Printemps

Bonjour tout le monde!

               This week is finally the spring time for Aix! Although the time changed a couple weeks ago for the states, last Sunday we had our time change. Along with the time change it finally felt like the spring season has begun! The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and finally the colors are coming out. As the winter season, which did not include snow, ends, it is reminding me of the extreme differences from the weather here compared to North Dakota.

               I remember when I was younger, and when the temperature would get about sixty degrees, it usually was a clear sign that we had about two weeks left of school. Although I did not go to school near Grand Forks, I am sure that the states and places which are near to us in regards to temperature can relate. It is very strange for me here that I still have a little over a month, and it feels like the last day of school.

               With the weather like this, it really makes me more dedicated to spending all the time I can outside and making adventures wherever I can find them. In regards to my time coming to an end in Aix, it makes every walk and day cherished. For instance, today, me and my friends walked around the flower market, food market, and clothes market. The accessibility and beauty that is present in our everyday lives is going to be one of the things I miss most; but, I can’t think about that now!

               The pictures attached are from last week. I am currently in Wine 101: an overview to wine, and in the class we had an excursion to the wineries around Aix. It was super fun to see the wineries and the differences that they each had with each other! I could go on about the AC’s they have to abide by as well as the tannins, acidity, and quality of each wine, but I can sum it up and just say they were all amazing!

Á la semaine prochine!

Wines at the first winery. 

Artsy picture of the wine. 

Our tourguide. 

The vines at the second winery. 

More pictures of the vines.

This picture is not from the Camp de Milles. I may include more of this story in my next blog! 

Ciao!

La Belle et la Bête

Bonjour tout le monde!

This week has been good, I mean, every morning just the same as the morning that we came to this provincial town in Aix. In case you did not get the song reference this week I decided to talk about how this movie, La Belle et la Bête or as you may know it by, Beauty in the Beast has some interesting relations and life-lesson it can teach you about France and the metaphor of beauty.

Firstly, the movie is set in France. Of course I have to write about it, and it's is Disney, so there is an extra peaked interest. In the first song, you hear some French words: Bonjour, Monsieur, pardon, brute, mais oui, and mademoiselle. Of course, my everyday life includes a couple of more French words, but still you can hear some of the French language that makes you understand you are in France. Also, right now, as most know, I am in Aix-en-Provence, and in the movie she is in a "provincial" town.

The next is Belle. As you could already know the world Belle means beauty in French, which is super awesome. So as you can see when you translate beauty in France it comes up la belle, which is the name of "beauty" in the movie. So Belle literally is the representation of beauty, or at least what beauty holds. Although many of us can argue that the actress who plays Belle, Emma Watson, is beautiful, in the movie she is not supposed to be, or at least the townsfolk do not think she is, "her name means "beauty" her looks have got no parallel." However, she also is considered beauty to others, like other townsfolk, Gaston, and la bête.

Therefore, not only is La Belle et la Bête basically a representation of some French things, not close to being all of them, but it also has a good life lesson. Beauty, especially in the terms of interior does not always have to be matching the exterior. It also tries to add, or maybe I just interpreted it this way, if we work on making our selves more beautiful on the inside (kind, loyal, courageous) just like the beast did somehow, we look more beautiful to those around us. I thought it was a fun thought about Beauty and the Beast!

P.S Attached are my pictures from last week when we took an excursion to Paris for my religion class!

Á la semaine prochaine!

Art from the Louvre.

More art. 

More art. 

St. Dennis Church.

closer look. 

Another angel. 

Beautiful stained glass windows.

Sainte Chapelle. 

Notre Dame.

Closer look 

Arc de Triumph. 

Eiffel Tour. 

Had to get a crepe. 

My friend from UND. 

A neat video of the Eiffel Tower lighting up 

Résumer

Bonjour tout le monde!

What a crazy week it has been! This week I got back from vacation on Monday and the very same day my friend from the University of North Dakota came to visit me for a week and explore France for her spring break. She arrived on Monday and was able to spend the weekdays in Aix-en-Provence and travel to Paris with me this weekend for a field trip we took for a class. Also, as some of you may know, last week I spent my winter break traveling through London, Edinburgh, and Dublin! It was very amazing to see all of these different places and be able to speak English for a little bit! Each country proved that even with the same language, there is a lot of diversity and similarities that can exist between the two.

In London, we spent our first two days and last two days there. We saw the touristy sites such as Big Ben, Westminster, The Towel of London, and The London Bridge. It was great to experience a big town and see the popular sites that many people love, but I was exhausted after spending a lot of time in a place that required a lot of transportation. Next, we went to Edinburgh, Scotland, which was by far my favorite of the trip. The town was pretty large, but we could see most of the touristy things from our central location. The town had more of a stony architecture and was very beautiful. We saw many places in Edinburgh, such as the café where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter, as well as learned the history of Edinburgh. In Scotland we also were able to see Loch Ness and other places in the Highlands, which were beyond beautiful.

The last place we went was Dublin. Although it took me a bit to warm up to the town, I really did enjoy it here. It was a perfectly between Edinburgh and London. It was pretty large, but we were able to walk to most places, it just took a little longer. It had similar architecture to Scotland, but had its own unique style. The best part was being able to watch a rugby game, which sadly Dublin lost in, and meet locals from the area.

Each place we visited in the area were different from each other, yet all shared the same language. They had their own history, point of view, and way of life, yet they can easily share similarities. Their beauty and charm extended to different aspects of each of their land, yet they were undeniably still charming. Of course, however, I was excited to return home (a.k.a France)!

P.S The photos I am attaching will be from London, Edinburgh, and Dublin.

À la semaine prochaine!

Big Ben 

The London Eye 

The castle that accompanies Big Ben.

Gandhi. 

Had to get a flag here too.

We unmeaningly walked near a women's protest in London.

Tower Bridge.

Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Me and my friends by Tom Riddle's grave (Harry Potter reference).

This was the view outside our hostel.

Beautiful views in the highlands.

My friends and I in the highlands.

A friendly deer.

I saw the Loch Ness Monster!!

Loch Ness.

Vacances​ d'hiver

Bonjour tout le monde !

This week I have been in London, Scotland, and Ireland for winter break! Here are a couple pictures from my trip and I will be back next week!

À la semaine prochaine !

Voyage

Bonjour tout le monde!

I thought this week I would keep you all updated on the places I have traveled and will be traveling in the near future! So last week, as some of you may know, I went to visit Barcelona, Spain. It was so crazy to be in a country that was not France, yet they did not speak English. I did take one year of Spanish in high school, but because I have been so focused on French, I could not even remember simple terms like: hola, adios, gracias, or de nada. So I guess it is good that I didn’t study abroad in Spain! J  Seriously though, Barcelona is such a beautiful place with very nice people! I was even lucky enough to see my fellow UND study abroad friend Phoebe (read her blog to she’s amazing) which was very crazy because I have yet to meet someone from North Dakota that I do not know!

               Along with that amazing time in Barcelona, I came back to my school for mid-terms, and survived! The exams here were similar to ones back home, except for the fact that I was traveling the weekend before them instead of studying, but they went well. The next week for me in winter break! For the next 10 days, me and some of my friends are traveling to the United Kingdom! We are going to visit Scotland, Ireland, England, and I am beyond excited. I have become so costumed to listening to French in speaking in, that to go to a country that speaks English is unimaginable. Then while on this amazing voyage through the UK, I will come back home to find another UND student. Who will it be? I will keep you posted. 

P.S These pictures are from last weekend in Barcelona!

Á la semaine prochaine! 

Just a couple of tourists in Barcelona.

And here they are a gain!

This is before I realized that I could not sit up there.

I thought it was cool they had these in Spanish.

Saint Sagrada Familia.

Weird angle, but good view in the background!

Arc de Trimof

Arc de triumph again.

Pretty view

A picture of me sitting on the part that is legal.

Parc guell

Another picture from parc guell

A BEACH