France, first findings...

Well, Lara told me (Matthew) that we should jointly work on a blog, that way it will be more likely to get done. So far a week has past and I believe this is the first blog...That doesn't bode well. So, enjoy this post because it might be the only post you get for awhile.

The real reason I am blogging right now is becuase my mother told me that she is reading the blog of someone she doesn't even know. So Mom this post is for you, I won't make any promises about the future, but we'll see.

When I first arrived at the Marseille airport and stepped out onto the damp runway pavement, I was slightly sleep deprived and excited beyond belief. Not even five shots of espresso could've made me that euphoric...Ok, maybe that is an exxageration, but I think you get the picture. Well, as I made my way to the inside of the airport I said aloud "Vive La France!" I think I got a few funny looks, but I covered very nicely by beginning to hum the French national anthem. Unfortunately I only know the first five seconds of the piece, which sort of blew that cover. Thankfully, I arrived at the airport baggage claim to anxiously await my bag. I was a bit nervous that it might have dissapeared, or that I would get an empty bag. But, after a few minutes of waiting, I saw my bag and after retrieving it from the convevyor belt I found that it still had all of my belongings.

Well, a couple of other CEA students and I made our way to the airport exit, wondering what to expect in the airport lobby for our "airport pickoup." It turned out to be a very nice Lady named Karen (I'm pretty sure that was her name) and a student who had been there last semester and was continuing their studies again this semester. All the CEA students, minus Lara, who had missed her connecting flight,loaded our stuff into an old bus and began our trip to our homestays. The bus driver was very french, and kept trying to tell Karen which way to go, though Karen had been doing this job for over 7 years. This led to some frustration, but, after some arguments, all of us made it to our homestays. When the bus arrived at mine I was a bit nervous. I had to walk down a dirt road, to a house that was out of sight. It was a little sketchy, but I nerved myself and started another leg of my french journey.

When the home finally came into view, I was very pleasantly surprised. It was a beautiful french home, that looked like it came from the pages of a fairytale. Well, I knocked on the door and was greeted by the father of the family, Christian. He was very kind and introduced me to his daughter Manon, who was home for lunch from school. Christian went back to work, he has a little study just off of the laundry room and so I talked to Manon while she ate her food. We talked in a mixture of french and english, until she finished her food. She then got all of her stuff together, said goodbye and booked it out of the door. Well I was left alone for awhile, so I showered and wrote in my journal a bit. Christian then came up to my room (which has a poster of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the Simpsons in it)and asked if I was hungry. I replied that I could eat something, trying to hide the fact that I was starving.

I think that either Christian saw through my politeness, or he has a lot of experience with students who have flow, becuase he made up a little feast. We had fried eggs, shredded carrots with olive oil and balsanic vinegrette, smoked ham and red wine. It was fantastic! We then had some tea and some biscuits, which were equally amazing. Christian then returned to work and I returned to my room, where I very promptly fell asleep. I awoke in time to get ready for the "happy hour" at a local café. Christian very kindly offered to drive me there and when we arrived I ordered a pastis, which is a local drink that tastes very much like black licorish (in other words it wasn't exactly my thing).

Well, I mingled with the other CEA students, though most of us were pretty tired from the jet lag phenomenon. Lara arrived there around eight pm, and I was very glad to see a familiar face. She had been traveling for over 24 hours, and understandably was not really up for visiting. We left the café and made our way back to the house. We had our first dinner with the family, which consisted of chicken, roasted potatoes, salad and wine. It was absolutely fantastic...Though, the longer I am here the more I realize all their food is amazing (that will pobably be proved wrong at some point, I'll make sure to let you know when that happens). Well, we visited for awhile after dinner, and then Lara was shown her room, while I made my way to my room. I feel asleep very quickly and slept soundly, though my mind wondered what the co,ing week would hold....