Having spent now over two months in France (one in Aix) doesn’t mean that my croissant eating frequency has decreased by any means! It is a welcome treat after a long week of assignments, but the drastic increase of workload has meant that, having covered all the nearby boulangeries, I need to go further afield …
Author Archives: ziwillis
Do you ever do any work?
Although anyone on an Erasmus year will go to all lengths – whether it be an immaculate Instagram or a chirrupy year abroad blog – to posit the year as a highlight, I can guarantee you that they don’t share even half of the struggles, and often tears, which go into it. Erasmus isn’t all …
Life Sketching
One of my favourite things to do whenever I go somewhere new is to spend some time people-watching during the day. On holiday this is easily done- it’s a welcome break from intense tourism and allows you to absorb life going on while relaxing. When “normal” life returns again, it’s hard to put aside time …
Eating Out in Aix
Angkor Restaurant This restaurant is situated in one of the main restaurant squares near the clock tower in Aix, where I had a lovely sunset view and watched the starlings fly around once again. After a month of eating purely European food, I desperately was craving something Asian so Grace and I went to this …
Hike up Sainte Victoire
One bright Saturday morning after injuring my head on a cupboard the previous evening, Jessica and I walked to the bus stop by Pasino to meet the Erasmus coordinators who had organised an ESN trip to hike up Montagne Sainte Victoire. Confusingly, there are approximately nine bus stops around Pasino (a casino, not to be …
Joining a Dance Group: the Saga Continues
At the end of the bonus dance class run by AMU at the Centre Sportif Universitaire, I tried asking the teacher whether she ran any other classes for non-beginners – to which her answer was no. However, I realised that the couple who demonstrate the routines to the class would be training somewhere, so I …
Continue reading “Joining a Dance Group: the Saga Continues”
Quest for the Holy Croissant (Part 1)
Croissants are undoubtedly one of my favourite parts of French culture. One of the viennoiserie typically eaten for breakfast, they are made by layering butter and dough and laminating it (as anyone who has seen Bakeoff Creme de la Creme will know). As such, I thought it only right that I begin my search for …
Programme of study
Since arriving at Aix-Marseille, my Learning Agreement has taken many drastic turn in various directions. I was at one point signed up to study Catalan and Hindi until my Year Abroad tutor in Birmingham told me I wasn’t allowed to. So what am I even studying this semester? My degree programme at Birmingham is English …
Joining a dance group
November 2018 One of my friends in BALADS helped me to research which French universities in the south had ballroom and Latin dance classes. Aix-Marseille was the only one with an official-looking club, so I selected this university for my year abroad. March 2019 I sent a long message to the AUC Danse Sportive email, …
A Day Trip to Avignon
In a burst of wanderlust-induced spontaneity, three Erasmus friends and I booked a train trip to Avignon for the next day. We rose at dawn to walk into the centre of Aix to catch a taxi to the Gare TGV, which is 13km outside of the city. From there we got on the TGV to …
An Aixpat-en-Provence 