YUCKY day

This morning the roomies (Tanya, Yannick, Mychal, Christy & I) woke up to a downpour, which isn't an issue in Portland. But in Marseille, with no umbrella, no close-toed shoes, and only a windbreaker, this SUCKED. Class was held at the old docks, which have been remodeled into a Bridgeport brewery-style set of buildings with businesses, restaurants, and a couple of classrooms for EuroMed. It's a very cool location to have class, but a bit far from our flat. So we venture out into the rain, and walked about 10 minutes to the bus stop. Already soaked, we hopped on the bus. Little did we know, Marseille was experiencing the biggest traffic jam in years. 40 mins. later, we're only a 1/2 mile closer to our destination and have 8 minutes to get there. We jump off the bus, walk in the downpour to the Metro, my shoe breaks, soaked AGAIN. Jump on the Metro, finally get to the destination about 20 minutes later. The five of us walk into class 45 minutes late, waterlogged, and me with my broken shoe. It was a pathetic sight. Our Professor Andrew tells us that today the government employees shut down all of the tunnels in a mass strike! It is a great story, we had a good laugh about looking so pathetic in class, and what experience is more French than being in the middle of strike chaos? The adventure continues!!!

All Settled

Our flat is adorable! This is our back porch, which is its best feature. It was rather overcast yesterday when we got in, and we spent the evening chatting on the porch, drinking 2-euro wine, and eating baguettes & cheese. It was exactly what we needed after dragging our luggage on the train, metro, taxi, and down the middle of Marseille's shopping district to get home.
Class starts tomorrow at 8am. REALLY? Is 8am appropriate knowing that all students have to commute at least 20 minutes to class? Luckily, most days begin at 9, but tomorrow is going to be an early one.
I'll post a couple of Amsterdam photos later this evening, but for now, off to check on the Viex Port.

Au revoir!

The Countdown Begins

Only 9 days until we leave! This photo is of the front door of our little flat in Marseille. It's going to be a bit packed with 5 of us in 3 bedrooms and 2 WCs, but that's livin'.

Do French people really put creme fraiche on everything? Let's hope not, I don't really need sour cream/yogurty stuff on my chow.

Any tips?

Here we go!

So this is my very first blog post ever, which is kind of exciting. The purpose of this blog site is to track my exciting adventures over the next year. First up, exchange trip to Marseilles, France.

Here's a photo of the beach in Santa Barbara, California, where I visited in February. It was so beautiful!!!

I've booked my plane ticket with a 6 hour layover in Amsterdam (yay!). There will be lots more to come. I hope to share many photos with readers over time!