(One of my favorites by Picasso, Jacqueline assise dans un fauteuil)

(I couldn't resist taking this picture of cute Japanese tourists in Marseille!)

(The fountain at the end of the Cour Mirabeau in Aix, which is the main street)

This week or so has held a lot of interesting cultural events for me, which has been so exciting. That's what I'm here for! Last Monday was l'Aïd, the festival at the end of Ramadan, and my host family, not being practicing Muslims but still claiming that part of their culture, had some friends over for an amazing Moroccan feast, compete with fish, couscous, vegetables, wine, and a spread of delicious pasteries that one of the friends had made--apparently it was her first time baking Moroccan desserts, but I never would have guessed. The evening went late with lots of talking, laughing, smoking, and singing traditional songs in Arabic that they translated into French for me and Emily, the other student in my house. Having learned about the large North-African presence in France, I'm so excited to be welcomed into a family of that heritage. I appreciated how they know I'm a Christian but did not hesitate to include me in their celebration--you can appreciate a good time with friends for any occasion.

(One of the many markets in Aix, selling typical Provencal stuff like lavender)

I've seen two French movies, and I mean "French movies" in every sense of the term--rapid dialogue, depressing plot, strange twists, thought-provoking themes. Not gonna lie, I can't say I actually liked Non Ma Fille, Tu N'Ira Pas Danser (No my daughter, you will not dance) or Je Suis Content Que Ma Mere Soit Vivante (I'm happy my mother is alive). But they had some interesting food for thought about relationships and family. I was gratified by the fact that while I didn't catch every word, I got the gist of the plots. For the second one, Emily and I went with our host sister Hana and brother Timour, at the invitation of one of the family friends who came over for l'Aïd, since he was the director of the cinema--I think it was a special showing we went to, and there was Q and A with the two lead characters afterward!

I've recently converted into a Picasso fan: not wholesale, but I really enjoy some of his works. This is quite a transformation for me, since I really didn't appreciate modern art so much, but nine hours in a museum can do things to you . . . I'll back up. Aix was the home of the artist Cèzanne, who was a major influence on Picasso, and the Musée Granet has a temporary exhibition about the two of them. It finished September 27, and after procrastinating until the last minute rushed to get tickets with my friend Rachel for Thursday night. It was ok, but I still was not such a fan of the distortions and crazy colors. Maybe it was that we were both tired, and kind of rushed through . . . enough extreme art is enough. However, the next day I discovered that there was a "Nuit Blanche" (white night, a.k.a. all night) on the last day of the showing, and decided to go with another friend Anushka since there were also other events--food, music, dancing, films, lectures. We decided to stay for the whole time, 9pm-4pm, on principle, to get our 5 euros worth. Somewhere between the early-on discussions about squiggly faces and the free coffee at 3:30 am in the courtyard as the last museum-goers, my opinion changed. Something about Picasso's vibrantly colored people, surreal countrysides, and blocky still lifes captured the inner essence of the subjects, if not the outside. I can't really explain the transformation; maybe it's from repeated (intense) exposure, maybe it had to do with the time of night, or maybe it's from being in the countryside that inspired Picasso and Cèzanne. There's something magical about art, though, that I haven't remembered to feel in a while.

(Marseille, the second-largest city in France, is a sea port. Hence the little escargots, with no idea they will soon be bought and eaten!)

Finally, I've done a little traveling the past couple of days. Sunday was spent in Marseille, which I truly think I could like, but I need a better experience to cancel this one out. Anushka and I set out with the reasonable intention of finding the Red Bull Flugtag, a crazy cultural event that reminds me of camp plus youth group. Teams of contenstants build their own flying machines, and see how far they can get off the edge of a pier--you can imagine the carnage in the water below. Team themes included Star Wars, Snow White and Born to Fly. But in order to see this nice event, we were compelled to take an hour-long bus ride in the midst of hot, sweaty, crowded people who pushed way more onto the bus than should have been there . . . I really shouldn't complain because that's common in many places, but somehow it was unexpected in this case. After a bit of viewing, we got hungry and set off to find a grocery store, only to find that everything in Marseille was strangly closed. Thank you, Marseille. We appreciated the smallness and the openness of Aix upon our return. Well, that's life, things don't happen as you would expect them to :)

Today I took a field trip with my History of Provence class to Entremont, an archeological site of an oppidium. These are settlements of Gaulois tribal inhabitants two thousand years ago, and Entremont was the capital of the Salyen tribe who lived around Aix. The history major in me was thoroughly pleased.

So, dear family and friends, these are some of the things going on in life recently . . . I'm feeling more settled in and content, which is lovely, though I would still very much like to make some real French friends!! You can be praying for me in that, as well as being a light to those around me and seeing God at work here, in his word and in the believers I know, who are very much a blessing. Even as I'm re-capping the past several days, I'm so thankful to reflect on the richness of my experience thus far, and how God's splendor can be seen in so many ways! I love and miss you all--you are in my heart and thoughts.