I don't know how to start this post so I'm just going to go ahead and say it: I think I'm in love with my French professor, Veronique. Not because she's attractive or our personalities really click, but because she knows the quickest way to my heart: FOOD.

Our French class wrapped up last week, and during the last scheduled class we had a French movie night. Veronique brought us cheese of all varieties, fresh baguettes, unidentifiable (yet delicious) meat, homemade chocolate mousse and crepes, and lots and lots of wine. A couple girls in the class also made mojitos which I certainly didn't complain about. We watched some French Saturday Night Fever parody called "Disco" and Veronique even turned the subtitles on, which meant I could focus more on eating and drinking and less on understanding the movie. Up until now I assumed that the best way to wrap up a class was by playing sporcle and cleaning desks with shaving cream, courtesy of every AP class I took in high school. But French 1 definitely set the bar high. Take note, future professors.

Our drink selection for the evening

CHEESE. That is all.

Principles of International Health also wrapped up last week, but in a less exciting way that is not worth blogging about. This week I have a paper to write and a French final to study for, and then I am a free woman for 10 whole days before my internship starts. More on that at the end of this post...so if you don't want to read about all the cool stuff I did this weekend feel free to skip ahead.

On Friday a group of us traveled to Bern, Switzerland AKA the capital. It was much smaller than I expected and we pretty much saw the entire city in less than a day. Not much to report on Bern itself, but the history museum is currently displaying a Terracotta Warrior exhibit that we spent a couple hours at. I'm starting to construct my own personal army of 8,000 warriors to be buried alongside me in my tomb, and I pay great commission if anyone wants to help a sister out. That evening I ate a potato and cream dish called rosti. It was delicious and even though I felt like I was going to vomit immediately after inhaling it it was totally worth ordering.

We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside the exhibit, so this is all you get.

You'll be in my heart, from this day on, now and forever more.

On Saturday we had a group excursion to Montreux, where we ate good food and saw yet another lake. I'm becoming more and more convinced that every Swiss city functions around a body of water. Montreux sets itself apart because, in addition to a lake, it has a castle! Didn't really soak in much of the history lesson so I can't tell you a single thing about the castle, but it was pretty and I enjoyed looking at it.

This is a castle. Google "castle in Montreux" for historical context.

On Monday a few of my friends and I took a day trip out to Zurich, Switzerland, which is not the capital but might as well be because I'm pretty sure it's the most well-known city in this country. We walked all over the old town, checked out the lake (see? more water.), drank delicious hot chocolate, and ate some yummy food. Lunch consisted of tomato soup, bruschetta, and margherita pizza from this super cute Italian restaurant, and hot chocolate was courtesy of this huge chocolate shop, Sprungli. We got a beautiful glimpse of Zurich at night and then headed back to the train station to enjoy its version of Oktoberfest. We ate sausage and drank beer and sang songs and if I was dressed up in a dirndl it might have felt like Munich pt 2. A successful day was had by all!

It's a proven fact that Swiss water looks better at night

I love you, hot chocolate.

My Oktoberfest feast

This will probably be my last blog post for a short while. Early Saturday morning I leave for my 10 day Fall break adventure, where I'll be traveling to Budapest, Vienna, Prague, and Lisbon. I haven't been to any of these places so if you are reading this and you have suggestions on what to do or see or eat (duh) in any of these cities please send them my way! I'm specifically looking for tips on Jewish life and culture (Rachel this is where you come in) but am open to anything that sounds fun and interesting.

On October 21st I start my internship at.......the International AIDS Society! I'm the "Journal of the International AIDS Society Intern" which means I will be doing a lot of writing and editing for their online journal. I still don't know much about the specifics of my internship, but I have very high hopes and I'm excited to start working! It's crazy that the first half of my semester is just about done, but I can't wait to see how the rest of my time in Europe will be.

PS: Ellen and Bruce sent me a cheese-themed care package and so they deserve a shout out. Love and miss!

Are they the best or what?