Castle Weekend!

Well, there are some pictures for you. 1st) is of the castle, it was huge. like 30 rooms. there were 41 of us who stayed there for the weekend, and everyone had a bed! i slept in the tower. 2nd) is of me in front of the largest Huguenot church in France. it is in Anduze. they made it in somewhat of a rebellion to the way cathedrals were being made at the time. 3rd) is the view from my castle window!! it was an awesome sight to see the sun come over the mountain to the left and burn off the fog that lays over the village below. 4th) is a huge cave about 10 of us hiked to. it is where the protestants had their secret meeting while being persecuted in the 17oo's. it was quite a hike straight up this mountain, with little to no real trail to follow. 500 people could easily fit in here. it was quite an amazing feeling standing in this place. 5th) is from the Musee du desert. this is one of the ways the Huguenots were torchered. it is in front of a list of of pastors who parished trying to further their values in religion. it was a great history lesson.

but i did have a blast on my castle weekend. we spent two nights there. it completely made me want to keep pressing towards my dream of one day owning a castle in France. Or maybe building one in america, and creating a small French-like village to rule over. lol. but it was a lot of fun. i think the best part might have been just being with families again. there were about 6 families on the trip, parents and kids, and then there were like another 15 university students. So i already knew most of the college age students, so i really focused my attention on the rest of the gang. It was great getting to talk to moms, and dads, and watch the little kids play. the atmosphere was always a happy one for the whole weekend. I felt like i was part of all the families.

and then we also went on the excursion to the cave. now that was interesting. there is no real path to this cave. so of coarse we got lost a bit on the way up. but i was actually the one to find the cave, it was a couple hundred feet (70 meters) from where everyone else was looking. so that was some good boy scout intuition at work. it was a really cool cave. and the acustics were amazing. some of the girls sang some old hymns for us. it was just a really cool thing to see.

i hope to get to visit the castle again in the spring. you really cant beat that experience for just 30 euros.

this week i hope to go and explore marseille a little bit for the first time. i need to get some clothes shopping done there too. Aix is about 4 times more expensive for everything than the rest of France. so wish me luck on that endevor. it is about time i start looking more French.

also i am planning on going to the coast some time this week. and hiking the calanques which make up the area between marseille and cassis. not all of it, but enough. they are finger-like cliffs that jet out and lead to some of the coolest beaches, with the bluest water on the limestone rocks. so hopefully these plans will come to fruition.

as always, i hope everything is well back in the USA, and i would love to hear from you!

sorry its been so long

well i have done a little bit since i last wrote you guys.

ok, so i left you off last after i climbed the mountain. ok, yeah that was a lot of fun. so on monday last week i had my classes. starting at 8 am. fun stuff. but my afternoon one thats 4 hours long is pretty fun. we just chat in french and learn some stuff along the way. after class i had the last of my small group sessions for the month. pretty good discusion.

well tuesday is nice in the fact that classes dont start til 12, but they go until 7. (i am currently writing this on a teusday, i do get one hour of break in between classes, but thats it for the day) so in my afternoon class we had a real interesting conversation. we talked about alcohol in france. yeah like where and how to get it. the good prices and even the slang terms that you can use to appear as if you are a local. lol. but after class was over i had a fun night lined up. me and a group of like 15 guys had a guys night out. we took over the top floor of a charwarma restaurant. ate and drank and just had a good time. and then we brought out the poker chips. and the y were nice chips too, reclaimed from a casino in aruba that had closed. there were eight of us man enough to throw in the 10 euros to start. i have to say it was one of the funnest times i had playing. and i held the high chip count for the majority. i was still in for the last play. but the other guy called my "all in" bluff, and he just barely beat me. it was a bunch of fun, but ultimately the whole pot had to be donated to the cost of the meal and drinks. but it was a good night.

wednesday i had a wine tasting to go to at night. wow was it a blast. we tried 7 wines from white to the darkest red. all in two hours. there were like 25 people there. and the set up of the night was really relaxed. we would learn a bit about wine, and then taste one for like 15 mins and just chat. then we would ask questions and learn a little more, before we started that next wine. just so you know, i am in the best region of France for rosé wine. and 2003 was like the best year so far, and right now we have shifted to an even year=good year of wine timeline. so don't buy an '07, get an '06 or '08. that is if it is from france. it was a lot of fun, and totally legal for me in France. i met a few more people, and thats always good too.

Thursday was another fun night. me and some friends gathered at a house outside of town. and that felt good all on its own, just to bee in a house for once, instead of an appartment or tiny dorm room. and the mom there cooked us all a very hearty and comforting potatoe soup. it was the bomb! and then we all watch "lady in the water" by m. night shamalan. most of us had never seen it. i thought it was good. it gave the girls a good scare a couple of times. which is always good for the guys they grab onto, wink. but yeah so that was a really fun and chill night. and i was able to get a ride all the way back to my dorm, which totally beats the usual 20 min walk from down town late at night.

i had a pretty relaxing weekend after my 8am friday class was over. just took care of some errands, like going to the bank, and getting some groceries.

on Sunday i went to a movie in a French theater for the first time. they are pretty nice, but a lot less leg room. actually it was like the dollar theater but without all the dirt and sticky floors and sketchy people. it was me and 2 girls. one of which is single.lol. but yeah i made the mistake of letting them choose the movie. a total chick flick. "vicky christina barcelone". its a new woody allen movie. it was in english, and had french subtitles. so we got to learn some french while we watched. after the movie me and one of the girls , laura, the single one, just strolled around the town and explored some ares we had never been. it was nice. um, and then i had church and got to see some more friends.

ok so now i am back to monday. well i totally slept thru my 8 am class, but i think i might be dropping it anyways. my afternoon class, 4 hours long, was pretty good like always. and then it was time for a big dinner. it was American Breakfast Night!!! the best meal i have had in a while. me and 4 friends started cooking for the 15 others that would be showing up in an hour. we cooked; potatoes, bacon ( absolutely the hardest american thing to find in france), french toast, eggs. oh it was awesome. and we had freash cut fruit and syrup and oj. wow good night. after the dinner we all watched the latest 2 episodes of the office ( yes i am keeping up with this show, but its the only american thing i watch here) they were so funny, this is a good season.

so that should get you caught up to today. i might be frying some chicken with a couple friends tonight for dinner, so we will see how that goes. oh and this is our last week of school for a little bit. we get all of next week off for some crazy french holiday. awesome right? and i know for sure i will be spending a couple nights in a castle, and then i might go and explore some more of southern france; nice, cannes, ect...

well sorry this was so long, but as you can see i am still having a blst and staying busy. i hope all goes weel in the states. and p.s. what has happened to McCain, it looks like obama might take this thing.

wow. long week

well, the first week of classes is over. i have to say most of my teachers are pretty good. they aren't to bad to understand either. but it is REALLY REALLY tiring to listen and concentrate in French for hours and hours everyday. but i think it will get better as the year goes on. it feels good to finally be back in school, and actually learning stuff again. i am also meeting more people and that's good too.

so i finally got all my stuff with the bank done here. like getting my debit card (yay, no more international fines). and i deposited my first meal stipend check. i am still waiting to transfer all my US dollars, i am hoping the dollar will get a bit stronger still. i have already "made" almost 200 euros by waiting this long. and i am surprised at that. but soon.

i climbed the mountain again today. we took a bit of a different path to the top. and it was a beautiful day. i mean really perfect. i will try and put of pictures of me and the gang soon. we came down a different way, and actully ended up in a really cool spot. a huge damn. we crossed over the damn. and i got to look down the damn walls. and see the damn water. they were generating when we were there, so we could see the damn water spurting out of the damn holes in the bottom. it was really cool. i have never been to a big damn before. it was like hoover, but much smaller than that. but sill a few hundred feet high. i'll put up some damn pictures soon. (haha. just having some damn fun. like in vegas vacation)

well, i will try and write again next week. sometime soon, i hope.

the first day

well, today started really early!!! a 7am wake up call, i think that is a first since may. so i got ready, and was at the bus stop like 5 mins early, but when the bus showed up there was only room for 4 people. and even tho i was one of the first 4, i could not let the little girls who walked up miss it. So i walked to school. and it was a cold one this morning. i was definitely glad i gad on 2 shirts, a sweater, and my red winter jacket (which totally make me look like a foreigner here, i mean nobody really wears red). so i still was able to get to class a bit early.

So i sat down and met the other 14 students (yeah that is how big my class is all year). and the teacher (who is a very attractive french girl) started writing on the board. at first i thought it was a joke. was she really writing l'alphebet? you know A B C D E... yeah she was. we spent almost an hour learning letters, and then spelling words out loud. wow. so i guess this class will be easy!

after that i had 3 hours til my next class. i know a long break, right. well it was just perfect. i went back to the dorm and dropped off my jacket. check my blog for comments, and then my e-mail and such. and then i went to the cafeteria for a cheap lunch. met a friend there and ate. and then it was back to class.

i have got 4 hours of class in the afternoons on monday. all with the same professor. he's pretty cool. i can understand everything he says. i think i might be one of the more advanced in this class. it gave me some extra confidence. we went over some simple listening, speaking, and writing exercises. and we actually change rooms 3 times durring this class. its pretty neat. i feel like i am getting a good refreasher today. and it was not too hard for me, so that made me feel good. i think i should pass!!

so keep wishin me luck.

i got small groups tonight, which is what i am studying for now. but i am sure i might get some real homework sometime soon.

last day of summer

Today was my last day of summer, officially. Now, i did not make it to the mountain like i had planned. you want to know why? i stayed up until 2am waiting on my Skype appointment with my family. and they did not get on the internet til 2:45, and then skype didnt even work for them. so it was a total bust. but i got to facebook chat with them for a little while. After this i was pretty awake, instead of tired. and i did not get much sleep. so when 8:30 rolled around and i t was time to get up, I hit the snooze button a few too many times. Its ok tho. I have been up the mountian once, and i already have plans to do it again next week. so no harm done.

well my classes start tomorrow! yay. just kidding. but i am ready to start really learning the language here. and i will get to meet some new people, so it should be good. oh, and i have got a free student bus pass for this month, so that will make things easier! my two 8 am classes are on monday and friday. what a bummer. but it will keep me on my toes.

also, i just got offered an opportunity to spend a weekedn in a castle with some friends at the end of the month. that would be really cool. and for like only 30 euros. thats a cheap 2 and a half day trip. yeah, we get a week off here at the end of october. some sort of French holiday. (Toussaint). so that might be a lot of fun. i hope i can get my name on the list.

well, i will let you know how classes are going soon. wish me luck!!

passed the first test

OK. so i got put into a middle level group for this semester. that is right where i want to be, and i think it is where the majority of the students are. I wanted to let you know what classes i would be taking/offered this semester. each week I will take 12 hours of French language classes, 2 hours of French phonetics, and 6 hours of electives. This gives a total of 20 hours/credits for this semester. The electives i can choose from are as follows and are 2 hours each: Translation (i will probably take this), short stories of French lit, general lit, knowledge of Press (i want this too), French politics (maybe), and French business (i was thinking of this one too). So what do you think? looks like a un semester, right? well at least i will learn a whole bunch. and i have met some of the teachers and they are deffinitely here for the students, and they completely understand that we are all foriegners. so i think it will be good, well except that some of my classes start at 8 am acroos town. but for the most part they are after lunch, so itll be warmer!

Well i am going to be climbing the mountain again on sunday! should be fun. i will try and put up more pictures.

i hope america isn't boring you too much! lol. oh, and i see the $$ is getting stronger, what a relief

some pictures

ok. so i have got a photbucket site working for some pictures. but my internet is only strong enough late at night, so i am not sure how often i will put some up. i have got 100 up now. so check it out if you want

http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f178/caleb1326/france/

the first taste of school

Today we had our placement tests to decide what level of french classes we can take this year. It was at 10am, so i met up with a couple of friends and we walked there early in the morning. We got there with plenty of time to sit and have a nice cafe au lait (coffee with milk) and then we walked into the courtyard outside where the test would be. and there were like 80 other people out there waiting, and they were serving free coffee and biscuits (like a type of cookie). man that would have saved us each 3.50 euro. but anyways, we all find seats in the auditorium, and the speakers tell us what will be happening, and they did it in 4 languages (French, of course, Chinese, Japanese, and English). this was pretty cool to here. the test was like 15 pages, and actually not too bad. it covered everything from comprehension to grammar to listening and writing. mostly basic stuff i think, or at least my answers were pretty basic.

after the test, which took about 1h30, we had 3 hours to kill until we had to go back for an individual verbal test. so my friends and me went to a cafe on main street and got some food for an hour. i had a croque madame (bread with ham and cheese toasted on it and an egg sunny side up on top) very good! then we just walked the streets for the next hour or so, and even checked out a big cathedral, which i actually remember visiting in '06. so i t was a lot of fun for all of us to show each other the neat places we had found since we have been here.
the verbal test was only like for a few minutes each with one of the professors. they asked simple questions like about family, college, and life in aix so far. it wasn't too bad. i think i will be put in a middle level of classes, which sounds perfect. we get our results on Friday morning.

well Thursday i am turning in some paper work in the morning for my resident permit, and then doing laundry. in the evening i have an international student party to go to. there is supposed to be like 400 people. so it should be a good social. i am thinking of wearing a nice sports jacket. and after this party, i am going to a friends apartment in down town to watch the premiere of the Office! so it'll be a good night.

talk to y'all later