Christmas in Montpellier

Christmas is in the air in Montpellier!

There is a tall Christmas tree (with ornaments and all) in centre-ville:

The opera house is decorated to light up at night:

And the best part is a huge Christmas market that just came on Friday! They sell food, desserts, Christmas gifts, scarves, hot drinks, and "vin chaud" - a specialty of hot wine flavored with cinnamon. 

Montpellier is definitely beautiful this time of year, but as it gets closer and closer to the end of the semester, I am more and more sure that Dorothy had it right when she said "there's no place like home."

Life Lately

I guess it goes without saying that I'm not the best at keeping up with a blog. But lots of exciting things have happened in the last three months! Here's what life has been like lately:

The two classes that I chose at the university are "Multiculturalism" that meets once a week and "Keys for a Sustainable Environment" that meets twice a week. Multiculturalism is great - the professor is used to having international students in his class, and everything we talk about is interesting. "Keys for a Sustainable Environment" hasn't been as interesting as I had hoped. It's a big lecture class that meets twice a week with two different professors, both of whom have been helpful so far. The French university is so different from UNC. Classes are a lot more laid back - students get up and leave when they feel like it and talk loudly to each other over the teacher - it's impossible to hear the professor unless you're in one of the first few rows. Students don't just hang out on campus in between classes like we do at UNC, and it's not as common to be involved in clubs, sports, etc. Every building on campus has a different design and is a different color, and most of the buildings are fairly run down, but I think it looks kind of cool. 

In addition to the two classes at the university, we have two French classes at Accent Français - Oral and Written Expression, and Methodology. 

Carol likes to set people up with volunteer opportunities, and I have gotten involved at a middle school. Once a week (supposedly - it's actually been more like every two weeks) I get to go to an English class and help the professor. It has been really interesting and really fun the few times that I have gone!

Carol also got me set up with a family who needs a babysitter. I have only babysat a few times (a girl and a boy), but it's great practice for my French and cool to meet another family in Montpellier. 

One of the best parts of the past three months has been the opportunity to travel. Over the weekends, I have been to Giverny (to see Claude Monet's home and gardens); Barcelona, Spain; Paris, France; Bordeaux, France; and Lausanne, Switzerland. And for fall break I went to Lisbon, Portugal! We have also done some day trips around Montpellier to Marseille (a port town), Sète (a fishing town), and Carcassonne (a medieval castle).

Gardens in Giverny

Gaudi architecture in Barcelona

Life with my host family is going well. My host mom is especially great. I was frustrated at first because she likes to speak English (she's from England), but her speaking English to me has actually allowed us to get to know each other better than we would if we only spoke French. I really enjoy dinnertime with Karen and Jean Marc. Their 17 year old daughter isn't around much, but sometimes she joins us for dinner. 

There have been other international students coming and going from the apartment. There is an extra bedroom, so Karen hosts others when she can. That has definitely been another highlight. The most fun time in the apartment was when there was a Swedish girl, two Belgian girls, and me, all at one time. We all got along really well and I was sad to see them go after two weeks. Right now there is a German student who is staying with us until December. She is nice, but I don't see her very often. 

The two Belgian girls and me in Marseille

For Thanksgiving last week, all the Americans in our program, Carol, and some of our teachers at Accent Français got together for a nice dinner at a small French restaurant. Although it was sad not to be at home for Thanksgiving, it was fun for everyone to be together in France. And the food was delicious! 

Most of the UNC girls with Carol at Thanksgiving Dinner

We're starting to get in final exam mode in all of my classes. Next week is the last official week of classes at Accent Français, but we have projects and presentation that go on into the next two weeks. It's been great living in Montpellier, but I am getting really excited about finally getting home in a month! 

St Guilhem, French Classes, and Marseille

It's been a busy but fun week in Montpellier! Last Friday we finished our intensive two-week prestage. At the end of every month, Accent Francais has an "appetizer" party to celebrate after class, and everyone is supposed to bring food from their country. The theme of this month's party was karaoke, so every class had to sing a French song together, in French! It was crazy, but it was fun to sing and hear different French songs.

That weekend we went on an excursion with a group from Accent Francais to a city about an hour away called St Guilhem le Desert. Before we left I had heard that it is one of the prettiest cities in France, but I was definitely not expecting how absolutely beautiful it was! The city is in the countryside and surrounded by mountains, so the first thing we did was go on a "nature walk." Jean-Paul, our guide, showed us some wild fig trees and blackberry bushes, and we all got to taste some of the fruit. Delicious! Then we ate lunch in the city center at a cafe before touring the monastery that gave the city it's name - the city was founded by Saint Guillaume and was known as "le Desert" because people came to the monastery to be alone with God.

St Guilhem le Desert

After the tour of St Guilhem le Desert, we went to a local lake called Lac Salagou, which was just as beautiful as the city, even though it was manmade. The water was freezing, so most of us just hung out on the shore and enjoyed the killer views.

The Lake

We started two of our semester-long French classes on Monday. One is called Oral and Written Expression, which is taught by our director (Carol), and the other is Methodology, which is taught by a teacher at Accent Francais, where both classes are held. Both classes will definitely be helpful when it comes to communicating in French and turning in written work at the university.

We also spent a lot of time this week planning our classes that we will take at UPV, the French university. We are allowed two weeks to try as many classes as we can and make final decisions - UPV starts on Monday, and I am planning on trying out 5 different classes throughout the week and I am really excited about all of them!

This weekend we went to Les Estivales for one last time (they're over after this weekend because it's a summer festival). Then on Saturday we woke up bright and early for another excursion to Marseille, a port city about two hours away. It was a really great day! We toured a church and a little bit of the city, got on a boat and rode to an old prison called Chateau d'If on an island off of Marseille, then took the boat to another island off of Marseille and went swimming in the Mediterranean. It was chilly, but really refreshing and fun! The water was clear enough that you could see the bottom and the fish, and the weather was perfect for swimming. Fun times!

Marseille

Chateau d'If

The cove where we went swimming!

Thanks for keeping up with me, and I hope all is well back in the states.

A bientot!

Week Two!

It's been a fun second week in Montpellier!

I'll start with last weekend - Every Friday night in the summer, there is a local food festival in Montpellier called Les Estivales, with local wine, cheese, sea food, etc. We went on Friday night, and it was packed with people eating, drinking, and hanging out. It was a fun atmosphere with everyone outside, but it was super crowded! On Saturday our group from UNC went to Avignon, a small historical town about an hour away from Montpellier, with a group from Accent Francais. We explored the town, including the Pont d'Avignon (as in the song - "sur le Pont d'Avignon, on y danse, on y danse -- so of course we did a dance on the bridge while our guide played the song on his flute), and the Palais des Papes, an old palace where the pope used to live. On our way back, we stopped at the Pont du Gard, which is an old Roman aquaduct. It was huge and definitely the coolest part of the day because we got to hike up to the top and get a really cool view of the whole structure. 

Avignon

Pont du Gard - so cool!!

We got new classes at Accent Francais on Monday - now there are only four people in my class, which makes for an intimate morning, especially if someone is absent. We also started a civilization class where we learn about southern France that meets three times for 2.5 hours over the next two weeks. This week we also went to a meeting for American students the university (UPV) where we will be taking classes starting the second week of September. The university looks really different from UNC, but it made me excited for when classes do start there. There are 4 main groups of Americans that will be taking classes at UPV, but our UNC program has its own director, Carol, so we won't need the university's services as much as the other groups will. 

Carol has been helping us blend in with the locals here in Montpellier. We don't want to stand out as foreign tourists from America who don't speak French and don't know their way around because that might make us look bad, or make us easy targets for theft, etc. She said the two things that make Americans stand out the most are that we make eye contact with strangers, and that we smile a lot. She also said that in general, Americans are very loud. So, she advised us not to look people in the eye, smile at people we don't know, walk around in a big group, or speak really loudly. She also told us that the French dress according to the calendar, not the season, so as soon as September rolls around, the French put away their shorts and flip flops -- so we have to do the same! 

Yesterday we had a French etiquette class followed by a wine and cheese tasting. The etiquette class seemed a bit silly, especially considering that my host family is very relaxed and doesn't follow traditional French etiquette, but the wine and cheese tasting was fun and tres francais! 

This week we finish with the prestage French classes at Accent Francais, and this weekend we are going on another excursion to St Guilhem le Desert and le Lac Salagou! 

Thanks for keeping up with me -- a bientot! 

First Week in Montpellier

I made it to Montpellier! I have been here one week and so much has happened already.

I am enjoying my host family so far - my host mom is originally from England but has been in France for 20 years with my host dad and their 17 year old daughter. My host mom is an English teacher and an artist and my host dad is an event organizer. They live in a small apartment very close to the centre-ville and they have extra rooms in their apartment, so they host other foreign students during the year -- right now there are two students from Switzerland and one student from Poland also staying with us for a couple of weeks.

                                              My Host Family's Apartment

The family provides breakfast and dinner for us every day. Breakfast has been hot tea with either cereal or toast with jam, and dinner has been salads for the most part (because it's been so hot - it was over 100 yesterday with no ac anywhere!), but one night we had fresh fish that my host dad had caught that morning. And of course bread and cheese with every dinner! We have been eating dinner around 8 every night.

During our first two days, we had orientation and a walking tour of Montpellier, and on Sunday our UNC group went to the beach. Then on Monday, we started a two-week intensive French class that we do before classes start at the university. Classes are held at Accent Francais, which is a French school for international students studying in Montpellier. So we have been in class with other French students from all over the world! There are 10 people in my class -- I am the only American and the majority of them are from Mexico. We have class every morning for two weeks, and every morning is split into 2 class sessions. It's been cool to see so many different nationalities come together at one school and be able to communicate in French!

During the afternoons we have had meetings with our program director, walking tours around Montpellier, or free time to hang out. Yesterday after class we went on a tour of a beautiful garden called Jardin des Plantes and a cathedral in Montpellier.

                                              Jardin des Plantes - so pretty!

We also have the opportunity to go on excursions organized by Accent Francais -- on Saturday we are all going on an excursion to Avignon!

A bientot!