Carte Treize, C'est la Vie, and Crêpes

Cathedrale de Saint-Sauveur

Baptistry of Saint-Sauveur dating from 500 AD

Baptistry of Saint-Sauveur

Altar at Saint-Sauveur

Saint-Sauveur

Exposed Wall Fresco dating back to 500 AD...very very cool in real life

Angela and I at crepe night!

Manon and Megan at crepe night!

All of us!

My delicious nutella mousse, custard, and vanilla ice cream crepe!

Me with my delicious crepe! :)

Today was yet another long day in Aix-en-Provence.  Starting out this morning at 8 AM, I showered and got ready (in a sleepy stupor) to meet Megan at 9.  We didn’t end up meeting until about 9:30 or so but I think that’s going to be normal for us. :)  We always seem to meet a little later than we’d planned.  Anyway we went to the front office and finally got my attestation de logement.  Then we headed to the bank to get my french bank account started.  Surprisingly it was closed. On Monday morning.  Go figure. 

After the bank fiasco, we decided that we could go visit Mme Boniface so that I could finally meet her.  Mme Boniface is the ISEP coordinator for Université Paul Cézanne.  She’s British but studied abroad in Aix when she was in college and just stayed here.  She’s such a super nice woman and she gave me more utensils for my room.  Originally she had given me a duvet, a plate, a cup, a mug, a bowl, 2 spoons, a fork, a knife, toilet paper and a dish scrubber.  Today she gave me a saucepan, a skillet, a tea strainer (yes!), an awesome kitchen knife, a cutting board, a colander, and a second set of sheets.  Mme Boniface is such an awesome person that she even gave me an electric tea kettle!!! So I’ve been brewing tea in my room all day.  :)  Granted all of these things are hand-me-downs from past ISEP students but it’s just so nice to not have to buy these things.  Searching for and buying these things would have caused me an expensive headache and right now I’m just so happy to have finally met Mme Boniface.  :)

After our visit with Mme Boniface, we headed back to Cuques for lunch.  Then around 12:30 we went to the gare routiere to get bus passes.  I got a bus pass for the local buses in Aix-en-Provence and then I got a pass that will allow me to visit towns in Provence like Marseille, Cassis, La Ciotat, Arles and many more for just a euro! :)  Which is a great price and will be invaluable because I can’t wait to visit all of these amazing places.  

Right after getting our bus passes, I headed to the IEP building for a class.  Here at the IEP, they have an interesting way of enrolling in classes.  Students take whatever classes they want and they can drop or add any class.  On February 7th, the student has to let the institute know what classes he or she has been taking since the beginning of the semester.  So this class I was interested in was a class I could take but I didn’t have to.  It was a class on Myths, Rites, and Representations and I wasn’t super invested in it but I wanted to check it out just in case.  I found the room number online and headed to the room for the class to start at 2.  The frenchwoman professor came in and all of the French students came in and she just started spewing the fastest French I’ve ever heard in my life.  All of the students were furiously writing their notes and I just sat there numb.  Completely dumbfounded. I could understand a few words but actual sentences or ideas? Forget about it. After almost two hours of this, a young man came in and asked where the Myths, Rites, and Representations class was and it was then that I realized I wasn’t even in the right class.  All of that time I had been trying to understand this ridiculously fast French teacher and I didn’t even understand enough to know it was the wrong class.  C’est la vie. :)

After the class fiasco, I went to the cathedral across the street from the IEP building and it was unexplainable.  The church is called Cathédrale de Saint Sauveur and I fell in love with it the moment I walked inside.  The oldest parts of the cathedral were built in 500 AD and you can just feel the history as you walk through it.  I’m not sure yet what interests me about cathedrals but I just adore them.  Maybe it’s the old stones that hold the secrets of the centuries, or the overwhelming feeling of calm and peace, or the beauty of a community’s love for what it believes in, but I can’t help but loving them.  This one was especially small compared to others I’ve been in and it was also kind of a mish-mash of architecture but it was just beautiful.  It brought me peace and serenity when I had completely made a mess of my day and I know it will be a safe haven during my time here in Aix.

Later today, after talking with Morgan for awhile, I went out to dinner with Angela, Megan, and Manon.  We went to a crêperie in Aix called Le Patacrêpe for a girls night out. :) I got a potato, ham, and cheese crêpe and then for dessert, I got one with nutella mousse, custard, and vanilla ice cream.  Both were to die for and I loved the company as well.

Now that I’m back in my room and tying up all the loose knots on my facebook pictures and blog, I’m getting so super sleepy.  Which is really nice because I’ve only been experiencing that at 4 AM or so lately.  Gonna head to bed soon because tomorrow is a new day and hopefully I’ll find the right classroom and the right classes.  :) If not, I can always make a stop at my new favorite place in Aix.  Who knows, I might just make a stop anyway. :)