This week classes began at the university; I have 12 hours of language classes, a 2-hour Phonetique class, a 2-hour Traduction (translation) class, and a 2 hour elective entitled "La Vie en Provence." All in all, I would say it was a pretty successful first week. My classmates are from all over the world- specifically Russia, Japan, Holland, Mexico, Korea, China, Hungary, and of course the U.S. It's pretty exhausting being bombarded with French 24/7 (especially now that classes have begun) but I know it will be worth all the headaches at the end ;)
However, some exciting news is that 3 other girls who are in the program and I just secured our travel plans for our week long vacation which starts in two weeks. We will be staying in Porto, Portugal for 2 nights, then fly to Madrid and stay there for two nights, then fly to Barcelona and stay for three nights, then bus home to Aix. Don't worry- we used a very cheap european airline called ryanair. 19 euros from Marseille to Porto! hoorah!
In other news, I'm loving the fo
od here (of course). To give you an idea of what kind of amazing meals my host mom cooks for Maggie and I, two nights ago she prepared roasted rabbit and homemade mashed potatoes with crepes for dessert. Last night she prepared a carrot-green onion and cucumber salad with a vinaigrette dressing, then chevre and spinach stuffed ravioli, then SALMON that was absolutely incredible, THEN, real FRENCH toast. I'm telling you, you have never tasted "french" toast until you've tried this. I hope to God I don't gain 70 pounds by the time the semester is over!
(Aimee and Maggie at a cafe in Aix)