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Always Something New to Discover

Wednesday is now over, and we are moving into the second half of this week.

In the days since Bastille Day, we have surely been keeping busy. Waking up and going to class on Monday morning was a bit of a struggle considering we had a late night of Bastille Day festivities, but if that is the worst I can say for my week, I would say it’s been a good past few days.

Monday night, after classes and dinner (we learned how to make chicken cordon bleu), we had a speed painting/drawing activity. Though we were supposed to paint or draw the portrait of the person in front of us, changing seats every five minutes, my first partner and I decided that it would be more fun to simply paint each others’ faces after quickly sketching a portrait. Though not explicitly in the directions, we had a lot of fun with it, especially when a number of others decided to follow our example.

Tuesday, we took a trip to a Calisson (a traditional confection from the Provencal region) factory, did some community service work in a local garden, and ended the day with a picnic and “jazz manouche” concert. The nighttime concert was my favorite part of the day, because the music was a style that I had never heard before. I even learned of an instrument called a guitalele, which is a small instrument that was explained to me to be somewhat of a cross between a guitar and ukulele. Some of us chose to dance, some chose to simply sit and eat the picnic food, but a good time was had by all during the small concert.

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Wednesday was a bit different than our normal daily schedule. After morning class and afternoon electives, we were given a tour of Le Pavilion Noir, a well-known dance studio and theater. We were able to see two dancers practicing and receive a small history lesson on the building and the dance company that it houses. For most of the evening and night, though, we were given free time. I, along with a few friends, went out to dinner at a small French restaurant and then walked around the main street of Aix to survey the wares of some local vendors at the street market and view some curbside musical, dance, and acrobatic performances. There was an incredibly eclectic mix of items and performances available this night in the simple city street.

The city of Aix appears to always have something new to discover.

-Brandon

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