Every weekend a group of us would go on a hike or two. Hikes are a great way to get to see the country and every time we have been able to take a different hike and see different things. I love the hiking group. We have become so close and I really hope we can continue doing hikes when we go back to the states. The core group consists of Eric, Aaron, Beth, myself, and of course Chuck and Marie. We always seem to have too much fun, and something unforgettable always seems to happen. On one of the last hikes we were walking along an electric fence. I jokingly told Chuck to touch it and see if it was on. Well didn’t he fall as soon as I finished asking him. His feet went right out from under him and he landed right on top of the fence, using it to try to catch himself but he ended up just lying on top of it, resting his head on the bottom wire. I think I laughed about it for a good ten minutes after it happened, maybe twenty. I just kept picturing it happening in my head and I couldn’t stop laughing. Luckily the fence wasn’t on or I never would have stopped laughing.
Besides all the excitement that goes on during the hikes, I really just loved the peace and quiet. I felt like a little kid again, spending all day outside in nature and not having a care in the world. I had so much time to think, about all the things I wanted to do that day and in the future. Hiking really is so relaxing and a major stress reliever for me. Plus, hiking is such a good work out! Our shortest hike was probably about 3 hours so we normally walk a lot, going up, down, and around mountains multiple times. I feel like my legs (and butt) got so toned from all the walking. We never did a hike that was even close to being flat; I don’t think Marie would have allowed it. She is the one who organized our hikes, she is always up for a hike and we are always up to doing them with her. Chuck did wimp out on our last hike though; he didn’t want to get wet from the rain.
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| Me, Beth, Aaron, and Eric |
The picture above was from a hike that we went on when Chuck and Marie left for break. It shows a great view of Ambialet with the Monastery in the middle. The hike that day was perfect and the weather was even better. That’s the best thing about hiking, even if you would go on the same hike twice it would be completely different each time because the view and the weather is always changing. One of the coolest hikes we went on was one morning when everything was covered in fog that lasted all day. That happened a lot here actually. Since we live right on a river it gets really foggy and sometimes the sun never comes out because it will stay damp and foggy and the sun goes down by 5.
I wish there were more places back in the states to hike. Here they are seriously everywhere! I don’t even know how many different ones we went on this semester. And they all varied in distances. The longest one we went on was about 15 miles and it took us a good 5 hours but it was so worth it. We packed a delicious lunch of bread and cheese. We also had a nice treat of honey that we bought fresh while hiking, which was amazing. I loved going on the hikes but I don’t think I would have gone if it wasn’t for Marie’s dedication. She made sure we went on at least one a week. Also her and Chuck arguing is hilarious, I think he stays up late at night thinking up new ways of teasing her. Oh young love! They always laugh when I tell them that. I don’t call it young love because they act like young lovers, I think its cause they find new ways of showing their love and keeping it fresh, which isn’t really the word I was looking for but it will do. I know she is going to read this too. She kind of has to because she is grading me on it, but I don’t care they are too cute. And I am going to miss them both like crazy. They have been much more than professors to me, and I will always be extremely grateful to them for that. And I am not just saying that so I will get an A in their classes either, even though an A in art history would be really nice Chuck…just kidding, kind of.
I can’t believe I only have three days left here. Depressing.
