Je blague, Je blog...

Oh man, today was so blogworthy.

So two days ago, the 5 American students here all got an email about a little trip to Le Port to visit some US Navy stationed there. Cool. Awkward.
We ended up going on a bus hired by the university to take an International Relations class - so it was less out-of-place. We ended up getting tours (in English!) of two ships: one high speed catamaran used for shipping cargo and training officers, and one guided missile frigate, minus the guided missiles, mostly used for training foreign navy. The tours were actually really interesting, and we got some sweet pictures of French navy uniforms that may or may not resemble the type of shirt generally worn by menopausal women in August -- square-boat-necked white things that were something short of masculine.

Hands down, though, the best part of the day was when a couple of the enlisted, smiling as we walked by, reacted to Heather's short, friendly, and clearly anglophone "Hello" with a dramatic stopping-in-their-tracks, an arm swing that resembled how-to-survive-a-tropical-storm safety protocol, and a Samson Latchison style, "WHOA! YOU SPEAK ENGLISH!" It was glorious. I also said something to another crew member who told me, "You know, you almost sound American." Good. Maybe that's because I am American.

Being American has its pros and cons. One of the cons is that I've somehow made it to nearly 21 years old without ever actually seeing a Hilter mustache in real life. Well, at least, until today. Yes. That's right. I actually saw a man with an Adolf 'stache. It was gray, and the man was really skinny, so he luckily didn't look anything like the world's most famous totalitarian dictator.

I'm kind of bummed that I passed up the only opportunity to buy root beer that I've had in a month. One of the ships had a vending machine, but I left all my American coins at home.

Interestingly enough, I've found a couple friends here with very similar music tastes to me. Not surprising with Will, the Brit... but Even, the Norweigan? Hmm... didn't really expect to scroll through my new friends' music and see Sufjan and Ryan Adams, but I'm certainly not complaining.

Speaking of music: If I haven't told you yet, I hear QUITE a bit of American pop music here. Much more than I ever listen to in the States. I have a neighbor here on the sixth floor who has a rather impressive sound system in his room, and his favorite song is apparently "Down" by Jay Sean/Lil Wayne. I hear it incessantly. On the up side, I'm really starting to think that I just might learn to love Rihanna, Alicia Keys, and Jay-Z.

Also, my Norweigan friend Even (who definitely knows English well) had a copy of Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums sitting in his room last night and offered to let me borrow it. This is quite a highlight in my week, considering that the only real reading I've been doing recently is either in French (thus does not keep my attention well) or otherwise ridiculously boring. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, you bore me. Of Human Bondage... I'll give you another chance. Later. I also bought Tristan and Isolde in French, so that should prove interesting.

Alright, well it's nearly 6:30pm and I'm rather hungry. Got up at 6:15 this morning for a 7am class (after a brief chat with my favorite niece/sister/brother-in-law) and ended up eating lunch at 10am.