PrePOSterous.

Bonjour, tout le monde! How time flies when things start getting busier. How is it already October?

I guess I'll start where I left off: Last Sunday in Antibes. We got up early to catch the bus (only a Euro!) to the nearby town, which is absolutely gorgeous. This has to be my favorite ville of the semester so far. There was a good-sized Sunday morning market to explore right away when we got there. I love just looking at all the food, flowers, and spices, and sometimes they even let you sample things like cheese. We all decided we needed coffee, and we made a stop at a café that actually had LARGE MOCHAS, which made me very happy, as Caribou Coffee in the U.S. was having a buy-one-get-one promotion last weekend and I was feeling deprived.

It was then time to hit up the Musée Picasso! It is a lovely old castle (pictured to the left), le Château Grimaldi, overlooking the sea. We spent nearly two hours there, looking at (and trying to understand) his artwork. Beth's boyfriend, Ross, is visiting for a month and he knows a lot about Picasso, so we were able to glean some extra interesting information and insight from him. I am making an effort to try to understand art, but sometimes I just don't understand how a sketch of a bunch of shapes stacked on top of each other with random eyes and mouths splattered everyone (which is supposed to be a feminine figure) is supposed to be real art. I did, however, like the hibou (owl) theme in a lot of Picasso's art.

There was a huge temporary exhibit there as well (I can't remember or find the name of the artist) that was fantastic. It included all types of art, mostly black-and-white paintings, that each showed very real representations of the human condition. A lot of it was very random and difficult to describe, but each piece of work was so detailed that anyone who sees it can relate to at least one of them. Most of the artwork had both images and words combined. I hope I can find the name of the artist and exhibit somewhere eventually.

Well, by the time we had experienced all of that, we were starving. I remembered seeing a panini stand close by, and we decided to have a picnic in the square. I used to think that old British people were adorable, but no longer; just as I opened my mouth to order my panini, a British lady hip-checked me out of the way so that I nearly fell to the ground (would have been a penalty in women's hockey) and proceeded to order about five or six sandwiches between her and her husband. With a horrible attempt at French. Didn't even notice we were there. You really have to fight for your food here.

Afterwards, we walked to Juan-les-Pins, another nearby town that was having a huge end-of-summer blowout sale. I didn't find much, except for a 5-Euro shirt that took forever to buy because the lady selling them on the street seemed to have literally lost her mind; she ran around in circles for five minutes, yelling in incoherent French, before she accepted the money. It was then getting awfully hot and crowded, so we took the bus home.

The week has been basically the same - lots of class. We started filming our movie for cinema class; I got to swim out into the sea and lounge on a floatie all afternoon in the background of one of the scenes. I get four credits for this? This is my kind of class! We finished filming all of the daytime scenes, and next Tuesday night, we plan on filming the night scenes. Wednesday afternoon will be our editing day.

Speaking of movies and celebrities, I am now living down the hall from a legit actress. No joke. Her name is McGhee Monteith and she played Reba Cash in Walk the Line; she was born in Memphis, Tennessee. She just finished filming Butterfly Rising (Google the trailer), and she plays one of the two starring female roles. I don't know her too well yet, but she is acting in the theatre production that just starting rehearsing on campus.

Also rumored on campus is that the guy who named Absolut Vodka is studying here for two weeks. Qu'est-ce qu'il se passe ici??! (What is happening here??!)

In other news, I just booked my trip to the Loire Valley for next weekend (!!); I now feel complete. I latched on to a small group of students with AIFS in my grammar class who found a 50-Euro bus tour that takes you to seven châteaux on the Loire in one day! Also, we found train tickets for nearly half-price. I am so excited. I believe the only repeat castle for me will be Chenonceau, but I am certainly not complaining about returning there! It's lovely. (And, for my Hill-Murray Frenchies, this is where our beloved Hector got lost! Il est perdu!) I will also finally be visiting the Château de Villandry, which was the topic of my French II château research project.

On to le week-end! It looks like I'm doing another Nice/Antibes lineup, so I will certainly have stories and pictures early next week. À plus!

Maybe it's Lady Gaga...

This week definitely felt like back-to-school time. We started our afternoon seminars and our schedules feel much busier already. On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, I have l'Histoire de l'art (art history, taught in French), and Wednesdays I have French cinema. Beth's class meets Monday afternoons and Wednesdays after cinema. My flute lessons are on Tuesday afternoons after art. Classes here are very long (cinema goes from 1:30-5, for example) and there will be very little free time during the week for the rest of the semester. I think I will enjoy all my classes, though; in cinema, we're currently working on making a short film. We wrote the screenplay already and will be filming next Wednesday. It's a parody of The Hangover, Cannes-style. I get to be the female equivalent of Doug from the original version.

Art history will also be interesting - we get to do three museum visits throughout the semester. Our professor is very sweet. She is from Canada, and I love listening to her Canadian French accent. It's a relaxing class - we get to sit in a dark auditorium and look at art!

By Thursday, we were ready to go out and have fun. Luckily, it was Arthur Guinness Day, so a bunch of us headed to Morrison's Irish Pub for the evening. There was great live music and we even met a man from Ireland who is stranded here for a couple of days because of airline trouble.

Today, I went with Mickey, Andrew, Regina, and Evans to Nice. We had a blast. On accident, we got on a TGV (a really fast train that doesn't make as many stops) without realizing it until we were halfway to Nice, and we were slightly worried that we'd get caught and Beth would have to bail us out of jail. Luckily, no one was checking tickets and we got away with our illegal TGV ride. We spent most of our day in the shopping district of Nice. Because tourist season is over, there are tons of sales going on, and I had one of those great shopping days where the stars aligned and everything seemed to fit. I was pleased. We spent a lot of time in the Virgin Mobile Megastore, ogling over the fun French stuff and music. In the evening, we ate at La Pizza, the same Italian place we went to last time, and the food was just as amazing again.

We walked back to the train station to head to Cannes only to find a slight commotion on one of the platforms across from ours. There were tons of TV cameras, the Nice band, classical vocal music, a red carpet, flags, and people in costume. A crowd was forming, so we decided to stick around and see what was going on. As we waited, we speculated that maybe the prince of Monaco was arriving, or Lady Gaga (HA), or someone of importance.

Finally, we asked someone and discovered that the first train ever from Moscow to Nice was due to arrive at any minute. Not quite Lady Gaga, but still pretty cool. We stayed to listen to the music and watched the train pull into the station, breaking through the French flag ribbon that was strung across the tracks. There was a lot of clapping and cheering. I'm glad we stayed; we kept joking that we witnessed a great historical moment. Also, we may have made it onto French TV, channel 5...except that we are TV-deprived here at school, so we may never know.

Tomorrow is our excursion to Antibes!

Finally, Provence!!

Early Friday morning, all onze (eleven) of us from CSB/SJU departed via coach bus for the region of Provence! It was about a three-hour drive, but autumn mornings in this area of France are absolutely beautiful (hazy sunlight, mist, green hills) and three hours of staring out the bus window actually seemed too short for me. Our first stop was the city of Avignon for a tour of the Palais des Papes - the Pope's Palace. It was the center of the Catholic Church during the Moyen Âge, around the time of the Great Schism. Most of the original furniture and art in the palace were gone, as it's been through several remodeling attempts, wars, and other trauma, but a few original frescoes remained in certain rooms (where we were absolutely not allowed to take pictures). We got to see (and stand by) the window where the Pope stood to address the people, and several rooms were converted into museum-like displays, so it wasn't completely bare.

After our tour, we were let loose into the city of Avignon to explore for a few hours. A group of us went to le Pont d'Avignon, a very famous bridge spanning the Rhône river and the trademark of the city, for the first of many photoshoots. The sky and water were so blue and beautiful, we couldn't resist. Plus, it was wonderful to be somewhere with a different and more historic feel. Mid-afternoon, we left for Arles, where we would be staying for two nights. First, though, we stopped at le musée départemental Arles antique (the Arles museum of antique artifacts), which is exactly what it sounds like - a museum full of ancient objects. It was interesting - in this region, there are a lot of Roman and Roman-style artifacts; in fact, Arles is was built entirely in this style, with a Coliseum-like amphithéâtre and all. This is one of the cities I visited when I was here before, but we didn't stay there, so it was nice to get a better feel this time around.

After spending a little while at the Hôtel Constantin where we stayed, it was time to meet up and find somewhere to eat dinner. We made reservations at a Mediterranean restaurant not far from the hotel (Arles is pretty small, so there isn't much that is far from the hotel anyway) and then walked around the city for a bit. The streets here are very small, but still people think it's a good idea to drive on them. It's like a quiet, small version of Paris, with all the streets pointing inward toward the amphithéâtre. We walked around the outside of the amphithéâtre for awhile, and of course took pictures, but didn't go inside. I'm still amazed at how massive it is - it looks completely out of place in such a tiny town.

Everyone was extremely slap-happy at dinner from our busy day, collective lack of sleep, and glasses of wine. It took us a long time to order and I thought our serveuse (waitress) was going to have an aneurism. We did meet a couple from New York who sat next to us - they were here on a biking trip. Dinner in a nice restaurant here takes HOURS. Everyone was hungry and antsy between courses, but the food was fantastic. I had a salad with cheese, bread, ravioli, and then a delicious dessert with fruit (mostly apples) in a creamy sauce. We weren't finished until around 10:30. Afterwards, we returned to our hotel for a much-needed night's sleep.

The next morning, we were on our own for breakfast, but there was a lovely market (kind of like a farmer's market, but much bigger with everything from clothing to fish) down the street and we got our pain au chocolat there. Mickey and I absolutely needed coffee, and so Katie went with the two of us to a café across the street so we could feed our addiction. Everyone wished we could have stayed at the market all morning, but we had other plans.

Our first stop was Les Baux, a medieval castle half in ruins on top of a huge rocky hill. I've been there before, but in September, it is much windier and cooler. Also, the morning haze made the scenery more beautiful, and we spent quite a bit of time on the grounds. It was a military castle with catapults and trebuchets and all sorts of interesting architecture. We had fun listening to our audioguides and climbing over the ruins all while getting nearly blown over by the wind.

Next stop, le Pont du Gard! This is an ancient aqueduct built by the Romans. I've seen it before, but this time, we had the added bonus of getting to watch a really cheesy movie beforehand about a French couple who visits the pont for a day. We then wandered around the area and took a new photoshoot on the grounds near the river right in front of the aqueduct. Andrew, Evans, Regina, and I all posed on the rocks for a good half-hour or so. We could submit these to Abercrombie - they are fantastic.

After our photo fun, we returned to the main stretch of shops for a quick lunch and then hopped on the bus to return to Arles for the remainder of the afternoon. We wandered, explored, shopped, and sat by the Rhône for awhile before dinner.

This time, dinner was slightly less hectic. We ate honey chicken with riz (rice), the specialty of Provence. In fact, after dinner, there was a parade through town for the Rice Festival that was happening - there were several themed floats (pirates, flamenco dancers, etc.), people dressed up in all sorts of costumes, horses, and people throwing small packets of rice to all the spectators.

( ^ Self-portraits: new hobby? ^ )

Sunday morning, we ate at a café down the street again and left for the Camargue, which is an area nearby that is very famous for wildlife, especially the horses. And flamingos. The horses of the Camargue are beautiful, white, and very calm, and our group had scheduled a horseback ride through the countryside. I was the only one who opted out. Across the road, there was an amazing reservation just for les oiseaux (birds!) and, as I hate horses and love birds, I decided that would be a much better way to spend my morning. I was so happy I did! The park was calm and relaxing, and there were literally THOUSANDS of flamingos, among many many other birds. But the flamingos were really the main attraction. They were hilarious to watch - such personality. There was also a huge, beautiful white swan that I couldn't stop watching. Afterwards, we all met up and drove to Sainte-Marie de la Mer, a town nearby right on the sea, and ate lunch at an Italian restaurant. Then it was back onto the bus for the three-hour drive back.

We're all a little bit bummed to be back in Cannes, but our seminars began this week and we're much busier now. We're also planning a day trip to Antibes (a nearby town) on Sunday. And on Monday, I take my flute in to be fixed! I'll write about my seminars later since this post was so long...

Happy Arthur Guinness Day! We're off to Morrison's, our favorite Irish pub, to celebrate this evening.

Ewn pehr duh sho-sewr

Joyeux jeudi! (Happy Thursday!) I just had my last class with Claude this morning. Next week, we will be switching professors again. Regina and I, however, are going to be published in the next campus newsletter at Claude's suggestion! Last week, we read a comic strip in his class that was published in the '80s about the issue of sexism. In the strip, a woman sits on her bed, crying over her ex, when she realizes she wants to be independent of him and all thoughts of him, so she grabs a bottle of wine to celebrate her decision. In France, men are traditionally the ones who keep, open, and serve wine (it's their "domain"), and the woman quickly realizes that she is unable to open the bottle of wine herself, so she cries again over not having a man there. It was written by a woman who wanted to bring women's frustrations to light.

On Saturday night, Regina was trying to open a bottle of wine with the corkscrew on Andrew's Swiss army knife, and she looked exactly like the woman in the cartoon. We decided to take pictures of our own that resemble the comic, except we changed the ending to reflect the progress women have made - with determination, we can do anything. So Regina was able to open the bottle herself and celebrate! We brought our pictures to class, and Claude was impressed, so he suggested that we publish the original comic and our version of the comic parallel to each other with short explanations. That has been our project for the past couple of days.

A couple of days ago, I had my first flute lesson! This is the Conservatoire, a school just down the street from us where students of all ages study music and theatre. My teacher, Caroline, is extremely animated (I think this is a typical characteristic of French musicians). She worked a lot with me on breathing, relaxing, and expanding my sound, especially considering the pieces I have programmed for my recital next April. She barely speaks any English at all, but I was excited to find that I can understand almost everything she says! Maybe it's more of a telepathic connection between musicians - I don't know - but I enjoyed my lesson. The only bad news is that a screw came loose on one of the keys of my flute, and by the end of the lesson, the key wouldn't close completely. The nearest repair shops are in Nice and Grasse, so Caroline offered to take it in for me and guard it with her life. As for this week, I am supposed to practice breathing.

Finally, here is a picture of me with Marion, my roommate from Cannes! We, along with Regina, Katie, and Julie (Katie's roommate from Nice), went out together last night. Marion knew of a fantastic sushi place (called the Sushi Shop), so we decided to try it. I loved it! Regina, Katie, and I split a platter of California rolls...mmmm. Afterwards, we went au cinéma to see Sexy Dance 3 (Step Up 3) in 3D. En français. Even though the story wasn't exactly what you would call complicated, I was still pleasantly surprised that I comprehended most of the dialogue without a problem. It was expensive for a movie, but the 3D glasses were legit and the chairs were like big comfy recliners. It was also interesting to see all the previews (that I have seen before in English) for American movies dubbed in French - movies that take place in Ohio and Louisiana, which just seemed out of place in Cannes.

Afterwards, we stopped at an American 50s-style diner that Marion really likes for milkshakes! AND they make nutella milkshakes here! America really needs to get on that.

It was a lovely evening to go out, especially with someone who lives here in Cannes and knows where to go! I can't wait to get sushi again. Marion also pointed out some good places to get cheap shoes (mine are wearing out already...) and other restaurants to try.

I am now off to pack for our weekend in Provence with everyone from CSB/SJU! We leave bright and early tomorrow morning and return on Sunday night. We'll be staying in a hotel in the city of Arles. Everyone is excited to get out of Cannes and do some traveling!

"Yes We Cannes!" -Claude

It's been almost a week without an update...yikes! I have had two big adventures since my last post. Last Thursday afternoon, several of us from CSB/SJU went on a kayaking trip organized by the Collège. I have never kayaked before, and I really enjoyed it! It's so relaxing when the water is calm, and because the Mediterranean is so clear, we could see everything underwater up close. Regina and I shared a kayak, starting out near Palm Beach. As a group, we sailed to a couple of beaches on the Ile Sainte-Marguerite, which is an island very close to Cannes; we can see it from our school. Our guide, Adrian, hardly spoke any English at all, but we still managed to communicate fairly well. The beaches on the island were very rocky and slippery, so Katie, Evans, Shawn, and I decided to explore the nearby park for a bit. The island is absolutely beautiful; if I had my own kayak, I would go there to read and do homework all the time.

The trouble began on the way back. After five hours of kayaking, we were all tired, hungry, and sore. Once we got about halfway back, black clouds rolled in and the wind started up - it was un orage (a storm)! The waves got bigger and bigger until Regina and I, nous avons chaviré (we capsized)! Our kayak flipped up in the air and we were thrown into the sea. Luckily, we were right over a coral reef (we can both swim well besides), so we could stand on a large piece of coral while we got back into the kayak. Regina got hurt when a second wave and Andrew and Evans' kayak slammed into her, but soon we were sitting safely back in our boat. Somehow, people found our sandals, water bottles, and my shorts that had been sitting in the middle of the kayak, but our shirts and Regina's shorts are now sitting at the bottom of the sea somewhere, property of the fish, as Claude said. From there, I paddled most of the way back by myself since Regina was in some pain. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera, so I don't have any pictures of the kayaking adventure; fortunately, I didn't bring my camera, because it would now be broken or at the bottom of the ocean if I had.

Our next exciting adventure happened on Saturday. Katie and I decided to go on the Collège-organized trip to les Gorges de Verdon. Beth had suggested it to us, and it's a good thing - it was incredible. This has been, by far, my favorite part of France so far. It was almost a three-hour drive there through windy, small French streets, but once we got off the bus, we were at the Lac Sainte-Croix, which had the bluest water I have ever seen! The school provided picnic lunches for us, so we ate them near the beach. There is a huge recreational area near the lake where people were eating, swimming, and even playing football (soccer). Along the beach, there are many stands where people can rent canoes, kayaks, and paddleboats to use, so Katie and I got back into a kayak just days after my capsizing experience. The water on the lake was so calm, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so I was brave enough to bring my camera along. To the left is the view from the lake; we paddled under the bridge and into the gorge itself. There were quite a few people there, boating, and everyone was so friendly. The atmosphere was completely serene and peaceful; even the birds in the sky seemed to be soaring happily without much of a purpose.

We then got back on the bus and traveled to the nearby village of Moustiers. It is built into the hillside and famous for its ceramics and pottery. On every street, there were several pottery shops, and they had a museum dedicated to the art as well. Katie and I decided to hike all the way up the stone steps on the edge of the village to a small chapel. It was a tough and slippery climb in flip-flops, but I made it! The views of the village and countryside were fantastic, and we couldn't stop taking pictures. It felt like we were in a fantasy world. Inside the village itself, there were lots of flowers, plants, and even a creek flowing through the middle with a couple of cascades (waterfalls).

I loved the feel of Moustiers - it was much different from the other places we've visited so far. The intertwining of nature, art, and history was a refreshing change from the glamour of Cannes.

There are so many great pictures, it's hard to decide which ones to put up, but here is a small smattering of images for your viewing pleasure.

In other news, the Festival de Plaisance has been happening in Cannes for the past week (today is the last day). It is a yacht show at the nearby harbor. It costs 15 Euros to actually get in, which is more than I want to pay to look at boats up close, but it was still interesting to see all the boats on the water.

Most of our European friends are leaving us to go back to their own countries and start school, which is sad! They're being replaced by more and more slews of Americans. The latest group, who will only be staying for a week, is the snobbiest and most ignorant yet. Last night at dinner, I wanted to beg one guy to please, please not wear his "Piggly Wiggly" shirt in France. Please.

Claude has been teaching us all about French cuisine in class. One etiquette rule that I thought was interesting is that in France, you should never cut a lettuce leaf with a knife and fork if it is too big to eat whole. You have to master the art of "folding" the leaf (with knife and fork, bien sûr) and then eating it.

Not much else to report except that I start flute lessons and my internship at the Conservatoire tomorrow afternoon! I met my teacher, Caroline, last week, and she seems like a sweetheart. It will also be interesting to see what they have dug up for me to do for my internship...

Je Facebooke, Tu Facebooke, Nous Facebookons, Vous Facebookez...

The past couple of days have been nothing short of exciting. We got un nouveau professeur (a new prof) in French class! Il s'appelle Claude (his name is Claude) and he is quite animated. Il aime nous moquer (he likes to make fun of us), which makes for an interesting three hours of class. He is also much less laid-back than Christine was (elle nous manque! - we miss her!), and he yells at us to speak "Vite, vite!" ("Quickly, quickly!") It's a little bit stressful, but we only have him for two weeks, I guess, so we'll live. At least it's entertaining.

France has had quite the day today. We've been talking in class a lot about la grève (the strike) that actually happened today. The French government is trying to pass un loi (a law) that raises the age for la retraite (retirement) from 60-62, and the French people are not so happy about it. It's been all over the news since we got here. Unfortunately, Cannes isn't the most politically active city in France, but Regina and Katie and I still ventured down to l'Hôtel de Ville (city hall) to watch the protest in the late afternoon today. It was basically a handful of cute older French people blasting music in the square and holding signs and flags. We got pamphlets on the issue and read up on it so we can impress Claude in class tomorrow; he's always nagging us about reading French political writings. Apparently, there are protests going on at city halls in every town here, but Cannes is at the end of its tourist season and people want to sell things while they still can, so most shops were still open. The trains stopped, as did some of the buses. Strikes happen pretty often in French, and they are very effective because the majority of people (or at least, the majority of cities) participate, and even the schools shut down for the day.

Today was also epic because both lunch and dinner were fabulous on campus! This is a first. We had carameled pork and a rice and vegetable stir fry for lunch, and then chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. Plus, I had the best rhubarb tart I've ever eaten! Yum.

I have a couple of other exciting pieces of news as well; the first is that my friends and I just booked our flight to ROME! We're leaving here on November 5th and coming back November 7th; we also found a cheap hostel that is in within walking distance of everything we want to see. The flight will only be a little over an hour, and tickets were relatively inexpensive. Regina, Katie, and our AIFS friend, Megan, decided on Rome over Barcelona for an out-of-France trip, and I think a lot of other Americans from both groups are going to go. It feels great to have a ticket and know that we get to plan our own trip, even if it is just for one weekend! We are so excited!

Also, tomorrow is my appointment with the Conservatoire here in Cannes - it is a music school where I will be taking flute lessons and probably interning as a TA, helping the flute professor and maybe teaching some lessons to French students! Beth and I are going after class tomorrow to meet with them and figure out a plan. It's a little bit nerve-wracking because it's an internship, but I'm mostly happy to be getting out and interacting with French people on my own; it will be a great experience for building confidence and practicing the language.