Mon aerolisador es plen d'anguilas*

Hello! Another post, same evening, because I realized that I haven't shared my experience with a trip that I've been anticipating for quite some time - Carcassonne! Within my region of France, the Languedoc-Roussillon, Carcassonne (and the Abbaye de Fontfroide, which we also visited on this trip with my exchange group) is an internationally famous French city, of which the old cité is completely fortified - surrounded by double walls which are still standing to this day. I suggest you go look it up to find better photos than the ones I have here; because as we all know, the best photo-ops of towns aren't generally seen on guided tours (though as usual I do enjoy learning with my touring!).

Entrance to the cité: with figurine of  Dame Carcas on the right, by legend whom the town is said to be named for.

In between the outer and inner walls.

Though updated and restored over the years, these walls have remained essentially the same since medieval times. They had all sorts of creative ways beyond these double fortifications - specialized windows to drop things on enemies, narrow windows that you could see out of but couldn't be penetrated by arrows, et cetera. No wonder this place managed as well as it did!

Entrance to the Chateau Troncavel...me and a couple friends got in for free! (student perks)

This bravely moat-guarded, also fortified (see the wooden structures, top right?) is not found at the exterior of the fortifications, which you might think just by looking at the pictures. No, it's in the cité itself, in town and yet another place to pull back and defend. Though it couldn't feasibly house an entire town's population, in the event that things really get bad (which they did, wait and see!), at least there was some last way to mess with the enemy again.

In the 1200's, Troncavel was vicomte (viscount in English?) of the city and the surrounding cities in the region. He tried bravely to defend his people from the catholic church's crusade against the cathars - a different christian group that he himself wasn't a part of, but were considered heretics. After attempted but failed diplomacies, rather than surrender and turn over the heretics, he and the people of his city decided to fight back. The nearby town of Béziers, which the crusaders (marching from Lyon) attacked first, was overtaken and the entire population slaughtered by the crusading knights. It eventually came down to a siege of the city of Carcassonne, the last holdout. Sadly, the crusaders cut off their water supply and eventually Troncavel and his people were forced to surrender. Though the townspeople were spared, they were forced to flee. Troncavel was taken prisoner and met his untimely end in a prison cell.

Peeking out from inside the castle.

(I got kind of bewildered when I approached the window and felt a cold breeze. As it turns out, this one petite segment of glass is missing from the window. Not sure why or how.)

For the last little bit of history, this part of southern France, the Languedoc-Roussillon region as I mentioned, is so called because of the language formerly spoken here - Occitan. (Langue d'Oc, makes sense right?) Back in old times, southern and northern France weren't the best of friends as they spoke the Langue d'oil and were generally a bunch of jerks. Although this region - including the modern Midi-Pyrenees region - was technically a part of the French kingdom, it wasn't really. Think the sentiments felt by American colonists towards the Brits and vice versa, pre-revolution, and you'll get an idea of how chummy these two areas were.

Even better, this place was just swarming with Cathars (the no-no aforementioned heretic religious sect), so this just couldn't be had. After Carcassonne fell, France took it and the region under its own rule. However, this place maintained its proud heritage - and its prevalency of the language - until fairly recently (20th century, people!), when the government imposition of the official French language started Occitan's decline (urh, I'm fuzzy on the dates - History with Marisa is never super detailed, sorry!). Once spoken by millions, its numbers have greatly dwindled although I know of movements to keep it alive and there are schools that offer it as a language. Look up the word vergonha if you'd care to know more - it's the Occitan term for this occurence.

Again inside the castle, overlooking a courtyard- because illustrated stories are just more fun.

Well, I'm starting to fall asleep here so that probably means I should get to bed. Sorry for less details of my actual trip and more of a history lesson, but I actually really enjoy some of it and felt like sharing. The rest of the day trip was nice, as was the abbey, and I hope to go back to Carcassonne with my bike and really check it out if I get a chance! I can tell there's definitely more I should see...

...although this view is definitely quite nice!

So, that's it for now! You won't see me for a bit - the first week-long spring vacation (called winter vacation here) is starting, and I'm leaving tomorrow to go chill at the Cote d'Azur for a bit then make my way down to Corsica. Until next time, hurray for the Mediterranean!


*In case you were wondering: "Mon aerolisador es plen d'anguilas" is Occitan for "My hovercraft is full of eels." Found on a website of Useful Occitan phrases. :)

So much time, so little to do! (no, that's not right...)

Apologies, friends, for my scarcity these past couple weeks! As per usual, life has been zipping by...and it's the crunch time of exams. Uni. Paul-Valéry (where I take my french courses) had all its exams this week, while the Fac des Sciences will have its the week we get back from vacation...busy, busy! However, since coming here I'll have to be honest: perfect grades are not my priority. (Can it be true?!) So, while I do study, I still won't miss fun or interesting things to do because I'm feeling continually aware of the finite nature of my time here. To give an idea of why I'm kinda behind on my homework, here's a detail of my weekly events:

-Salsa/merengue class on Monday, followed by a (admittedly kinda crappy) evening at the bar
-Soiréé Latina on Tuesday, after listening to the Lyon - Madrid match on an online french station thanks to my lack of TV here. Gotta follow these Champions League knockout games! (Barça, do not disappoint me again...) I've got a lot of pride staked on their next game in two weeks. A lot. I'm quite nervous.
-To the movie theater to see Black Swan on Wednesday. Nuttier than a can of peanuts, but I liked it! Highly recommended - and watching an English movie with French subtitles is quite interesting, even educational, on a side note.
-Thursday...Another movie, this time en version française. But it was shown at the cité universitaire so I technically "stayed in."
-Friday (i.e. today!), raclette night!! I was super stoked for this and though I have to catch a train at 7 AM (ahhhhh gonna be so tired), I haven't done this since I was a kid - back in Montréal - and there's no way I was turning down this invitation. Besides, it was a chance to see friends before skipping town for the week. For those who haven't heard of this, raclette is a type of swiss cheese, with only a very mild pungent-factor, that is eaten in a very particular type of meal (you call that "raclette" as well). It involved a grill apparatus and little metal boats in which you put the cheese to melt beneath the grill while you put your charcuterie (sliced meats, pretty much, like smoked sausage and bacon) on top to sizzle. You combine these with boiled potatoes on your plate and eat until you feel like you're gonna explode. That's generally what happens, because doing raclette stretches out for several hours and you start to forget how much you've eaten since you make a little bit at a time, all while enjoying your wine and conversation. And suddenly, you're starting to wonder why you got so full and how you're ever going to have room for that tarte aux pommes sitting there for dessert (hint: wait an hour. You'll find room). Until next time, if someone ever offers you raclette...

...don't say no!

This is NOT Montpellier. Don't be fooled. (I am endlessly amused by the signage here xD)

 Time for the obligatory weekly-ish update on life! Accompanied by pictures, even better! This semester is starting to be a bit quieter than the last - haven't gone out so much the past couple weeks, and though I definitely wasn't the going-out type back in Alabama I've got to say I'm getting a little stir crazy here...what, me? Miss Excellent Student, actually feeling antsy to go out and party? I appear to have changed some. Though maybe it's for the best that I haven't actually gone out late this weekend, what with the Valentine's themed events and that faint aroma of "shouldn't you be Not Alone right now? Can't you see the red hearts and flowers?" in the air.

Now, of course I haven't stayed in my room like a little hermit or anything. I did go out on Monday (only once this week? Egads!), then did the more low-key type of hanging a couple times this week with various friends. I took my bike into town and hit the last of the month-long winter markdowns that are a seriously big deal in France, finally finding a pair of skinny blue jeans that will fit my supremely bizarre proportions of big calves/behind and tiny waist without making me feel like I'll explode if I sit down. Also, a super hot - though classy - dress for six euros, cha-ching! Joined a couple friends for pizza and girl talk, which involved a lot of hilarity in interpreting various French insults and swear words and their equivalencies in English. Great fun, very educational, and very inappropriate. =)

Aside from that, classes are still classes - they're going, much as they do in the U.S., so I won't bore you with the details of that. Although I will share this awesome revelation, I'm finally to the point, after my five months here, where I feel at ease speaking in French with just about anyone - and English is really taking a back seat. Not one seat back, we're talking three or four rows back! C'est le progrès! I can listen to my phsyiologie animale teacher, comprehend (90%, anyway - there are certainly still times when a word/turn of phrase catches me off guard), process, and take notes in French at whiz kid speed while listening to what she's saying next! I'm surprising myself quite a bit here, and that makes me really happy and just a little bit proud. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not fluent and still lack a lot of miscellaneous vocabulary and have grammar faults out the wazoo when the conversation ventures to a high level - but it's progress! I'm marking this in particular by my salsa/merengue workshop that I've been in since the beginning of the first semester - when I arrived, I kinda just danced, smiled, and interjected a phrase or two here and there when I felt comfortable enough to. Now, I consider these ladies/gents friends and don't mind shooting off my usual goofball attempt at jokes and gestures, and the instructor has even invited some of the best students (whoo hoo, that includes me!) to perform a choreography - in front of people!- later in the spring. Hopefully that works out!

So, that's pretty much life at the moment. This is really a fabulous place, can't say it enough. As indicated by my first picture, I am also doing a lot of wandering outside of town, to the small towns/villages surrounding the town. They all have their own unique character, and the countryside here, while not obvious and filled with "OH HEY, LOOK AT ME!" mountains or beaches, is exceptionally lovely and can best be described as friendly. And now, thanks to me toting my camera in-hand on some of my bike/jog adventures, I can finally show you some of my faaaavorite spots!

Uh, probably not supposed to go down by the river this way, as there's no set path - but it's more fun this way!

One of the quieter points by the river - peace and quiet :)

One of my absolute favorite places to jog to. Farmland and forest on either side. 30 mins. out of town.

In the above picture, after a couple minutes this gravel path disappears and you're just jogging alongside and these fields. Maybe you'll run into somebody, maybe not...either way, it's always very serene and happens to meet up with the above river at some point!

The windmill of the happy little town of Clapiers. Took my bike to get here - definitely not Montpellier!

 

Clapiers centre (main street). Is it hoppin' or what?

On the Esplanade de Jaun Jaurés in Clapiers. Getting to be dusk, time to go home =)

 Esplanades - essentially the French word for a promenade, or boardwalk if it's on the coast perhaps? - exist everywhere, not just in France. Montpellier has one. Barcelona has one in its famous Las Ramblas. And, of course, this little town has its own version, dedicated to France's favorite Socialist revolutionary! Lightly gravel paved, lined with trees that must be gorgeous in fall/spring, with benches occasional occupied by various townsfolk or maybe even a game of boules going on or some kids goofing off with their parents nearby. It was pretty quiet when I took this picture, seeing as it's the end of the day on a Sunday, but on my first circuit through the town I liked it so much I decided to come back through one more time. Until next time, three cheers for small towns!

5 month anniversary, yahoo!

Lookie, everyone, today marks five months to the day that I've been in Montpellier! Yeah, I'm kind of surprised myself. Am I happy that I've stuck around for this long, or sad that this pretty much means I'm in the beginning of the closing stretch? In any event, I'm glad glad glad that I didn't have to leave at the end of the semester. I love this place, and the people I've met in it, way too much to go just yet. Granted, that will probably make it all the harder to leave when the time actually does come, but for the moment I'm going to try and continue to profiter fully from my time here. So, what did that entail this weekend?

Noooooo internet! The past four days, Montpellier has been blessed with absurdly gorgeous weather. We're talking the kind of sunshine and just-right warmth that makes you happy to be alive (well, I'm easily pleased!). Sorry, everyone back home who's shivering in their booties, but I've spent about 75% of my waking hours outdoors this weekend, pretending I'm a reptile needing to warm my blood. This is a good thing, because as mentioned before, nooooo internet!

Wait, if there's no internet how am I typing this blog post right now? Well, time and time again the kindness of strangers here continues to rock my socks. I get home from my jog/hike on Friday afternoon (again, profiting from this weather!) to find that I have no internet connection. Well, that's a bummer. I investigate and find out through a fellow exchange student that the internet is down in all the buildings. Being that this is France and internet tecchies probably want to enjoy their weekend as much as I do, nobody will even think of coming in to fix it until Monday. The only thing working is wireless, which only functions at the central lobby of the complex. Not a problem, right?

Actually, yes problem. Turns out you need a code/passkey to use this wireless. So, I inquire at the desk, and apparently you have to apply at the sécretariat to get it, and it takes a couple days. Again, it's the weekend, so sécretariat is not in. Awwww.

So, after fifteen minutes or so of moping with a friend, I casually lamented to the right person - a very nice French girl who, as it turns out, was leaving for the weekend and won't need her internet passcode - so I can use hers! So despite being completely in the dark connection-wise in my dorm, all hope is not lost!

And now here I am, chilling in the lobby typing to all of you. Thankfully, my weekend was surprisingly full! After my jog on Friday I cooked (breakfast for dinner! Crêpes nutella and sausage, yum!) and stayed in with a book, because I had to wake up at 7:15 the next morning for our first exchange group excursion of the semester: Carcassonne (!!), then the Abbaye de Fontfroide! A nicely spent day, including breaking away from the group with two friends to go explore a castle, but more to come on that later.

Today was the typical slow Sunday. Homework, cleaning with my balcony door wide open, then feeling like I had to do something significantly outdoors, I hopped my bike and skipped town, yo. I took my usual route out of the city, found the highway with its convenient pedestrian pathway, and rode to my heart's content. I ended up in an adorable village called Clapiers, one of the small towns located in the greater Montpellier area (in French, l'agglomération). It was a peaceful and rejuvenating if solitary day, though I feel it was very well spent. I guess the lack of internet was a blessing to give me the extra push to explore and really use this glorious weather to its maximum benefit. I'll be looking forward to getting back to class tomorrow, rejoining friends, and doing the obligatory Monday night get-together/sortie en ville. Maybe the internet will be fixed by then, but at the very least I've been reminded of how sadly addicted to the web-o-sphere we all are. 'Tis a shame, I suppose, but nobody's perfect.

Anyway, that's all for now. It's off to bed, and on to another week! Until next time, coucou de Montpellier!

cartographie, cours, and crêpes

Here we are, halfway through the second week of semester two. I'm happy to report that my science courses at UM2 seem to be handling their business as normal and I made it to every course so far without incident. My Histoire de la Terre class is particularly interesting. I've learned it's more of a geological science course than biology even though it's a bio major requirement, but it honestly doesn't bother me if it comes back to Alabama as GEO 102. It's more for the challenge and experience than actually needing the course credit - besides, it's very interesting and something I wouldn't take otherwise back home. For example, in our first travaux pratique of the semester (lab course), I and the ten other people in my group (of which I'm the only foreigner - eep!) started on cartography. Three hours of cartography, actually, which was a lot more interesting than it sounds, I promise. But it's also quite hard and I definitely notice my lack of instinctive French ability here when some concepts are being explained in words that are familiar to the other students but not to me. Relating this back to earth studies, we ended up studying the complex world of topographical mapping, reliefs, and how to transfer a distance on the map into a height plan on our own paper. Magnifying glasses and rulers, oodles of fun for the inner geek!

I'm excited to see what comes next, but also a bit worried in relation to some recent unfortunate news. In taking these courses, I have to eliminate a couple courses at UM3 (my french studies). I'm attempting to replace my two cours options (which are required, despite the name) with these two science courses. And after all this work and running all over the place, I find myself in a bit of a bind. The French as a foreign language institute (IEFE) is obstinate in that they "can't" (read: won't) take off those courses from my transcript, even if I don't select them. Now, these optional courses are fine and all and consist of things like art history, cinema, business french and so on, but I would think that I could get an even more enriching experience from these science courses. So, in theory, why not switch one with the other?

Well, no. Not that simple, I guess. Unless I do some serious magic and sweet talking, I will find myself in one of two situations. In situation 1, despite not choosing two of the six options, I will get two nice big absente - Incompletes - in their place. At the University back home, that equates to a big fat F. Yeeeeah, not something I want. Situation two, if I can't get these taken off my transcript, I have to abandon my science courses and go back to these options and try to catch up. Won't be too hard since we're only in the second week and the option courses meet once a week, but I won't lie when I say this would be a massive disappointment. I can't tell you the amount of legwork I've put in to find these courses and get myself approved, registered, in the right place at the right time, and changing schedules just to make this function. And now I'm in danger of it all vanishing into a cloud of dust.

Dunno. I suppose I'll just have to persevere, find a way, if there is one, and do it fast. I'm not keen on a failing grade. I just find this slightly silly and a little frustrating, which is not bad considering that up to this point I've handled the bureaucracy around these parts pretty well. Hopefully it will all work out.

But other than this little snafu, life is just peachy! I've settled back into the happy routine of school, friends and fun, with a little something different thrown in every now and again to spice things up. My salsa/merengue workshop has started back up, so I'm happy to see those friends and goof off with them again now that my French has improved so much from when I started! I ruined yesterday's jog by the river with an impromptu invitation to a crêpe party (which I mistakenly attended in my slippers, but nobody seemed to mind!), and I came back home feeling happy but way too full to function. So, I took another run today to enjoy the beautiful weather we're having, and ended up taking a couple really nice photos that I promise to put up soon! And speaking of yesterday's jog - I went running, and I pass by the zoological park on my way out of town. Lo and behold, along my run I see a rather strange sight...none other than a full-grown male peacock, strolling the grass outside the aviary. Yeah, it escaped, and in typical proud bird fashion, didn't seem to give a hoot. I kinda stood there in puzzled amazement for a little while and just watched, then I discussed with some other girls passing by that this seemed rather odd. The park was already closed, unfortunately, so we weren't sure what to do. We asked a man hanging around, and apparently some birds just do that from time to time. They escape, and eventually they wander back in. Nobody freaks out at this, so we shrugged at each other and went our respective ways. Again, France, unusual, but I continue to absorb and appreciate the way people think here. I'm sure Mr. Peacock ended up where he needed to be eventually.

So, in general, life alternates between busy and not busy, but always satisfying and never boring for long. I'm so glad I'm here for 4 more months! Yippee =) Here's some more photos, this time of Paris! With my mother, we spent two days sightseeing and two days at the Louvre, as the end to our fabulous mother-daughter whirlwind vacation:

Overlooking the Seine, enjoying the sunny but chilly day while it lasts

First day of sightseeing, thankfully not rainy :) Notre Dame!

 

Inside the cathedral, admiring the stained glass...I would later giggle when mom noticed they misspelled "canddle" on one of the signs inside :)

Inside the famous Opéra de Paris at the Palais Garnier, the setting for the famous Phantom of the Opera! (No, you're not allowed to see the underground lake - awwww)

Cheezin =)

Day 1 of the Louvre - ready to tear this museum apart =D

Ready to call it a day - but still smiling! Until next time, fun in the Louvre!