A little party never killed nobody

Though today I am tired and am having trouble focusing on work, I think that shows the great weekend I had. Friday, I had planned on relaxing at home, doing some more research for the upcoming travels, and starting to write letters to close my many accounts down. That is something I find interesting here – to close nearly any type of service account (apartment lease, internet service, phone service, etc), you need to send letters to the company a month in advance to ensure everything is shut down in time. Excuse me, I have to WRITE you a REAL letter and send it RECOMMENDED mail?! Clearly, France has not entered the technological age of the 21^st century where sending a simple email or even just going into the store/business and wanting to do it in person would suffice. No – everything here has to be a process, involving copious amounts of paperwork. Eh ben… c’est la vie!

However, I did not end up starting this Friday* - I decided to take the afternoon to go into Avignon. I had planned to do this Saturday but after talking to my fellow assistant friends Liz and Nysa who wanted to go to Nîmes that day, I took the opportunity to go into town and do something that I have wanted to do for a long while: visit the Palais des Papes. The Pope’s Palace, the major tourist attraction to see when you visit Avignon, is smack dab in the center of centre-ville, meaning the many times I have passed it during my several visits to Avignon I have marveled at its façade without ever walking inside. Friday, I paid the fee and marveled at the grandeur that the seven popes had made in the center of town. Avignon was the seat of the catholic church for 70 years when Southern France was part of Ancient Rome, it was the place where the popes resided. As I walked from room to room (which there were over 20 of), I couldn’t help but soak up the history as much as I could. Especially when I walked down the ceremonial staircase… since there was no one around, I couldn’t help but indulging myself in acting like a queen walking down a staircase after being crowned. You gotta soak up the moments when you can people! I am so happy that I made myself go into town to do this – it was a must-do before leaving and now I can truly say that I visited the sights in Avignon.

 

Courtyard of the Old Palace

Where the Popes ate their meals. You know, just the normal dining room.

The Great Chapel, the biggest and most magnificent room in the Palace (if you ask me!)

View of Avignon from la Tour de Gâche

La Fenêtre de l’Indulgence - after the Pope's would get coronated, they would walk to this window to wave to the rest of the court and see the people for the first time as the actual pope.

After, I did some shopping and although my time in Avignon was running short**, I had to make a mandatory stop at Milk Shop. I think I have written about Milk Shop before, but to describe again: it is a pure safe haven of American goodies. Their specialty? You might have guessed it: Milk Shakes! Since the places that sell these delicious drinks are far and few between here, I had to stop and get an American Cookie (aka Oreo) Milkshake, which of course was delicious! They also serve food too, like bagel burgers and such, but their sweets are what make them known, like their kitkat bar cake, crème brûlée cheesecake and Nutella cupcakes, just to name a few. If I was living in Avignon, this place would definitely be dangerous for me.

Nothing says 'Murica like an Oreo shake!

I might have taken a treat home for later too.... Coffee Speculoos Cake!

After a relaxing night in Apt, I headed back out to Avignon on a rainy Saturday morning. I met up with Liz and Nysa and we headed off to Nîmes, which is known as the little Rome in France, because it holds many well preserved Roman ruins. Because it was rainy and even a bit cold, we tried our best to make it a good trip by walking around, seeing the sights, taking pictures, window shopping and of course catching up on life. After getting thoroughly wet, we decided to duck into a café for a nice sit down lunch, enjoying salads and dessert. I hadn’t seen either of them since before Christmas, so it was really nice to hear what they’ve been doing and how they feel about the assistantship being done so soon. Although I came into this whole experience alone, not knowing one soul when setting foot on French soil, I am glad that I have met people to share this experience with. This opportunity of living in France has not only made me more independent but has also allowed myself to be more okay with being independent, more okay with doing things alone and being by myself. I am grateful and happy to have met some great people who I hope will remain friends when we all return to our own corners of the world.

Cheesin' with a Roman amphitheater!

Arènes de Nîmes – it is said to be the best preserved Roman amphitheater in Europe, even more so than the Colloseum in Rome.

This theater is still in operation, hosting bull fights during the summer. This guy was sad that it was raining so much too!

centre-ville

Southern France: where you can find a beautiful church with a palm tree in front of it!

 

After Nîmes, I had planned on going home, as I had neglected to do all my work on Friday and was thinking I should be responsible. However, Nysa and Liz convinced me to stay the night in Avignon as there was a wine bar that was open that night that rarely is. Le Delirium is only open once in a blue moon and since I hadn’t been out for a real night out in Avignon thus far, I had to take the opportunity, as it will probably be the only one I have with my remaining time left here. After buying a new outfit (again, was not prepared exactly for a night on the town), we spent time with a few other assistants at Liz’s apartment and then went out on the town. It was nice to get outside of Apt for the night, and even better to be out on the town actually enjoying nightlife here in France again – it’s been quite a while! Le Delirium was interesting, having a type of speak-easy vibe in décor. But clearly, the atmosphere was directly controlled by the live band. When we first arrived, there was a rap group performing and shortly after, a new group played the Beach boys and other American rock classics. While dancing to Johnny B Goode, I kept thinking how out of place this seems: a French wine bar with a band blaring American 50’s music. You never what to expect here, that’s for sure! I'm glad I ended up staying in Avignon instead of going home for the night - very unlike me to make a spontaneous decision like that but like the title of this post says, a little party never killed nobody!

Waking up early Sunday morning to catch the bus to Apt, the sun shining brightly with normal Provençal weather returning after that horrid rainy day, I couldn’t help but reflect on time. This could be because I had just said goodbye to Maria, another fellow secondary assistant and roommate of Liz, who is leaving today to return to the States. I know that this is all going to be over soon, but I think that it has just started hitting me how soon that really is. It really feels like just yesterday I was lugging my 65 pound suitcase up the three flights of stairs to my apartment, with everything feeling so new and unknown. It feels like just yesterday when I met all my teachers and students and was so apprehensive about what to teach and how to teach it. It seems like just yesterday I was setting up my bank account, and other services, using my highly rehearsed French to ensure that no language barriers would arise. To look back on moments like these and so many more, I realize how far I truly have come with my time here: in my language skills, independence, teaching abilities, and flexibility. Although it only seems like yesterday, I know that the time has only seemed to pass that quickly because it has been well spent. With only 4 weeks left of this assistantship, I already feel the rest of the time slipping between my fingers, like grains of sand blowing away in the breeze. With this time I have left, as I have tried to do throughout my stay here, it is time to profitez-bien – these are moments I will never get back.

*Leaving me in my half-asleep state today to try and accomplish these tasks. I will be so happy when I am done with all this administrative bureaucracy!

**I was actually going into town to attempt to get some work done too, in stopping by the Virgin Mobile store and asking them what I need to do to close my service with them. However, I never ended up getting there...