As a student quickly finds, living on the Euro is almost as easy as – well, you don’t know how long I thought of a metaphor to describe the possible headache, moments of tight spending, financial fun that these shiny blue, red, and light green bills can offer to a university student. Therefore, when it comes to meals 4 or 5 euro meals may seem great but just keep in mind that each one of those euros is equal to about $1.35 and so your 4 or 5 euros will soon add up to lots and lots funds that you might like to invest in excursions throughout the region on weekends with friends or those high-fashion French accessories you’ve always wanted.
Don’t fear, though, because food is trait the French have mastered and you can too – economically!
Vandy-in-France organizes meals with selected families three days a week in the summer session. With these families, not only do you receive a large meal à la française but you have the opportunity to speak and directly put into practice all the tools you’ve been empowered in your classes. This summer I have been blessed to have an adorable, kind, generous, and hilarious couple – the Bachs. Our dinner dates are every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday and involve elaborate five-course meals that are not only filling but delectable. We begin each evening with the entrée (usually a casserole or vegetable) and follow it with the main course (so far we’ve had spaghetti, pork loin, fish and a French pasta dish called “canel” which resembles a giant italian gnocchi). After the big section of dinner, a green salad is presented and trailing it comes the after-dinner cheese tasting session with wine. BUT WAIT, we’re not done yet. For dessert, Madame Bach brings out a lovely bouquet of fruit including kiwis, peaches from provence, golden apples, nectarines, and bananas. By the time we say our “au revoirs” and “merci beacoups” our satisfied tummies and sleepy bodies can’t seem to find the words to express our tremendous gratitude for such a grandiose meal. Beyond the meal, the conversation, the jokes, the cultural lessons, and learning about the lives and family of the Bachs are perhaps the greatest elements of our family dinners. Last Tuesday – our first night to dine with the Bachs – Manuelle (Madame Bach) brought out her collection of photos and correspondence with 15-years-worth of hosting Vanderbilt students.
By implementing these fixed meals three days out of the week and providing funds for the weekly group excursion day (every Wednesday), we only have to worry about breakfasts, lunches, and weekend meals.
As we have quickly found, cooking your own food is a great and financially saavy lifestyle. To take full advantage of saving money on food, Vandy-in-France pointed us in the direction of low-cost, high-quality food sources. In France you’ll enjoy getting lost among the distinct boulangeries (bread shops), boucheries (meat shops), and epiceries (small, private grocers), but the cheap route in Aix leads to the glorious ED grocery store. Although Monoprix, Carrefour, and Casino are good and reliable stores for any food or home supply, ED contains the lowest prices in all of Aix. Granted, the brand options are fewer, but you’ll find the same items as everywhere else and can count on the produce to be of good and fresh quality.
The idea of Sunday being “a day of rest” is taken extremely literally in Aix which I quickly discovered when I tried to make a quick run for Sunday lunch and dinner and found myself walking through quiet streets of closed shops and stores.
Excursions away from Aix or moments where our taste buds have craved “something more” have been the occasions where most of the delicious French pastries, ice-cream, sandwiches (with fries inside of them), moules frites (sea mussels famous of the region of Provence), and provincial pizzas have been stumbled upon. Mmmmmm. Today, my roommate Suzanne mentioned that she came across a number of French candy shops. She explained that the blessing of free samples has inspired her to return and re-experience the sugar delicacies of the French.
Finally, one of the advantages of having female apartment-mates is that they come up with brilliant ideas when they talk with their female counterparts. Therefore, thanks to their impetus, last Wednesday the 18 students in our group began a weekly dinner by students for students. These weekly dinners involve one of the five different apartments hosting all members of the program, preparing a main course, and then having a potluck event where each of the other living arrangements brings a salad, dessert, entrée, bread, drinks, etc. The first dinner which featured spaghetti with chicken and all the aforementioned elements was hosted in my apartment with Suzanne and Ginny. Today, Wednesday, June 4, Auberge 1 (the apartment of seven) hosted the potluck meal. It included sautéed chicken breast, a type of French shrimp scampi, a huge salad, warm and fresh bread, wine from the region, and seven guests which brought us to a grand total of 25 students around one dinner table! This incredible and truly wonderful tradition is one we will definitely keep alive for the remaining weeks of our summer in Aix-en-Provence.
I feel that this culture of bringing people who care about each other around one table and the collective appreciation of the preparation, aromas, flavors, and conversation of each meal is what make French cuisine unforgettable. It’s not so much the amount of food or the location of the meal that defines a meals success. Good food is based on eating it with good people who you trust, can laugh with, rely on, and are willing to discover the next culinary horizon with you. I feel like Julia Child! Undoubtedly you will too when you come and visit and EAT!!! Au repas prochain!!!!!