Hayley_en_Provence's Xanga

Pictures Post

Sat, 31 May 2008 17:48:34 GMT

Eiffel Tower:

Vatican

St. Paul's Cathedral

View from the Spanish Steps

In front of the Colosseum

Carrie & Jeff came to visit!

We had lots of picnics in the park

Jeff & Jane!

Carrie on the mountain:

Lovely dorm shot:

The Rotonde!

Provence-ness:

Friday, May 16, 2008

Fri, 16 May 2008 15:31:41 GMT

Yes, yes, I realize that it's been over a month since I've updated. So, here you go.

I've been to the Netherlands, Morocco, Paris, and Rome since my last entry.

Morocco was amazing (we stayed in Marrakech) - gorgeous & the exchange rate was great - about 10 dirham to every euro (and you can eat really nice meals from 25-50 dirham). We each got food poisoning once, but, other than that (and the constant cat-calling), everything went smoothly. In fact, I got to speak more French there than I usually do in Aix - although I left the haggling to Amy.

Place Jemaa-el-Fna : the main square inside the walls of the city - this is where all the big restaurants are and where everything takes place:

Place Jemaa-al-Fna : chaos at night - lots of dancing/music/general insanity:

A view of the Place from a restaurant at night:

Our GORGEOUS hostel rooms!

Every night in the Place, hundreds of tables and chairs were set up with huge tables of amazing food like this being served for just a couple bucks. Delicious.

Jardins Majorelles - the one day that Amy and I ventured outside of the walls :

Camels!

The one day that we decided to be chumps and take a ride on the tour bus :

I blended right in... if only I wasn't so white and freakishly tall...

View from our hostel's terrace. Sigh. Gorgeous.

More random pictures coming up later!

Monday, April 07, 2008

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:30:39 GMT

It's been a while.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend, Manny, who's studying abroad in Athens, came to visit me, and we went to Paris!

Some pictures:

Louvre

Eiffel Tower at night

Eiffel Tower during the day (we had a lot of Eiffel pics)

Lunch (we ate a LOT of bread and cheese...)

Stephanie, Amy, and I also went to Amsterdam this past weekend, but I don't have any pictures yet - we were only there a few days, but we got to see a lot of the city - it was gorgeous. And, tomorrow, Amy and I are heading out to Morocco. We'll be there for 8 days, leave from there for Paris for a couple days, from there go to Rome, and then come back to Aix, where I will have a paper and an exam the first week back... Busy month.

Oh! And I'm registered for next semester! Here's the plan:
- Honors French thesis
- Writing tutorial
- English modern poetry class
- Spanish231
- A romance linguistic class
(and maybe another French class if I can fit it in)

That's about it. More pictures at the end of April!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 19:07:09 GMT

As college students in the United States are busy taking mid-terms, this week I finally received my grades for first semester:

Theatre: A-
20th-century lit: B+
Linguistics: A
Provencal: A

It's actually almost disappointing that our grades don't transfer.

Anyway, goodbye first semester! We've had about 4 weeks of 2nd semester, and here's what I'm taking:

Provencal - Etude de textes: We basically translate a bunch of Provencal works for two hours and then study grammar for an hour. Really, really great class.
Baroque lit class: Self-explanatory.
18th-century theatre class: Reading Marivaux, Diderot, etc.
Anthopology of Provence: "Wait, an anthropology class?! Why are you taking an anthropology class? You love literature! You understand literature!" I know, I know! Okay, let me explain. For the first few weeks of the semester, I went to about 20 hrs. of class every week, trying to find the perfect schedule. I really, really loved my first 3 classes, but just didn't find a 4th that 'felt right.' We received an e-mail about the drop/add deadline for classes (last Friday, the 7th). So I went into the Bureau that day to explain my problem. I was then told that it didn't matter that I hadn't found a class - and that I needed to choose one by 5:00 p.m. So, anyway, I am officially registered for Anthropology of Provence without actually having gone ever. And I'll be missing it again this week, because...

I'm going to Paris! My friend Manny, who's studying in Greece, is coming here on Wednesday. I'll show him the highlights of Aix (fountains, fashion mullets), and then we'll be leaving for Paris from Thurs-Sat. Yay.

Last weekend the Program went to Arles (Vincent Van Gogh's abode - sidenote: French people pronounce Van Gogh "Van-GOG" [like 'goggle]. It's weird). We saw a lot of old things. Roman stuff. Amphitheatres, etc. Nothing too terribly exciting.

Well, how's that for an update? Oh, and Michigan courses are now online, so I will now be obsessing about Fall courses for the remainder of this school year. Hooray!

2000 year-old bridge (Pont du Gard):

Baobab tree!
(Okay, just kidding it's an olive tree)

Actual baobab tree (as represented in Le Petit Prince):

I'm a nerd, I know. Whatever. I like books.

Got my hair did.

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 20:53:52 GMT

This is an awful picture, but it's one of only a few that I have. Check out the new bangz:
(That's Stephanie next to me)

Here's a better one I tried to take with the webcam:

You like???!

Oh, and classes and all that stuff is fine. More on that later.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:52:02 GMT

It's been a while.

Well, the bronchitis is gone. My ears are pretty much cleared up. It's absolutely gorgeous here... it's too hot for coats, but too awkward to not wear a coat since it's February. It'd odd.

This morning from 8 a.m. til noon I had my 20th century lit exam - 4 full hours of writing about Proust. It sounds horrible, but it was actually really fun. I don't know, I have a thing for Proust.

It was also the first day of the 2nd semester. I went to this Provencal class, which seems really fun, and a class on Baroque-ness... lots of reading, but it'll still be fun. Tomorrow I have a French syntax (paaAArty) class from 8 til 11 a.m. Wednesday I'm going to a literature and photography class and then have to write my dissertation for my theatre class this semester. Overlapping semesters are obnoxious.

On the plus side, we're going to Portugal on Friday! A much-needed vacation after a full week of class.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 16:42:17 GMT

Well, I finally went to the doctor last week, and it turns out that I had bronchitis, the flu, and ear infections in both of my ears. So, he stocked me up with pills, and I secluded myself in my room for a few days. I'm feeling better now - I still have a cough and am pretty congested, but I don't feel in pain or anything, and I can tell that my body is doing better.

Yesterday, the Program went on a trip to this little town called St. Paul de Vence, which is pretty close to Nice (about 2 hrs. away). The town is really artsy - even the streets are mosaic, which is pretty cool. We went to a contemporary art museum, a Matisse chaple, and a little Picasso place (in Antibes). The sites were neat, but it was even more fun to scope out the new semester kids in the Program. And the weather was gorgeous - really sunny and in the 70s. I can't believe that it's January and almost beach weather in Provence.

I ended up getting a 15 on my Provencal exam, which translates to an A for Michigan, which is really exciting. I have my linguistics exam on Tuesday, so I'll be studying for that for the next couple of days. Stephanie, Amy, and I are also having a sleepover tonight, which will be really fun!

That's all for now! Bonne journee!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:50:38 GMT

Petit calendrier:

today - last day of classes
21 jan - Provencal exam
29 jan - linguistics exam
11 fev - 20th cent. lit. exam
15 fev - theatre paper due
15-25 fev - break
25 fev - 2nd semester starts

... and every day in between = vacation studying, of course.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:07:29 GMT

Update:

- It's been really rainy here like every day, which is a bummer and very un-France-like

- Classes:
   - Theatre: We only have a final paper to do, and it can only be (maximum) 8 pages typed, so... on one hand, I'm not at all worried, but, on the other, it's 100% of my grade in that class. Okay, I changed my mind - I am worried.
   - 20th century lit: We're going to have a 2-hr. in-class written exam. He's going to pick an excerpt from one of the books we've read, and we get to write about it for 2 hrs. Definitely scared for that one. (50% of my grade).
   - Linguistics: We have a written exam that has yet to be scheduled... we'll have an essay to write about the history of linguistics, a small section where we have to translate French words into API, and then a phonology question. Also 100% of my grade.
   - Provencal: Our teacher finally showed up in class last week (after being absent since... late November, I believe) and told us that we will have an exam... next Monday. It's an oral. We basically have to translate a Provencal extract into French, explain verb tenses, etc. and then there's a random question section. 100% of my grade.

So... these next few weeks are going to be GREAT. And not at all stressful, clearly.

- APA: Evidently all the new kids in our program (the ones who are staying for only a semester) are here. I haven't seen any of them, but there's a general consensus among us that hazing is a good idea. We'll see.

- Sickness: Pretty much everyone's sick. I've been sick for... ever (nearly). I went with Amy to the doctor's today, and she has pinkeye! (in BOTH of her eyes). We were going to re-celebrate my birthday here this weekend, but that's obviously going to have to wait.

- There's been some talk of manifestations/blockages at the school, but nothing as of yet. We shall see. But if this semester gets pushed back any further, I may go insane.

- 2 of my good friends are now on the same continent as me! Carrie is in Italy, and Manny is in Greece. I can't wait to see them!

Oh, and here's a picture of Amy and me from a few nights ago:

Hope everyone had a great holiday break!

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 19:13:11 GMT

I'm 21! Yay!

Here are some pictures from over the break :

^ Bart (at the house in Braunton)

^ Me, Mette

^ Buckingham Palace

^ Parliament

^ Greenwich Line

^ Big Ben

^ a picture of the crowd walking to the New Year's Eve fireworks along the Thames (there were about half a million people that came to see them!)