Tomber Amoureux

Bonjour tout le monde!            

I suppose since this an honest blog, I should share the truth about something that’s happened to me. I fell in love. I know, I’m too young, I’m overseas, and long-distance relationships don’t work; but, it happened without me even realizing it. Since I am sure that this is so recent and strange, I will tell you a little bit my special “someone” and how it happened.

 I feel in love with Aix-en-Provence. I seriously love the place I am, the people I am with, and everything in between. I realized it today when I was walking home, I was just looking around and I was totally dumbstruck on the beauty and the loveliness of Aix. Firstly, like I have said before, the design of the town and architect are unlike anything in the U.S. Because most people walk rather than take some other type of transportation, you are surrounded by people walking in the middle of these alley-sized streets. Also, you see a lot more of history and culture shown thought the beauty and structure of the town.

  Everything here feels like a mix, or at least how I would imagine, of a large town with my small home town. It is a large size with a lot of people, shops, stores, and buildings. These stores are not large chains; on the contrary, they are small locally-owned and operated stores. With smaller places for indoor and outdoor seating. Aix also has an outdoor flower and produce market every day, and an outdoor clothes market three days a week, which add to the small town feel.

  

Besides the design, accessibility, comfortably, I also enjoy how much I am learning about the French culture and language. For some of you who may already know, most people in Aix only speak French. Quickly, I learned that in order to communicate, at all, knowing these phrases would be extremely important. As I learn more about this culture in my French class and everywhere else, I can instantly apply it. There are not many classes where the lesson you learn can immediately be used on a daily basis. Being able to have such real life application to my studies really makes me more excited and motivated to actively learn in that class.

         

 So alas, yes, I am in love. Although it may not be with a person, the town of Aix has my heart. Being in a city that is beautiful, fun, safe, exciting, and wonderful, I could not imagine being anywhere else. I am very happy and excited to see what these next few months have to offer, and I hope through my blogs and random thoughts, you too, will understand how I fell in love with studying abroad, and Aix-en-Provence!

P.S- These pictures of form the past weekend on our Religion 311 class (Early Christinanity in Europe) excusion- we visited basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Saint-Maximin-la -Sainte -Baume.

Á la semaine prochaine! 

This is the view from our hike to Mary Magdalene's cave. 

This is the view from the top of our hike to Mary Magdalene's cave. 

Another view from the cave. 

Here is inside of Mary Magdalene's cave.