Update in Automne (pictures at the bottom for those with short-attention spans)

It's been a while since I last wrote something, I have to say I've had a bit of what the french call "la flemme" or melancholic laziness.  I sometimes forget the fact that being in France to study anthropology and development and to teach english to under privileged children is a reason to make me feel good, not melancholic !

As a foreigner in France, it can be so easy to get caught up in the frustration of constant administrative woes and delays. It doesn't help that melancholy and la flemme were practically invented by the french, so you can always find someone to commiserate with. That being said though, almost all of the french friends I have made in my master or through the friends of Jonathan, including himself, are positive, open-minded, travel-enthusiast, adventure-loving people...I really gotta throw myself out of this funk...eh ?

Anyway, during my absence I've of been reading a lot of analytical and critical anthropology (interesting, but I won't bore you with it here), a bit of rock climbing, eating and testing new recipes and restos in Marseille.

At my primary school, the children are adorable and so enthusiastic. We have been learning colors and numbers, and of course the story of Thanksgiving. Though I really don't anticipate being a teacher for young kids at any point, at least in a formal sense, it is fun to go in and play games and to encourage them in their education.

Jonathan and I have been testing new restaurants with friends in Marseille (as well as testing new recipes with squash, pumpkin and beets from the autumn harvest in France--more on that later), here are some of our favorites:

• Chez Sauveur, 10 Rue d'Aubagne
• The first night we moved to Marseille, we were so sweaty, exhausted, HUNGRY, that we really just wanted a big pizza and 2 cold beers. I have an "insider's guidebook" to Marseille, that suggested Chez Sauveur for pizza, which happened to be 10 minutes from our place. We had ordered to go, but were asked to stay and eat, and it was the best decision we made. Fabrice the owner, is a super-foodie, super friendly guy who puts out a delicious food and fabulous desserts every week. We became fast regulars, going once every week or two weeks. à tester (to test) : The cannellonis, the lasagna, the roquette and Parma ham pizza...mmmm
• Le Pavillon Thai, 28 Rue Frères Barthélémy
• Copious, authentic, delicious (and the spicy is REALLY spicy, I actually turned red, finally !!). We got the menu dégustation, I think, which comes with a smorgasboard (not a thai word) of entrées--nems, shrimp and pineapple, and other tasty things--then another smorgasboard of plats--a sweet beef, spicy curried chicken, sweet, gluey coconut rice, and a garlic and ginger chicken--followed by sorbet and washed down with thai beer.
• La Garbure, 9 Cours Julien
• Resto Sud-Ouest, so confit de canard, foie gras...fat, butter, and delicious ! Charming location, charming hosts and fantastic chefs, and a 26 euro tasting menu complete with apéritif...I'll take it !

Finally, here are a few photos from this autumn's happenings: 

Took a mini-trip to Nice

Old Nice, it couldn't be anymore beautiful

and another to Antibes, look at the snow-capped mountains !

Pumpkin Cake from Thanksgiving

Sunset from the Corniche John F Kennedy, Marseille

café café Marseille!

Well...once every 2 weeks is may be about as good as it gets.

Things have been busy here, let me give you the bullet-point run down of my schedule:

Monday : Readings, deep contemplation about why exactly I picked a master's again at this point in my 
life, more readings, television break, coffee, coffee, coffee mixed in intermittently

Tuesday: Class 9:30-4:30pm, hour break for lunch and 2 coffee breaks where I stock up on caffeine

Wednesday: Class from 1:30-4:30 pm, but not for a few weeks, prof is in afrique

Thursday: No class, readings, deep contemplation for project due on the 17th, future teaching time to be added to this day

Friday: Same as thursday, perhaps an aperitif at the end of the day...perhaps

Weekend: less café, more reading, little breaks to discover Marseille

Here are a few things from those little breaks:

touring around the panier

stade vélodrome, allez l'om!

...is everywhere

La Bonne Mère...

Marseille, la cité phocéenne

I know, you were afraid, what is Kelsy doing, where is she, is she even continuing this adventure in France still ? WELL, I have the response to these questions and much more!

Let's be honest, you guys know how bad I am at keeping this thing updated. But I have a goal to update at least once a week (I am starting a master's people, so let's not set crazy expectations). In addition, I wanted to give you the link to a new tumblr account I created, which will allow me to share photos/little moments with you more easily than long-winded blog posts about culture, food, and life.

http://kelsyexpatlife.tumblr.com/

Ok, so, WHAT am I doing?

Jonathan and I moved to the South of France, to the city of Marseille in the Provence region (I am still in France! the adventure lives on). I've been here for almost 3 weeks, and it already feels like I've been here longer (maybe from all the trips up and down 3 flights of stairs with heavy Ikea boxes).

Leaving Paris for me was not as bittersweet as I thought it would have been.  I had been waiting to find a city that was both big with opportunities to eat out, go out, etc. and close to a lot of outdoor opportunities in the mountains, sea...While I miss my friends who are back in Paris (and even more those back in the states!), I feel that the change of city has done me good, and I really couldn't be happier in our new place (pictures to come soon).

Our first weekend in the new city, to be honest, was a pain in this girl's rear end. We had ikea furniture to build, we were missing half of our stuff, I felt like we were surrounded by boxes that we would never get rid of! Here we are, two-point-5 weeks later, we have all of our stuff, all boxes are done, now we just need to decorate a bit to fill in the enormous white space that is our walls.

Marseille, some of you may not know much about it, here are some quick facts (some via wikipedia, so...grain of salt) :

• Cité Phocéenne? The Phocaeans, from Phocaea, an ancient greek city in Turkey, had many major sea colonies (they were a strong, way-faring people), Marseille (Massalia in 600 BC) being one of them
• "Marseillais" identity is strong, and each area of the city has a distinct "vie de quartier." For example, Jon and I live in the 6th arrondissement (there are 16 total), and more specifically in the Préfecture quartier. In Marseille, your quartier is more important than your arrondissement.
• Population about 850,000, probably a bit more, it's the second biggest city in France, and the biggest in terms of surface area
• It is on the sea, with a big, beautiful, old port
• It is surrounded by some of the most beautiful spots in France, including the Calanques, Cassis, Sainte Baume, Mont Ste Victoire and the Aix en Provence area, and a bit further (2 hours drive), the Gorges du Verdon 
• It gets a bad rep. for banditism and mafia (which exists, but is 1. not as rampant as the media makes it seem and 2. is between them and not random people in the street), it also gets a rep for being "dirty," due to frequent strikes by the waste management services (frequent=1 per year...so not that frequent)...I honestly see just as much dog poo and garbage in the streets as I saw in Paris

I am excited about getting to know this city, and am excited for the adventures to come. Jonathan and I have started hiking, swimming and other various activities (soon rock-climbing, I hope!) and I will soon be starting a master's program at the Université de Provence in Aix. It is a degree in Anthropology and Jobs in Development, the goal is that after this first year of courses and next year's internship in a developing country, us young buck master's students will be primed for the development, ngo, non-profit rich world we've got out there.  Hey! You, 50 page bibliography? It's go time.

Ok, ta-ta for now, time to go to the library,

Kelsy

View from our window

Montpézat

La Sainte Baume