No seriously, do you do any studying?

Answer: no.

April Fools!

is this hilarious to anyone else? just me? cool.

I sort of do. Actually, I really do. Contrary to popular belief, this term has involved many hours of reading, writing, and interviews...and we’re just getting started. After a few French exams and one three-hour-long written final we are technically done with classes. Yet as hard as it is not to go directly into break-mode, we are nowhere near finished with the semester. We get a month (more like 2.5 weeks at this point) off to do research on our giant research project.

The scariest part of this “ISP” (independent study project) is not the 30 pages or the 120 hours of research or the thought of writing a slightly short thesis in a month’s time, but it is the 30 hours of interviews we are required to have. I have sent out 25-30 emails in the past few weeks and today I FINALLY scheduled an interview. When I grow up I will make sure to answer everyone’s emails especially if they are a lowly undergraduate student just trying to get some research done.

Anyway, in addition to studying for finals and freaking out about interviews, my time between travels and since Ireland has been filled with lots of sunshine, friends, and lakefront lounging.

post-finals, holla!

I also went up to the mountains with my host mom. In a more successful adventure than last time, we rode a cabine to the top, saw the Alps, drank hot cocoa and ate crepes, and hiked down the mountain via the easy slopes. It really made me want to learn skiing - too bad it is the end of the season. Next winter though!

On one of the less-sunny days, some friends and I did slack off on our research and took a day trip to Montreux, the city on the opposite end of Lake Geneva. I went with my host family right before we went to Paris, but that was a quick trip filled with traffic and a fencing tournament. With my friends we were able to take our sweet time to saunter around the lake and sit in the shadow of the castle.

Anyway, this is just an intermediary post to fill you in on more day-to-day things outside of my big travels. But get ready, because I just got back from Eastern and Central Europe and I have lots of stories to tell. x