Day 5- First Impressions

I've been in Montpellier now for a few days and so far it has been excellent.  My travel experience ended up being fairly stressful but I got here in one piece after taking three planes, two trains, and a taxi.  It turns out that American credit cards don't have security chips in them, so they can't be tracked by the French government.  Which means I couldn't use mine to pick up my train ticket.  After having my first conversation in french with actual french people, I learned that tickets are only required if the conductor actually checks for them.  Luckily, he didn't and I was on my way from the airport in Marseille to Montpellier.  This stress just compounded my stress from traversing the Munich airport earlier in the day.  By the time flight from Toronto landed,  I had less than twenty minutes to clear customs and get to my next gate.  Customs and security, as well as what seemed like walking several miles to get to them, took about nineteen minutes.  As I ran to my gate, boarding pass in hand, the agent locked the door and closed the flight.  I had made it just in time!

When I finally made it to Montpellier, I took a taxi to the hotel where I would be staying for the next ten days.  I needed food and sleep, neither of which I would get right away, because I spent most the afternoon and evening getting to know my roommates Ed and Byron.  Ed is from Gulfport, Mississippi and Byron is from Duluth, Minnesota.  We finally ventured out to find dinner, but since it was a Sunday, everything run by actual french people was closed.  So, we went to a kebab place and got excellent middle eastern food, go figure.  Even worse, it came it fries and soda.  And yet, it was nourishment, desperately needed after twenty four hours of airline food, pictured below.

Something resembling food on Toronto to Munich flight

First view on Montpellier's Place de la Comedie at dusk

Since food is so expensive here, we have been cooking for ourselves in the evening and having sandwiches and such for lunch.  But it's not so bad.  Food here is of much higher quality than anything you'd find in Aldi's or even Wegman's.  They don't do processed foods and they make tortilla chips from crepes.  Things the french love- bread, cheese, and wine- are cheap and plentiful.  A sandwich of jambon et fromage edam (ham and edam cheese) on baguette is delicious.

This week, my days were filled by intense orientation classes taught by french professors, where we review grammar, speaking, writing, and listening skills.  So far, we have taken two tours of the city, the highlights of which included going inside medieval Jewish baths and climbing atop Montpellier's version of the Arc de Triomph, constructed after the Catholics defeated the Protestants here.

Arc de Triomph of Montpellier- smaller than the one in Paris

Montpellier has amazing history.  Most cities in southern france are of Roman origin, but Montpellier is  newer city, dating only the medieval era, around 1200 AD.  The old city has lots of stone walls and narrow winding streets.  The building most commonly look the ones below- with hints of Greco-Roman architecture and later styles as well.

So far, I love it here.  The people in my program are all very nice and an extremely diverse group from all over the US.  Yesterday, we all went to the beach and swam in the Mediterranean.  It was warm and the beach was crowded.  And yes, there were plenty of topless french women.  Tomorrow I have my first big assignment due- a one page long story in french, which is nothing compared to what I have been doing for two years in classes at Northwestern.  Saturday, we take a bus trip to the city of Nîmes, which is full of Roman architecture, including Pont du Gard, an aquaduct.  My next post will be about this trip, which I'm really looking forward to.

Oddities noted so far about Montpellier and France in general: 

1. Personal hygiene is...well, different here. 

2.  Bands of hobos with big dogs which defecate indiscriminately seem to love Montpellier.  I do not love them.

3.  I have seen exactly two SUV's here.  They were both smaller than a Ford escape.  Aka really small.

4.  French people love to speak english.  I just wish they wouldn't assume I want to speak english.  I don't; in fact,  I want to speak french whenever possible to improve my skills.

All things I already knew, but have witnessed and confirmed.

I move in with my host family on September 1...that's my next big adjustment, but I'm excited for it.  Look for my next post on Sunday, my first free day with free since I arrived.  And I can't wait for it.