a slow down

The past two weeks have been rather chill, and it has been relaxing to not travel on the weekends because after a while that gets tiring, especially back-to-back weekends. My weeks have continued with classes, nothing to exciting to report there, except that the international students received an extension on a paper we are to write in our french literature class on book the teacher told us would not be necessary to read, so I am having trouble figuring out how to write this paper.... In other news about classes, I am taking an American Foreign Policy class, it only lasts half the semester and then we have another class on Great Britain Foreign Policy. However the other week in my American Foreign Policy class, we were talking about the Civil Rights Movement and of course, my teacher has to talk about the Sit-In Movement, which I am proud to say, originated in downtown Greensboro. I was SUPER STOKED to be sitting in a class full of french students and, even having just told my neighbors that I was from Greensboro, to hear my city/town mentioned and talked about! It was surreal; I was freaking out a little bit, haha. The french students around me realized it was my town and told me I should tell the professor, but he was talking fast that day, and I didn't have time to butt in and mention that it was my town :) Nonetheless I was just so happy to be sitting in a classroom learning about American history in France, and for my usually insignificant town to be considered so important! I was ecstatic, it made my day. (on a side note: this is my only class in english, so that also makes my day)
Feb. 8, was a Sunday and was also my friend Eugene's 22nd birthday, so we went out to eat on saturday night at this restaurant called Flam's where the flams are unlimited until you can no longer put them in your stomach. A flam is a sort of flat bread pizza deal, no red sauce, but with cheese, onions, ham, other meat, mushrooms etc on top. Of course we americans love the idea of all you can eat, and it is not too common here in europe. The following morning, we all took the bus to Eugene's house in the suburbs of Lille, and went on a tour of the distillery there. Then for lunch, Eugene's mom made us the most delicious meal! Fresh pasta with meat sauce and parmesan cheese and cabernet sauvignon and salad and bread! I was in heaven! And then for desert we had this wonderful apple pie, on which Eugene blew out his candles and we had some pink champagne to celebrate. It was very nice of his homestay mom and I am very grateful for that meal. After stuffing myself, the typical thanksgiving induced nap state came about and I was incapable of anything else for the rest of the day. I think I eventually was able to do something productive, I just can't recall exactly now.
This past weekend on Valentine's Day I went with some guys from Westpoint on a countryside tour of war cemeteries, memorials, museums, etc. We went to Ypres, Belgium in a rental car and saw the remarkableMenin Gate and visited the Flanders Field Museum. We went also to Tyne Cot Cemetary, the largest commonwealth cemetary in the world. Here are buried the men who fell in the Battle of Passchendale during 1917. The British system for burying fallen soldiers, is to bury them close to where they fell, so the French and Belgian countrysides are littered with little and big cemeteries. We were just driving to Ypres and passed two on our way, just beside the road. One can also see old bunkers just sitting in the middle of a field, or right beside the road. If it weren't for being with the westpoint guys I wouldn't have known what they were, but they quickly told me. We even think we passed by an old trench on our drive. This was also the first time I have been in a car since arriving at the airport in Greensboro on Jan 4.
So this is what I have been up to. Another thing that has kept me busy is planning for my upcoming trip this Friday!!!! We go on "winter break" for a week, but then the following week we don't have any classes either due to the previous semesters make-up exams so essentially I have 18 days free! SOO, Dani and I leave Friday morning for SWITZERLAND!!! We are taking a train to Geneva and staying there Friday night. We will then leave for Interaken on Saturday and spend nights there in really cute and cheap(!!) hostel. We will take day trips to other Swiss towns to visit them. We are hoping to do some snow sports, and hike around the Matterhorn when we travel down to Zermatt! (sidenote: Matterhorn is the highest peak in Europe)
After Switzerland for about a week, I go to Germany to stay with my German friend from high school who did an exchange my senior year. I will visit him in his home for the weekend, and then return to France at the beginning of the next week. I am very excited to announce that I will see someone from NC State that week, as my friend David Wyatt is doing a spring break trip with the Scholars Program to London and Paris!! So I will go down to Paris to see him for a few days and I can't wait!!
So my next few weeks are looking very exciting and traveling with my backpack shall surely be interesting....I only hope I have enough room on my memory card!
That is all for now, and I need to return to planning things to do in Switzerland!