2003-10-15
Exam time!

11:08 a.m.

Oh yeah, though, I am in FRANCE. ;)

However, yes, I may be in France, but I must admit that I am rather jealous of Becca and Sarah at the moment, because they are having a blast in Greece and I'm studying for a test. Regardless of the country, that's still decidely un-fun.

I *was* supposed to meet up with them in Greece, and I could have, too, this coming weekend since we have our test tomorrow and that's it. But, since it was up to me to figure it out, I never seriously looked for a ticket. (What I did find, however, was fairly expensive.) To be honest, if left to my own devices, I would not go anywhere. Which is where Nick comes in very handy. He plans the trips, and I just go along and find the hostels and be the sensible one (scary thought, that I'm the more sensible of the two).

So, this weekend, we are going to Barcelona, Spain. It will be fun, and fairly inexpensive, considering that we have a free ride there and back (another student, Markus, is going there that weekend and offered to take us). There are two other students, Miguel and Munir, who are going; both are Spanish, and Miguel is even from Barcelona. However, they are doing their own thing so Nick and I will be left on our own. This trip, there will be more dependance on Nick, who speaks something resembling Spanish, while all that I know how to say is "Yo no habla espagnol." I am not too worried, as Barcelona is considered an international city and hopefully most of the people there will speak some English.

If I was not going to Barcelona, I'd probably be going to Vienna. Again, because someone else is planning the trip. I do want to go to Vienna, and Nick has promised that we will. There are many students who are not going anywhere, but, fortunately, I am not one of them. Missing out on the trip to Brussels about a month ago taught me that wherever a trip is planned, I should go. All of the advice that I received as to whether or not I should go to Belgium was in favor of going, and while missing out on that trip is so far my biggest regret of being here, I cannot in all honesty believe that it was not better that I stayed in Strasbourg, especially since I left that Wednesday for Atlanta. I probably would have been okay, but what I did manage to accomplish that weekend led to two successful projects, which I am not sure would have necessarily been the case had I gone. Or, maybe I am just trying to rationalize it to make myself feel better. ;)

I am meeting up with some other students this afternoon. We have started moving into our little cliques, although we generally do get along well as a whole and try to include everyone in the larger events (like Thanksgiving). The smaller groups are generally more for studying, dinner, movies, gatherings, etc. Unfortunate, but to be expected. The Canadians, UK students, and Americans, for the most part, have pretty much gravitated towards each other, as have the students from other countries towards those who speak their native language.

Nick has created a webpage for his pictures. He takes better ones than I, and more. This is me, Will, Kelly, and Ollie in Munich at Oktoberfest, and this, also taken at Oktoberfest, is a very rare picture, one that none of you have ever seen before, and likely will not see ever again, so enjoy!

This past Saturday, we took a trip to Mount St. Odile; a fun trip under the guise of a remote-sensing exercise. I have pictures from that, which, as usual, I haven't transferred yet. Yes, I know that I am very slow about that! Next week, before things start getting hectic, I'll devote my first entries to that trip and Barcelona. Until then, you can look at Nick's pictures of the trip, including this excellent group shot (I'm second to last on the far right), and Will's description.

Back to studying!

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