Ok I’m finally caught up lol
Two weeks ago I went to the cutest cat cafe I’ve ever been to. Granted, I don’t think I’ve actually been to one before that Tuesday so there is not exactly a high bar to reach to become the best. It was unassuming looking from the outside, with some Halloween decor (a rarity here) and some pastel colored seating, which confused me as why would anyone want to sit outside where the cats couldn’t go but I digress. Step inside the first doors, and get let in through the second set however, and you’re blasted with cute cat paraphernalia, pastels, cat items, and most importantly: cats.
I went with my friend Ash, who within the span of the previous week had already racked up three stamps on his carte fidelite (stamp card). He walked in with confidence and sat down, where as I was instantly distracted by this beautiful orange cat named Dexter who was perfectly sitting on a pink shell chair that when I sent a picture to my mom was more interesting than the cat.
The food was delicious. I had a blackberry tea and a grilled cheese, and it was overall a really fun time. The cats kept wandering around the entire time, going from table to table looking for pets, to which we happily obliged. They knew why we were there.
Eventually, after about probably an hour of being there, I had to get to class and Ash wanted to go back to his homestay and take a nap, so we got up to leave. Not without some more pets and a swipe by the youngest one from a cardboard box way too big for her. I got my stamp card, and I definitely see myself returning there again.
Then on Wednesday the 12th, our school’s GSA hosted a “Coming Out Day Expo” in response to National Coming Out Day being the day before. I joined the GSA the week prior, and that was the week we decided to do the event, so we planned an entire event in 5 days. I’m proud of us.
We hosted the event for a few reasons. We wanted to provide students with a safe space that they could feel comfortable celebrating who they were, ally or part of the community. We also wanted it to be an event where allies could learn more about the LGBTQ+ community and ask questions. We had a few of the obvious annoying people as all events like that seem to attract, but otherwise I think it went super well! We got so many more people than I think any of us were expecting, and one of the guys I know stood at the table I was running for 15 minutes, reading the Trevor Project page I had pulled up and asking questions. It was super sweet. Its people like him that make us want to do events like that.
The rest of the week was just midterm after midterm. I have so many. I don’t know how they expect us to do work and also travel. I feel like traveling is one of the biggest perks to Studying Abroad, but with so much homework and studying, I don’t know how anyone has time for anything lol. I don’t travel nearly as much as some of the others in my program, and wow. I don’t know how they do it.
Of course, instead of doing homework and studying this weekend, I lounged on my bed all Saturday, and Sunday I took a day trip to Marseille. Now, this isn’t the first time I’ve gone to Marseille, but it’s the first time for something I’ve wanted to do. We don’t count the Marseille Beer Festival in this house.
I went with Sophia of Disneyland Paris fame and the whole reason we went was to see an orchestra play Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts music, and wow we were in for quite the treat. We left earlier than we needed to because Sophia wanted to go to the Lego Store. Luckily it was only about a five minute walk from there to the concert venue. So off we went. The bus ride to Marseille takes anywhere from 25-40 minutes depending on traffic, and today it was on our side. What wasn’t on our side was the distance of our destinations from the Gare Saint-Charles. The Lego Store was a 25 minute walk from the train station, to which neither of us wanted to do, but we also didn’t know how to figure out the bus system in Marseille, so we started walking.
To the surprise of us both, the Lego Store ended up being in a massive mall, which neither of us were expecting. There are no malls in Aix, with it being a small town, so the only large shopping structure I’ve seen so far before that point was the one we stumbled across in Paris, which funny enough was also because of a Lego Store. There was the first food court I’ve seen since getting here, a million shops, and a blessed Starbucks. Why are there no Starbucks’ in Aix?
The Lego Store was a pretty decent size for the mall, and both of us ended up leaving with a set. I don’t know how I’m going to get all of my stuff back, but we’ll figure it out. That’s a December me problem. After walking around for a bit, we made our way over to the concert venue, which was an old silo and was aptly named as such. Super cool inside, very industrial feel, and even though we had seats on the side, our view of the stage was pretty good.
The concert itself was amazing. I didn’t know what to expect really going into it since I never attended any of my high school’s orchestra concerts and thus had never been to one. I don’t think my high school orchestra had electric guitars, fog machines, or color changing lights. I now know why they call themselves the Neko Light Orchestra. Movie music medleys, tributes to the most beloved professor, Umbridge (-_-), and a beautiful tribute to Robbie Coltrane were among some of the many sets they played, and honestly, I don’t think another orchestra will top it. What other orchestra has you on your feet clapping along to a rap version of “Double Double Boil Trouble”? Exactly.
Aix was dark when we got back. We had missed the bus we were supposed to get on and the next one didn’t leave for an extra 15 minutes after what it was supposed to. So I walked back by myself. On one hand, I like the cool night air and the peace, but at the same time… I’m a girl. I don’t really feel safe walking around by myself during the day, nevertheless at night. I was fine, but even in a relatively safe city like Aix, I can’t get rid of these feelings. There’s not a light switch I can simply switch on and off.
I did make it home without being kidnapped thankfully, and despite how exhausted I was from walking everywhere, I proceeded to stay up until 2am building my Lego set. It’s not exactly a Christmas scene per say, but I’ve always contributed Hogsmeade to Christmas time, and in these stressful midterm weeks, I could use the bit of happiness. I mean, look how cute it is!
I’ve got another week of midterms to do, but my next post will be a massive one, since it’ll be about my week long trip to London! I’m doing a solo trip for six days, so look forward to all my pictures. Since writing the majority of this, I did go on an overnight trip to Paris with one of my classes, but I don’t feel like writing about it, so here’s a few pictures, and I’ll write again in a couple weeks.
I have so many more photos but that’s all for now.
Felicity