Our lives are not as interesting as snowzilla

...But I'll update anyway.

Though Kay and Bryan’s stay was very short, it was long enough for them to have an authentic northern France experience. This entails eating regional cheeses, baguettes, French fries, foie gras, and beef; drinking red wine or Belgian beer; and oogling (This isn’t a word? This should be a word) the adorable Flemish architecture. The brasserie we went to for dinner allowed us to check off every food-related item: Kay got a flank steak, I got a gigantic serving of mussels, and Bryan and Carson got what was basically called “the plate of the north.” This consisted of a triangular cheese quiche accompanied by a circular cheese quiche. Now we know. And of course, everything came with French fries.

My favorite part of the visit was the fact that everyone could speak French other than Bryan, because I feel like Bryan is the type of person who avoids being entirely at the mercy of others. He’s lucky that Carson doesn’t hold grudges (See: Carson’s first beach trip with Mike’s friends otherwise known as the time Carson lost hope in human compassion), because we basically had control over all of his meals and life in general.

Moving on...this week I had the important realization that there was one week last year during which I was sick and tired and yelled (often) needlessly at pretty much every class I had. These weren’t even bad classes; I was just so exhausted that even the faintest whisper in the back of the room enraged me. Displaying my wrath, of course, just drained even more of my energy and made me seem weirdly and unreasonably mean.

I see these specific classes either every 2, 3, or 4 weeks depending on if the professor divided the students into groups of 2, 3, or 4, and I always wondered why one group from the same class could be so unresponsive/indifferent and the other so awesome and willing to participate. The classes I never yelled at and am probably too lenient with treat me, ironically, with a ton of respect. Like, I don’t even have to tell kids to be quiet anymore because the rest of the class will shush them before I get around to it. On the other hand, the unlucky students that caught me on a super off-week are now extremely wary of me and much less inclined to defend my honor and participate in class.

So, now I’m going to try to go back and see what groups I had during unnecessary-no-nonsense-Rachel-week so I can make a concerted effort to be extra fun and prove that I’m not a life ruiner next time I see them.

Hope that everyone is safe with all of this winter storm stuff. I’m seeing a lot of snow pics on Facebook and am simultaneously horrified and jealous of how magical it looks. Keep me updated so I know you all are living and didn't starve over the weekend!