Friday night, we were thinking of going to a techno festival in Marseille called the Nuit Rouge... but after last night I'm not sure...

We went to techno club in the middle of the nowhere in the South of France called "Spartacus," in which there was apparently "a really good dj" according to the partenaire de langue de Caroline. The place was really really fun, and the dj, with a lot of personality and no hair, essentially played one long techno song for three hours. Don't get me wrong, the place was awesome and I had never been to something like that before, but when it's 3:30 and you're the only 15 people there (that was the size of our group french and english alike) not on e, it's time to hit the trail.

But our entire saturday was a dream. We woke up at 9 to go into the countryside of Provence with our Painting Professor. Yes, I take Painting and Drawing here and it's great. We saw 5 different areas over a course 7-8 hours and it was the most beautiful "paysage" I had ever seen. I'll post pictures later because everyone took 5604564 plus. About 6 of us were lost from the group the entire day, but we weren't REALLY lost, we just didn't stay with the group, but we felt like we were in a scene from Beauty and the Beast (you were right, Nina). Since we didn't know any of the words to the songs except the one that starts "Bonjour bonjour bonjour," we decided to live out this dream by eating more baguettes and drinking wine at lunch time.

After a petite ballade around le centre ville when we returned, we went to Susanna's host family for FONDUE. Susanna lives in the paysage of Aix, and her house is a dream, as well; her host parents are also lovely, and they have entertaning friends. In the middle of dinner I actually thought to myself: "I am actually studying abroad, having the time of my life, and really happy." After champagne and fondue and talking with Susanna's host dad about Dexter and how the characters who play Deb and Dexter are married in real life, we were off to Spartacus.

And now I'm afraid to get out of bed because Genevieve woke up when I got home last night... in her silk pajama set I was welcomed with a "Jeeel? C'est toi???" C'est moi, Genevieve. C'est moi.

Hier Soir

Personne 1: Qu'est-ce que le mot pour "in style?"

Personne 2: À la mode!

-silence-

Personne 3 vers quelqu'un qui est francais: En anglais, "a la mode" est aussi pour la glace. quand tu veux quelque chose avec la glace, c'est "a la mode, aussi."

Ce qui se passe??!!

C'est la phrase nous utilisons la plupart ici à Aix... c'est drole. Donc, samedi soir était fantastique! Je suis allée à un bar qui s'appelle "Cuba Libre," et la musique là etait comme "You're The One That I Want" et "YMCA." C'est. La. Verité. Qu'est-ce qui se passe?!! Après ça, un boite de nuit qui s'appelle "Mistral." Ça marche.

What's French?

Starting tomorrow, I can only speak in French for three weeks... So I'll be doing this blog thing in French and you're more than welcome to Google translate!

One Week Anniversary

It has officially been one week since I left for Aix!!

Hier soir, we went out for a thursday night on the town. Firstly, we found a bar where one could order 8 shots for 12 euros! At the time, there were 8 of us so its not like I had them all. If that had happened, I would not be writing this right now. After that, we attended this bar that has a special for international students Thursday's.... free shots between 10 and 12, anyone? And at 12 DJ Fox arrives! But we decided to leave before then.

Then after that, we somehow crashed the birthday party of someone named Nicholas, and we were lured in by a singer qui s'appelle "Joseph Papino." He wore a sequin hat, danced like Russell Brand in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, sang like Ricky Martin minus five, wore clothing like Danny in Grease in white, and sang Madonna, Barry White, and "Celebrate." These things exist. France is a wonderful place. Joseph sang and seduced, and here were 8 American students dancing with many many 50-60 year old French men and women. There was one guy who must've been in the mafia because his chapeau was really too much to handle.

After a lovely dinner tonight, we went to another bar.... mind you, we speak in French the whole time. But somehow, somewhere, everyone still knows we're American. We are speaking your language, people. Cut us some slack. I was also able to demonstrate to some of my new friends the importance of changing your name when someone ugly or creepy starts to talk to you. Tonight my name was Charlene.

Also today was the day we met our language partners. Super chouette!!

I love this place more and more every day. Happy One Week Anniversary, France!

Two Kinds of Ice Cream

When they wrote the musical "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown," and they wrote the song "Happiness," they forgot to mention Aix-en-Provence.

Getting to Know You

Today was the second day of meeting people/orientation!

The people in my program seem lovely and I can't get wait to know everyone better. Especially because I can already tell that relationships speed up like college... times two. Also there is a Barnard girl! She's so sweet, and I don't know how I don't know her because Barnard is the size of a raisin.

Hello Aix!!

I have arrived!!! After about 18 hours in the airport, my host mother has welcomed me with open arms and plates full of food.

Genevieve, my host mother, is absolutely lovely. For one, she is a great cook and I can totally learn from her... Look out powersuite!!! Also, when we had dessert we played this game where if you bite into a figurine, that is evidently jesus, that lucky person gets to wear a crown and becomes The King of Christmas. They celebrate the holiday for about two months here. Basically, a field day for Emily Wallen. Anyway, guess who bit into Jesus? It was not Genevieve!! It was me!! After quite a few good laughs, I decided it was not the right time to tell her I was Jewish. Today she is going to show me the town before Orientation Week.

My flight experience was also lovely. I can immediately see a difference in Europeans. Even the flight to Frankfurt, everyone just says HAI! I decided that in Germany I should not discuss that I was Jewish either.

Upon waiting for my plane in Marseille, these three french people assumed I was from New York and began talking with me... they all loved Times Square, and they all mentioned they accidentally took the wrong subway and ended up in Harlem. One of the men of this group kept referring to me as "panique" as he jittered his hands. How anxiety is a universal language is beyond me. They were a fun group, but essentially laughed with me or at me in an endearing way because I could not carry my bags and my guitar. One of the others eventually helped me. After also meeting a French older man on the plane who spoke to me about guitars in English for about 10 minutes, I decided it had been a good day.

Also, Aix is absolutely beautiful.
Bisous, America!!

TIK TOK

"Ain't got a care in the world, but..." I do.

I leave tomorrow which does not even seem like a real thing. I'm so ecstatic!! My flight's at 9 pm from JFK (I think), and arrives in Frankfurt at 10 am. After my 5 hour layover in Frankfurt, in which Yonatan suggests I eat bratwurst the whole time, I leave at 4 pm and arrive at the Marseille airport at 6:15 pm. In Marseille, I will finally meet my host mom!! She seems lovely after our 10 minute phone conversation, and while I googled her, I didn't find much except the fact that she may be a bookseller. Luckily, this means I can finally surface all of my knowledge of Madame Bovary. She also lives a lovely 8 minute walk to the AUCP.

My last night home will be as American as possible. And by that, I mean chinese food and the 2 hour episode of the Jersey Shore that will be on tonight.

I'm so excited to get on my flight to start the book I plan to read. This fine piece is literature is none other than "The Last Song," the Nicholas Sparks book that was made into a movie starring Miley Cyrus. I hope that as I read this, the Germans and the French will approach me and I can truly see how worldwide the Miley Cyrus phenomenon is. That, and I just want to read it.

Hopefully I can write quelque chose ("something" in French) when I arrive in the Frankfurt airport! If not, I'll update as soon as I can in France! Should I arrive to the airport wearing the fantastic beret Emily and Alex gave me?

France, I am on my way.

Ode to Packing

So the only bringing "one suitcase" thing is quite baffling to me.

4 months + 1 suitcase = frustrating. Let me get this straight: every study abroad program expects you to rotate between about 4 pairs of pants and 10-12 shirts, respectively (give or take an occasional dress or Americanized going out top). If I were going to a reservation, this would be fine. But I'm going to Europe, a mecca of fashion. I guess this will be another learning experience... which I think I'll truly appreciate almost as much as I do waking up to a morning of Community Food and Juice's Veggie Scramble. For those of you who don't know the reference, this is a lot of appreciation.

Frankly, I spend too much time wondering what I'll wear the next day (see: sophomore year in high school outfit choices). Limiting my options may give my brain a break. However, since I got to college my outfits are simply a rotation of leggings and scarfs.

Also, here's my apology to my leggings: can't bring you to France. love you always.

The Reason

No, not like the "popular" Hoobastank song of about... 2005?

"The Reason" I've decided to start this blog is... well... ACTUALLY "you" (thanks Hoobastank. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then god bless you). Between my Long Island friends, college friends, and family, I figured having a blog would be the best way to communicate with everyone. Rather than copying and pasting the same emails from person to person, I figured this was a more honest way to do so. OF COURSE personal communication will come your way as well (depending on who you are), but this is a more general way of saying "i love you enough that i am willing to conform and start a blog." I actually never thought I'd have a blog. I also never thought I'd have a pair of UGGS, which I bought for the first time 3 days ago.

I leave for Aix-en-Provence in 5 days which is exciting, while making me incredibly nervous. It's crazy to think I've been taking French for ten years. While the days of Madame Baral in my 6th grade French class are now fond memories, I could never have anticipated that those elementary teachings would lead me to the experience I am about to embark upon.

I discovered that at the AUCP (aucp.org) I am taking 5 classes TBD in France (which I've essentially picked out), I will have a language partner for 2 hours a week (preferably a green eyed french man named Jacques), I will need to do community service each weekend (senior citizens? children? pottery?), and lastly, I am required to join a club (chorus. wine tasting. the like). I am so excited that my program has all of these aspects attached to it. I have yet to know my host family. Mom and Dad are freaking out about this, naturally.

A tout a l'heure!! (where are the accents on blogspot?)