College life

College is the same the world around. School...education...for a large chunk of people is secondary to the whole atmosphere, the friends, the parties, etc. I certainly remember that. As it all begins we don't sit around and talk about our classes...we talk about women, beer, parties, music, etc.

But there is a difference here at Les Roches. Perhaps it is the international nature of the school and students. Perhaps it is the style of education and what we are learning. But it is different. I just can't quite put my finger on it.

Tuesday is the official "first" day of school...and man, I can't wait for it. Today is Swiss Day so it's a day off for the whole country. It kinda sucks 'cause I'd like to get out of the village for a bit...but eh, it's no biggie.

So I'm sure a lot of you are very curious about the other students here....about what they look like, how they act, where they are from. Well I guess I better post some pictures eh?

Here I am at the late night club Absolut (yep, just like the vodka). It's the only place in the area (Bluche/Montana/Crans) that is still serving drinks after 2am. As a result...one beer...one freaking bottle of Corona...is 13 Francs. 13! BASTARDS! I avoid it like the plague.

Love is in the air... Yep, college kids + lots of liquor + far from home = randomly hooking up. This is Alex (from London) and...um...a girl who's name I forget. She's Brazillian though.

Granted the picture is a bit...ahem...this guy is actually a hilarious guy, and very friendly. His name is Callum (Scotland) and has worked as a chef for many years. By his side is another cool person Andrea (Norway). Oddly enough she has a very strong New Zealand accent. Odd. Anyway this is at San'Nick the more popular restaurant/bar in Bluche. 0.5L of beer (some boring Swiss/French stuff) for 6 Francs. Not too bad.

Ah, Magnus. This lunatic from Sweden is a real character. He's one of the older guys and lived in the US for a couple years...and is my neighbor. It seems all the Swedes (and Scandanavians in general) are pretty much insane. He's a great guy...but a bit high strung. He bit my head that night. I dunno...maybe it's some sort of Swedish thing. The guy you can barely see in the background is Carl...a friend of his from Sweden and another student here. Carl is a GIANT, silent, and was Swedish Special Forces. In other words...a good guy to have in your corner.

Pierre (Italian/Kuwaiti) and Ethan (New York). Pierre turned 19 yesterday. Crazy huh? He's a bit of a wild man himself...and Ethan...well...he is a New Yorker. No doubt about that.

There is a HUGE amount of South Americans here...it blows my mind! The girl on the right is Sophia, a Mexican girl who's lived nearly her whole life in Europe. She's a real sweetheart and a definite partier. I met her on the train ride to school...and she absolutely freaked out about my age (she's 19). The girl on her left is....um...crap, I can't remember her name. She's from Panama.

Ah...Pierre's Birthday celibration at Absolut. Pierre is perhaps the funniest drunk on the planet. At one point he was dancing on a table singing Backstreet Boys...and even doing their lil dances. The girl holding him is Rita (Lithuania). Once again we have Callum in back.

Ethan in the middle, Callum at the end and Susan on the other...another Swede that is probably the nicest person here. She's down to earth, not out of control...and has a car here. In other words, an asset ;)

The kid on the right is from Dubai. I forget his name. He JUST turned 17, has the WORST handshake known to humankind, and can't stop talking about getting drunk and having fun...drinking drinking drinking. I give him 3 months max.

Hey, a picture that has me in it! Imagine that...too bad I'm just barely there. The new faces are Alex (Paris)...closest to us. He's another HOIII direct entry guy and a pretty good friend. He's no dummy but drinks rather strange French cocktails. Europeans! Opposite him is Tanya from Russia. She is silent and very shy...but her best friend here (Rita, sorta in the middle) says "Tanya is the devil. She party much. Be careful".