Aix-en-Provence 4th September 2008
Breathless and already monitoring the time I have until the next class, I write to you from the south of France, the Provence region, famous for it’s spectacular landscape which has inspired artists like Paul Cézanne and it’s cuisine…
My last week in Rome was a lot of fun. On the last weekend, my girlfriend came to visit! We had a fantastic time walking through Rome and visiting the Vatican Museums, S. Pietro, the Forum Romanum and many other landmarks I had not seen yet. However, time flew by quickly and my girlfriend left on Sunday afternoon. Soon enough though, my old friends from school, which I had not seen for over 10 years, took care of me. We met several times hanging out here and there and talking about old times. It was not until that last week that I got to know real nightlife in Rome.
My flight back turned out to be a distinctly Italian experience. I sat next to an Italian couple, who were delighted when I offered them some chocolate. The guy started to talk to me, explaining that they had immigrated into Germany about 40 years ago and now have children and grandchildren, who all grew up in Germany. At some point he asked me which Italian Soccer Team I support. When I said AS Roma his eyes shone and he began telling me all the news of the club from the past years. In the end he even insisted on inviting me to his home, once I return from France.
Back in Tübingen, I was happy to see most of my roommates again. One of them is going to do a half year ERASMUS exchange in Nottingham, England. A girl, who works with fashion design, moved into her room for the time being. I rented my room out to a fellow law student from Spain, Loli, who is likewise doing an ERASMUS exchange in Tübingen. I got back to Tübingen on Saturday night, Loli arrived on Sunday and Monday morning at 5 am, it was already time to say goodbye. My roommates got up to say goodbye and my friend Julian and me took off with the car to France.
10 hours later, after a pleasant drive, we finally arrived in Aix-en-Provence. Particularly during the last hours of our trip the landscape had changed considerably. The cliffs and hills seemed rougher, the grass drier, the vegetation more mediterranean. In fact, it is almost as warm as it was in Rome but the breeze from the nearby coast makes it cool down in the evenings. When we got to the dormitories, we found ourselves in a compound of concrete apartment towers filled by many cheerful French and foreign students. To our great dismay, we had to stand in line for 5 hours to get our registration completed for the dormitory. When we finally got our keys and carried our luggage up to the first floor I had not even the chance to unpack anything, as a friendly Tunisian girl, who speaks German fluently, insisted on showing us the supermarket and to eat Pizza with us. At 1 am I fell onto my bed and slept like a baby.
The next morning, on Tuesday, I had to get up at 7 to register for my classes and for the university in general then I attended a welcoming ceremony for the foreign exchange students and in the afternoon I had to take a French Test :/ The rest of the day Julian and me tried to get food and some other important stuff at the supermarket. Since then, we have been busy, busy, busy. Every morning I have 2 hours of introduction to French law and in afternoon 3 hours of French language. In addition, I am now a participant in an international European Law Competition (European Law Moot Court), which will probably take most of my time during this semester.
Ok, I know everyone is interested in what my room is like. Despite the warnings I received from all sides about French dormitories, I must say that the room is quite all right. Of course, I had to do some cleaning and I will still have keep cleaning in the next days but all in all there are only 2 real flaws:
1. The room is on the ground floor. As a consequence, I cannot leave my window open when I am not there for security reasons. Furthermore, it is awfully dark in hear.
2. There is a disgusting smell, which seems to come from the cupboards and is ever-present in all rooms.
The kitchen is small but clean and modern. Yesterday evening, I cooked Pasta together with some Italian ERASMUS students. Now I am going to eat the left-overs and then I have to hurry to my French class!! The other foreign students are very nice. In fact there are about 90 students from about 50 countries!
Many hugs,
ant
