Week one!

Harbor

The view from my room




June 28th: Arrival in Cannes
Today, we left London and flew to Nice. The flight was not bad at all and it was really neat when we landed because the airport and landing strip are right on the water. Unfortunately, our luggage did not arrive when we did. Apparently Heathrow had a problem with their conveyor belt and none of the baggage for Sunday was delivered. They also had to cancel flights. We arrived in Cannes and even though I was so tired, I was so excited to get here! They had a salad bar for us since we arrived after dinner. I had my first Provencal dish tonight as well. It is an onion/anchovy spread with anchovies on top. It was quite good (I passed on the anchovy pieces on top). We also got our room assignment. It was a little hectic because there was some confusion about who was rooming with whom, but I ended up in the best room on campus. I also have great roommates. Kelsey is from Nantucket and goes to Connecticut College. Clair is from Austin and goes to UT (she is a theatre major). Our room is very big, has three closets, and we are the only room with two sinks and a shower! Well, I think that’s all for tonight!



June 29th: Placement exams, lunch at Le Piaza, and Orientation
I was really nervous about placement exams, but it actually went really well! It was difficult, but good. We had three different types of written tests and then we did a brief spoken interview. I scored into the 210 class level which in Europe is B 1 or B2. They have different school/testing systems throughout Europe that is from A1 0 to C2. You have to pass a certain level of French to move on to the next level of schooling and to have certain professions. To be a teacher, I believe you have to pass B 2 in English and French (much more than what is expected in America). After the placement exam, a group of us decided to go into town for lunch since we were ready to see the town. We went to a wonderful restaurant called la Piaza. There is a lot of Italian/Mediterranean food here which is wonderful! Our waiter at the restaurant was wonderful. His name was Bruno and he brought us out a free pizza to welcome us to Cannes. I had fish with roasted vegetables (I also had a glass of white wine because it was part of the daily special). Mike, someone from our group, ordered a special local dish which is pasta made with squid ink, a yellow sauce (it tasted like a very mild curry sauce) and squid on top. It was so good! In the afternoon, we came back to the college for our orientation. We learned about all of the trips we can sign-up for and learned a little bit about Cannes. I signed up for the first excursion which is a tour of the city tomorrow. I also had raspberry gelato today, yummy!








June 30th: First day of class, city tour, dinner by the train station
Class is intense, but so much fun! There are 6 Swiss girls in my class, one Swedish boy, one other American, and one girl from Holland. We aren’t allowed to speak any language other than French, which is amazing. Not like in America, when they say that, but you still mumble or constantly ask how to say an English word. If someone doesn’t know what a word means, someone else in the class has to explain it in French. We use gestures and noises ALL the time, something I hope to keep up when I return home. It is one of my favorite things about the French. Today in class, we started with grammar. The first half of the class, from 9-10:15 is all grammar. We do exercises, discuss sentences, and structure. I have already learned more about passé compose (past tense) than I thought there was to know. We have a break at 10:15, when all of the Europeans have the cigarette and coffee. At 10:30, we go back into class (by the way, we have shutters that we open to let the sea breeze in and I look right out into the courtyard from my seat. The second half of the class is devoted to vocabulary, which we learn by discussing. This is so great because we truly learn words that we want to use and we learn from the different people in the class. We will discuss the differences between our countries, what we think about France and Cannes so far and it is my favorite part! I love learning about all of the nuances and culture of the other countries. We talk about the economy, gender roles, everyday life, laws, club scenes, and anything else you can imagine! During one class this week, we compared the lack of gay bars in the South with the gay scene in Amsterdam. I also told my story about the chocolates that vanished on Chris’ trip to Amsterdam. I feel very comfortable talking in my classes and I make jokes all of the time, which feels so good. I am able to not only make a joke in French, but I am able to make it about another country. We joke all the time on the Swiss, mostly because they are so perfect and everything is organized. Class ends at 12 and we go straight to lunch. The meals are great and in true form, we take forever to eat. We first go through the salad bar line which often includes multiple salads with couscous, lentils, potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, rice, hard-boiled eggs, and of course, LOTS OF BREAD! One of my favorite things is the spray bottles (very chic) of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We then sit down at our tables (I am forced to eat at the table of vegetarians with the one other vegetarian, my friend Eric). Most days, one of our friends sacrifices meat to join us at our table. At dinner, I have thus far refused to sit at my table and instead, I ask them to please let me sit with my friends. The wonderful women that work here bring us our food and we eat family-style. Only French is spoken at the college, which is fun, but sometimes frustrating when you just want to ask something in English. I think it will get easier though.
After class today, we went on a tour of Cannes. We walked throughout the city, the old part and the new. After the tour, my friends and I went to have gelato, it has become a bit of a daily event. We also went to dinner near the train station. I had a mushroom omelet which came with French fries and a side salad, what a wonderful idea! We made our way back to the college by walking along the beach.





July 1st: Visit to le Musee de Castre, gilato
After class today, I went to le Musee de Castre, a museum in the original, old town, and castle of Cannes. Everything was described in French. This is a small, but very interesting museum dedicated to things from countries located on the Mediterranean. They had a lot of pottery, art, and a bizarre collection of (I gather from my conversation with a young man who works there) what we might consider a wild boar. We walked to the top of the watch tower and had a spectacular view of Cannes and the surrounding towns/villages.
After the museum, more gelato! Today, we couldn’t decide between coffee or gelato so I got coffee and neutella gelato! Once again, we walked back along the beach.





July 2nd: Beach, Les Plages Electronique
Today was the first days without a planned activity. I enjoyed some time at the beach and did some swimming. We had these neat docks out in the sea that you can swim out to and lay-out on. After this, we had dinner and decided to go for a walk. We walked through the daily market held in the evening in the city center. It is right near the City Hall (Hotel de Ville). They have beautiful art, paintings, scultures, and one woman even has purses made out of the butt of jeans! Right now, there is an electronic/techno festival so we went to check it out. It was PACKED! We saw some break dancers who were incredible! The concerts are on the beach right outside le Palais de Festival (where the film festival is). We didn’t go in to this concert because we have class on Fridays and weren’t really feeling the crowd, but I definitely plan to go back for one of the others. There is a drum and base concert as well as a hip-hop concert.



July 3rd: Cooking Class at Les apprentis Gourments, card games, and out to Station
Today was a busy day! Class, reading on the beach, and a cooking class! The cooking class is held at a restaurant which is designed for teaching people how to prepare certain meals and we then dine on what we prepare. This was so much fun. We made salmon (Mom, you would have loved it! I will have to make it for you!), zucchini, mushrooms, and tomatoes stuff with either chicken and beef, or vegetables and almond powder for me! For dessert, we made lemon tartlets. I got to use a blow torch, which was fun! Also, when I plated my dessert, the chef said I did a wonderful job (I did it differently than the others and how he showed us to do it) and so for me, he said I got to put mint in the middle!
After the cooking class, my friends and I hung out in the courtyard with some wine, beer, and cards. We played cards until the café closed and we decided to go out. There is a bar here called Station where you can get 10 shots or 10 beers for 15 Euros (much cheaper than the normal drink which can be 8 Euros). Don’t worry, we share! Also, everything is smaller here, including beers and shots. The second bar we went to was more like the typical club here, loud, crowded, and they made me pay for the bathroom. We didn’t stay very long!



July 4th: San Remo and Dolceacqua
Today was probably my favorite so far! We went to Italy! The bus ride was about an hour and a half to San Remo, a town famous for its casinos, symphony orchestra, and market. The market area was VERY busy, but the old part of the town was beautiful. A lot of the architecture had been repaired or rebuilt from bad earthquakes. For lunch, we went all out Italian! I had veggies bruschetta and parmagiano risotto. For dessert, tiramisu!
After San Remo, we went to Dolceacqua, an amazing medieval village. Monet has painted the bridge of this town! I walked through the old part of the town and through the cobblestone streets. Our leader, Aude, decided that we needed to celebrate the 4th of July so she bought us all wine and we enjoyed some crustinis with different topping in a small shop/restaurant within the old part of town. There were different shops and art galleries as well. I bought two bottles of wine and two bottles of olive oil (everything local and not expensive!). Tonight, we have just been hanging out. Some people are drinking American beer and watching American movies. They also ordered pizza, something they thought was American as well. Now, I am off to sleep! I was going to go watch the start of Le tour de France tomorrow, but I am so ready for a day of sleeping in and reading at the beach! I think I will have to pass this time and it will be a good excuse to return! I also may try to catch another leg of the race in a couple days.
I also forgot to say that we have no air conditioning and I love it! No AC and no TV, we wake up to the birds every day. Our shutters never close and we don’t even have an actual window!