The last two weeks have been insanely busy - I'm actually surprised that I have enough downtime today to update my blog. I've officially started classes and had my first "holy sh-t" moment sitting in my L3 "Literature and Painters of the 19th century" class. I have 5 classes here - all in French - and am starting to feel a little nuts for taking this on. My level of comprehension is actually pretty good  and I follow 95% of what my professors are saying. I'm still exhausted at the end of each day...and come home and get to speak MORE French. I've been here for a month now and I know that my French is improving drastically - even my host mom has told me that I'm getting better - but I still can't really believe that I am taking classes along side French students.

 I want to start off this post by showing some pictures of Nice! I realized that I haven't really taken pictures of what I see most days... So below are two pictures taken from Place Massena - one of the biggest open areas here.  The first photo is looking north - just past the fountain is Avenue Jean Medecin. Jean Medecin is one of the main streets in Nice and the tram way runs all the way up this street. The second photo is looking east towards "Old Nice".

       Last weekend (Sept 17,18,19) was the Patrimonie weekend here in Nice (and all over France actually). Patrimonie is loosely translated as "heritage". This means that last weekend all of the museums in Nice were free and there were tons of free concerts, heritage events, and conferences to teach tourists and locals about Nice's heritage. Friday night I attended an organ concert at one of the largest cathedrals in Nice. On Saturday I walked through the Musée Matisse. I never knew much about Matisse before going to the museum but fell in love with his work. He used hundreds of different mediums and techniques and I especially liked his collages. The museum was set up almost chronologically and so I could follow his transition from starting as a museum-trained, dark, unoriginal painter to experimenting with color and texture to really finding his own style. 

      Sunday morning I went to the Eglise Saint Croix which is located in Old Nice and is NEVER open. The church is in desperate need of major repairs and is covered by huge tarps as they wait for money to start work. Inside the paint is peeling and faded, the walls are crumbling, and everything is covered by a thick layer of dust. Despite all of this Eglise Saint Croix is the most beautiful church I have ever been in. The church was opened on Sunday morning for an a cappella concert. The group was made up of 3 men and 2 women who sang exclusively in Niçois - the true language of the city. Everything about the morning was spectacular.

Next I headed to Musée Massena. This museum is housed in a former villa right along Promenade Anglais. I loved the old posters advertising Nice as a destination for the winter months. Many doctors from northern Europe in the 19th and 20th century advised their patients to go to Nice (and really anywhere on the Cote d'Azur) so that the sun could cure any sickness that they might have.

 Monday morning after my Musicology of Baroque and Renaissance, Heather (the other Wheaton student  in Nice) and I took a train to Saint-Raphael - a small town just west of Cannes. I was intrigued by the town's website - which promised mountain hiking and tons of sporty, outdoor activities. The website lied. The hiking that they advertised was actually closer to Nice. Oh well. Monday evening we walked around Saint Raphael and the quiet neighboring town of Fréjus.

While walking along the boat dock in Saint Raphael we saw a map of the area - and a hiking path that followed the coastline all the way to Agay - a few towns over. Heather and I were looking for something adventurous and the next morning, without really knowing what we were getting ourselves into, we set off on our hike.

the very left corner of the map is Saint Raphael and the bay on the right is Agay

Ile d'Or (Island of Gold)

     The path was clearly marked in some places and completely lost in others...we had to jump a wall and were clearly trespassing on private property more than once. We made our way along the coast climbing up and down rocks and dodging waves as we inched along walls. The coastline was absolutely gorgeous - red rocks were contrasted by clear turquoise water. We got a few weird looks from French beach-goers as we trudged along the beaches sweating and carrying big backpacks. When we finally reached Agay we collapsed on the beach and slept for an hour. We ate at a restaurant and explained to the owner/waiter what we had just done. He looked at us like we were nuts and told us that we had just hiked 12km - about 7.5 miles. I slept really well that night.

     Wednesday morning I was back to school and had my second Art History course. This class is one of the Sweet Briar College courses - but is still taught exclusively in French. We spent the morning discussing architecture in Nice and walked around for a little bit. Our professor showed us  apartments and other buildings that were built in the 1920's -  50's when architecture changed drastically in Nice because of the war. The once wealthy were forced to abandon their grand villas and many were replaced with high-rise modern apartment buildings. Some (definitely not all) of the modern apartment buildings are spectacular and have strong art deco influences. We had the opportunity to walk into one such building which had a grand foyer similar to a hotel, a giant modern stained glass window, and (my favorite part ) a wide snail-like staircase that crept along 4 giant pillars that reached all the way to the ceiling - 8 stories high.
     Next we went to Musée des Beaux-Arts - another museum housed in a former villa. This museum has a wide variety of works both modern and old including Rodin's  marble sculpture,"Le Baiser".
     Wednesday night I attended my first opera. One of my host mom's choir groups performed the opera of Napoleon III which was written specifically for this year - which is the 150th year the Nice has been a part of France. I was really impressed by the soloists who were singing and acting simultaneously.
     Thursday there was another strike but none of my classes were cancelled this time. Getting from one side of the city to another without public transportation took a very long time - I  really rely on the tram and bus systems now. While walking through Place Massena I saw the beginnings of a demonstration but nothing seemed riot-like or out of hand. This weeks strike was held for the same reasons as the last one - but nothing seems to be changing the government's decision to raise the retirement age.
      Thursday night I went to my first indoor soccer club meeting - "Foot Féminin" as they call it here. This club meets just once per week but I'm just happy to be playing a little bit of soccer while I'm here :)
       After my Musicology of Romantism class on Friday morning I ran into my professor at the Boulangerie near my house. She  invited me to a practice of her choir/orchestra group who is performing tonight (Saturday) at the Cathedral d'Antibes. I was completely blown away last night, even though it was just the practice. I was one of only 5 audience member and felt like I was attending my own private concert. They perfomed Bach's Oratorio de Pâques and Mendelssohn's "Psalm No.42 Wie der Hirsch schreit". Both were extremely beautiful. Both the choir and the orchestra were made up of about 40 people. I couldn't believe my chance encounter at the Boulangerie turned into such an amazing experience. My professor told me that the actual concert will be even more spectacular because the acoustics in the cathedral are far better than in the practice room. Unfortunately I cannot attend tonight's concert in Antibes because a) it's completely sold out and b) I have a flight early tomorrow morning to Paris!
      I will spend the next three days traveling to Paris, Zurich, and Geneva to represent Wheaton at college fairs. I'm very excited to visit Paris and explore 2 cities that I've never seen even if I only get to stay in each place for 20 hours! Hopefully I can convince some European students to apply to Wheaton, too!

À bientôt!

Italia and Saint Honorat

I have done a lot of traveling in the last week - since writing last week I've been on an island and in Italy...and my travel time to both of them was less than an hour! I have to say that public transportation in Europe is incredible. When I first got to college I thought it was fascinating that I could take a train into Boston...but the train and bus systems here are something else. Traveling anywhere on the "Lignes d'Azur" bus line is only 1 euro, and free with a bus subscription. It's so easy!

On Saturday my host mom and I drove to San Remo, Italy for the marché (market). On a side note I should mention that I have found new meaning for the term road rage and I've really learned my lesson about driving here. Between the honking, screaming, cussing, and racial slurs, I've made the decision to never drive in any cars with the French again. I was actually using my fake break pedal that parents of young drivers usually use to brace themselves. Needless to say I didn't feel very safe. Anyways the market was lovely.... There is an indoor food market and also an outdoor clothing/cashmere/leather market - the food is much more interesting to look at :)

Thousands of different types of pasta and tapenade...only in Italy!

The most interesting veggie I've ever seen...the sign said broccolini but this looks like something else entirely.

Inside the food market

I can only imagine the size of these parmesan blocks before they're broken into smaller pieces.   

The next day (after safely making it back to France) our Sweet Briar group caught a train to Cannes and then a boat to Ile Saint Honorat. There are actually two islands off the coast of Cannes and we explored the further of the two. Saint Honorat is an oasis. Only 25 monks of the Abbey de Lérins live on the island but they allow tourists to explore it during the day. On the island the monks make all different types of wine, liquor, olive products, and jewelry (of course available in the gift shop) as part of their commitment to prayer, hard work, and fraternal life. The island has a religious history dating back to the year 410 when Honorat landed on the island to start a community of monks. After a turbulent 1600 years of pirate attacks, Spanish occupations, a French actress who bought and remodeled the island, the island was finally returned to the monks in 1869 - and has been theirs ever since.

dangerous jagged rock "beach" and the monastery in the background

Me on the 5th floor of the monastery, construction started in the 11th century and was not completed until the 19th

looks like they might need some of my Dad's tile...

View across the Mediterranean 

Vineyard 

Église Abbatiale de Lérins (the church)

This past week I started going with my host mom to her choir group! I haven't been in a singing group  since elementary school so I was a little nervous on Wednesday and not sure what I was getting myself into. Another girl from my Sweet Briar group came along too and everyone was very interested in "les jeunes americaines". The choir is made up of 3 parts - sopranos, altos, and the 8 men who can sing the lowest. Singing in French is pretty difficult because I obviously don't have the necessary Niçoise accent. Every verse is almost like a tongue-twister and so I'm hoping that this weekly choir meeting will help my accent and speed of talking.

Yesterday I took a break from speaking French..and English and hopped on the bus to the beach in Beaulieu (the only sandy beach around).  After relaxing for 3 hours I started to notice clouds, and not  nice fluffy white clouds, but dark ominous clouds. Within 5 minutes the storm had hit. Everyone ran from the beach and violent rain, thunder, and lightening were suddenly upon me. The storms here are very strange, almost like the daily rains that fall in the afternoon on Hawaii. One minute it's totally gorgeous and sunny and the next its raining cats and dogs. I'll know for next time I suppose...

I'm starting to feel a little stir-crazy in Nice and have been looking at all of my travel options for the next few weekends. I can fly to Lisbon, Portugal for $74 roundtrip or Morocco for $250! Traveling in and out of Europe is incredibly easy and inexpensive - I feel like I should really take advantage of this and go everywhere possible. My ultimate plan of flying to India to meet up with Raffi proved to be a bit out of our budget...we can dream right?

Wish me luck as I start classes this week!!!!

Greetings from Nice! I have completed my first week of orientation and needless to say have already learned a lot about living life in France. I arrived in Nice with Miri on the 29^th and met my mère Française at the train station. Our apartment is centrally located in the gorgeous Quartier des Musiciens. I live on the 2^nd floor (really the 3^rd, the French call the ground floor the Rez de Chaussée) and have my own room, fireplace, and balcony.

I am a five minute walk away from the tram – Nice’s above-ground metro line – which takes me directly to the University of Nice Saint d’Angely campus. For the past week the Sweet Briar group (11 women in total) has been meeting for intensive immersion classes with French professors. The orientation period has been incredibly helpful...I am increasingly comfortable with speaking and have learned my way around Nice a bit. On Tuesday the group took a boat ride along the coastline...I will be living in paradise for the next few months.

Villefranche from the water

On Wednesday we took a group trip to Villefranche-sur-Mer. We spent the early afternoon at the beach and then took a tour of the Rothschild Villa on Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The villa was gorgeous (amazing mosaic floors) but the gardens were stunning. Béatrice Ephrussi – the woman who revived the villa and gardens – made 9 individual gardens out of her 7 hectares of land, each with their own theme.

mosaic work on the floor of Rothschild Villa

         Nice is a very easy city to navigate. As I mentioned, there is a tramline that makes a big V through the city. There are also extensive bus lines (which I will have to use once my other classes start) and a bike rental service throughout the city. I have started to get a good sense of the city’s layout: a 7km boardwalk stretches east to west from Vieux Nice (the old part of the city) all the way to the airport. Vieux Nice is made up of winding streets, gelato stores, and old churches. Avenue Jean Medicin is the main street in Nice and is lined with the all important FNAC and MonoPrix stores where I can buy everything from a TV to a toothbrush.

        I have chosen my courses for this semester and will be heading back to Wheaton with 6 (!) units of credit. Classes here in France only meet once per week and therefore independent study is the name of the game. Amazingly enough I worked my schedule out so that I will have a 4-day weekend! I will be taking 2 Sweet Briar courses (Art History and Atélier d’Ecriture) and 3 courses at UNice (Musicology of Romanticism, Literature of the XXIII century, and Esthetics & Spirituality). I am confident that with a notebook and a very quick hand I will be able to take good, detailed notes – I’ll need to considering none of my classes have any textbooks!

         Before arriving in Nice I never considered how exhausting all of this would be. I find myself needing 9,10, or 12 hours of sleep every night. My brain is working overtime right now because I am constantly translating in my head. Fortunately I brought some English books with me and just as I start to feel my head exploding from all the of the French I can pick one up and start to feel sane again. I haven’t quite reached the point of simply comprehending and am still translating most sentences. However, my overall comprehension has greatly improved in the last week. I understand 98% of what my French mère says, and when I don’t understand something she graciously explains it to me.

        Tonight during dinner we had a big laugh over “la politesse à table” and talked about the vast differences between American and French eating habits. For dinner we always have a salad, a main course, a cheese course, and a dessert – but eating all of these things the “French way” is not simple. In the past week I have learned to eat my salad without cutting it, eat 6 different cheeses the “correct” way, and peel my fruit with a knife before slicing it piece by piece. I hope no one thinks I’ve turned totally snobby when I come home with all of these sophisticated eating habits!

        I spent this past weekend with my French mère and her son’s family in Tarascon, a three hour drive west of Nice. Saturday was her granddaughters 4^th birthday party – most of Cloélia’s gifts were Disney Princess themed…exactly what I wanted at that age. I spent most of my time this weekend holding her 3 week-old grandson, Evan. Apart from the birthday festivities we also spent time in Aigues-Mortes, Nîmes, and visited the Pont du Gard. Driving back to Nice on Sunday night I was happy to have experienced life with a young French family but was completely exhausted from speaking French non-stop.

Today is the first (of many) strikes that I will witness this semester. “La Grève” is a very common occurrence in France – today’s is being held to protest the government’s recent decision to change the retirement age in France from 60 to 62. How does the grève affect me? No school! The strike is a country-wide event and all public transportation besides taxis are refusing to work today. All of the buses, trains, trams, and even some airports are taking the day off. My normally calm street is filled with angry, honking traffic and if I want to go anywhere today I will have to walk.  Luckily today coincides with the first weather prediction of rain for the season – maybe I’ll just stay in and watch some American movies J

       In one of my orientation classes last week we discussed professions. In French, to tell someone about your profession you say, “je suis professeur” (I am professor). Comparatively, in English we would say, “I am a professor” The interesting and fundamental difference between English and French is that a profession in French is an adjective, a describing word, and not a definition. I have found that this simple difference in language affects daily life. The French are not defined by their careers. Of course careers are a part of life but not necessarily the first thing that a French person would tell you about himself. Maybe a better answer to the typically American question, “what do you want to be when you grow up” is just “happy” instead of listing potential careers.

         I feel very happy here in Nice. I am confident that my goal of becoming totally fluent is within reach. I know that the next 3 months will fly by so I’m really trying to soak everything up, immerse myself, and take every opportunity offered.