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!