Finally. The most highly anticipated weekend of this summer was on the brink of fruition. Amsterdam - that perverse Mecca for virtually all young voyagers throughout Europe titillated by the prospect of legalized marijuana (among many other narcotics), the Red Light district,live sex shows and the birthplace of Heineken and Amstel. My own pilgrimage there would serve two fold; obviously observe (not partake) in the aforementioned activities but also to finally re-unite with some of the Dubai boys - Dar 'Disco Dancer' Homayoun, who has been sent there to take part in a 7 week acting course (of [View Full Entry]

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Alright. It's been a week and a half since I've been meaning to really describe the weekend of the 27th and 28th - easily one of the most fun 48 hours of my life! My memory is definitely failing me right now so thank God I had the foresight to scribble down a few notes all those days ago! Hopefully they will be sufficient enough to jog my time-addled recollections. Thursday, 27th June 2008 So, classes that day passed off in their usual monotonous and homogeneous fashion, with teh only excitement of the morning coming at the bell of 12:30, signaling [View Full Entry]

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The Friday before last I was somehow duped into going to IPN again although this time, I'm honestly glad I did because that night I just happened to meet Hakan Zetterstrom, a 25 year old hailing from Lund, Sweden who has been studying here in Aix for the past year or so, completing the last of his studies in Economics before moving on to do his masters back home. Anyways the reason I'm mentioning him is because somehow, the topic of conversation shifted to golf of all things and it turned out that not only does he play, he's good (around [View Full Entry]

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Tuesday 24th June, 2008 So literally as I was about to begin writing this, Michele bursts in and without even peeking her head in or saying hello, says "Ferme la porte, si non il va claquer!!", scaring the shit out of me. Basically, she wants me to keep the door to my room closed at all times so that the wind doesn't slam it shut! Personally, I'm one who hates it when people keep their door shut for no good reason, plain rude and and antisocial. This was in fact one of the things that irked me the most back in [View Full Entry]

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Having finally mentally chained myself to my chair, I think I'm finally prepared to (relatively) accurately recount the complete insanity, hilarity, wonder, excitement and ultimately even sadness that has colored one of the most memorable weeks of my life. On some accounts, time and alcohol have blurred my memory slightly, but I will do my best. As a side note, I'd like to mention that I'm writing this from the desk of my new home for the remainder of summer. I'll be living with an elderly mere d'accueil called Michele Abonnel - she's an extremely sprightly old woman whose energy [View Full Entry]

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Just before I forget or lose the physical thing, here is a copy of a poem that I bough during the first weekend excursion: Its called ' Vingt Ans' by Jean Vertex - thought the title was particularly fitting for me and what I'm doing with my life right now. I'm going to keep it in French for now because the meaning would obviously be lost in translation. C'est a vingt ans qu'on a raison De ne pas croire aux malefices D'une vie Faite de complices Ne se delectant que d'envie En denombrant les cicatrices Du beau decor de la maison! [View Full Entry]

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The title of this blog is a story in itself! Anyways, it's Friday the 20th of June and as soon as class is over, and we part ways with our hangovers, we rendez-vous at the bus station to make our ways down to the fabled Marseille beaches. Up till that day, I had gotten mixed reviews about it, ranging from gorgeous to an absolute shithole, so I really was going with no expectations at all! Anyways, quick bus ride down there and eventually we found ourselves standing in front of the Quai de Ville. An enormous marina located smack back in [View Full Entry]

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Well it's only been a few days and already I'm struggling to remember everything that I've done! I suppose I'll pick it up again from last Wednesday, the 18th of June - CEA, along with the guidance of our adorable director Vivienne, organized a cherry picking excursion to a farm just 20 minutes outside Aix. However, just before we get to the orchard, we decide to stop by a small paddock where some horses were grazing - seemed harmless enough to offer them a few hunks of bread right? Wrong. Seems like its part of the French sense of humor to [View Full Entry]

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Unfortunately, the title of this blog much sums up the beginning of this week (Monday the 16th of June onwards) pretty accurately. My program just welcomed a new flock students undertaking a 6 week program here at Aix, although at a different school. However, quite a few of them would also be moving into the Mirabeau Apartments at 62 Rue Roux Alpheran with me, so I figured I'd take the form of the welcome wagon and show them a good time. Armed with my fellow partners in crime here, David, Zach and Brian, we took two of the new girls, Kathryn [View Full Entry]

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Saturday - 14th of June, 2008 We finally get our act together and make the much anticipated journey to Cassis, a small coastal village / township situated just east of Marseille. (Contrary to my opinion, it was not in fact named after the black currant that takes the same name in France, which is actually native to the Burgundy region.) The quickest way to get there from Aix is to hop on a bus to Marseille (bloody expensive at 4.60 euros considering the frequency and demand for that line) and then another 20 minute train ride to Cassis. French train stations [View Full Entry]

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