June 6, 2005

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 18th installment of her diary series.

Alongside olive trees, wine, olive oil, lavender and sunny weather, cigales (or cicadas as we know them!) are considered very Provencal. In fact, last night when I told my host mom that we had a near plague of cicadas last year in Indiana, she was astounded because she thought that the insects were found only in Provence (this area of southern France). Here the cigale is considered good luck and has a very special significance to the people of the region. When the cigales come out, this signals good weather and blessings. There is even a cafe named Le Cigale!

This weekend completes the end of my final full week in Aix. On Monday, I'm headed to Italy for six days for a short tour of Italy including Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and Sienna. I am looking forward to it, although I have to return to France in order to take my last final exam...and the day after my last exam I head back to the States, which will be a bittersweet day. I am looking forward to returning to see family and friends, but at the same time I will miss this country and all of the friends I have made here.

Yesterday, I had a final exam for my linguistics class, which I think went well :). Since I only had one exam this week, I took advantage of the extra time and did a little traveling. Last Saturday, I visited Cassis, a town that sits right on the ocean. The beaches were absolutely pristine and gorgeous. I went with four friends and we hiked for about two hours through the city and along the cliffs overlooking the water until we came to a beautiful calanque. The calanques are inlets of water surrounded on either side by the cliffs. I swam in the crystal clear Mediterranean for the first time. Although the water was still a little cold, I loved it because I could see straight to the bottom!

Tuesday, I visited the famous medieval town of Avignon, including the legendary pont Avignon (the bridge after which the well-known children's song was made). I also visited the Palais des Papes (Pope's Palace), which was built during the 1300's when the papacy moved from Rome to Avignon, France for nearly a hundred years. This in turn led to a Great Schism in the Church, which I learned about in my French history class!

Those two sites of the bridge and the palais are the main draws to the town of Avignon, but I also enjoyed shopping and walking through the city. It's amazing to see how ancient and modern worlds collide as the city of today now contains a McDonald's yet is also still surrounded by a fortified wall and towers from the Middle Ages!

Aside from traveling, I studied quite a bit this week and just tried to take in everything I could in Aix during these last few days here. I started writing down some of the things I will miss most about France when I return home...here's just a few: accordion music in the streets, the smell of fresh baguettes around every corner, the relaxed French way of life, waking up on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings, opening my window, and seeing the market in the square below my apartment, and, of course, the constant sun of Provencal France!

When I write next, I will be writing from Italy. Until then, take care!

Ciao, Katie