Blogs from Languedoc-Roussillon, France, Europe - page 55

This morning, we got up around 6:30 to get an early start on the day. Of course, we had a traditional French breakfast - hot pastries from a local bakery, fruit salad from Paul’s parents’ garden, tea for me and Marianna, and hot chocolate for Paul. Then, Marianna and I got ready to brave the motorway again. But first, she and Paul had to kiss goodbye. They did it least three times! Marianna would get to the door, then remember something she had to bring, or some last bit of advice for Paul, and then they’d have to say goodbye all over again, with Paul winking the whole time, as if to say, ‘Don’t worry, dear, you know this parting isn’t as bad as it seems. It’ll be over in a flash!’ It was so cute. ... read more

Well. I don't remember the last time I wrote. Classes are underway and I finally know my schedule. I am only taking 3 classes. Life is rough. One of them is a phonetics class one is a class to held with grammar and writing and another is my only class that is integrated with the french students. its a class called multiculturalism and is taught through the polisci dept. Its really hard to take classes in another language.(obvisoucly) I can understand almost everything,, but sometimes The teacher's accent is difficult to understand and the added stress of of taking notes in french while listening makes things a little more complicated. I can barely multitask in english! I like the content of the classm its interesting and ont too over my head. We have two hours of ... read more

Like I said, we met up with Bill and Keiko, Masa’s parents, on the 23rd of September in Villefranche. We had some lunch there, and for the first time tried Cassoulet, a kind of stew/casserole dish made with white beans and duck. It’s good but very very heavy. We ordered a cab and made our way to an even tinier dot on the French map called Negra. We got our canal boat there, “La Peyruque” and after some instruction and setting up of things we were on our way down the Canal du Midi. All in all we went through roughly 67 locks… I think. About maybe a third of them we were going up the canal and the rest we were “locking down” or going down river (doesn’t take a genius to figure that out, ... read more

So far, this has been a really interesting week. Last week was a bit stressful because we were all trying to figure out schedules and each department publishes class lists and schedules sespartely, so its very unorganized. So far, many people didn't even have the classes that they signed up for because teachers weren't there. We were warned that things might not really start up until next week. There is no onine registration system here, in fact its practicall un heard of. Each department produces there own booklets of classes, sometimes with descriptions,, sometimes not. You just have to pick a lot of potential classes, go to them and then narrow things down. The only things that I am definitely taking as of now are a corrective phonetics class to improve speaking skills, and a ... read more

Montpellier really is special. What’s more - very few people outside France have understood just what a fantastic city this is. Broad boulevards lined with shady plane trees, a huge car-free central square laid out in the 1700s surrounded by elegant balustraded buildings, even a vast triumphal arch - you name it, Montpellier’s got it. Oh, and it’s just minutes away from the beach, too. The average age of the city’s inhabitants is also the lowest in France, thanks to its university students who make up one quarter of Montpellier’s population, giving the regional capital of Languedoc a lively, dynamic air that’s hard to beat. In short, don’t miss Montpellier! rent a holiday rental in Langeudoc Some history True, Montpellier isn’t as old as nearby Nîmes, but it does have a rich past dating back to ... read more