Ash with Flamingos + Ash with Fia!!!!!

Ashley and Sherbrooke Boys + Ashley In Monaco!!!

Ashley In Nice

Brice de Nice (je t'ai cassé!!!)

Heyhey!

I’m officially addicted… not to smoking or drugs, but rather to traveling! This weekend I traveled to Nice, Monaco and Cannes. It was absolutely amazing! We left Thursday evening and got to the hostel in Nice at around 1am. Im actually thankful for my shitty rez, cause now my hostels are like five star hotels!!! Friday we travelled around Nice. We started off by eating the best chocolate croissant EVER. It was orgasmic… really! Afterwards we walked along La Place des Anglais! Yes that’s right everyone, a boardwalk especially for me!! We walked up to the top of a hill which has the most amazing view of the city and a random waterfall! We also took a bus tour (double decker bus, and we were on the top!) around the city to become historically educated! During our tour we passed a very large square head, home to a very renowned library. All my Qc friends started pointing at it and saying “hey Ashley, it’s you!!!” I laughed along with them (you know how it goes – just smile and nod!!). Eventually I asked what was so funny about the square head and was informed that “Square Heads” are what French ppl call English ppl… who knew!

The next day we went to Monaco… it was beautiful! We saw the palace and the changing of the guards. We were lucky to have gone on Saturday because we were able to see the worshiping ceremony for Saint Devote. A parade of people (mostly religious) walked up to the palace and prayed to their Saint. The Prince was on the Balcony, and I decided that he wasn’t my type and that “happily ever after” would simply have to wait…
We also went to the renowned marine biology museum. It was amazing. I saw Nemo! The boys were thoroughly entertained by all the nice cars… I don’t think I have ever seen so many Ferraris, BMW’s, Porches (…) in my life. Out of the 500 pictures that the guys took, I’m sure 250 are of cars!
That night we went out to an Irish Pub (in Nice – it’s less expensive!) It was crazy! Apparently the best bars in Nice are run by Anglophones! No joke!!!! I was so happy to hear the English language!!! I even ordered my drink in English… and the bar tender understood! While we were dancing, a guy (who I’m assuming had one drink too many) smashed his glass on his head and was bleeding everywhere… lovely.

The next day half the group slept in and headed to Cannes later that morning, while Gab, Felix and I woke up early (like troupers!) and went to see the Russian Church and the Chagall Museum. The Russian Church was beautiful…very colourful. We were able to catch part of a mass that was taking place. In an Orthodox mass, the priest does not face his congregation…he has his back towards them in order to face God. Also, the mass isn’t done orally but rather is sung. The Chagall Museum was also great… his painting are so colourful!!! Gab and I pretended that we knew a lot about art… I noticed that, in his paintings, many of the people’s limbs are not attached to their body but displaced throughout the painting. Gab noticed that he had a thing for horses (their heads in particular!) Afterwards we caught a train and met the rest of the group in Cannes. Cannes seems to be a very rich town and we spent the first bit of the afternoon sitting by the beach (which was beautiful!) and watching the rich ppl walk by in their prada jeans, chanel glasses and louis vuitton purses! Even the dogs dressed better then I did with their Gucci coats! We then took a boat to l’île st marguerite where we were able to see the prison where the “man in the iron mask” was held in captivity before he was transferred to a prison in Paris. While in the actual prison, the guards told us that they would be closing in five minutes…however I thought they meant the ACTUAL prison. So I left the prison and kept walking around the fort. Luckily for me, they saw me just as they were about to lock the gates. I almost spend the night in the prison…

So that was my weekend! Had a blast and can’t wait to go travel somewhere else (yes parents, I know I’m here for school!!!!! )

Tonight Im gonna watch a soccer game… it’s like going to see the Habs play (only not as good!) And Nick – Marseilles is playing!!!!

Thinking of you guys always!

-Ash
xoxo

Let's get dirty!

Hey Guys!
How’s the 514/613 treating everyone???
I really can’t complain… I’ve been staying away from phone booths & robbers and so far so good ;)
I’m actually pretty well connected here in Montpellier. Pat’s Grandma not only has a friend here who is more than willing to help me, but also a godson! He gave me a call last week and I ended up spending a good party of the weekend with him and his family! He has two daughters around my age and two little boys (they are so cute…I think I want to adopt them as my little brothers!!!) I got to eat home cooked meals and they took me on a bike tour around the Mediterranean Sea!!! Right before the Sea begins, there are series of small lake size water sources where flamingos congregate! It was amazing. I took lots of pictures! And here is where the story become Ashley like (cause you know, I cant possibly take normal pictures of flamingos like everybody else… where is the fun in that..!) I decided that I wanted to get closer to the flamingos so I went down onto the beach. There were docks, but I figured they were simply there for those who did not want to get their shoes a little dirty….and I was not one of those people…so I decided to walk directly onto the muddy beach. Before anyone had time to react, I was sinking in mud. The more I moved, the more I sank (apparently that is what the docks are for!) I was stuck and could honestly not get out! I had people trying to pull me from the shore but I was knee deep in the mud! Finally I managed to free myself except I also managed to lose my shoes in the process!!! The good part of this story (besides the fact that it’s a thoroughly entertaining one) is that I got nice pictures of flamingos and I was able to take a nice HOT shower at the family’s house (I didn’t hafta wear flip flops this time!!!!)
This weekend a few of us are going to Nice and Monaco… who knows, maybe Ill meet the Prince and live happily ever after…Ill let you all know how that works out! ;)

Bisoux!

-Ash
xoxo

p.s. Stephy… I drank Fosters last week and thought of you J

p.p.s I saw Sofia!!!! I went to her bf’s school party with her and we danced till 5 in the morning!...or 2 in the morning if daddy is reading this ;) The next night we grabbed a hot chocolate and caught up on old times. It was great! She sends her love!

Word on the street...

I was always taught to look straight ahead when I walked and to not look at the ground… look life straight in the face! Here, however, you must ALWAYS look at your feet… cause if not you will step in dog poo… yup… it’s ALL over the place…appetizing eh! Apparently it’s good luck in Paris…

In other news, I tend to meet the wrong ppl in the streets of Montpellier. During a lunch break, I walked down to one of the main streets near my faculty building…I wanted to call one of my friends from back home. While I was on the phone, a big black guy started yelling at me staying it was a public phone and he needed to use it. At first I was polite and told him that there was another phone 5ft beside me and that I was on the phone with somebody from Canada, but he wanted to use MY phone. He started yelling at me and said something about the fact that I was English. I started yelling back…out of instinct and adrenaline… Anyways, he ended up grabbing my hand and hanging up my call. I was sooo mad. I told him to fuck off and took out my calling card to call my friend back. He did not like this response so he proceeded to ram me two times into the phone booth. He also threatened to call the police on me…At that point I just dropped the phone and let him use it. I walked a little down the street. After his phone call, he had the audacity to come up to me and say thank you (sarcastically…maybe…but still.) I was shaking (and eventually crying)… out of anger or nerve I’m not sure…

Also, as you all know, I’m getting kicked out of my rez on March 15th… however…. Pat’s Grandma is super nice and called a friend of hers who lives in Montpellier. She phoned me and I went to go see her. She has a little studio that attaches to her house and she said that I’m allowed moving in whenever I want!!! She even has a daughter around my age, so that should be fun!!! I will probably stay here until March 15th and then move in afterwards! It’ll be a totally different experience, which will be cool. Plus I get my own shower and toilet!!!

As for school, same shit different day! I have come to the conclusion that the reason the French don’t pay for their university education is because they never have class. Class is always cancelled. Sometimes the teacher simple doesn’t show up. Apparently law classes aren’t considered a necessity here…they are considered a privilege and will be taught when the lawyers have time to teach. I have, however, managed to go to ALL my class so far this week!!! And I haven’t been late or yelled at for any of them! Go Ashley! Oh and the cat is doing well… he seems very comfortable in his surroundings. The other day he proceeded to lick himself for 5minutes in the middle of the entrance. Everyone, except the international students, viewed this to be a very normal occurrence.

Social life is still going well… oh and Stephy, I watched Love Actually the other day… it’s not the same without u L

Hope you guys are enjoying the weather back home!!! Continually missing you!!!
Elephant Shoes!!!

-Ash
xoxo

Dear Diary

She sells sea shells by the sea shore

Dear Diary,

Today I went to the beach… yes, you read it correctly… the beach… in January! It was +20 today! Everyone was walking around in their winter coats, and I was in a t-shirt! (Could I have looked any more like a foreigner? I think not!) The Mediterranean Sea is great!!! I even collected sea shells! And to matters even better…I went with FRIENDS. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Ashley Trainor has friends! I was even invited for dinner at my Quebec friends’ villa (im jealouse!)...we drank wine and feasted on yummy Italian food that my Italian friend made!

Don’t forget me!

-Ash
xoxo



Canadians and Greeks do Montpellier 2007

Dear Diary,

Today I went to Marseilles with a bunch of international students (the Canadians and the Greeks took up half the bus!) It was a great day trip…except I was super tired from the night before! We had a bus tour in the morning with random stops to climb up all the stairs of the Cathedral, and take pictures in the fish market and the Mediterranean Sea. For lunch we ate the Marseilles “platter” … la bouillabaisse. Basically they gave us a huge platter of fish… THE FULL FISH… head, eyes, bones and all!!! We had to cut off the head, skin the fish, pull out all the bones… and then put the actual meat in our plate with a type of soup sauce… it was sooo good! I took before and after pictures! The after pictures aren’t very appetizing! Afterwards we went out…obviously!.. cause you know, I have friends now!!! We went to a bar…except here the bars close at 1am…so afterwards we went to an after-club. I got robbed… well almost. There was no coat check so we piled out coats in a corner. There was always somebody watching our coats. Near the end of the night a woman (who was either really drunk, high, or a really good actress) frantically started freaking out, saying that she couldn’t find her purse. The girl who was watching our coats obviously got distracted and that’s when the other woman started looking through our coats. One of our French friends (who knows what goes on here) realized what was happening and pushed the woman to the floor. In her hands were my trampass, cell phone and KEYS. I freaked out. She also had the camera of one of my other friends. She got the 5$ that I had left in my coat, but thank god it was only that…
I’m enjoying the social life…still hate school… but things are definitively looking better!!!

Miss you lots

-Ash
xoxo




The cat in the hat

Dear Diary,

I have decided to name the cat Justice…original eh!! I know… I try!!!

Oh… and I’m getting kicked out of my rez on the 15th of March for renovations….this is just great…

Also… what’s with paying to pee? You pay 35 euros and you don’t even get a toilet seat or toilet paper…

Keep me posted on the mtl gossip!!!

-Ash
xoxo

Adaptation

Hey everyone!

I hadn’t posted a blog in a while, so I figure I was due for several!!! Internet is hard to find sometimes… especially because the free internet at the café isn’t working at the moment….but I figured out how to use wireless at school…Ill I hafta do is find the one random corner that has WIFI!
I met ppl!!!! This is very exciting for me… a Greek girl, a few ppl from Qc, one girl from Spain, a girl from Findland (she lives in the same town as Koivu!!!)… they are just as confused as me… which is nice to here! We went out last night to a local bar... my eyes were burning because Im not used to everyone smoking... it's gross. It was fun though... good to get out and meet some other people who are also on exchange. And some of them even spoke english!!!!!! YAY! I also met someone on the train because he heard our Qc accent.. and he's from Qc... loves it! Phil, (Sofia’s bf) also called me and we did lunch…Sofia comes down to Montpellier almost every weekend, so Ill get to see her soon. A little taste of home will be nice! Saturday I’m going on a day trip to Marseille…I figure, if anything else, I can meet more ppl…
Went to another class – philosophie du droit – (just for u Stephy!) The teacher is super nice and is also in charge of the international students so I figure he understands a little of what I’m going through…

Still missing home!

-Ash
xoxo

p.s. there is a cat that lives in our school...

School...

Hey guys!

So I have officially started school. The first day was so bad… it finished by me crying uncontrollably all night!!! My first class was supposed to be with a teacher who is also in charge of the international students, so I was super pumped… the only problem was that I went to the wrong class…I went to room 3.07 instead of 307. It ended up being a political science class “politique et le média.” And to make matters worse, I was LATE for the class so I got yelled at by the teacher. He was asking me why I was late and I couldn’t understand what he was saying so he kept repeating it and his voice kept getting louder until finally he sarcastically spoke really slowly as if I was mentally handicapped and then I finally understood and told him that I was an exchange student from Canada. He told me that just because there is jet lag, the class still begins at 11:15… oops. I’m really starting to panic because I don’t understand their accent. I honestly sat through the entire class without understanding one thing. That afternoon I went to my international criminal law… I made sure I was on time for that class! This teacher was a little easier to understand but I’m having such a hard time taking notes…
Missing Canada, home, friends everything like u wouldn’t believe…who wants to come visit me??? lol
Hope things are going well back in the 514. Keep me posted!

-Ash
xoxo

Palm Trees, Tramways, Pastries... oh my!

Bonjour!!!

Ok, so it’s my first full week in France and I am adjusting slowly but surely! I found a nice internet café where I get free internet…this makes me VERY happy!!!

Friday was productive. After begging with every possible person for a rez with internet (I was proud of Gab!!!) we gave in and unpacked our things… my room is not as bad as Julien’s room… it at least has paint on the wall. I moved the furniture around so it doesn’t look as cramped. I must mention, however, that our rez is not very safe! There are gypsies that live in the parking lot and a guy got attacked by their dogs. The doors to our dorm are also constantly open so basically anyone can walk in. I have already heard of a girl from Thailand who got her laptop stolen. Anyways, we also paid for a tramway pass so now we have unlimited transportation (which I have noticed is vital in Montpellier!!!) I even had lunch at a real French café and had a coffee (they are small and really strong!) and a yummy tart! Afterwards, we went to the Géant, which is similar to a large wall mart… it has EVERYTHING…the wine is soo cheap too… we got a bottle of wine for 2Euros… loves it! Brie and chocolate croissants were also on our list… healthy eh! We were very upset to find out that the bus does not run after 8 so we had to walk super long to our rez… note to self…do not do groceries after 8…
Saturday we were planning on going to the beach…except the bus that brought us there was not running… maybe it’s because it’s January and most normal people do not go to the beach during winter... at any rate, we decided to go to Ikea instead… this was very exciting because I was able to buy a blanket for my bed and a new pillow. Now, along with the pictures of my friends all over my wall, my room is becoming a little more comfortable!!! Afterwards we walked around La Place de la Comédie, which is the central part of Montpellier. It is beautiful there… lots of little streets with boutiques and lots of brasseries and cafés. We stopped at an outdoor restaurant and had a glass of wine! We then went home and drank wine and ate cheese and French baguette! Yummy! (I won’t be able to eat like this for very long if I expect to have a figure when I get home!!!)
Apparently on Sunday’s NOTHING is open… and I mean nothing… it’s actually very depressing… people disappear and everything is closed (except few restaurants.) So I walked around the town…found out how to get to my school (I walked by it 3x before I finally found it!) I then went back to La Place de la Comédie where I found the internet café! I also met two people for Ireland! I think people who speak English are magnetically drawn to each other!
Yesterday was my first day of “school.” None of the classes that I had chosen when first applying were offered this semester… we weren’t even sure if the classes that we wanted to take were even available to us since the academic system is different here. The woman in charge of the international students was too busy to talk to us because she was trying to figure out where to house other students who had just arrived. Plus the registrar’s office was closed until Tuesday and student services had no idea what to do with us. So we walked around the school and then left… what a productive day! I’ve realised that peoples attitudes here are very lade back and nobody is stressed to do anything. Even the teachers are laid back…however I don’t plan on underestimating anything!!! Afterwards we wanted to do our groceries however there was a strike and some of the buses were not running (just my luck that the one bus I needed to take was not in service!). Instead I ended up walking around town again….

Anywho, missing you guys uncontrollably…

-Ash
xoxo

Bisous aux Carribous

Hello!!!
I am officially in France...ohhh myyyy. The plan ride was fine...long...and I did not have sexy to make the time go by (sorry Jo!). We had to wait 3 hours in Frankfurt...love it there. The airport is really nice and everyone seems really friendly.
Once we got to Marseilles I was able to experience my first Quebec French vs France French. It went something like this...

Ashley: BONJOUR!!! Comment ça va?
Lady at the information table: huh?
Ashley: ça va?
Lady: (not wanting to be rude she just smiled and nodded)
Ashley: Montpellier?
Lady: Ahhhh (and she gave me directions on how to get there)

Apprently saying hi and how are you to ppl at ticket booths and information stands are not customary in France because I get the strangest looks from ppl. They really dont seem to want to talk to me...even when they do understand me!

The administration is horrible here. Once we finally got to Montpellier, they told us that the room that had been reserved for us (in the international rez) was under construction. We therefor had no place to stay for the night. (When I say we, I am referring to myself and my friend Gab.) Luckily for us, we found a friend of ours from home while walking back to a tramway station where Gab had forgotten her bag. We crashed at his rez for the night. This morning we finally got our rez...our room is below poverty level. I thought the bed might break the minute I sat on it. The walls are grey and the paint is shipping. There is a desk with a chair and a small cabinet for our clothes. We dont even have internet which is killing me...honestly it looks like nobody has lived there for 100 years. At first I was very happy to find a sink in our room..however that thrill ended very fast when I stubbed my foot on a door stopper found directly in the middle of the floor. I have managed to stub my toe every time I wish to use this sink...dammit! We share ONE toilet and ONE shower with everyone else on our hallway. The kitchen is basically a sink, one fridge (which you must pay to use) and a hotplate....we do not have any plates or cups and I do not even know if Im supposed to get a meal card... I swear, 7 months is feeling like a very long time right about now...

School is another interesting subject... when I asked how class selection works, they told me that I spend the first 3 weeks shopping around for classes and then I can pick which ones I wish to take. This does seem like a good idea, however the fact that I will be missing three weeks of school is somehow very unsettling...

Besides ALL that...Montepellier is a very cute little city. I am planning to get lost in it later today. The streets are very narrow and filled with boutiques and cafés of all sorts. You must be careful where you walk because there are trams and buses and cars and motorcyles and bikes coming at you from all directions. I, being naive, thought that if I walked on the sidewalk, I would be fine...however I quickly became well aware that this was not the case when a car came up on the sidewalk and started honking at me to move....lovely!

Anywho...it is lunch time...however my eyes are telling me that I should still be sleeping!!!

Love ya lots and missing you more!

-Ash
xoxo