The next day we took a train up into the mountains. It was so cool, except it was a cloudy day so we couldn't see the peaks of all the mountains. Anyway, the train took us up into this little remote village right next to a glacier. Now let me tell you, if you ever get a chance to see a glacier, go. They are so cool! I didn't even know there were glaciers in the Alps, but apparently there are tons. So anyway, we went right up to this glacier, it was so cool. It was clear and blue and just amazing looking. We went inside a hole that some people had made in it and I felt very much like I was in the movie Ice Age. It was sweet. The ice was amazing though. Totally smooth and clear and just beautiful. I loved it. Anyway, we went back to the main town for lunch and then that afternoon we were going to do rock climbing. When we got to the rock climbing place, however, the head rock climbing guy comes on and says that basically it was too cold to rock climb very well that day, and so they were willing to try it but they only wanted people who were prepared to have a hard time and be super cold. Apparently the rock was too cold to grip well and all this stuff. So you know I want to do rock climbing at least once in my life, but it didn't sound like the best conditions for my first time, so what happened was that half the group decided to try out rock climbing anyway, and the other half decided to take a hike up to another glacier. I went with the second group, and it was fun. I love woods walking, plus it was just like back in the UP with the cold and the pine trees everywhere. I rather enjoyed it. And the second glacier was cool too, though we couldn't walk right up to it this time. On the way down I had the best time though. We took this really steep trail through some grass fields to get back to the bus and it was hard going because we kept sliding and losing our grip so we finally figured out that it would be easier just to run because it was that steep that if you just ran you would end up skipping over a lot of ground with each step. So we started running and it was AWESOME! I don' t know why I loved it so much, but it was just like you took one step and it was like you were flying over so much ground because you were going so fast! And so I ran the whole way down this huge grassy hill with my arms stuck straight out at my sides to keep my balance and seriously it was one of the funnest things I did in the entire France tour. Weird how sometimes things like that happen huh? I was so pumped though that by the time I got to the bottom I really wanted to climb back up to the top and do it all over again, but unfortunately we had to leave. For the rest of that afternoon we just wandered around the town and looked in different tourist shops. It was rather boring but I was fine with that, I had had a good day. Then that night was great too! A rotary club from the region came and visited us for dinner, and then went up in front of everyone and yodeled, because that�s what they do in the alps. Of course this launched another culture fair type thing and every nationality ended up going up and doing something. The Australians did a Vegemite commercial, the Canadians sang the Beaver Song, the Americans sang Take Me Out to the Ball Game (but what I thought was really great was that we all got up there and couldn't decided between that and singing America the Beautiful and so you know what we did really quick before we sang? We held a vote. God, we're so democratic! It was great! The Americans get up to show their culture and what do they do? They vote. We rock!) Anyway, the Mexicans sang this song about mayonnaise, the Japanese sang Yankee doodle dandy in Japanese and had this really complex two person clapping game going along with it, the finish guy sang his national anthem again, the south African girl did a nursery rhyme in Afrikaans, and what else? The Brazilian girl sang and danced, and I think that�s it. New Zealand was too shy again. And the German guys sang fragments of a couple German songs. It�s so fun to be an exchange student! Anyway, then we played this big long game called SALAPA that�s too hard to explain but it involved a lot of performing and we all laughed and had a good time. That night I collapsed into bed so tired I almost died, but it was great anyway.

The next day we were on the bus bright and early heading for Geneva. On the way two of the exchange students took turns on the microphone describing their cities which we were driving through. They got into this big argument over which one was better and it was really funny. Umm, then we finally got to Geneva having made it through customs ok. We saw the huge lake and everything and then we stopped at the UN! That was cool because we got to see all kinds of huge conference rooms that have been used for years and years. The place was just alive with history and politics. Plus the building itself is just cool because it all comes from different parts of the world. Like for example you can be in one room where the stone on the floor came from Belgium, the lamps from Russia, the rugs from the Philippines, and the furniture from Brazil. Every room was like that. It was just so cool. Plus they had all kinds of amazing artwork on display because right now they are having big discussions about human rights around the world. It was just amazing to see all of it. I was so pumped. After that we headed back to France and started the long journey back to Paris. We ate lunch at a roadside stop again, and Anastasia taught me how to make flower chains while we were having a picnic with a bunch of other people. It was cool because I made like crown of daisies and because I have big hippie hair everybody loved it and made me pose for pictures while I made peace signs with my hands. It was so cool. I'm such a hippie! Anyway, that afternoon we visited the Hospices de Beaune, basically like this old medieval hospital which was kinda cool but I had already seen it and we had a really boring slow tour guide. We all pretty much slept through it because we were so worn out. After that we drove on for a while and spent the night in a hotel. I was disappointed that we didn't do more stuff on the last night. We pretty much ate dinner, hung out outside for a while on couches, and then at ten they made everyone go to bed. It was sad we didn't get to stay up later, but oh well. I showered up and then fell asleep. I was in a room with Julie, another American from Washington. I thought it was weird because Julie isn't that common of a name in America, and yet here on the France tour we had about 11 Americans and three of us were named Julie. Strange huh? Anyway, the next morning there was that sad leaving feeling, and it stayed with us all day.

We drove for a while until we got to Versailles. It was a great castle, so huge. I was surprised it wasn't in the middle of the countryside like its normally depicted, but rather its right in the middle of a big town. Anyway though, the coolest part was the gardens and we didn't spend as much time in them as I would have liked. The inside was cool too, but it got old after a while. You should have seen Louis the 14th's bed though. The thing was like 5 normal mattresses thick at least. It was nuts. I'm sure he must have been such a jerkface after seeing that castle. Can you image living in that kind of luxury while the majority of your people are starving every day? No wonder they revolted! Well, anyway, Versailles was cool, but I was disappointed that we had to leave early from the castle to go eat lunch at McDonalds of all places. They made us eat at the cheapest places, I swear. But anyway, after that we got on the bus and headed into Paris to drop everyone of at their respective train stations to go home. It was sad, everyone was hugging and crying. On the way there we sang all kinds of songs to keep the moral up. Everything from the star spangled banner to leaving on a jet plane to the beaver song. So finally we all got off and said the last goodbyes. I wasn't too sad actually. I had more fun seeing things on the tour than hanging out with people. I just didn't seem to connect really well with any of the little clicks that formed. I actually think its better that way. Plus I have 6220 to go back to next summer!!

So that was it. I had a nice train ride back to Thionville with Sarah, who I like hanging out with very much. When I got home my host family was all excited to see me, I love them so much! I also got a package from my dad that had a box of Cadbury eggs in it. It was so great! I love him so much too! I ate all of them right away. The next morning I got another Easter candy package from Chena, another person I love, and that was cool too. I ate it all right away as well. Over the France tour and the week before it I had managed to lose about three kilograms, which is between five and six pounds.

Anyway, I'm really get tired of typing, so I think I'll say over and out for now. If any of you other exchange students out there feel like sharing the story of your Euro/France Tour I'd be more than happy to hear about it. As for the rest of you I'm planning on sending out some personal emails soon! I'll talk to you later! (And I'll see you all on June 24th, woo! And keep in mind that anyone that wants to come is welcome. I'll be landing around midnight) Ciao! Bisous!!