I am still in Aix (for less than 24 more hours), and I am still loving it! The weather has been beautiful... warm temperatures and lots and lots of sun! I definitely don't want to leave, and Veronique has already said that she is going to tie me up so that I can't leave.
Let's see... what all have I done this week...
Monday, I visited the brand new shopping center in Aix. It's really nice! There's an H&M, Zara, Fnac, and a bunch of other cool shops. It would have been really nice to have that around when I was down in Aix. I bought a winter jacket at H&M that will hopefully be warm enough for Chauny once the temperature really drops.
Tuesday, I went to Marseille to visit with another assistant while she was down south. April and I wandered around Marseille a bit. Okay, not really wander, but we got lunch and went into some stores. I bought a new Eeyore at the Disney Store. He cost way too much with the stupid exchange rate, but I don't care, I haven't bought a new Eeyore in a longtime! It was also really nice to hang out with April. It's fun to meet other assistants and hopefully we will meet up again here in France and maybe do some traveling.
Wednesday, first off, I found out I was paid! Yay euros!! And Sarah (a friend from BW) came to Aix. It was so nice seeing and talking to someone from home, and even nicer being able to talk to someone who is going through some of the same things as myself at the moment. We went to Cafe des Negociants (the cafe we went to each week with CEA). The one guy who works there still remembers us! I walked by the place everyday so I would always see him, and he's always say "coucou" (informal hi). Well, Sarah and I were sitting outside at the cafe, and he saw me, smiled, and said "coucou". It made my day! Afterward, we wandered around Aix for awhile, did some shopping, and then decided to go to Tapas Cafe where we both went a lot while we studied in Aix. We had some sangria and a free tapas (yay for Happy Hour!). Definitely a good day.
Thursday, I went to Marseille so that Sarah could show me the nice side of Marseille. Her mission was to make me fall in love with the city, which I think worked. We saw some churches (blanking on the names at the moment), had lunch along the Vieux Port, road the new tramway, and went up to Le Pharo (sp?) that overlooks the Mediterranean. The best thing that Sarah took me to was Palais Longchamps. It's so cool looking and very random to see something like it in the middle of Marseille. You'll see for yourself once I upload the pictures.
Friday, I just wandered around Aix by myself. I went to Parc Jourdain and had lunch and read my book by one of the fountains. It was a peaceful and relaxing day.
Saturday, Veronique, her friend Nicole, and I went into town together. We had coffee along the Cours Mirabeau, and went to the new shopping center. It was a great day. I never went into town with Vero last year, so it was definitely a fun experience. And the two of them in a store together is pretty much entertainment in itself. That evening, Vero made her amazing couscous dish, so we all had that for dinner. Then, we headed out to Marseille to go out dancing. We got lost more than once on the way to the place and kept having to stop to ask for directions. But we made it there! It was a good time! The crowd was a little older (obviously), but Vero and Nicole took good care of me. Nicole had a little issue with a creepy guy (I even tried to save her from him by grabbing her hands and making her dance with me), but I won't go into that here. It's funny in retrospect though.
Sunday... well, we got back from Marseille early Sunday morning. We slept in late and then Nicole came over for lunch of couscous. After lunch, we all took naps... well, I managed to watch a dubbed episode of Ghost Whisperer before passing out. Later, the three of us hung out in Vero's bed eating snacks and watching bad French television. A nice relaxing evening! That's also when the talk about how to keep me in Aix came up. They both wish that I was placed down here... as do I. I thought I was going to cry... and I probably will be bawling like a baby when I leave here tomorrow. I don't want to go.
Today, I wandered around Aix for awhile before coming here to the CEA office. I bought a few things that I need that I can't find in Chauny.
But yeah, I leave tomorrow. I don't want to have to get back on a train and go back to small cold dreary Chauny, but I must... unfortunately. Every evening, I have had a good meal and talked with Veronique. I've missed that so so much. It's also been nice being able to see and talk to Sarah while being here. I have a feeling that I'll just be counting down the days until I return to Aix, which hopefully won't be too long. In the meantime, I'll just have to call and text Vero. Nicole also took my information because she wants to stay in touch with me.
I'll upload pictures and such soon. I didn't really take any in Aix though... I have enough from my time of studying abroad.
No comments:
Post a Comment