Food, wine, repeat. Location: Bordeaux.

This weekend CIEE took us to Bordeaux! It was super fun and a great vacation away from the city (an odd idea, isn't it? a vacation away from Paris). The trip was fully included and planned in every sense so for the most part, it was stress free. Just as in orientation, I definitely got frustrated with constantly traveling in a large group, but it was nice to do cool things without thinking about the cost. 

We took the TGV high speed train to Bordeaux Friday afternoon at 2 PM and from the moment we arrived all I did was eat and drink. Every meal we had included 3 very rich, very delicious courses (appetizer, main course, dessert) and every meal we had included bottles and bottles of incredible wine. The first evening we got there we went on a night bus tour of the city. Bordeaux is actually a lot more  cosmopolitan than I expected and I really liked what I saw of it. Unfortunately we didn't have much time to wander around on our own, so I'd love to go back some day and spend more time there. 

Saturday we went to Saint Emilion, a ridiculously old town about an hour away from Bordeaux famous for its intense wine production. We saw catacombs there and visited a winery for a tour and tasting. 

 The town of Saint-Emilion.

 Me and Caroline.

Me and Hal at the winery.

Last night we had free time after dinner so Hal, Lizzie, Tyler and I went to the carnival in town and some bars. It was really nice to enjoy a fun night in a new place with cool people. That sounds so silly and simple, but it was great to do something so stress-free. 

This morning we woke up (too early) and went to a food and antiques market in Bordeaux. Again, we didn't have a lot of time there... like I said, lots of reasons to go back!

The marché. 

I'm not sure if I've written about my program before, but if I haven't, some information is necessary in order to understand my experience here. CIEE is kind of a bullshit program. The staff for the most part is sweet and helpful, but the difference in effectiveness between CIEE and Tufts in Madrid is striking. For example, I've already met with the director of Tufts in Madrid to discuss what kind of host family I want, what kind of cultural activities I am looking for and what kind of nonprofit I would like to volunteer at. When I'm in Madrid, my program will specifically direct me to art classes, yoga classes, dance classes and anything else that I might be interested in as well as reimburse me for all costs. CIEE on the other hand, has one volunteer opportunity that I'm not interested in, and has been totally unhelpful in facilitating my search for dance classes. You get what you pay for clearly because CIEE is definitely a cheaper program. So that's the framework I'm dealing with. Then, there are the students in the program... a whole other story. I swear, CIEE draws the weirdest people that go to American colleges. I wish I could describe some of them for your amusement, but I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt over the internet and honestly I wouldn't be able to do them justice anyway. Hal, our friends and I have all experienced numerous out-of-body moments when spending time with these people where we ask ourselves, "who are you people? where the hell am I?" Most of the time it's pretty hilarious and then there are times when it's embarrassing and frustrating. All of that said, this weekend was still pretty fun.

October is the craziest month... this week is about to be soo busy with my birthday then Hal's birthday and dad arriving. Then next week I have 3 midterms in 3 days then the following week I go to Prague and Berlin! I'll do my best to keep updating about all my adventures...

Love,
Anj