Aix-en-Provence

As a participant in the University of Virginia Graduate Exchange Program I was welcomed as a colleague to the faculty of the American Studies Department, where I attended faculty meetings and taught classes to undergraduates. I taught a course in literary theory as well as discussion sections in 19th century American Literature. My students came from places as diverse as Roumania, Tibet and L'Ile de la Reunion. During my stay in Aix-en-Provence I also conducted research for the dissertation at the Fondation David-Neel in Digne, Haute Provence, as well as at Les Archives D'Outre-mer (continguous to the University of Provence), where I worked in the company of scholars from all over the world. My experiences in Aix-en-Provence have been invaluable to my life experience and my life as a teacher-scholar.

Margaret McColley
Graduate Student
Aix exchange, 1997-1999

Easily, the lecteur exchange to Aix-en-Provence was one of the most rewarding experiences of my program at the University of Virginia. The opportunity to work as a professional at the Université de Provence: Aix-Marseille I, was truly exceptional. The benefits of living and teaching in Aix are obvious now in my spoken French (including a little "accent du Midi" from time to time), and in my confidence in front of the classroom. Those "cultural lessons" which are ever present in textbooks but which are two-dimensional for most students, I now can make come alive. Of course, it goes without saying that I also enjoyed living in the land of Cezanne and Van Gogh, olive trees and cicadas, Roman ruins and warm-water fountains. I could not have asked for a better complement to my program of studies in Charlottesville.

Larkin Murphy
Graduate student pursuing a Doctorate in French Civilization

Academically speaking, my year in the south of France was a rewarding one. I was delighted to be able to participate in a symposium on "Immigration and Cultural Codes" hosted by the Camargo Foundation (Cassis) and the Maison de l'Homme de la Méditerranée (Cassis). Other highlights of my year included doing research at the Centre des Archives d'Outre-Mer (Aix); conversing with Marie- Christine Hazaël-Massieux, one of the leading specialists in Creole languages and literatures; and teaching at the Université de Provence Aix/Marseille. On the cultural level, Ahmadou Kourouma was one of a host of writers and artists participating in local colloquia. He addressed the topics of his latest novel Allah n'est pas obligé (ParisSeuil, 2000), for which he won the prix Goncourt 2000 des lycéens, and afro-pessimism. There were many opportunities to go to the opera in Marseille, where I attended a moving performance of Puccini's Turandot. In addition, Aix has two cinemas that feature a variety of foreign films: artsy American, Belgian, British, Chinese, Haitian, Indian, Iranian, Israeli, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Moroccan, Spanish, Swedish, Thai... I was able to see Raoul Peck's Lumumba (2000).

All in all, the thing I will miss the most is the open-air markets. I bought tomatoes comparable to the ones my grandmother grew on the farm in Nebraska and peaches like the ones I picked ripe off the tree in the orchards of Washington state. As a friend of mine once said about the food in France, "Elle a du goût."

Paula Sato
Graduate student
Aix exchange, 2000-2001