Bonjour!

Today was a relaxing day in good ol' Evry. Woke up for breakfast and headed to class. Erin and I really have the timing thing down because we realized if we just shower at night and get our school stuff ready at night for the next day, we can wake up at 8:45, leave at 8:55am, make it to breakfast and have about 30 minutes to eat and make it class with a few minutes to spare. It's a science, really. Haha! Today in class we had a professor from Russia. His English was difficult for me to understand because of the thick Russian accent but it is really cool having such international teachers - which is very different from my teachers back home who all speak great English and who mainly reside in Virginia like everyone else at Virginia Tech. Here, I have had teachers who live in France, Alabama, Russia, had a lecture from two Switzerland-residing people and, of course, a lecture by Reed who is from Virginia! It is quite the mix of culture among the different professors we have had and it is quite the experience. It makes me want to be a more worldly person. The Russian professor taught us everything there is to know about patents from history of patents to what a patent means. It went all the way back to working on the creation of patents in the antiquity age through the middle ages. It was pretty interesting and as class went on; and I actually started to understand the professor's thick accent which made me happy.

French class was great as usual. I understood almost everything and the teacher really focuses on the way we pronounce words to make our French-speaking perfect. I didn't realize how many words I don't say completely correct. I love French class because I learn a lot every time and never feel bored. J

We leave tomorrow for Brussels super early in the morning, so we decided to just stay in Evry after class. Today also made me realize how the perception of cultures is so stereotyped. For example, the Russian girl who is a student with us, asked the Americans if we wanted to eat at McDonalds when we walked past it earlier. She said that in Russia, everyone basically has the stereotype in their heads that Americans only eat McDonald's and nothing else. Of course all of us got offended and said that just because fast food is associated with America does not mean that it is true for all Americans; just like if we asked if in Russia, if all they drink is vodka and wear fur coats. That is obviously a stereotype but it is unbelievable how much stereotypes have taken over people's perceptions of other cultures completely.

Anyway, after class, Erin, Ashley, Nicholette, and I walked to the mall. It was a gorgeous day out today so it made staying in Evry not so bad. J I don't need to go into too much detail about our afternoon at the mall… us girls + shopping + all afternoon = four very happy girls! After spending basically all afternoon there, we booked it home for dinner in the cafeteria, but just our luck, the cafeteria was closed for some reason. So, we walked across the street to a small kabob restaurant which is located right next to an "Afro Shop". Haha! I'm tempted to buy one of my friends an afro as a souvenir from Evry.

We ended the night with a perfect night of ice cream, watching the New Year's Eve movie, and painting nails in Nicholette's room with the girls. It was one of my favorite nights. Now, as I write this, I just got back to my room after the movie and am staring at my suitcase because I have to pack for the Brussels trip tomorrow, but I need to get a second wind to get energy to pack my suitcase. So, I'm going to have to stop stalling and finish this blog and start packing…wish me luck! We leave for Brussels at 5:45am tomorrow morning and it's only a four hour drive so it shouldn't be too bad.

Brussels here we come!!!

Au Revoir!

Tori