Jenni Ajderian

     I've also just jumped aboard the Edinburgh Exchanges blog, which contains snippets from students around the world on International or Erasmus exchanges. I do so hoping with all my heart that this will not entail any deadlines. http://edinburghexchanges.wordpress.com/author/jajderian/

     I'll admit it, I spent most of my day in Marseille on the beach, so I don't have a proper feel for the city yet. Ask a local and they'll tell you France's third city is dirty, dangerous and full of rude people, though I'm sure the Marseillais would say much the same about Aix. The rivalry between the two sister cities puts me in mind of that between Bristol and Bath, or Edinburgh and Glasgow- the smaller city pulling tourists in with its looks, the bigger with its personality.      Still, Marseille does make the effort. Making one's way out of the la Gare St Charles, the first view of the city is nothing but stunning, and the city's success as a port has made for some breathtaking architecture through years of development and eventual rebuilding after the second world war.      And so to the beach, where we spent several hours lying on tiny pebbles and getting a little bit sunburnt. Two metro trains and a bus took us out to the co...

     How very new and exciting, I'm trying to do a vlog alongside this more textual effort!      I'll keep linking back and forth between here and there, but just so you know there is now a YouTube playlist with my name on it which I promise to fill with weekly updates and bits of language. For anyone who has time to watch (hi, mum & dad), but particularly people who may be considering the rich world of Erasmus themselves.

     So here we are in Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, one of the most popular tourist destinations in France. People come here for the ample sunlight, proximity to the beach and, in part, for the food, so I thought it right to look at some of the local delicacies.        First stop is the Sunday market next to the Palais de Justice en centre-ville, where I think much of my student loan might end up going this year. Sundried tomatoes are a nice pretentious snack anywhere in the world, but the French (and the Italians, I think) don't seem to drown them in oil like we do back home. These dried tomatoes are fine for putting in salads or eating with some equally pretentious hummus, as well as just munching while walking around the rest of the market. The taste is like sundried tomatoes you may have had before, but even more tangy and naked of all that oil.    I didn't go for these in the end, but it's an odd little way to sell garl...

     Unfortunately, I'm not Scottish, and neither am I overly familiar with whisky. I am, however, a fan of Cranachan, a Scots pudding that involves cream, raspberries, oats and honey, and of course a nip of wonderful Scots whisky. I devised this recipe from a basic cheesecake we once made at school (can't beat a bit of food tech sometimes) with the aforementioned ingredients snuck in. 175g oaty biscuits (hobnobs or own-brand equivalent), crushed 50g butter 2tb honey 200ml creme fraiche 200g cottage cheese 1 large egg 1 tsp vanilla essence 3 tb whisky (or more to taste, you cheeky thing) small handful of raspberries      It's best to use a loose-based cake tin for this, otherwise it could be pretty difficult to excavate the cheesecake. Melt the butter and take off the heat before mixing in your runny honey and those crushed biscuits . This should hold together, but you can play with the exact consistency by adding more oats for a cri...

     It's rare you have the excuse to throw a really all-out dinner party, so when it comes up it's important to do it right. I came across a recipe for gin sorbet on another wonderful blog, Domestic Sluttery , which used a mythical being named 'squeezable glucose', but this works perfectly well without, and was probably the most stand-out course with my twenty-year-old taste-testers... 175g sugar, plus extra to serve 350ml water 100ml gin lime rind in strips shot glasses to serve (about fourteen) (picture stolen, quite unprofessionally, from bridalsnob.tumblr.com. Mine were gone long before I considered snapping a picture) Quite simply, boil your water and throw in the sugar and lime rind, turn down the heat and simmer while stirring until this thickens up a little. Take off the heat and remove the lime rind (careful now) and allow this to cool a little before adding the precious precious gin. Leave this to cool completely before pouring into a tub and s...

     There are few things for which someone with a hangover as bad as this will trudge through the rain, and fewer still which take place in a converted church. But this band, this particular combination of formidable horn section, guitars, drums, orange beanie hats and dual vocalists, has proven itself all over Edinburgh throughout the festival and beyond. The Victorian Trout Conspiracy , a group made up of too many locals to count, begin their set with a wall of sound that dissolves into higher, janglier stabs on that lead guitar. As the beat picks up, its player, Fraser, pumps his legs up and down, bassist Calum becomes a swirl of hair and the whole front line is a blur of moshing, jumping musicians, and suddenly sleep deprivation and the Hive's unidentifiable gunk are things of the past.      The music is stompable, danceable, chantable, shoutable, and soon the Tron church is full of early drinkers and tourists curious about the noise, all of them sm...