(171): Orientation

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It's nice to write entries with just one number in the title. More faithful to the movie on which the premise of this blog is based, at the very least. Since this is 4 weeks in one spot, the photos will come later. I will link you to the album whenever I update it.

(171) is Saturday, 26 June 2010.

I spent today acquiring a basic familiarity with my life in Juan-les-Pins [link to map] for the next four weeks. And it really is that simple. I chose the ironic title ("Andy, you're so silly; orientation happens at the BEGINNING of going abroad!") because I'm about to tell you everything you need to know about this place and how one spends time there.

I'm staying in Juan-les-Pins, a smaller... almost neighborhood of larger town Antibes. Both are right on the Mediterranean, on the "Cote d'Azur"* or proverbial "French Riviera." Every year, it is home to an internationally renowned jazz festival called Jazz à Juan. This year is their 50th. Oh, yes.

Antibes, meanwhile, is an older, more traditional town inside fortress walls from a few centuries back. Picasso came here shortly after WWII and had a renewed optimism, evident in his work depicting smiling (you can even tell they're smiling!) mythical creatures frolicking on the beach. Much of this work is on display at the Picasso Museum for which Antibes has become famous. Antibes and Juan-les-Pins are both small (easily walkable) and adjacent, so half the time I think of them as being the same town linked by one square. And both towns are fairly well-to-do.

My classes are at a French school for teaching French as a foreign language. It is called the "Centre International d'Antibes," or CIA. This is not to be confused, however, with CEA, the American program with which I registered. CEA is roughly analogous with the Vassar/Wesleyan Paris Program in terms of function. I signed up through them by filling out forms and such and paying them. They, in turn, take care of my housing with a new host family (stay tuned), signing me up for classes at CIA, and organizing fun little excursions to nearby towns, lunch in the program office, and other cool stuff that we don't have to plan ourselves. That reminds me of the differences between old and new program, however: nowadays, that "we" is exactly 6, not the 40-some-odd on the VWPP. Also, I take no classes with CEA itself, as I did through VWPP at Reid Hall.

So, to help you understand that I'm not spending four weeks solid with five other students and Kristin, the wonderfully kind and helpful CEA on-site staff member, I need to explain the housing situation. I am staying with a new host family. They aren't like my host family in Paris (because, honestly, who could be?), but they are still vey nice and straightforward about little things (as opposed to making a passive-aggressive saga of my sojourn). This couple has a certain professionalism about it, unlike in Paris (ironic?). I think it's because, now that they've retired from owning a restaurant and their kids have moved to other parts of town and out of their multiple-bedroom house, this is their livelihood. Also, a lot of people come and go. My roommate (Tiziano, an easygoing guy from the Italian sector of Switzerland) and I are the only two people out of a maximum of six who have stayed the whole time I've been here so far. But all of the people living there take French language classes at CIA.

Everyone taking classes at CIA seems to be on that come-and-go basis. I speak also of those living at Castel Arabel, the residence hall 5 minutes from my house. It's basically a hostel run by CIA; lots of international students cooking in the kitchen, sitting by the pool, or sitting at the bar watching the World Cup. It's where everybody hangs out, so I occasionally do so as well.

Classes themselves... Every day, from 9-12:20, I have language classes. A few written, listening, and grammar exercises mixed in, but mostly discussion. We take a placement test on our first day, so we all take classes with people on roughly the same level. My level is B2, on a scale of A0, A1, A2, B1, B2, and C1 (with some other class levels mixed in at the lower levels for a more tailored fit: like A1.2). And they haven't offered C1 since I've been here. It's possible to move up or down based on your teacher's assessment during the week. People take classes for varying amounts of time (usually, though not necessarily, increments of two weeks).

It's also worth noting that CIA is not a typical university program by age; people of all demographics show up. For example, my class includes a 42-year-old Danish guy with a family and a Swedish kid who's 17.

It's also worth noting that Claudine, my teacher, is very attractive.

Since my afternoons are free, I usually just hang out in a variety of places. There's the beach, Castel, the air-conditioned local library, wandering around town, or the group activities through CEA.

And the analysis part... So far, I would say this program is better for immersion, since I've met several people who really want to speak French outside of class, but not as good socially, since I don't always see the other CEA kids and I haven't made really close friends with many other people.

I have been writing, however, and not just in this blog. I can see how Picasso found a second wind here.

And it's incredibly hot and humid here. And air conditioning is not easy to come by.

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In Europe, only the goalie can write footnotes with his hands, so these here are called "American Footnotes."

* That's French for the "Azure Coast," named straightforwardly enough for the water's pastel shade of blue.