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 ninth installment of her diary series.

"Hey everyone...top of the mornin' to you all and Happy St. Patty's Day! Unfortunately, they do not celebrate this Irish holiday over here in France, but some American friends and I are going to go to an Irish pub tonight wearing our green :)

The weather this week has been amazing...it's warm and sunny and spring-like...the way I imagined southern France. However, for the locals, it is still cold, so I still see the French people wearing winter coats and scarves while I feel like I could be laying out in a bathing suit! I'm glad that it is finally getting warm here though.

Last weekend, we had our second excursion organized by the program. On Saturday, we visited The Luberon, which is like a large National Park, and it contains mountains and many small perched (on a hill) villages. We started off the day visiting a Cistercian abbey called L'Abbaye de Senanque that was surrounded by fields of lavender, which the monks grow and sell in various forms. It smelled amazing!

Next we visited many of the perched villages throughout the day, including Gordes, Roussillon, and Bonnieux. We spent the most time at Roussillon, where we ate lunch and visited a beautiful park situated in the forest where the ground contains orchre so the soil and cliffs all have bright red, orange, and yellow pigments. To add to the beauty of this village, the houses are all very colorful, made up of these same pigments.

Our final stop of the day was the gravesite of Albert Camus, a well-known French author who originally came from Algeria in Northern Africa.

This Tuesday I started as a volunteer assistant at a foreign language center called Greta. It's purpose is to help teach English to adults here who are between jobs. They basically need to learn English in order to get a better job, so I help out along with another girl from IU, Sara. We mainly just have conversations with them in English, and ask them questions about themselves so that they feel more comfortable speaking the language. Some are very good at English, while others remind me of myself speaking French :) It was odd to have to speak English with them though because I'm so used to having to respond in French. I was correcting one man's homework, and I wanted to explain it to him in French, but I had to remind myself that they are there, of course, to learn English!

Last night, I went to Marseille with my theatre literature class to see a Greek play called Hecube. It was difficult to understand at times. However, I rode to Marseille with my teacher and another student, and afterward she explained a lot of the symbolism and meaning of this famous play...this was very helpful because I was honestly very confused (having never read the play)! I also learned a lot about Marseille during the car ride because my teacher has lived in Marseille her entire life. She told us about immigration in Marseille (since it is a huge port city). When many of the French colonies in Africa and Asia were liberated, people flocked to France to find work, and many of them ended up in Marseille. The city also has many Italian and Spanish immigrants since it is situated in the middle of the two countries on the Mediterranean. I also learned about Marseille during WW2 because my teacher's father lived through the German occupation and American Liberation at the end of the war.

Very interesting stories...

This weekend, I think I may go back to Marseille on Saturday with some friends. However, this time it will be to visit the beach (and get some studying done in the sun...with sunscreen of course!)

Well, take care...I hope everyone is enjoying Spring Break (for those of you who are out of school right now!)

Have a great St. Patrick's Day!
Katie"