BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - IU volleyball standout Katie Pollom is studying abroad in France this semester and has graciously agreed to chronicle her time in Europe throughout the semester for IUHOOSIERS.com. This is the first installment of her diary series.

"I have been living here in Aix-en-Provence France for nearly three weeks now. Aix is located about 25 minutes north of Marseille, which is on the Southern Coast of France. I became interested in studying abroad two years ago and chose Aix because of its beautiful location. Living in France has given me the opportunity to finish my French minor while becoming fluent in the French language at the same time. As it turns out, becoming fluent in French is more important to me now because I recently discovered that I will teach French in St. Louis for Teach for America 2005.

I have had many interesting experiences and went through a little culture shock since I first arrived. I am living with a woman in her 50's who speaks little English so I have learned to speak and explain things with gestures as well as words! She has a four-month old grandchild, so I feel like I am learning French right along with the baby at times. The shower in our apartment has no curtain, so showering has become an art (so as not to get water all over the bathroom floor!). I also had to get used to kissing complete strangers on both cheeks because the handshake is rarely used over here, even for introductions.

I have been in an intensive course with other Americans from IU, Wisconsin, and Michigan over the past two weeks. It was basically a brush up on French grammar and pronunciation and helped prepare us for our courses at the University of Provence, which begin the first week of February.

A couple other things I've had to get used to over here are dogs being everywhere. People bring their dogs right into the stores with them! And there is no leash requirement in this town, so some dogs just run wild. Pigeons here are like squirrels at IU...they are EVERYWHERE! Also, there is little distinction made between smoking and non-smoking, so regardless of where we are...restaurant, computer lab, hallways at school, there is always someone smoking around us. That took a little getting used to.

Despite the cultural differences, I have gained a great appreciation for the French language and customs. There is so much to see and do in this area. Last Saturday, I visited the town of Marseille, which is the second-largest city in France, and we are going back again tomorrow to see all of the sights that we were not able to see the first time.

I am just trying to take everything in right now!

I will keep you updated in the weeks to come!

Go Hoosiers!

Katie Pollom"