Pensées de mi-semestre et des choses qui me manquent

This week is midterm week, and not much interesting will be happening for me to blog about. However, midterms also mean another thing: I've (almost) reached the halfway mark. I can't believe how fast it has gone! To mark my halfway point, here are a few of my random thoughts on my first half of my semester abroad:

1. The views: You just don't get used to them. And they come out of nowhere. You know that scene at the end of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs when the sun rises over the snowy hill and it looks like mashed potatoes and butter? Well today, I was sitting at the bus stop, and I was reminded of that. I'm not entirely sure why; it didn't actually look that much like it. Just how my mind works I guess. There wasn't a snowy hill , but it was a little foggy, and the sun was breaking through in a way so that rays of sunlight were striping the houses set into the hill, and it was all bathed in light and really beautiful. I was sitting on a metal bench at a graffitied bus stop in front of a wall that has what looks suspiciously like a bullet hole in it, but across from me was this beautiful view of yellow Provencal houses in the sun. Pretty cool.

This is bad quality, but the best I could find. Throwback to childhood!

2. My French: There really is nothing better than living in the country if you want to speak the language. I am certainly not fluent, but I can definitely tell I have improved. It's really gratifying to be able to go through an entire day speaking only French. And there are less and less times when I don't know how to say something. I can't wait to see how much I have progressed by the end of the semester!

3. The juxtaposition of old and new: Aix is an old city, and so are its buildings. While in America we often tear down old buildings to construct newer, modern ones, the French have left the ancient - and beautiful - architecture intact and filled it with modern businesses and homes. The apartment my parents stayed in two weeks ago was built in 1655. The United States (as in the country, not the land) didn't even exist in 1655! We don't even have enough history behind us to have buildings like that. And on the bus every morning, I pass a yoga studio that is housed in an old stone building with gargoyles out front. You can't tell me that was built in the past century. Of course, there are some newer buildings too, but that just adds to the interesting mix.

4. The bread: The French are serious about their bread. "Sure, I know that," you say, but no. They don't just eat lots of bread here. They order their bread to their exact liking. On the back wall of any bakery, you will find an array of breads. You have your basic baguette, tradition, or compléte, plus the fancier stuff with olives or nuts baked in. But having your choice of eight or more different types ins't enough. The French choose exactly which individual baguette (or what have you) they want from those cooked that day. As if the baker has cooked each individual loaf for a specific person. I often do homework in the evenings in a bakery when everyone is buying bread for dinner on their way home. During the hour or so that I am there, I will hear any number of ways to ask for bread. "Bien cuite" if they want it crispier and more cooked, or "plutôt blanche" if they want something on the softer, less cooked side. And if they don't specify, the baker will hold one up and inquire if it is right before putting it in the bag. I have even watched people direct here - à gauche, à gauche, oui! C'est parfait! - until she reaches the perfect one. You have to have it just the way you want!

Although I do love France, there are a few American things that I definitely miss now that I've been here almost two months. Some of them are actually a little surprising, so I thought I'd share a few:

1. Fall: I really miss fall. It's just not happening here. Sure, the days are getting slightly cooler, so I no longer feel like I'm melting, but that's a decrease from highs in the 80s to highs in the 70s. That defintely is not fall. And it's not just the weather. There are no apple picking excursions or corn mazes in the the South of France. And no Halloween (not really) or Thanksgiving either. They just kind of skip over all the cool fall stuff and go straight to winter and Christmas. Now, I love Christmas as much as the next person, and I'm going to be going crazy doing all my Christmas shopping at the Christmas markets when the start (I'm actually super excited), but I do miss all the fall times too. I'll just have to stalk people's Instagram photos of Ursinus in its peak color season!

2. Breakfast: The French just don't do breakfast. At least not real breakfast. Pain au chocolat and croissants are delicious, but you can't have those everyday. Standard French breakfast is cereal and maybe a slice of toast. And though my host mom does occasionally give me cake with my cereal (I'm not kidding, actual cake), it's still not quite the same. I want my eggs and pancakes! I never, EVER, thought I would miss Wismer, but I'm actually kind of excited to come back to weekend brunch. Crazy, I know.

In keeping with the random theme of pictures... I wouldn't mind a storm of pancakes!

Of course, these are rather small things, and I'm willing to sacrifice fall and American breakfast for all the other amazing, new things. I've successfully conquered the first half of my semester abroad! Let's see what else I can discover before Christmas.