[A] Week one in Aix

I have officially settled into what will be my home for the next 6 weeks. Aix en Provence is a spectacular town, bursting wiht life and culture. Adjoining our street, Rue Mejanes, is a square formally known as Place de le Madeleine and known locally as Place de la Courier, called so for the post office on the side opposite my apartment. This small square functions as a local farmers market seven days a week, with larger markets sprawling across the town on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The markets are well priced and naturally all local, and a few times now I have constructed meals using only these fresh ingredients. The market is open every day until about 12:30.

After that, a small collection of cafés spreads into the square and sets up differently colored awnings and umbrellas under which I have taken to enjoying my afternoon coffee with my kindle and the lively square. These afternoons are much cheaper here in the center of the old town than in the new and tourist-inclined 20th century center. I find it easy to manage my food budget accordingly.

The walk to class is 10 minutes at a stroll, 6 in a hurry. The center is connected to the building of the largest collection of Cezanne's artwork in the world (Cezanne lived for much of his life in Aix), which in turn is connected to a church that celebrates is 760th anniversary in August. That is almost unfathomable to me.

My French is coming along well. I managed to learn enough in the first 3 days to bypass 102 and move straight to intermediate, 103. This was undoubtedly greatly facilitated by my knowledge of other romance languages' grammar. I am the only student in 103, and I have two teachers, Madame Iannone, who focuses on grammar and spelling, and Mademoiselle Delaveaux, who works with me for speaking and reading. This is clearly an unusually lucky situation, as it seems I now have two private tutors. My first day of class consisted of a pre-test with Madame Iannone and subsequent construction of the coursework, and a trip with Mademoiselle Delaveaux to the bookstore to find a project we would work through together (we chose Maupassant's Les contes de la Bécasse) and a brief spell at a café to chat. This is definitely more fun than school, yet I have definitely learned more here in a week than in any other in my life.

I have class only three days a week- Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Wednesdays are reserved for group excursions. On the weekends Brian and I plan to travel throughout the region. This weekend we are staying two nights in Briançon.

Au revoir,
A