The second full week

Wednesday

Wednesday morning we had a long, dull meeting about academics here in France. Namely, the differences between American and French universities and how we would pick our classes. In typical French disorganization, the room our program was supposed to use had been double-booked, and our program director had to kick out a group of Chinese students. The biggest differences were that French professors like to have most things handwritten rather than typed, and insist on excellent and legible handwriting. Also, as in England, French students don’t pick and choose classes like a buffet, but instead pick a degree and follow a prescribed schedule of classes.

During lunch, I went to go to the bank to ask for my IBAN so I could transfer money from the U.S. to here. Unfortunately, banks and many other French businesses close for lunch from noon to 2 p.m., and I had to wait.

For dinner Madame made duck again. I asked if it was from the same duck as the other meal we’d had, and Mme laughed. I thought it was a reasonable question, given that she buys fish whole rather than from the store. This duck was barely cooked and still pink, but delicious.

Thursday

The morning held four hours of grammar classes. After lunch, I went with another Michigan student to a little café called Caf Thé where we browsed through the lists of courses we can take at La Faculté. The course lists are wholly disorganized because each department (art, science, history, etc) has a totally separate website and course list format. Worse still, some of the listings don’t mention the time or location of the class—students are expected to go to that department’s office on the first day of the semester to find times and locations for classes.

The woman running Caf Thé didn’t seem to understand my accent, yet had long, in-depth chats with every other customer who came in. They would shout about the weather or different types of tea or whether the store attracted lots of tourists.

Dinner was another bass that Mme had procured straight from the net, as it were, in Marseille. This one was also very flavorful, but had lots of bones, which made eating tough. Over dinner, Mme and her sister pontificated on every subject possible. The conversations we have with them are fantastic, and I learn so many interesting things, even if her views are a little peculiar. Mme thinks that the French healthcare system encourages people to abuse hospitals. She hates lawyers but thinks doctors are underpaid. Joining the European Union was a bad thing for France, as was switching to the Euro—les anglais avaient raison in not adopting it, Mme said. Madame and her sister also debated whether Dan or I have a better command of French. Mme thinks Dan, her sister says me. So who knows?

Friday

I was supposed to meet with our program director to talk about the classes I want to take here, but she postponed until next week. Not sure why, but it is France, where schedules seem subject to change. Class this afternoon was great. It was still make-up time from last week’s snow days, but we did verbal exercises like playing charades in French and listening to some songs: Dernier baiser, Le jour se lève, Quelqu’un m’a dit.

Our professor also explained a few mystifying elements of French society. One student said she thought it was frustrating that France has no public bathrooms, forcing you to buy something in a store or café. Tissot told us the way around that: all French bars/cafes/etc are required, by law, to let anyone use their bathrooms if you drink anything. They’re also legally required to serve you a glass of water for free. Hence, order a glass of water and use the bathroom for free.

As well as bathrooms, one thing notably absent from Aix is public trashcans. Our professor explained why. Several years ago, the French became very worried about riots and terrorists. One big fear was that trashcans and public bathrooms could provide places for terrorists to hide bombs in the middle of big towns. So, both were phased out across the country.

On my home this evening I saw a huge flock of seagulls—not the band—at the Place de l’Hôtel de Ville. Turns out an old man was casting seed all around for them to eat. I mentioned it at dinner, and Madame said than in the summer, pigeons are sometimes brazen enough to swipe food right off your plate if you eat outside. Dinner was beef and veal, including the bone marrow… which was unusual.

Saturday

Slept in for a while and had lunch, then browsed some shops in the center of town. Went to Le Renoir and got a schedule for their “Fesitval Télérama”, during which Le Renoir and Le Mazarin are going to show French films for just €3 starting Wednesday. In the evening, met up with some other students and we tried one of Aix’s two Mexican restaurants, Smokey’s. The owner, Smokey, seemed really excited to have students there and was very amicable. He even brought us a free pitcher of margarita, presumably to encourage us to go back often. Eating fajitas in France did seem like an odd mix of cultures, but it was delicious and very cheap. Didn’t see Madame at all yesterday: she was already out shopping when I woke up and asleep when I came home.

Today

Today I think I have a cold, and so slept in and drank lots of water and took some cold medicine. Also finally went to the lavomatique and did some laundry. For class next week (our last week of cours intensif), we have to give a five-minute oral presentation, so I need to think about what I’ll talk about. They had predicted rain for today, but it’s dry and just grey. Also, pretty much everything in Aix is closed on Sundays.