And The Count Down Begins....

Only 6 more days here in France, and I'm not ready to go. If I could keeping doing this forever, I would, but I'm spending my last few days here wisely and trying to get the most out of it, while still keeping on top of final exam work. This past weekend I enjoyed a visit from some ill bros that are studying in Granada. They brought a lot to the table, but it's a fortunate thing that they did not study here with us, or we probably would've ended up in jail or stabbed to death by gypsies or a pikey by now. We spent a day in Cassis on the beach and hiked the colonques. The water there is so clear and absolutely beautiful, but our peaceful afternoon was so rudely interrupted by paps chasing Brad and Angelina around the city. Helicopters galore. It's truly nauseating the lives these guys lead. I have more respect for strippers than these people. It's a parasitic profession that has no redeeming value.
I leave Aix this Sunday for a last hurrah in Paris. I'm going to hit up things I was unable to see the last time we were there like Montmatre, le Sacre Coeur, the Picasso Museum, and due a little gift shopping for Mother's Day (I won't be with all boys this time, so maybe i can actually see the inside of a store!). It's been an awesome semester and even though I'm sad to go, I can wait to see all of you when I get back.

What we do..pretty much every day


The beach in Cassis

Les Colonques

Sardenga Spring Break

Last week was Spring Break for us here in France, and my lovely group of friends and I decided to explore the rural Italian island, Sardinia (or Sardenga). We took a 17 hour ferry from Marseille to Porto Torres, which wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, I only puked twice! We had little cabins with bunk beds, but I saw this backpacking couple sleeping under the stairs, and I think I could've totally saved on the ferry and slept under the stairs in steerage with the other low class folk. This is what I get for having Kate Winslet types booking my boat cabin. Have to have a bed to sleep in, pshh. If Titanic taught us anything, it was that steerage folk have more fun and like to dance on tables..well, and not to steer your ship into an iceberg...Anyways, we arrived in Porto Torres around noon, picked up our rental cars, and drove 2 hrs south to our lovely villa in Torre de Stelle, overlooking the most beautiful crystal clear waters the Mediterranean has to offer. Our very cute pool boy/landlord, Franchesco, met us at the house, and I'm sure was very surprised/shocked that he just rented his precious villa to nine 20 somethings. We assured him that we would keep it clean, and only throw the old furniture over the terrace. After this agreement, he left, and our party began. Our days consisted of eating delicious food, shumping on the beach, and eating gelato, and our nights consisted of wine consumption, rowdy games of charades, man hunt, and card games. The weather was absolutely beautiful every day, and since we were there during the off season, we pretty much had all the beaches to ourselves. It was an amazing spring break, and we were all sad when the week had ended and we were forced to get back on that god forsaken boat, but in the end it's always nice to return home.


The Sardinia Crew about to embark on our ferry journey (Marseille in the background)
From left to right: Lindsey, Andrew, Britney, Alex, Melissa, Peter, Trafton, Me, Nathalie


The view from our first floor terrace

Me kicking ass and taking names in charades

The girls being beautiful on the beach

Trafton and I debating whether to risk potential jelly stings by going into the water...he was stung shortly thereafter.
Me and the flavor of the week in our dope living room

Les mecs and moi , with lovely Sardenga in the background

Tuition

I've been discovered.....they want my money, an arm, a leg, and my first born :( :( :( :( :(

The Food Issue

This is the food issue of my blog (mainly for you Shannon, haha).
The food in France is, probably as you have suspected, amazing. Especially the bread, it's très delicious. My host mom is a fabulous cook, so we always have something yummy to eat for dinner, except Wednesdays....I don't know why we don't get fed on Wednesday, when every other family has chosen a weekend day to not feed their host kids, but whatever, my roommate and I have nice little dates on Wednesdays. Dinner typically starts of with a salad, or a homemade soup, then for the main course we have something different every time. We have yet to have had the same meal twice. My host mom makes a very delicious ratatouille. Then we have a cheese plate, i always try the cheese, but I don't eat much. However, I have found I really enjoy brie and chevre (a goats cheese), and maybe sometimes camembert. Then we finish dinner with a dessert. Either yogurt eaten in various ways or some sort of cake my mom has baked.
We have to find our own lunches, so I either get a sandwich from one of the many delicious sandwich shops in Aix (one of my favorite sandwiches is a mixte, which is just ham, cheese, and butter on a baguette, so simple, but so good), or pasta from this fresh pasta place across the street from my house. If we're going to be out and about and I need to pack a picnic lunch, I usually by a baguette and some brie, an apple, and maybe a pudding.
When I do eat dinner out I try to have something different every time. One of the best meals I've had in Aix though, was at this little restaurant called le petit verdot. There I had the best fois gras of my life and a lamb shank that was to die for. I've also eaten lots of delicious creme brulet! I dunno how the french don't get fat. There's lots of wine and carb intake, maybe it's because they walk 10 miles a day. I think I've even lost weight, it's a mystery to me. I'll try to remember to take picture of some food I eat and post it next time!

Today, at the end of March.....

IT SNOWED! And I thought we had freak weather in Texas. Seriously, in February it's crazy hot, and now, we're almost in April and it's snowing. My camera was dead, it was 7 in the morning, and I was très sleepy, so i didn't get a pic. BUT you can enjoy this hilARious picture of naughty peeps, hehe.

Le Luberon

Last weekend we went to this area of Provence called "Le Luberon". It's about 30 mins north of Aix and features your "typical" provençial sights. Lavender and sunflower fields (which are unfortunately not in bloom until the summer), medieval ruins, olive groves, and cute little cottages. A tasty little fact for you, John Malcovich lives in this area, and we actually drove right past his house.
I'm not sure if it was because I was tired, but this was sooooooooooo boring. I really was not enthused, however, we did go to this one super cool town, Roussillon, that had an ocher quarry, so all the houses were these beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows, très beaux. We hiked around in the deserted ocher quarry, and everyone's pants and shoes turned into a lovely shade of red dust. Afterwards, I had my first contact with dog poo on the street...OH NO! I've been doing so well, 2 months and i've been able to dodge every little pile on the street, but alas, as fate would have it, i stepped in a nice mushy dropping, yuck.
Unfortunately sailing has been canceled this week, waters are too choppy, so we'll see if there will be anything else in store. Right now Aix has turned into a cluster mess of American tourists, so I've been hiding inside. Looking out from the inside, there really is NOTHING more annoying than an American tourist, haha. They stick out like sore thumbs, with their silly t-shirts, crocs, and brightly colored jackets. I also know why the French would just rather you speak in English than attempt French. There was this young American man ahead of me in line at the sandwich shop today, and he was speaking the most god awful French I have ever heard, I wanted him to stop, and the poor sandwich lady was getting so frustrated with him. It's so funny how your perspective changes when you become a local. I can definitely see me having a little bit of a rough transition when I return to the States.


The Ol' Ocher Quarry
Old Clock Tower in Roussillon, featuring blue shutters

Skiing in the Alps

Yup, you can be jealous, we went skiing in the Alps on Sunday. It was a really sweet deal. For 40 euros, we got round trip bus transport, lift tickets for the day, and ski rental. However, it wasn't the best skiing i've done...a wee bit icy, which led to a few epic falls. (haha, the best one was when I think we went of trail...it wasn't marked very well, and the snow was rock hard, and i fell and slid down the hill, without my skis. Trafton went to retrieve my skis, and in the process, he too fell and took me out, for a second time, with him). Not used to the ice, but the silly east cost kids rocked the slopes because apparently that's all they have, gross icy slopes. I had no ski pants, so not only did I look like a redneck, my jeans were nice and damp by the end of the day. It was my friend Andrew's first time skiing, and I think he could've gone head to head with Brian as the worst skier ever. He managed to fall and fly up into the air while standing still, ski into the nets and get tangled up, and lose his skis a number of times. It was a good weekend activity. Lots of laughs, and lots of fun.

At least I wasn't the only one looking like a douche skiing in jeans....absolutely ridiculous


Donning my host mom's super cool ski jacket, brand NafNaf, it's top of the line..totally.
Also sporting gloves a man in the ski shop let me borrow. they were too big
so i wore my leather gloves underneath, which served duel purpose as a germ blocker

The French Health Care System is Bomb..for the most part

I had my first experience with the French health care system the other day, and I do have to say it was the most enjoyable doctor experience I have ever had.
. I had no waiting time, my appointment was at 4:30, so the doctor SAW me at 4:30, none of this wait around for an extra hour business like in the US.
. Insurance or not, it is a flat 22 euro fee, I can be reimbursed by my insurance for that 22 euros at a later time.
. It was very quick and efficient, no silly nurse lady came in to take my vitals first, and then 20 mins later the doctor showed up. He did everything himself in 2 mins.
. No other random non-medical personnel taking up office space, or silly papers to fill out.
. He prescribed me 3 things: cough syrup, nose spray, and ear drops, which all totaled out to 7 euros.
Other reasons why their health care system rules:
.The sicker you are the less you have to pay and the more treatment you are able to receive. The US seems to have this bit backwards. If you at one time had cancer or some sort of other illness, an insurance company is LESS likely to cover you...that's wack. And if you HAVE cancer, forget about an insurance company covering you even a little bit. Even then, the likelihood that they will pay for all the treatments necessary for you to recover is slim.
. You can choose your physician
. No waiting lists for elective procedures

Now, this may sound like a dream, but there are downsides.
. This system is frequently abused. General Practitioners over prescribed medications to an unnecessary extent, which just cost the government and people more money. People can also swindle their doctors into giving them ungodly amounts of medical leave (the french have unlimited PAID sick days). I heard of a case where a man asked his doctor friend to write him 2 months sick leave so he could start up a business, while he still got paid sick leave from his other job.
.There is a growing healthcare deficit, and this kind of abuse is just making it worse.
. The French do have to pay a hefty amount of taxes, but the funny thing is, none of them really care. That's one big difference between America and France; in America it's all about individual advancement, but in France it's how one can be part of the system. Silly socialists.

but really, if that's the worst you can say about the system......

WHO, ranked the French Healthcare system #1 in the world in 2001, and it is often referred to as "the model healthcare system". I think there is definitely a little something to be learned here. Here is a link to an article about the system, that does a good job describing my exprience with the system in a more educated, informative way Model Healthcare.

Eventhough a gypsy gave me SARS, I still LOVE Paris

SO I'm pretty sure a gypsy that came in freakishly close contact with me at the Eiffel Tower gave me SARS, but than again it could just be a nasty cough....ANYWAYS Paris is my jam. I love this city. It's absolutely beautiful. All those rumors about Paris being dirty are lies. I didn't see a spot of trash or anything gross the whole time I was there, nothing but loveliness. We hit up the Louvre, the D'Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysée, Arc de Triomphe, Notredame, La Seine, the Latin Quarter, pretty much everything but sweet shopping, because when you travel with boys, shopping is NOT on the list (don't worry mom, i'm sure I'll be going back). We managed to hit up all the museums on the free days, yatzee! The Louvre was kind of blah, full of gypsy trinkets and statutes, nothing that great. Saw Mona, she was chillin' with 5000 people in front of her. The Musée d'Orsay was waaaaay better. I saw lots of amazing impressionist work and pointillism. I even saw my Renoir that I am copying in art class. That was very cool. We hit up the Eiffel at the best time. Even though we had to dodge gypsies the whole time in line, we finally made it through the line and managed to get up the tower while the sun was setting. Then, by the time we made it down it was dark and the tower was lit up. This, in my opinion, is the best time to see the tower. We went to this awesome famous old bookstore near the notredam called Shakespeare & CO., I bought a sweet old book, and jammed out on their piano for a bit. We didn't experience much of a night life in Paris, 1 we are poor, 2 the metro closes at 1:30, so you have to cut the party short. Therefore we had our own party in our 2 star hotel room drinking wine, eating chocolate pudding (which comes in cute little glass jars, by the way), and watching episodes of South Park and The Office. Paris is by far one of my favorite cities in the world, I can't wait to go back.

My Renoir I found at the d'Orsay! Remi and Trafto gaining knowledge at Shakespeare's

Hunting for hunchbacks....
Turning Japanese in front of the d'Orsay
La Seine at Night...très beau!
I.M.Pei is my man: the Louvre
Katie, Remi, Trafton, and Moi standing on the center of Paris

Why I will NEVER go back to Spain

Spain is by far the worst country I have been in. I am convinced Madrid is the blueprint for hell. For our winter break we decided it would be a good idea to go to spain, FALSE! Worst idea ever, in the first 5 mins of our arrival, some silly spaniard stole my friend ashley's wallet. Anyways to make it simple I will list the reasons why i will never waste another second in spain.
1. Spain has ugly buildings
2.Spanish is a gross language, especially in spain. Sounds like mexicans with speech impediments..ronz.
3. Spanish men love to shout out you, randomly touch you, chase you, and do any other form of harassment you can think of towards you
4. The food is disgusting. Lack of variety, flavor, and tastiness. French have a faaaaaaar superior cuisine.
5. The spanish are rude, loud, and disgusting

France is a far superior country. The people are nice (seriously, next time i'm in the states and someone makes a comment about how rude french people are i'm going to throw some down), quiet, polite, they know how to cook, have pretty buildings and just do anything a million times better than the spanish.
However, not all of spain was bad. I did throughly enjoy Barcalona, there were some really cool things to see there, but still, you couldn't pay me to go back. Question : Would you rather have to live in Scranton, PA or Madrid your whole life. Answer: Scranton. I would rather work in the coal mines of scranton than have a posh apartment in Madrid.

Only Spain would sell pigeons as pets, disgusting
Sagrada Familla , sick gaudi church
Inside the the Sagrada, sick stainglass
blockheaded jesus
ugly spanish palace
museum of ham, spanish love pig

GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!

The man crew (Traf, Alex 1 (Dude), Petey Pab, Alex 2 (Jock)) and I (since no other female was interested) went to a futbol match in Marseille we saw L'OM vs. Spartak Moscow. L'OM won 3-0. It was a really cool experience being there in a stadium full of crazy soccer fans. Best part about it is I get to do my French class project on the game. Yatzee!

The French Riviera

Our uni took us out on an excursion to the French Riviera. We went to Nice, Cannes, and Monaco.
Nice is definitely nice. SO beautiful, great little city, and the beach was amazing. That night we went to Monte Carlo in Monaco. Some serious dough was flowin' through the place. I won 5 euro on roulette. That's like a 100 US dollar, so I pretty much banked. Cannes was ok. Pretty much a glorified retirement home. The only thing it has going for it is that silly film festival.

Trafton and I in Nice
An aerial view of Nice
Candied fruits in the Nice market , très cool
MONTE CARLO!!!!
The Famous Ritz Carlton in Cannes

What I have been doing the last month

Sorry for the lack of posts!! I've been very busy in the month of feb. I will break down the past few weeks in a serious of posts talking about my adventures on the french riviera, marseille futbol, spain, and paris.

The Euro Club Scene

The past two weeks, we've been sticking to the pubs and more American clubs, but last night we went to our first real euro club to see Yelle preform (click the link to view one of her live performances on youtube). She was amazing . So much energy and everyone was having such an awesome time. Just another tidbit involving Yelle and my France location, the song 'Je Veux Te Voir' was featured in the Entourage Cannes episode, yea for Provence!! After Yelle preformed, I'm not quite sure what happened, I think someone released pepper spray, but it was horrible. Burning lungs and sneezing all over the place, but the cool thing is, we escaped to the same stairwell as Yelle and got to breath some fresh air with her. Eventually it went away and we got back to dancing.
Anyways about the Euro club scene. So I totally thought it was just going to be a bunch of slimy punk kids and a bunch of terrible house music, all drums and bass, but I was surprised to find quite the opposite...well there was still the slimy punk kids, but the DJs featured that night turned some of the sweetest remixs I have ever heard in my life. However, these slimy punk kids love dancing in this euro style called tecktonik. The only way i can explain it is that they flail their arms about and look ridiculous. It's huge amongst the French youth. Stupidest thing I have ever seen. Also, when the French do go out, they like to stay out very late. We eventually had to split at around 3:30am because we were so tired, but the frenchies were still bumpin'.
Another cool thing about the club we went to, was since it was way out on the outside of Aix, they had a little van that would pick you up, take you to the club, and bring you back to your house, for free. It was the first night I didn't have to walk a mile to get back to my place. Awesome. (Speaking of which mom, I'm pretty sure all my shoes will be worn through by the end of this trip..) All in all, best night in Aix to date.

Mont Sainte-Victoire

So this is the big mountain right outside of Aix, and we hiked to the base(only the base because we didn't have time, it's a 4 hr climb just to the top, but we're doing it again soon) of it on Sunday. It was awesome. This is the mountain that was featured in many of Cezanne's paintings. He was obsessed with this mountain and painted it a million times. It's a large limestone conglomerate, which makes it a little tricky to climb because the rocks like to fall apart and turn into gravel, but most of the mountain is well cemented. Mom would not like this hike, by the way. Here are some pics of the adventure, enjoy!!


Approaching Sainte-Victore with mon amie Nathalie!

Les mec sur la Sainte- Victoire. The boys on Saint Victoire.

Cultural Differences

I've been in Aix for a week now, and these are some of the differences I have determined.

1. It is pretty much impossible to make French friends. They say when you study abroad not to hangout with Americans and mingle well the locals to improve your language skills. Impossible in France. The French have very tight social circles and will not let you in, especially if you are American. They are also very shy, and will not approach you. A friend and I have tried on countless occasions to speak to French guys at bars or clubs, total rejection every time. But we talked to the owner of this grocery store we like to go to (who is amazing, he speaks the truth) and he said we must go to artsy stuff and meet upper class frenchmen who will be more accepting of us.
2. No eye contact, and especially no smiling. This is the hardest cultural difference to manage. For a girl to make eye contact with you, and especially if she makes eye contact and smiles, means she is inviting you for a tryst. THIS IS SO HARD! I'm so used to looking at people and smiling. I still don't have it down. I think all the people on the street think i'm crazy.
3. There is a social divide in France. There are the french, then there are the french immigrants. Not all of the french immigrants are bad, just like in most situations, but they can cause trouble. You can tell if they will cause trouble, because they are the french that will approach you. They have a degrading view about women, and love to harass you if you are fair skinned and have light hair. The other blonde lauren and I had an incident yesterday in the grocery store, but luckily our beloved store owner, handled it. You just have to be careful, and be aware of your surroundings.
4. The french are HORRIBLE drivers. Purely insane. I fear for my life on a daily basis.
5. The french do not like to party..well most don't. If you see a group of drunk kids in the street, bet is they are Americans, Brits, or Aussies.
6.There are no sidewalks, you just have to walk in the street and dodge vehicles, this goes back to my point of cultural difference 4 and fearing for my life.
7. Dogs and dog crap. Dogs are EVERYWHERE. In the stores, cafés, streets...everywhere, and so is their poo. Walking in the street is like having to dodge land mines. I'm constantly having to watch where I step. Luckily I haven't had the misfortune of stepping in it yet, and I hope I never will.

I'm sure there are more, and I'm sure I will discover more the longer I am here, but it's time to peace out for now.

Today I Sketched a Naked Chick

That's basically all I have to say for today. First day of art class, never sketched before, and what do they have us sketch? A naked model. Très awkward, but now I am more cultured. Here's a couple of pics of Aix. The first one is  looking at the fountain from the main street Cours Mirabeau t The next is he fountain in le Routonde. Very famous.. More will follow ...once I take them. 

Le Mistral

So there's this crazy wind in the south of France called the Mistral. It is an "atmospheric phenomenon" that happens in the winter and spring. It's this cold wind that blows insanely hard, knocking everything over and wrecking havoc. Don't even think about eating outside, your plate will blow into your lap. This guy I was sitting with, his wine blew out of his glass, all over his shirt. The locals claim it has this maddening effect. Just before the Mistral arrives, everyone gets depressed, then during the Mistral everyone has a headache and is cranky. It also makes the children act crazy too....Thalia has been extra hyper. It's also supposed to be very tiring. That I believe. I have been insanely tired. But the good thing about the Mistral is it makes the sky crazy clear, and a wonderful blue.

London, Gingers, and Aix is Awesome

Tower Bridge, with typical cloudy London weather

My host Louis and his sister Sara. We are out celebrating her birthday!
Classic black London taxi in Picadilly Circus


Ok, I was a bit pressed for time in London, so I was unable to update. Therefore, this may be a long one...I'll try to keep it condensed.

Right, so London was AMAZING. Pretty sure it's one of my favorite cities now. My hosts were great. They showed me around, fed me English things like Bangers and Mash, and we drank loads of tea (the British really do like their tea, that isn't a lie). We saw the Tower Bridge, Picadilly Circus, and some beefeaters. Coolest thing we did was see Cirqu du Soleil at the Royal Albert Hall( Cirque show Varekai). The show was incredible and the Hall was something totally royal.I even got to see the royal box with a bunch of royally posh people sitting in it.

So the funniest thing I think I have ever heard, was the British dislike for redheads, or as they say "gingers". They seriously look down on people with red hair! This is totally beyond me, and when I asked why, they just said, because "being ginger is just downright awful". (Ginger Kids South Park episode)They also dislike the welsh quite a bit, they call them "sheep shaggers", which i also find really funny. Oh those crazy Brits and their random prejudices.... I can't wait to see them again in May!

So now for Aix. After hauling my luggage across London (pretty much the least amount of fun I have ever had in my life), I arrived and Gatwick and flew into Marseille. Some old guy put us on a bus, which dropped us off somewhere in Aix, where I was finally met by my family. Oh man, my luck was on target when it came to families. I am pretty sure I got the best one. They are sooo nice, Mr. Trajbert and Mme. Brunet. They are from Paris and are professors at the Université; Mme. Brunet is also an amazing artist. They have a 7 yr old daughter who is super cute. We picked her up from a birthday party today, that was at the house of these British people who own a vineyard. That was really nice. It looked like your typical French vineyard from the films! Oh, and to complete the family, there are two really pretty gray cats.

Ma famille lives in this ridiculously nice flat that was built in the 16th century, and is a two minute walk to my school! I have my own room and bath which is also really nice. My room is painted hot pink and light pink, which of course I totally love! Also, once again I will have my beloved european pillows I loved so much from Germany. I think I am going to have to buy one and bring it home. They're basically just a large square pillow, but the feathers they are stuffed with are so soft. The bath, however, will take some getting used too. It's a tub with a spray hose thing. I haven't taken a bath in 6 years, so we'll see how it goes...

We had dinner tonight, and boy is it really an event. First we have our aperitif. Which is some sort of alcoholic drink and pretzels. Next is the appetizer, bread with some sort of spread. Tonight it was some sort of crazy fish pâté, very good stuff. Then is the main course, we had boulgaksjfics (no idea how to spell it), it is some sort of french ragù dish, which is basically a beef stew with potatoes and carots slowly cooked for a long time. Then you eat your salad, which is just lettuce with an oil dressing, and I like it, because there are no tomatoes. Next, is the bread and cheese platter. Now what are the odds, I am pretty sure I find the only French family in France where the dad and daughter do not like cheese, so I was not forced to eat the cheese!! They completely understood if I did not like it, but I tried it anyways...and found out I still do not like cheese. And FINALLY, there is dessert, which is either yogurt or fruit. This all takes about two-three hours to complete. French dining is awesome.

I am still getting used to the time change, so I am awake at 6 am. Hopefully I will get sorted out soon.

Luckily ma famille is really modern, unlike some of the families in Aix, so once again I lucked out, and will be one of the students with constant internet access!! Therefore I'm sure there will be constant updates about my Adventures in Aix!

My pink room in Aix , and my bath/hose thing

Preparations

Like any one who reads this actually cares about my preparations, but this post is really only a test, be it that I have no idea what I'm doing, I'm still kind of confused what a blog is, and I want to see if it works..
So for anyone who doesn't know, I'm moving to Aix-En-Provence, France (featured on the bottom right) for the semester....and I'm totally excited!! My friend who I am staying with in London, before I reach Aix, sent an itinerary of activities we will be doing while I'm there and it sounds awesome. We're going to see Buckingham Palace, St.Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben & Parliament ( featured on the upper right) , and other touristy things. Possibly see a show at the Royal Albert Hall (according to my friend, it's very English).
I started packing today, because my parents are tired of my crap being in their house, so I have to move it to a storage unit. However, this packing business is hard. Trying to narrow down the wardrobe, especially the shoe wardrobe, is a seemingly impossible task.
So in classic Lauren fashion, my visa appointment is on the 10th, which is 2 days before I leave, ...everything better work out alright! Other than that, I'm pretty much set, and the countdown continues. 2 more weeks!!