Smiles

I heard a lot before I came about how the French people, including in the stores and cafes, rarely smile or talk to you until you become a regular. So far, this hasn’t proved true for me. For the most part, as long as you walk into a store and café and say bonjour, the person serving you smiles and says bonjour back to you. However, people are not overly friendly and only the North African and Turkish people will readily start a conversation with you while they take your order or help you out.

On another note, the school took us to Cassis on Sunday. It turned out to be a great day, with only a mild wind and lots of sunshine. The day before it had been cold and very windy in Aix, as le Mistral blew for the first time since I arrived. The beach was great, although it had rocks and pebbles rather than sand. The water was clear and blue, but very cold. I think that it was colder than Santa Cruz beaches normally are in the summer. I didn’t go in all the way, but many of the other students forced themselves in. They also managed to become the entertainment of the beach because they would start as far from the ocean as possibly and then sprint into the water, falling in when it got deep.

This weekend we are going to Nice and Cannes which should be another good trip. It is included in our tuition which means we don't have to spend any additional money on transportation or room and board. We have a few more outings planned from October and two of my classes also
have trips planned.