2024 MCC France Marine Biology Study Ablog

  This week we learned about some of the sea mammals we will be learning about during our excursions. The whales and turtles are some of the cutest creatures under the sea. On Sunday in Villefranche, we will be able to see the whales in their habitat. Yesterday, we kayaked in Juan Les Pins. Alicia and I fell out of our kayak while switching spots. The kayak bonked me on the head. It was interesting to see the fish farm that lay in the middle of the water. We had talked to a local restaurant owner and he told us they get tired of eating the same fish all the time.

  This week in France we've been to a couple very interesting places! At the start of the week we visited an archeological museum which was home to many relics and an actual roman structure. We went kayaking in the Mediterranean, it turns out that kayaking whilst contending with actual waves is more strenuous than just kayaking in Payson! (Also I fell into the ocean like 5 times haha) Soon we'll be going whale watching, which is very exciting, and after that we're going to visit the musee oceanographique in Monaco. The trip is coming to an end in a couple days, which is sad, but c'est la vie, I miss ice water and air conditioning.

 Humanities: This week in our humanities class, we visited an archeological site. The site was constructed by the Romans. I thought that it was really interesting to see the considerations and capabilities of people from so long ago. We also visited a church for the Sainte Reparate alongside learning about church architecture in our class. Biology: This week in biology we learned the names of more fish. I can now identify 25 types of fish. Another really fun experience for this course was kayaking. We got to experience firsthand the salty seas and the waves of the Mediterranean. It also provided us with the opportunity to see the tides and the environment they create.

 This week in Nice was a bit less exciting as far as up close and personal marine biology has gone. Though we will be kayaking and whale watching this week and will hopefully set eyes on some cool fish! Despite not being out in the field, the online lectures have been very interesting. We have been preparing for seeing the whales with our lectures on marine mammals and will hopefully be able to catch a glimpse while we are out on the water. This week has been rich in french culture, though, or should I say Greek and Roman. This is because the area of France that is now Nice used to be Greek, as evident from our trip to the Musée d'Archéologie de Nice-Cimiez which features structures created by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

 This week in Nice was by far my favorite. In biology we learned about marine mammals such as whales, seals, walruses, and sea turtles. Although there was only a bit of information on them, this was my favorite lecture because seals are my favorite animals! I am also very excited about this lecture because we get to experience whale watching! Some French culture I have experienced this week is the word “hup”. My host mother has been saying hup since we first came, though recently I have heard so many other locals say it as well. Everytime our host mom says it now, I say it back and she loves it.

  This week I learned about marine mammals and turtles. I had no idea that Mediterranean Monk seal is highly endangered and is estimated that to only have 600 left in the wild! Their biggest threats are of course humans because we are their biggest food competitors, and we also accidentally catch them in our fishing nets. I also learned that the french peel their peaches. Well at least my host mom peels hers. She looked at me with some much concern when I took a bite without peeling the skin Antibes (below)

  During the second week of this study abroad, we traveled to Cagnes-sur-Mer to visit an estuary and we went snorkeling earlier during the weekend. Seeing the estuary in person was extremely interesting and helpful in learning about how the freshwater and seawater meet and how the wildlife survives and adapts within it. Snorkeling was also such an amazing experience, we swam with jellyfish and got to hold sea urchins and starfish. Despite being worried about being stung by a jellyfish, it was an amazing experience to get to snorkel in the south of France. I also got to enjoy going to see an opera and a movie in a French cinema, which was a very interesting experience.