What’s up fellow Americans?

I’ll be quick with this one as this is the final post I will make on my 2010 Cannes Film Festival Study Abroad adventures blog. I’m finally back to normal and settled in here in the United States. The food is superb! Thank you so much again for reading my blog and hopefully being entertained by the experiences that I’ve had in France. Over the course of a month, I’ve not only watched countless movies and wrote film reviews on them, but I have grown personally as I have experienced things and been places that I never would’ve imagined. I met celebrities like Helen Mirren and James Franco, went to the 2010 French Open, and most importantly, made lifelong friends in the process. I’m truly gratedul for ALL of the opportunites given to me in my life and this is no exception. I’m just glad that you all were able to share a part of that with me!

Thanks for reading,

Eric

Well folks,

My time in France has come to an end. Friday was the last full day abroad, so a couple of my friends and I decided to do a day trip to the beautiful city-state of Monaco, located on the Southern border of France and just an hour away by train. We didn’t have class that day so why not travel?

Gillian, Blake, Austin, Hunter, both Jessie’s, and I all caught a train after lunch and were off to Monaco. I was worried the entire train ride because I didn’t purchase a ticket, and the train company could have checked for tickets at any minute. Luckily for me, I was okay without a train ticket for the way there and the way back. But from the moment we got off the train, I was immediately struck by Monaco’s beauty. All I could see was vivid colors, beautiful buildings, and the crystal-clear Mediterranean on the coast. You know I was right there taking pictures of everything.

We didn’t really have an agenda set, but we knew we definitely wanted to go to the famaous Monte Carlo Casino. We were told by a student who once lived in Monaco that the luxurious and extravagant city is so economically prosperous because of its Casino. But before we could go try our hands at gambling, we took a tour of the Prince’s Castle. It was beautiful inside and out, with and elaborate furniture and architecture and stunning portraits of the likes of Grace Kelly .

After touring the Castle, we went into an adjacent museum containing old artifacts of Napoleon. Needless to say it was the most boring part of my time in Monaco. Next, we walked around (because Monaco isn’t but so big) until we found the Casino. It was unsurprisingly a wonder to look at with its gold decor. We went to the slot machines and a few from the group did a little gambling. I did not have that much money so I wasn’t going to be bold and put the money for my bus ticket to the airport on the line. And what do you know? Jessie hit it big—exactly 200 euro big! We told her to cash out and stop, but you know how the story goes…she kept going for a while, thinking she was lucky; I’m guessing this is how Monaco becomes rich from tourists.

After our luck ran out, we went back to Juan Les Pins in order to meet up with the gang again before we were to leave the residence the next morning. After eating and taking another trip to La Grappa, a few of the guys finally decided that La Grappa should change its name to “La Grope-a.” Those old guys running the place were a little too eager to serve everyone drinks, in particular all the girls form our trip if you know what I mean. While being entertained by our girls, they were also benefiting economically from our business. Smart businessmen I would say.

To top off the evening most of us just sat in the lobby of the residence (much to the chagrin of the hotel staff who are the meanest people by the way!) and laughed and talked some more. To top it all off, my homegirl Jordan entertained some of us in my room with her spot-on impersonations and characteristics of people. Laughing, if you haven’t already discovered, was our main activity during the trip. And I don’t know if I would’ve had it any other way.

-Eric

Hello Folks,

I thought nothing could top the epic night at the La Grappa Pizzeria the other night…I was so wrong! With the 2010 Cannes Film Festival coming to an end that weekend, we designated Thursday night as the night for our Farewell Dinner. Food, friends, and laughter were sure to be on the agenda that night as we also planned a special bachelorette party surprise for soon to be bride Anna Ferguson.

Dr. Kohn had already told us that he wanted entertainment at the dinner. Clearly he didn’t know Eric De’mon Jones Jr. because Eric is entertainment! Blake Mitchell (Beshawn) and I planned a special performance in which we would channel our inner performers and become Lady Gaga and Beyonce to sing the hit “Telephone.” I addition, I planned to do another performance by myself to J. Holiday’s “Bed” (believe it or not, I have indeed done numerous performances to this song in front of friendly audiences). And resident comedian JD said that he would also do something for Anna’s party—a striptease!

But before the dinner, Dr. Jen Smith gave a small ceremony in which she revealed something that she had learned about each student in the Cannes Study Abroad Program. It was very nice to hear what your professor has learned about you personally over the course of a month. She said that even though I like to call people “hot messes” and/or joke about them, the truth is that I genuinely do care about people. I love Jen Smith!

Afterward, we arrived upstairs of the residence for a great dinner with chicken, rice, fruit, macaroons, and wine. I wasn’t prepared for the laughter and comedy that was our dinner. For some reason, I went on this crazy rant about celebrities and the things they do that piss me off, including the Octumom, Oprah, and Tyra Banks! I had everyone laughing with my impersonations.

Next, I gave out surprise Black Club Awards; they weren’t actual awards, just pieces of paper written on with a Sharpie (typical Black Club quality). Some of the awards were Black Club Superlatives, including the Most Ghetto Award that went to our residence Couluers Soliel (for the gun fight that happened at the train station nearby and their “I don’t give a you-know-what” attitude), Most Like to Try Your A**, and Most Likely to Be in AA. I got Black Club VP Jessie aka Janaisha to help pass out my biggest surprise—the new member awards. Some people from the trip were already selected to be in the Black Club, but I felt that the entire group deserved to get in, especially Cody aka Chaterius, who relentlessly lobbied to become part of the club. The awards were definitely memorable to say the least :)

Then came the moment that everyone was waiting for—the GIGANTIC “Telephone” performance. Blake channeled Gaga and I did my best Beyonce to bring the house down! We even had our own little routine (too much I know, but I had to entertain!). The crowd was crazy, and I bet the look on Dr. Kohn’s face was priceless! After our duet, I serenaded Anna, who was sitting in a chair at the front of the room, with a seductive rendition of J. Holiday’s “Bed;” I bet people didn’t know I could move like that, girating and moving all over Anna and the dance floor! LMAO!

Next, JD came out and shut it done with a hilarious striptease. He had to have on at least 10 layers of clothing, but he shed every one of them for Anna’s viewing pleasure. I don’t even remember what song he undressed to; I just remember laughing from the time he took off his tuxedo to the time he was down his boxers stuffed with socks that created a noticeable bulge.

After all of the performances were over, Jordan explained her funny game in which we are all supposed to drink when someone does something that is characteristic of them. So anytime I said “No ma’am” or talked about the Black Club, everyone had to drink. Fun game to play indeed.

We then all headed to the beach again for some more fun. But this time, we sneaked onto the private beach. I know, so scandalous right? We were laughing and talking, and then all of a sudden one of our guys went skinny dipping into the Mediterranean. After he went in, many followed and before you knew it, the Mediterranean was full of naked and half-naked college kids! Something really crazy also happened; Brittany’s or Brittanika’s purse almost got stolen while we were at the beach that night! Luckily one of our friends saw the guy and got the purse back, but Brittanika was raging mad as she should have been. She said she would’ve cursed the guy out some more had not there been a gun fight/shooting near our residence the week before. Even in times of danger, our group still finds a way to have perfect comedic timing.

I love my fellow Canners and I can’t wait to see them in the fall. I can honestly say that I have made 25 new friends.

Cannes Love,

Eric

Hello back home,

The Cannes Film Festival Study Abroad Program ends this Saturday, and although I’m so ready to get back home to the Southern food and cooking, I’m not going to be able to help but miss the beach, friends, and laughter-filled moments that were all a part of this great experience here in France! I feel like I have made some true friends while I’ve been on this trip. But the best thing is—we’ll see each other in the fall at UGA!!!

So with our trip abroad winding down, we decided that we had to do it “big” and go all out this week. I mean—come on—we’re in France for goodness sakes. Who knows when I’ll be back, so I have to enjoy myself while I can. And it was the first time that everyone in the program had ventured out all at once together!

We were gonna go back into the pretty city of Cannes, France, yesterday, but we all decided to postpone the short train ride in favor of a great night here in Juan Les Pins. After napping, going to the beach, and working on experiential papers for our TELE 2010 Film Criticism class, we were all invited to dine-in at the pizzeria “La Grappa” last night by the very friendly owners.

Without giving too much away and/or incriminating myself and others on the trip, let’s just say that there was plenty of fun to go around at dinner if you know what I mean. Numerous toasts, delirious friends, and the owners impromptu “butt grabbing” of one of the girls on the trip made for an entertaining night I will try my very hardest not to forget! There was a very funny random moment that my friend Jordan took in stride. I text Blake Mitchell aka Beshawn, asking him whether or not Jordan’s eyebrows were uneven. But for some reason (I know exactly what reason lol), I guess I kept my phone on the table. Jordan had my phone minutes later showing me the exact text I sent to Blake! Too funny! I couldn’t even find a good excuse; I told her that the reason she just got accepted into the Black Club (it means exactly what you think) was because her eyebrows were uneven! CLASSIC.

We went to the beach afterwards for some more entertainment and fun. Blake pushing Jordan on the ground near the shore had to be the funniest moment on the beach! We chatted and talked about a lot of things too, including race and multicultural classes at UGA. I have no idea why we were talking about this on the beach, but we were. All in all, you can see why it was an EPIC night for Eric and the Cannes Film Festival Study Abroad Program.

See you all very soon!

Eric :-)

Bonjoure Madames et Monsiers,

It’s been a while, but I wanted to let you all know how my last day in Paris went. As I told you in my last blog, Paris is an amazing city (I know I’ve said amazing like a billion times) that I would love to come back to, probably with a lot more money so that I can shop some more too.

But anyways, my host and new friend Samantha and I slept late on Sunday in order to set out for a jam-packed day of doing touristy things such as visit the Arc de Triomphe and the Notre Dame Cathedral. Firstly, the Arc de Triomphe is a beautiful landmark that is not even a five minute walk from Sam’s apartment in Paris. I took many pictures of the Arc and asked Sam to take pictures of me with the Arc in the background (such an American tourist I know). We then went underground to eventually end right under the Arc de Triomphe. There was stunning architecture, writing, and statutes all over the building, and I simply couldn’t take my eyes off it all.

At the Arc de Triomphe there is also the famous tomb of an unmarked soldier. At this tomb, there burns an eternal flame in commemoration. The way everything looked was really beautiful. Next, Sam and I walked along the most famous street in Paris—Champs Elysees Avenue. This was literally the longest street I’ve ever been on! There was an Adidas store, a McDonald’s, a Christian Dior, and anything and everything else you could possibly imagine. Another thing I noticed was that everybody in Paris dresses like they are ready to walk the runway; men, women, and babies all match and even wear couture no matter where they go or what they have to do, which I thought was totally opposite from the sweatpants and t-shirt look we often rock in United States.

After walking the Champs Elysees, we ran into gorgeous building after gorgeous building. The architecture in Paris is just phenomenal because even plain buildings and museums are far more asthetically pleasing than some mansions in the U.S. Paris even has portable potties that are better than the restrooms of some restaurants. The funniest moment of the day happened when we watched some very entertaining street performers do some energetic numbers and dances to popular songs. At one moment, the leader stripped down to his boxers and gyrated on an unsuspecting female audience member.

Next, we made our way to Notre Dame Cathedral. The first thing I encountered was a group of gypsies that asked if I spoke English so they could con me out of some money. Sam told them I didn’t so they left me alone. The Notre Dame Cathedral was better looking than I had ever imagined. I admired the incredible architecture and design; I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that people built buildings and masterpieces like this hundreds of years ago and they are still standing. I went inside and continued to take picture after picture inside the cathedral. I can’t come up with enough adjectives to describe how beautiful and magnificent Notre Dame really was. I wish you could all see it first hand.

We soon lost track of time as it was about 8:00pm and my train was set to leave at 10:25pm. We got back to the apartment and I got my things ready to come back to Juan le Pins, France. There were a few minor bumps along the way, but a few “Parlez vous anglais” and pointing go me to the right train station. It was an experience, shall I say, on the night train, but I made it back by all means. Although back at the hotel, I can say that I miss Paris already.

With love,

Eric

Hello all,

I got to Paris, France, on Friday and I have honestly had the best time here! I jokingly said “If it weren’t for the food and it being a foreign country, I could see myself living here” lol. The atmosphere, the beautiful landmark, and yes—the DROP-DEAD GORGEOUS people are all reasons why Paris kicks butt as a great city. And if/when I’m given another opportunity to return, I won’t think twice about taking it.

I had many preceptions about Paris, but there was one that I held onto the most: that the people here are rude, mean, and judgmental; but they are anything and everything except those negative descriptions. Of course you have some that look at you strange, but it is nowhere near how bad it is in the South of France (typical right? lol just kidding). Most people here speak English and are willing to help me once they hear my bad attempts at French.

I’m also proud of myself because after being here for only a couple of days, I think I got the hang of this Paris metro thing. I’ve heard that the Paris Metro is the best in the world and I wouldn’t dispute it; if you’re at the stop, only one type of train comes for that stop so you don’t have to worry about being at the right stop, but getting on the wrong train. This helps me out a lot because I have absolutely no sense of direction. And today I got to the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower all by myself (and with line by line directions from my hospitable host Samantha).

I made sure my camera was fully charged today because I knew I was going to take a ton of pics…good decision considering I took 255 pictures today! First was the Louvre. It is flawlessly huge and breathtaking. I stared at it for about 20 minutes on the outside before going inside. I thought it would be hard to navigate, but I got around fairly easy. A lot of pointing and “Parlez-vous anglais?” got me through the museum. I took so many pictures of just random paintings and structures, but my favorite of course was the Mona Lisa. There it rested in its enclosed glass wall while everyone, including me, snapped picture after picture of the famous painting. I spent over 3 hours at the Louvre and I literally didn’t waste one minute.

After visiting the Louvre, I took the Metro to the Eiffel Tower, but apparently so did everyone else in France. There were so many people there! Tourists, natives, street performers all crowed around and under the landmark. The Eiffel Tower is stunning to say the least. I got some great pics with it and of it. I tried to get a ticket to go all the way up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but the line was so long that I will probably go back on Sunday afternoon.

I then left and had the best ham and cheese crepe I’ve had since I’ve been in France. It was so good, but the guy who worked there was a total jerk. After he put only one slice of ham on the crepe, me (being a growing man and all), asked him how much it would cost to get an extra piece of ham on the crepe. He mumbled something in French and closed his ham up and threw it in the refrigerator. But besides that, I had a great time admiring the Eiffel Tower and being around the area, which includes some more beautiful architecture and parks. I even talked to this nice Algerian man about an Algerian film I saw in Cannes entitled Outside the Law; he nicely joked about my accent and asked me what “nation” I’m from in the United States (I didn’t take the chance to joke about his English though).

Paris is one of the most, if not the most, beautiful cities I’ve ever been to. I definitely plan on bringing my family back here once I become successful professionally. They would enjoy being in such a beautiful place. I leave tomorrow, but I already know I’m going to miss Paris until we meet again.

Bonsoir de Paris,

Eric

Hey hey hey,

I hope you are all doing well. Thank you so much for reading my blog and hopefully enjoying what I have to offer about my adventures abroad—it’s really been the experience of my life! Cannes was/is great, but I think the best moment of my trip by far was going to the 2010 French Open on Friday.

Anyone who knows me at all should know that I live and breath tennis. To say that I’m a tennis fanatic wouldn’t be doing me any justice. Every since I taught myself how to play tennis back in 8th grade by watching Venus and Serena, tennis has without a doubt been an inextricable part of my life. So getting a chance to attend the French Open in Paris was an opportunity I just couldn’t afford to pass up.

This weekend was a 3-day travel weekend for the Cannes Film Festival Study Abroad Program. Students could basically choose where they wanted to go, but I had no idea what I wanted to do this weekend—I thought it was a miracle enough that I was in Cannes, France, without even thinking about traveling to another beautiful European city. Not many people on the trip were making hardcore plans except for those going to Austria for the Sound of Music Tour (No thank you ma’am!). Then I thought, hey, I’m in France already, so why don’t I just hop on a train and go to Paris; I mean, this is the first time I’ve been in France and who knows when I will return, right?!

After I initially thought about Paris, I then thought, “Holy Crap! The French Open is in Paris!” That sealed the debate right then and there: I was definitely going to Paris. And to top it off, my homegirl and Cannes Program Coordinator Anna Beaver was going to Paris too. This made me feel safe because someone I know (who is fluent in French) was also coming.

I told Anna about the French Open and she was excited too! We decided to look online for tickets, and to our surprise, a ticket for one person at the biggest stadium (Philippe Chatrier) and all of the outer courts was only 80 euro or about $100 American dollars. This was not bad at all! Although spending the money guaranteed I’d be eating only ham sandwiches in Paris, I didn’t care as long as I had the chance to be in the vicinity of the Williams Sisters, Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.

Venus Williams and Nadal were slated to play on the court we had tickets for, but Anna and I just missed Venus and her controversial lace outfit because Anna’s plane was delayed due to a strike in France (stupid strike!). But anyway, we made it to the stadium around 4:00pm and I was SUPER excited!!! I was in heaven! Tennis and tennis fans everywhere. We sat in seats that had a phenomenal view of the action; we watched French hopeful Jo-Wilfired Tsonga win and American John Isner get demolished by Tomas Berdych. Anna and I even saw Brad Gilbert (ESPN) at the Isner match on Court 6. After the match, I followed him to get a pic, but he was in a really big hurry to get back to the ESPN set.

As far as souvenirs go, I got a HUGE Roland Garros tennis ball and begged the workers for an official Roland Garros shopping bag (too much I know!). My first Grand Slam was worth everything I’ve been through to get to France in the first place! Who would have thought I would attend the French Open in Paris? To say that it was beyond my wildest dreams is an understatement…and it wouldn’t have been at all possible without the 2010 Cannes Film Festival Study Abroad Program.

I’m truly blessed to have the experiences I do! My next blog will be about the beautiful city of Paris and its landmarks so stay tuned…

With much love,

American Boy in Paris aka Eric Jones

Hi to everyone back home,

I can’t believe I only have a week and a day left in France! Time has flown by since the Festival ended. At first, I thought it would be extremely boring after the Festival was over, and that the only thing I would be able to do would be to go to the beach and hang out at the hotel. Although I’ve gone to the beach a lot, I still find myself having a lot of fun!

But I have an amazing experience to share! Ok, so we’re hanging out on the beach a couple of nights ago. Everybody was having a great time until these obnoxious guys started making fun of our accents—especially mine. We thought they were Frenchmen, but they turned out to be British guys looking for a good time. They told me they’ve never seen a black American before, and I looked like not only “My Wife and Kids” but also  “Kenan and Kel.” A mess. But after chatting and laughing with them about accents and British vs. American cultures, they invited us to come to their yacht and party!

So me and Blake Mitchell aka “Beshawn” led the charge for us to make sure we got on that boat no matter what. So the British guys (Will, Harry, and Alex) said we could come as long as we brought a lot of “fit girls,” since they said there are no hot girls in England (lol). The next night arrives and we are so ready to get on that yacht! But one problem: we basically told everybody in our group (24 people) that we all could probably get on, which did not work out because the guys only wanted girls.

The British guys come to the beach where we are, but they intially refuse to take us to the yacht because there are so many of us. Blake and I immediately go into damage control, shooing people away until a few of us follow them to the boat. Firstly, it takes us an eternity to get there; we walk to the next city, which is more than two miles away. The walk was sort of worth it though because that boat, for lack of a better term, was “GINORMOUS.” It had like 4  bedrooms, a kitchen, hot tub, and everything else you could imagine! I had to soak it all in because I had never stepped foot on a yacht before in my life (small town boy folks!)

Things are going great; we’re all talking and laughing about different things. Then the girls on our trip start feeling tired and are ready to go. I guess the guys didn’t like this too well so as soon as three of our girls leave, they rush the remaining four of us like I’ve never been rushed before. “Can you go down there and get your friends so you all can leave?” one asks me. They couldn’t have made us leave any quicker. I guess they banked on scoring with some American girls and when they realized it wasn’t gonna happen, they were ready to call it a night.

My verdict from the way they were acting: that the yacht wasn’t even theirs to begin with! Such jerks! But despite all that happened on that epic night (some things not so PG), I’m glad I can say that I got on a boat.

Peace and love,

Eric Jones

Hey everyone!

So today was the closing of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. For someone who doesn’t consider himself a “movie buff,” I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed a vast majority of the films I’ve seen over the past two weeks. Okay, that might be an understatement…I HAVE HAD THE BEST TIME OF MY FREAKIN’ LIFE!!! The Festival was packed with a wide range of films, including one about a horrible one-night stand and one about burlesque shows (aka drag queen shows).

Today I saw “Biutiful,” directed by Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and starring the brilliant Javier Bardem. It’s about this man dying with cancer and his struggle to leave his two children behind. I actually cried a little towards the end (Don’t judge me!). I also gave the Mike Leigh film “Another Year” another chance. I joking refer to it as “Another Freaking Eternity” because the movie drags on and on…but I liked it a little more after seeing it again.

But today was also special because of the Closing Ceremonies. I got dressed up in my tux in the hopes of getting a ticket because I was dying to get in; remember that I didn’t get into the opening premiere of Robin Hood and missed a chance to see Eva Longoria Parker. So this would be my redemption. But I had to beg for a ticket. So in my tux and 90 degree heat, I held up my sign asking for tickets. Got a few laughs and sad glances, but after an hour and a half of begging, this really nice man gave me a ticket to the ceremonies! I was so excited!

There is a funny story about my ticket begging though; one lady (who thought I wasn’t looking), sneaked up beside me and had her entire group of friends laugh at me while she took a picture with me. I saw what she was doing and told her “No ma’am!!!” while I twisted and turned so she couldn’t take a picture with me. She probably cursed me out in 50 different languages, but I didn’t care lol. You are not bout to laugh at Eric Jones when he looks good!

Back to the ceremonies. Inside, Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Rodriguez made surprise appearances. Javier Bardem won Best Actor for “Biutiful” and Juliette Bincoch won Best Actress for “Certified Copy.” “Lung Boonmee Raluek Chat” won for Best Picture (I know right?). But great ceremonies! Javier Bardem even gave a shoutout to his love Penelope Cruz when he accepted his award.

The 2010 Cannes Film Festival was a success!

Love,

Eric Jones

Hello all,

I’m getting kind of sad that the 2010 Cannes Film Festival is ending Sunday night with what is sure to be an entertaining Closing Ceremonies. Today was a very relaxing day. I went into Cannes pretty early this morning in order to watch “Outside the Law.” Good movie with a ton of violence for you action fans out there! Then we got some great news: tomorrow the Film Festival will be re-showing the in competition films for those who did not get a chance to see them when they premiered or either want to see them again. I plan on getting up super early tomorrow to watch Biutiful with Javier Bardem and watch “Another Year” directed by Mike Leigh again; it was an ok film the first time, but I want to give it another chance since I was so sleepy when I first saw it.

Late this afternoon, we all went to the beach here in Juan le Pins, France. Very, very nice beach! Bathing in the sun, listening to music, and getting in the water with friends was so much fun—except for the 80 year old women and men who constantly felt the need to show us their boobs and private areas on the public beach. So yes, I had my first NUDE beach experience, and it was “eye-opening” to say the very least.

I’m really excited about the opening ceremonies tomorrow and I plan on soaking in every moment of it.

From France,

Eric Jones