Aix is tiny. Or rather, the old city, where I am living and where the school is, is tiny. You can walk from one side to the other in 10-15 minutes, provided that you don't get lost in all the small, winding alleys that they call "streets." It is so easy to walk straight by the front door of my homestay, as it is slightly set in to the wall. On the inside of the door, there are intimidating-looking latches and bolts, like the inside of a bank vault.

As you go in, you immediately turn right and walk up a twisting, narrow stair case until you reach my room. It's too dark to be able to get a good picture of the stairs from the bottom, so here is one from the top. The door on the right is the door to my room. As you can see, it opens straight on to the stairs. If any ax murders get in, I'm the first to go! Also, it is inadvisable to try to navigate this doorway while sleepy as accidents are almost certain to happen.

Here is my bed, in all it's glory. I have a tiny little window, which looks out on a tiny little courtyard.

 Here is the view down.

And here is the view up.

Yesterday was orientation and today was the placement test. During orientation, I learned where to buy bus tickets (the bus station), when to not get sick (the weekends), and not to smile at or make eye contact with people in the street (they will think you're a weirdo). I also learned that if I smile at a guy in a bar, that will be interpreted as "I would like to have sex with you." Thankfully, I did not learn that through experience. 

Despite its small size, Aix is very easy to get lost in. After eating lunch, I wandered around looking for the phone store to buy a SIM card. The tour had passed that store and the program director had taken us to it later, but it still took me several tries and many maps consultations to find it. Although the upper part of the town is a little difficult to navigate, it is easy for my to find my way back home. Just down the street is this lovely Dolphin Fountain, so I head straight for that and I'm home within minutes.

The placement test was today and I think it went fairly well. The oral exam was in the morning and later we took the written exam. The lady I spoke to for the oral exam was very nice and lovely to talk to. She said that she was sure I would be in Level 4 (Advanced), which made me feel wonderfully confident. Perhaps too confident... I'm not sure I did as well on the written part.

To soothe my worries, I bought a caramel tart. It was delicious.