It's been a while since I posted last, mostly just because I've been really busy. Not that spending every afternoon on the beach is really taxing, but you know, it's still time consuming :]

I've been keeping up with class well. I still only have the french class every day from 9a-noon and recently signed up to take two other seminar courses while I'm here, which start in about 2 weeks. I'm taking an Art History class, where we take trips to different museums in the area, and a French Civilization course as well.

I spent last Sunday in Monaco, which was incredible. It was really beautiful, but honestly EVERYWHERE around here is beautiful. The picture on the left is my friend Renee and I while we were there. We saw the changing of the guards at the prince's palace, saw the Cathedral de Monaco where Grace Kelly's tomb is, and went to an awesome aquarium/oceanographic museum [where I sat in the first submarine ever made and got my picture taken with a little yellow submarine that looks exactly like Deep Search from "The Life Aquatic."] We also saw the Monte Carlo Casino, but I couldn't go in because I left my ID on the bus! I was told it looks just like any other casino, ha, but it's still cool. Afterwards we also went to a small town called Eze that had a really nice botanical garden on top of a giant hill, so we got some nice views from there as well.

For Valentine's day the company that I'm studying abroad through planned a big dinner for all of the other kids in the program with me. We got to go out to a really good restaurant and have a nice meal, which was really fun. Every time I eat out it makes me realize that the food we get at the college isn't really indicative of French cuisine. It's always interesting though, and makes me appreciate the restaurant dining experiences more!

The weather has been amazing since I got here, though today is a bit overcast and I think it's supposed to rain. It's nice to just bum around for a Saturday, though. Tomorrow we're going to the Carnival de Nice which is basically their version of Mardi Gras.

Despite all the exciting things I'm doing, I can't think of anything exciting to say! Below are a bunch of my pictures from around Cannes!

<3

J'aime le soleil!

The sun is out today and it is so warm. I spent the last few hours doing homework and relaxing outside on the little terrace area we have on campus. It has a few sun lounger type chairs and looks out onto the ocean and mountains. It's beautiful. And I've now officially gotten my first sunburn in France! haha just a bit of color on my face...hopefully a tan is in the cards for the coming months!

Today was another morning filled with french class from 9a-noon. I feel like I'm already succeeding in my class. We have a lot of discussions, and I've been able to make points and say things that I didn't expect myself to be able to say. I still make small mistakes and have a lot to learn, but I feel like by the end of the semester I'm going to be close to fluent.

Yesterday I visited a culinary school in the area with about 20 other students from AIFS. I'm going to be taking classes there once a week for 3 hours each time. The whole program lasts 7 weeks and only costs 140 euro, which isn't too expensive n the big scheme of things. We learn how to cook 5 course meals every week, and then we eat them for dinner when we are done! I'm hoping to learn a lot about french cuisine, and hopefully get some really good meals out of the deal as well :]

More to come later! <3

Ma nouvelle difficulte...

The wireless has been down, so the ability to post has been limited. I've discovered that the french keyboard that I'm using is slightly different than the ones we use in the states, but not so drastically different that you actively notice it, which has led me to a lot of typos! So that is the bug issue I am currently facing.

Today was my first day of class and it's really interesting. For the next 4 weeks or so I only have one class a day-- my french class. I took a placement test yesteray and placed in the middle of the intermediate section, which is exactly what I had been hoping for. My teacher, Annike, is really nice. We only speak french in the class and we have it from 9a to noon. I'm with other people I know, and it flew by really fast. I'm not the best in my class, but I'm also not the worst, which I am completely fine with. We have opportuinities to advance levels, too, so I'm looking forward to that.

I'm beginning to get settled in and feel comfortable here, though so much of it is different from home. For example, today for lunch at the college we had like a meat schmorgasboard with all different pork products... hot dogs, 2 kinds of sausages, some sort of pulled pork, and a hunk of bacon. It was good, it was just different!

The biggest problem I'm having right now is not being able to talk to people from home. I haven't gotten to talk to my mom since I've been here? though we do email back and forth. Hopefully the wireless will be back up soon so I can get into better contact with people. I hate feeling disconnected from my life at home.

That's all for now. <33

Le Premier Jour a Cannes!

I'm FINALLY here and it's GORGEOUS. We all keep saying how amazing it is. I've really never been anywhere like this before. The College is really old and quaint. It is tiny, but I think it's going to be really exciting. I'm sharing a double with a girl named Taylor and it's a decent size. Unfortunately we only have one outlet in the room and it's not even near our desks. So we've just been switching back and forth plugging in our laptops. We're also one of the only rooms to get wireless IN our room, so that's really convenient. Everyone else has been going out into the courtyard in order to get reception.

I've been meeting a lot of really nice people, so I'm optimistic about the semester. They're providing us with a lot of opportunities to get to know one another, which is helping, too. Aside from the few days we spent together in London, last nite we had a welcome drink all together and then most of us decided to go out to an Irish pub together [which was nice, because we could speak english! haha I think we're all easing in to the language change]. Every night we have a family style dinner, where there are a bunch of six person tables. I think everyone's basically decided to try to sit with different people every time so we can get to know everyone. It seems like most people are trying to make the most of thing and are really happy to be here, so it makes being so far from home a little bit easier.

at the top ar epictures from my bedroom. I haven't figured out formatting yet. sorry!

<3

Bon Voyage!

Today is the day that I FINALLY leave! AT 605p tonite I will be on a plane to London, where I will be spending the next 3 days. After that it's off to Cannes for the next 4 months! It's definitely hit me that this is happening, but I'm surprisingly calm.

I don't know if I could have said as much last nite during the 4+ hours I spent trying to jam my entire life into two notsobig suitcases. After a lot of editing, I am 97% done. I just have a little more to do this morning and I'll be set. I had planned to take pictures so I could finally get a bit of interest into these posts, but me looking frustrated out of my mind probably wouldn't have been the most attractive picture.

I'm on a group flight to London, which means there are 4 or 5 other people from my program who will be on my flight with me. I'm hoping that we'll be seated together, but I don't know the likelihood of that. One of them is another girl from Quinnipiac who I don't actually know, but maybe we'll recognize each other? It would just be nice to have someone else to go through the motions of the airport and finding our group with.

I've been eating my fair share of comfort food that I know I won't be able to have when I'm in France, like Dunkin Donuts haha. I think I'm imagining it being soooo vastly different from America, but I think that in actuality there will be a lot of similarities.

I'll post again once I'm in London, I hope! And I will be taking a lot of pictures, unlike my last trip...ha I promise! Miss you all!

Only 2 weeks...

...Until I leave for Cannes! It's wild to look back to the day I decided that Cannes is where I wanted to apply to study abroad and then only look 14 days into the future and see it all coming to fruition. It's finally hit me that yes, I really AM going, and I'm starting to get my little butt into gear.

Yesterday I braved the cold and slush and headed into Boston to pick up my visa. It's a lot less impressive than I was expecting it to be. I was thinking that it would be this big important document, but it's basically just a piece of paper that's been taped inside of my passport. But ultimately no complaints. As long as it gets me into the country, I don't care what it looks like!

Throughout the past week or so I've also started studying my French. I'm able to speak conversationally, but I want to be able to pass for a native eventually...though I don't know if that's likely! I have to take an entrance exam-- both written and oral-- which stresses me out a bit because I want to place in a high enough level of French to intern with the film festival, so fingers crossed for that!

I'll hopefully be updating this frequently with pictures and stories of my semester abroad. Oh, and as for the title of my blog...I don't care what anyone tells you, it's pronounced CAN, as in a can of soda. Just get a little nasal with it and you'll sound like a frenchman [or woman] in no time!