As I retuned to my sit spot today and paid close attention to the sound around me, I heard the sound wind striking the tree. “The mistral” is a phenomenon here in Aix, which is a strong wind that comes from North Africa that usually lasts for a few days. It could be very strong sometimes, strong enough to break a tree. And when the mistral comes, it strikes the trees and plants very hard that it creates a constant sound that always sounds like white noises.

My destination was never colonized, but it colonized a lot of countries, including the Maghreb, countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and Indo-China. Green spaces are not very available in Aix’s city center, and there is only one major park called Parc Jourdan in the south of the city, but once one enters into a residential area, for example my house in the north, green spaces and trees are readily accessible. There is a little forest by my house where the famous artist Cézanne lived, overlooking the famous mountain in the area, Saint-Victoire. My host family, like their fellow French people, are very environmentally conscious: they only run their dishwasher when it’s full (around very 4 days), they never leaves the light on in a room if there are not using that room, and they barely use kitchen towels-they use sponge to wipe off grease of tables. They are also very conscious what their choice of food, they only buy organic food from a certain grocery store. But I feel like buying organic might be a very up-middle class habit, as the source of food might fall to the end of the priorities of many people in a precarious condition.