Post-College

The stunning fountain which greets visitors upon entering Aix-en-Provence.

We found Subway: Dr. Hite's favorite!

            That morning, I checked my email over breakfast and discovered I had been recommended for a job. The recruiter had already reached out to me and hoped to talk later that evening. As any normal unemployed college graduate, I grew ecstatic. The recruiter and I set a time for 7:00 pm, giving me enough time to research the firm at the hotel. So, we said so long to our quaint Le Mans experience and caught the 10:00 am train out of Le Mans and to Aix-en-Provence. Just before leaving for this trip, a family friend mentioned that her niece was interning in Aix, and I thought to myself, why would you want to work in Aix when you could work in Paris? I had never been to Aix, but I imagined it could not be nearly as fun as the iconic city of Paris. Soon, I would be incredibly mistaken.

            The train route required a transfer at Léon, an urban area which caught traffic coming from Paris. On the first leg of the route, we tried to use our meal vouchers, but of the dozen delicious looking meals on the train’s menu, only one had not sold out. The kitchen manager graciously gave us two pieces of bread with our water and San Pellegrino. With ease, we made it onto our second train, though the cars were much more full. My step dad and I immediately ventured back to the kitchen, hoping to grab a meal before they ran out. This time, the kitchen was closed, and an Irish traveler joked that the kitchen manager had gone out for a smoke and the train left her in Léon. We scoffed, waited for ten minutes, then left empty-handed and empty-stomached.

            When we arrived in Aix around 4:30 pm, taxi drivers hesitated to take passengers with long commutes, as the 5:00 pm hour came near. Eventually, a kind male cab driver conceded and took us to our hotel, another convent, in the heart of Aix-en-Provence. Though the interior decoration was a bit tacky, the location could not be matched. Just one block from our hotel was the central fountain welcoming tourists to Aix. Pedestrians bustled between shops, cafes, and museums which filled the narrow, cobblestone streets. Cars could hardly fit between the buildings, making a nice space for people to separate from traffic and enjoy meandering on foot.Like true French people, my family roamed the city and stopped for drinks and snacks to tie us over until dinner. I tried a rose gelato, which tasted magnificent, as I sensed the fragrance of the rose all through my taste buds.

Rose gelato, the famous chain restaurant
Le Pain Quotidien, and a pig mermaid
fountain?

            At 6:45 pm, I decided it was time to set up my interview equipment. After not hearing anything until 8:00 pm, I emailed the recruiter to ensure that a technical error with my international phone service had not occurred. While waiting for a response, my family took the suggestion of the company which would lead us on our bike trip in the coming days, and walked to a quaint one-man restaurant, only to find out that he only cooked for 20 people per night and we had to make reservations ahead of time. With that, I decided on the first restaurant I saw with a trip advisor logo, and we landed ourselves at Café Jeanne. I figured that almost any restaurant in France will outdo my norm.

            Café Jeanne had plenty of wonderful French food on their menu. We ordered an appetizer of scallops and a plate of baked brie. For my main dish, I ordered a gnocchi with five perfectly rolled cuts of veal. Paired with our meal, we chose a red wine called Saint Julien in honor of the cathedral we saw in Le Mans. In the midst of my veal pasta, my mom asked if the recruiter had called me yet. I panicked when I saw two missed calls and a voicemail. I promptly left the restaurant and called the recruiter back, only to leave another voicemail. Upon reentering the restaurant, I ordered dessert, a muesli and whipped cream parfait. Just then, my phone began buzzing. I politely dismissed myself and found myself in a 35 minute phone interview on the busy streets of Aix. As I tried to gather examples of my leadership ability, cross-cultural experience, and quantitative skills, I could not help but notice the multitudes of carefree young adults parading the streets with uncorked bottles of wine in hand. The recruiters could undoubtedly hear the whistling, cheering, and singing kids through the phone, but I did my best to hold my composure. Yet, I could not help but recognize the exhilarating club scene ensuing around me.

            After the interview ended, I returned to a beautiful parfait, my reward for sacrificing my vacation on behalf of the infamous job hunt. Even the recruiters encouraged me to enjoy my vacation at the end of our call. That night, Aix was celebrating France’s national music festival so my family decided to walk off our absurdly filling meal, listening to live bands in the mean time. During our snack break earlier in the day, I had noticed the mass number of young adults living in Aix, but tonight, they had all come out to play. The music festival we had experienced in Le Mans was just a fraction of the chaos about emerging in Aix. The excitable kids I observed during my interview were not just congregated because of the music festival, but they had just finished their national exam, marking their completion of high school. Without a strict drinking age, you can imagine how these kids opted to celebrate.

            As my family hopped from concert to concert, the crowds grew larger and larger and we grew further and further from our hotel. In desperation, I activated my cellular data to access Google Maps in order find our way back. I took us on a route that brought us toward more celebrations, smashing glass bottles, and bumping music. We came to a point where the only way to the street we needed to access was through a tiny passageway, basically a historic arch that had been carved out of a building. Envision yourself at a club or mosh pit, trying to wiggle your way to the front of the stage. That was essentially what we were experiencing. I was locked in between people and a wall and literally could not move. My mother wisely stationed herself behind a tall man, hoping his momentum could carry us through. After at least ten minutes of this congestion, we finally burst through the other side of the tunnel. With the drunk teenagers, we cheered for our freedom! We could breathe fresh air and move our limbs liberally. We also only had to walk two more blocks to our hotel.

            Our music detour added an extra hour to our evening plans, which got us to bed really late. However, the entire day’s events made me fall in love with Aix. The city is stunning, as it has the artful, cultured, historic feel of an old French town. There are restaurants and shops EVERYWHERE – enough said. And, the Friday night celebration came straight out of any college kid’s dreams. The European party scene finally made sense to me, and I understood what so many of my international student friends had experienced while living abroad. Though they likely did not experience nights like this regularly, I can imagine the college party scene was not as foreign to them as it was to me when I first enrolled.

            Like the high school students in Aix, I too was celebrating a new chapter of my life. Between my college graduation and “the real world” stood my vacation. This night helped remind me of the relaxing to be had and the celebrating to be done in honor of four years of hard work! More years of hard work are certainly to come, as my mid-vacation phone call reminded me. But, I am excited for the challenge and the celebrations to follow.