Fields of lavender. Wine. Cheese. Glamorous beaches. All of these are images we—or at least, I—used to conjure up at the mention of the South of France. In deciding to study abroad, I could not imagine a more chic way to spend my spring semester.

Fast-forward to the day of my arrival. After a long journey, I drive through the picturesque town of Aix-en-Provence, past the myriad fountains, stone-paved streets and squares that characterize this Provençal town, which boasts architectural traces of its Roman and Gothic origins. Although the program directors and my French roommates greet me warmly, Aix feels a bit desolate. It is blizzarding. There are definitely no lush fields of purple lavender to be found. This is the first snowfall, I am told, since the 1980s. Clearly, none of its residents are really equipped to handle it.

This was not quite the ambience I had expected. As I look back, however, the nature of my arrival was a glimpse at the semester ahead—one full of both pleasant and unpleasant surprises.

Why Aix? For most French majors and city-lovers such as myself, the obvious choice would be Paris.

Aix, like Paris, has a prominent bourgeois population. There is never a shortage of restaurants, salons, or shops to explore. Like Paris, the cost of living is rather steep. Aix has more lawyers than most other cities in France (a fact that can be associated, perhaps, with its excellent law school, whose students overtake the Irish pubs on weekends).

But at the end of the day, Aix is a student’s town. On weekends, it slightly resembles a French version of Morningside Heights, but with a much different (read: Euro) crowd. Certain bars are favorites of international students, or law school or business school students, for example. There is even a 24-hour boulangerie/patisserie (French bakery) in addition to various beloved kebab stands, all curiously located right next to the bar…

Aix, also unlike Paris, is a teeny tiny town. Everything is within walking distance. The performing arts center, the Méjanes library (a former matchstick factory), the cinema, my favorite café… seem to be ten minutes away. Most cars cannot pass through the winding narrow streets, and it is very common to run into a classmate, co-worker, or teacher while running an errand or shopping at the market. Unlike highly industrial Paris, Aix adheres to the slow-paced lifestyle of southern France. During the winter, this can be difficult, as the mistral—a strong, dry wind characteristic of the region—plays a central role in both Provençal culture and one’s good spirits (or lack thereof) during the winter months. Ultimately, Aix comes alive when it is warm and not raining, which was, unfortunately, not the case for most of the 2010 spring season, my time in Aix.

To escape small-town life, for $5 every half hour, you can hop on a bus to neighboring Marseille, France’s historic and diverse Mediterranean port city. The beaches of the French Riviera are also a mere 2-hour bus ride away. International travel, however, can be far trickier. Marseille has a very small airport, so flights out of the region are relatively expensive. Although budget airlines such as Ryanair and Easy Jet do fly out of the city, they fly directly to very few locations. Trains are a great alternative, but they are generally only worthwhile for domestic travel through France’s national carrier, SNCF (which runs the high speed interregional TGV). But travelers beware: strikes are common in France and will disrupt your travel plans. I learned this the hard way.

There are two Barnard-approved programs in Aix.* While the American University Center of Provence is the far more popular choice for Americans, I chose to study through Vanderbilt University, a small program consisting of no more than 30 students each semester.

The Vanderbilt program in France is unique in both its academic approach and housing arrangements. All classes are small and taught at the Vanderbilt center by local professors from the Université d’Aix. Although I did not, in fact, take classes with non-American students, the professors were extremely competent, and it was quite a rigorous (yet manageable) academic program. Additionally, the program administrators and professors will help students find internships if they want to. I had a great experience interning at a local museum, where many former Vanderbilt-in-France students also worked.

Rather than place its students in homestays or put them up in dorms, the program finds them apartments where they live with both American and French students attending the local university. These French colocs (roommates) are immensely helpful for improving language skills, and, in fact, my two Francophone roommates became my good friends. Additionally, students in the program have dinner four times a week with a host family so as to further improve their French language and cultural understandings.

Finally, I would like to share a few tips from my experience with students heading to Aix-en-Provence. First, be sure to know Paul Cézanne. The town lives and breathes the memory of this artist. Learn to love olive oil, for it is in virtually every Provincial dish. And for those of you planning to weekend in Cannes or Monte Carlo, please keep one thing in mind: there is such a thing as winter in the South of France.

Editor's Note: Columbia’s Office of Global Programs pre-approves neither of these programs for CC, SEAS, and GS, preferring the “Wellesley-in-Aix” program for students planning on studying abroad in Aix-en-Provence. Students may petition the OGP if another program appeals to them more.