August 2009.. Aix en provence - the town of springs that is over 2 millennia old.. we started our adventure (yup, it is one big adventure) in France by staying in a studio apartment at a hotel. We experienced a very hot summer, and French hotels do not have fans. We cooked everyday and enjoyed free internet. We are international masters students now.. students of IAE (business school). College was nice, located in a peaceful village near Aix. Unfortunately (for me), we had to take 2 bus rides to get there. All international students were divided into 4 groups based on their previous knowledge of the french language, and then taught french for the first 2 weeks. I was in the beginners group (I still belong to the same group). We got started with the administrative stuff. We had fun in the team building workshop, where we built self-propelled automobiles using rubber bands & balloons
IAE is different from most other colleges, especially the ones back in India. Professors are very friendly & enthusiastic here. Lectures are delivered in an informal tone. Students are evaluated through individual exams & group works. IAE also has visiting professors from different countries. Instead of having classes for each subject throughout the semester, the class is sped through each subject through a series of lectures over a short duration of time. Sometimes, the schedule feels so hurried that a subject starts on day 1, has an exam on day 2 and concludes with a group work on day 3. But the group work was always fun. It was an enriching experience working with people from different countries bringing in diverse perspectives.
I moved to student dormitory in September. Actually, this was the first time I ever lived in a dorm. For me it was a big change, considering the fact that I lived alone in a 4 room apartment in hyderabad. This was made up by the internet speed, which is extremely high here (Sometimes I can download a whole movie in 15 minutes) Settling in was the hardest thing for me to do, not because it was a tough transition, but because I took the "settling in" process too seriously. For the first few weeks, our classmates had one trip or the other. We went to the nearby towns Marseille, Cassis, etc.
I thought I can get used to the environment by travelling along with my friends. I was wrong. Although I enjoyed those trips, they were taking a toll on my body. I had no proper food (read Indian food) here, and the food served in student cafeteria is either boiled vegetable or beef & pork. I couldn't take it anymore, so I bought a stove and started cooking everyday. Things got better, but only until I understood that cooking was not a problem at all, but doing dishes was. I was back to square one. However, I got used to a routine, Frites (French fries) became my primary food. I cooked occasionally, sometimes even had guests. We had a weekly dinner at another hostel block, which was an international potluck. . I cooked Indian curries for the first few days, but they were extremely spicy by international standards, hence I had to stop cooking for the dinner. On the whole, we enjoyed excellent food at those parties. More than the food, we enjoyed each others' company
Since there are so many nationalities in such a small class, it was hard for me to get used to so many accents. I had to change my own accent because it sounded too Indian and nobody would understand it, hence I started using my alter-accent, something I came up with at my first job for conference calls with US stakeholders & foreign teams. And the chinese are a majority in our class (4 of them). They gave everyone chinese nicknames. It's very interesting to know about china & chinese food is really tasty! Talking about getting to know countries, we had a marketing course, part of which is preparing a presentation about a country. I teamed up with Karthick & presented India, which got the highest score! Each day the class spent together, our understanding of the world was further enhanced.
Since I cannot drink alcohol (I tried it by the way, the taste sucked), I could not go to any of the wine parties or bar hops. My pastimes were playing tennis with Yagr and cooking food. We also enjoyed eating at Indian restaurants & food outlets (BK foods near Estellan is really good). Gradually, the hot & sunny Aix slipped into cold winter. My coat is not even close to keeping me warm, so I bought a new one here. Things are very expensive here. A good hair-cut costs atleast 15 euro and a good Indian meal costs 25 euro (1600 rupees? in hyderabad, i could get a biryani for 100!). Train tickets are also expensive. I took the TGV, fastest wheeled train in the world, to Paris (800 KM in 3 hours) to collect my Finnish visa. Paris is a beautiful city, a blend of medieval heritage & modern amenities. I enjoyed walking & cycling down those long & tidy streets.
Towards the end of the semester, we had an enterprise forum; a career fair. This was an eye opener, most of the employers are not willing to hire people who don't speak good french. It is very important to learn at least one european language to secure a job here. To conclude the semester, our professor Laifa arranged a separate forum for IMMIT with representatives of 3 french companies, followed by a lunch with them. Strangely, that's when I actually had "French" food for the first time - a leafy salad & a cooked duck ( i don't even know their real names).
Now that the semester is over, everybody shot off in different directions to explore Europe. We will start the next semester on Jan 4th 2010, in Turku, Finland. I'll be leaving Aix on the last day of the year and celebrating the new year in Helsinki. These 4 months were loaded with experiences, it is hard to believe that 4 months passed so fast. And now we are ready for another adventure, Finland. One of the coldest places I will ever possibly live in, Turku can get as cold as -30 degrees Celsius. I already have plans for Turku - playing tennis, ping pong, cycling & travelling. It will be loaded with fun. Yet there is something mysteriously seducing about Aix that makes me feel a little nostalgic. Although our stay is very short here, I'm sure .. that some day, I will be back for more fun! Miss you Aix!!
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