Some things change, some things don't

I really had the best of intentions for blogging again sooner, but an unfortunate mishap with my camera malfunctioning delayed me. . . it gave a sigh and breathed its last, in the middle of a trip to the Luberon. Lovely. Thank you, technology, but on the bright side, I don't feel guilty for not taking pictures like I usually do! So I tried adding a friend's pictures from Facebook, but it didn't work . . . you'll just have to take a field trip and look. Procrastination is like a snowball effect, and excuse led to excuse--until now!



So. Where do I start. Lately this week I've been thinking about having a thankful, trustful heart. While I'm feeling much more settled in here, as far as routine and culture go, I feel like I'm still waiting for some kind of French friend to appear or a community to come up around me. I'm realizing more and more what a short time I have here, and at the same time waiting for the days to go by . . . I suppose I'd say I'm contented but not happy right now. I was talking to a friend Rachel about how being abroad can bring out the worst in you. The stress and changes bring out characteristics or struggles you didn't know were in there . . . so it's hard, but good. I was thinking the same thing as I was journaling the other day, how easily I complain. This is not what I expected, I'm not being challenged enough, people aren't welcoming me enough, I wish I were better at French, I wish the people here were different, I wish there was a gym, etc. etc. . .


But when I look at what I do have here, I am so very blessed in my time here so far. I have a kind, helpful host family. They really, truly want me to have a good time here. I have some quality friends in my program, who I connect with and who share my motivation of actually being here to learn! They are rarer than I expected, but they do exist! I have encountered a strong Christian community at ICCP, which is an English-speaking church. At first that turned me away, but I find that as much as I want to surround myself with French, it's important to have fellowship and spiritual nourishment, which at this point for me means in English. This weekend I was very thankful for Anne-Claire, a dynamic, sweet, energetic woman I met at the French church who has taken me under her wing in a lot of ways, reaching out to me and meeting with me at least once a week so I can speak French and she can speak English. I'm amazed at how God places people in our lives when we need them. She invited me to go with her and a couple friends to Cassis, a beautiful seaside village. We hiked the calanques, inlets of the sea which are bordered by blindingly, beautifully white cliffs. I've never seen clearer water, and as I swam in the chilly ocean I was thankful for the chance to be with people in this wild, beautiful place. Although, try changing into your swimsuit behind a bush and under a towel when there are no changing rooms on this busy beach . . . I guess I was grateful for the bush! I am thankful for the hiking I've done--on Sunday I got to hike Mont St. Victoire, a mountain near Aix that Cezanne painted many pictures of. I went with young people from evangelical churches all around the area, which was a fun opportunity to meet new people. While the view from Mt. St. Victoire at maybe 1,000 meters doesn't compare to the fourteeners of Colorado, seeing the countryside and the hills, the brushy landscape, and the far away Alps was breathtaking in a different way!

So, I don't know what's going to change and what won't as the semester goes on. At six weeks in, I can't believe how fast the time is speeding by. I hope I continue to deepen relationships and my language skills, but I am so thankful for what has already happened here. I am grateful for the consistency and faithfulness of Christ, for his joy present in all circumstances, and for the reminders of his goodness that he gives if we only look. Until next time, friends--I love you and I am also so grateful for you! I hope one thing that changes is that I figure out the camera situation . . . ;)

(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.

Well friends, I've been waiting until I can post pictures to say any more, and since the internet has been surprisingly hard to get a hold of, it's been a while! I can't believe I've been here for over a week. It feels like much longer, because every day is something different. I think this week I'll start to settle into a routine with my classes, homework, etc. I think the most surprising challenge so far has been to surround myself with French; it's so easy to just fall in with the other American students and speak English for most of the day. I found a Protestant church (one of very few) that I went to on Sunday, and I hope very much to be involved there--practicing French and fellowshipping at the same time. I'm also looking into other activities around here, and there are so, so many--too many that I'd like to do: rock climbing, dance classes, cultural events . . . there's so much going on here! I find that it's hard to find other students in my program who feel the same way as I do about wanting to speak as much French as possible, which is kind of frustrating. It's an effort to go out and meet real French people, and I'm hoping that as the other universities (there are tons in Aix) start up, I can meet more people through different activities. Well, I can't fault southern France for not being absolutely gorgeous. We often eat dinner outside on the front patio, and I leave my windows open all the time. If I come back browned by the Provencal sun and weighing 200 pounds from the amazing food here, promise you won't judge me? We took a trip to Nice this weekend, which is where the pictures are from. It is a beautiful port about two hours away from Aix. There are the ruins of a castle on top of a hill overlooking the city, as well as beaches and the old part of town. I'm not usually one to take the initiative and make plans, but there is so much to see and do here in the area and all over Europe--how will I have time for classes?? I miss all of you. You are in my thoughts. Continue to pray for me; I am very much enjoying France, but I miss my close relationships at home and in Wheaton. Pray for language learning--lots of opportunities to speak French, accepting French people to talk to, and mental endurance--speaking another language drains me so fast!

Je suis arrivée!

Well everyone, I am here in Aix! After anticipating it for so long, it`s hard to believe. Just for the record, I am typing on a French keyboard which is a little different, so I may keep this short for the sake of time. When I got to the airport there was a little fiasco because IAU was not there to meet me; apparently there was some miscommunication, and they were looking at my old Itinerary, or something; I`m not really sure what happened, but at least there was another student in the same boat to take the bus with from the airport in Marseille to Aix. My host parents, Abdul and Palmyre, are so sweet, and I`m really glad to have a fellow study abroad student, Emily, in the same house. Today Palmyre showed us around town some; it is so charming, quaint and beautiful. Then an open house with large numbers of new people met, and an overwhelming sense of freshman year revisited . . . not sure how to feel about that, but I`ll get settled in. What a long day, with more to come tomorrow with orientation! Iam having mixed feelings of smallness, joy, fear, anxiety, joy, excitement . . . a little strange, and a lot exhausting, hence I think I will head towards bed. And process a little in my journal. As if this isn`t a form of processing. Consider yourselves my pre-thinking. Thank you for your prayers, friendship and support! Hopefully I can get access to some internet on my own computer and show you some pictures of this beautiful area soon.

Contact information

I would appreciate contact from anyone and everyone . . . email me at jamie.patrick@my.wheaton.edu. Skype me. Facebook me. If you're feeling particularly thoughtful and old-fashioned, send me snail mail at

27, place de l'Universite
BP 30970
13604 Aix-en-Provence CEDEX 1
France

Note: the 'e' on Universite has an accent but I haven't figured out how to put that in yet . . . I'll have to work on that one.

The moment before take-off . . .

I couldn't help but join the trend. It's such a better way of staying updated with friends and fam around the world than email updates! (No offense to those of you who do, I appreciate them:) I'm spending four months studying in Aix-en-Provence, France! I'm leaving on Friday, September 4 . . . so soon . . . but if you know me, you'll know I haven't started packing yet. This will come in time, I promise.
A word on the title: who knows what to call their blog?? It means "What else?" or "anything else?" because I didn't know what else to call it, and because I find that I say it to myself a lot--making sure I remember everything important in a paper, when I go somewhere, etc. It doesn't always work, sometimes I forget something, but whatever. What else?