Le joie de vivre d'aix

Le joie de vivre d'aix
I arrived in Aix on September 5th. My plane landed in Marseille around 930 and we were waiting for our bags, which took about 30mins-45mins. I was totally okay with this but there were other form my plane waiting around in much anticipation to get out of the airport. I, having traveled quite a bit in my life, was very patient with this process despite the fact I had a purse, three backpacks and a regular suitcase. (Kind of a pain in the ass).

After the luggage arrived, I walked out to find two women rambling in French with a sign that said, "Institute for American Universities". Surrounding her were some of my fellow classmates with looks of great, err, joy, to be waiting for the others to collect their things and then follow suit to where they were situated. The first thing I heard, "Bonjour, you look very tired"... nicely put, I looked like ASS from traveling... plus a few nights of little to no sleep. (I take after my mother. When I worry about something, I think about it all night long... it's not always so favorable.) We sat for a while and once a few others arrived our group was complete.

First curve ball thrown at a few of us starts here. A small group of about 7 of us had to get onto a bus to Aix because some of our families didn't have cars, or like mine, just opted to meet us at "Gare Routiere". Once we arrived just outside the center of Aix, a small Vietnamese lady came walking over carrying piece of paper with my name in capital letters and my school, "KATHERINE BARKO, MARCHUTZ SCHOOL". Kind of funny. I was the first to be picked up when in my head I was dreading being stuck at the Gare Routiere for a long time. I followed this small woman, who would be my host "mother" for the next few months, Jade, to find a man of equal size with an untamed head of hair. Jacob me parle, "Bonjour, Katherine. Bienevue!!" ::Bissous:: (Hello, Katherine. Welcome. ::Kisses both cheeks::). Their petite frames were well paired with their car. A small Peugot convertible with limited space. I felt as if I were a giant around the pair. We arrived at 32 cours de Trinite and go into their apartment building.

I walked up the stairs to find a young man, their son, Alexi, awaiting with a great big smile to help with my luggage. He then showed me to my room and Jade explained the obvious and I started to unpack. Jade made this WONDERFUL pot (when I say pot, I mean about the equivalent of one cup american) of Turkish coffee. Because it was a special occasion they broke out all of stops. Jade cook a very lovely lunch and I experienced the quirks and queries I'd always had about the French meals. SO MUCH CHEESE. Mom, you were right. Jacob explained to me that in all French paintings you will see a baguette and some Camembert. (Kind of like Brie). The two are some of what France is best known for.

Getting to know them a little better I found out that Jade is a college Professor hailing from Vietnam, but I've never heard someone speak such perfect French. She teaches at Le Universite de Provence. (Universite de Provence hosts students from all over the world who come to live in Marseille, Aix and other areas of Provence.) Jacob is the a-typical artist in France. He came from a very poor background but through his art and his expression has been able to make a life for himself and his family. Jade and Jacob are both very, very interesting people. I've come to like them very much from the short amount of time I've been here. I enjoy this genial side of the southern French. Their family welcomed me so nicely and I truly feel like I'm at home (not real home mom) but that it's a good "home" for my time here.

After I took a small nap on Saturday, Jade, Jacob and Alexi walked me through Aix. There is an old part of Aix and a new part. I kind of compared it a little bit to London. It would kind of be like if you were at Covent Garden market place vs. walking through Bluewater. it was cool to see the drastic differences. Apart of scenery I was in for a real treat. They took me to a "concourse" or competition for young international pianists. Being as jet lagged as I was, I tried to take it all in as much as I could but still I was absolutely wiped from what was going on. By the 5th performer I was about ready to pass out. The music was beautiful but was just not the appropriate time to listen to it. It was a nice gesture of them though. From what I hear from other students, I did a whole hell of a lot more then some through the weekend.

Sunday came around and I was able to sleep in a bit. Jade made me a great breakfast. I didn't realize how soon we would be going to their friends’ house for lunch so I ate a big breakfast like I normally would. Bad idea. We walked around for about 2 hours, saw my school and various other places of interest in Aix. (more getting to know the city, which for me is pretty easy to do, thankfully.) After walking for about two hours, we arrived at Chez Marienne et son Mari. A vast difference in the size of living between chez nous (our house) and chez leurs (theirs). The couple was wonderfully accepting of the fact that I speak very little French yet my comprehension is fairly good. Same with Jacob and Jade.

We had a delicious starting course with finely chopped olives, green and black(mind, I HATE olives), a roasted tomato salad, a chickpea salad, lupine beans, bread and champagne. everything was seriously delicious. The second course came about 40 mins later. Chicken, asparagus baked with eggs, salad and more bread. The final was the cheese course-- with plenty of different kinds. I had a very mild orange cheese that I really liked but can't remember the name. A funny thing that happened was they were named from which animal each cheese was made. They kept saying "Mutton, mutton" (mooton, mooton) I kept thinking 'mutton chops mutton chops... I can't remember what they are!" Thankfully Jades intelligence helped me out and she said lamb. I had the lame of excuse of being a vegetarian.

I was absolutely full by the time dessert rolled around. I had to be back at the school around 430 for an open house, but I didn't make it in time. So I stayed in the Place d'universite, just up the road from 2bis rue du bon pasteur, the aix center, and I watched young skateboarders film awesome lines. It was cool to see that the sport is over here too!! How I love the skateboarders... hahha, guilty as charged.

I went home a little later and ate dinner with Alexi and shortly following Jade and Jacob went to a friend’s house for dinner. I passed out pretty early, but woke up at 3am and couldn't go back to sleep. I'm paying for it now!

This morning I woke up and got ready for school. Then went out and Jade prepared my breakfast... "Dis-moi, tu veux une oeuf? deux oeufs? Haricots vert? ou haricots simple?" (tell me do you want one egg, two eggs? green beans? or beans?) I chose two eggs and have no idea why she was offering me beans in the morning. She said something about "une petite dejeuner l'anglais" (english breakfast) but don't ever remember experiencing beans in the morning. She went into Alexi's room to do some work whilst Jacob slept because he, too, couldn't sleep the night before because of his brase-mal. (bad arm) I tried listening to NPR online but realized it wasn't anything new because it was the evening at home and didn't reboot until 9EST. So I opted to listen to BBC online. Around 830 I finished getting ready and walked to class.

I was very nervous about going because it was a totally different setting but once I got there I felt a little bit at ease. There were copious amounts of speakers, ideas, rules, papers, observations etc, so on and so forth. That part of the morning was kind of brutal. Lunch time I just walked around by myself because I still wasn't comfortable in walking up to a bunch of typical american girls, the kind I kind of wanted to get away from, and introduce myself. So I did my own thing, nothing new. Once we broke into smaller groups, the Marchutz students had a meeting with Allan, one of our two main professors. A really cool dude from North Carolina. We talked and socialized while getting stuff taken care of at the same time, the way a real art group should operate. I'm really looking forward to getting to know the school and some of the students better. I met some very nice ones from my class, which made me feel content with being there... put me a little more at ease.

We had a few more sessions, A-Z with Margaux and friends. It was really just Margaux's adorable son and friend who are "les jeuns aixois" (young people of aix) telling us more about the social aspects of the city. (movie, shopping, bars, excursions in Marseille, music et al). Our final program of the day was a tour of Aix. It was informative but everyone was very tired from all the travel and changes going around. We were dismissed and I headed to Monoprix, which is the place where you can get pretty much anything... the department store, if you will, in Aix. I got some soap, shampoo and razors. Just because I'm France doesn’t meant I can't shave my legs... it's actually starting to bug me that they're super hairy... Yeah, TMI. Sorry.

I went back home and talked to my dad via iChat which was awesome and then listened to some music and chilled out before dinner. Alexi had a friend here, Josef, who really, is his uncle. (Alexi's sister, is his Josef's mother, who is Jacob's daughter from a different mother). It was a bit confusing when I was trying to figure it out from French to english... but eventually got it. We had PASTA PESTO (it was a sign that Kelz, my roommate, should've been here bc I wrote a big long thing on her fb wall today) broccoli, salad, different vegetables, bread, cheese, water, and cauliflower. I love the variety on every table. I also love that they are so accepting of my eating habits and will cater to them. They're such a wonderful family and so far I'm enjoying my time so much.

Jacob returned home when I was finishing dinner and he sat down and we chatted a while. We got to talking about music. I asked if he liked any Jazz or Blues and he said he absolutely loved it. He showed me his Jazz collection and introduced me Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. We sat in the living room and just enjoyed the simple sounds coming from the speakers and he walked in with little cheri glasses and a green glazed bottle from Asia. He explained that it was a special liquor from Vietnam. After he poured me a small portion he kept saying 'friends' but with his thick French accent, it was hard for me to decipher but once I did, it was great moment. The "A-HA!" I've been waiting for. I belong here, with these people and in this group. To further this new bond, he saw that I, like him, find leaves and put them in my notebook. He then said "tu est ma soeur" (you are my sister). It was a great feeling to know that I have the connection with the people who have so graciously let me live in their home.

I have a feeling this adventure is just getting started.... More later!