Cannes you handle it?

Life here in Cannes* [kahn] runs at an other worldly pace. On the surface it's slow and lazy, each day seeming to fill the place of five so that the last week feels more like a month.

In "reality" it has only been a week, and it's been anything but slow. Since our group of students began arriving in London last Friday morning a great deal has happened. Tests have been taken, half a semester of French classes have been crammed into one week, sun burns and bug bites have plagued numerous students, and a few days on the beach have earned even the palest, discernible tan lines. Parties have occurred in the sand, where it's easier to communicate with dance than with language. Stories have been told and secrets have been shared. Buses routes have been mapped, and money exchanged and spent. Conversations about food allergies and intolerances have been mangled but pieced together through "franglais*"[fran-glay] and gesticulation. Toothpaste has exploded on planes, notebooks have been bought and the macaroons at "Jean-Luc's . . ." have been consumed.

And most interestingly, friendships have been made and cliques seem to have been formed before anyone even arrived in Europe. At least that's what it seems. The term "Fast Friends" is an under-statement here. From looking at the group you'd think that we have all been at the same school since we were five, and that despite the cliques, we recognize our status as a single large unit. Watching the interactions and over hearing the gossip, it's difficult to comprehend that despite not knowing everyones name, everyone seems to have been part of "The Group" for their whole life.

Here things are often compared to the feelings, emotions, events and connections of Freshman year in college. To a certain extent it is the same, but there is still the under lying feeling that we have become too comfortable with each other too quickly for things to have an overly happy ending, even more so than in Freshman year.

In college the first friends you make are a form of temporary survival, it's ok if they don't last because you will make new ones in class or through clubs. Here, "The Group" is the unspoken key to survival, especially for those who don't speak French. "The Group" are your roommates, your classmates, your dinner buddies, your tutors, your translators,  your stress releasers, your empathizers, your "safety in numbers." So while in a normal college residence hall many would probably not acknowledge the others, here it could prove dangerous to stick with your clique. Many may disagree with this, but here we are in a world apart from the rest of our peers, we came as a group, we live as a group, we leave as a group. The dynamics are fascinating, and begs the question. . .  what will happen when the first set of students finish their sojourn abroad and leave the rest of us here. .. how will "The Group" be affected when suddenly all but three are back in their respective states?

Perhaps time will tell, but who knows.

A tout à l'heur,

Vicarious Paris

Cannes- a town in southern France known for its amazing beaches and international festivals.
Franglais- an unofficial language that combines various amounts of both French and English terms often used by those learning, but not fluent in one of the languages.

Here is a video that keeps "The Group" going.