Bonjour!

This is my first blog entry... and despite the fact that I am super tired and my back feels like tiny midgets are hacking my spine to bits with miniature sledgehammers, I am writing because I have a duty to begin the accounts of our experiences of Normandy Scholars before we actually travel 'across the pond,' as the super cool say. So here is the introduction to the characters we will meet:

ALYSSA: Author of this blog. Super super cool. Blonde hair and razor-sharp wit. Also makes fabulous cookies. And can talk about herself nicely because she is the one writing this!

JACOB: Boyfriend of the author. Likes to joke and gets passionate about WWII. Has an impressive vocabulary that he mixes in with exclamations of "Dude!" and "Holy Shit!" My favorite Normandy Scholar :)

LAUREN: Lauren is the Normandy Scholar who has the most rhythm, possibly (probably) because she is part black. Her dad looks like a teddy bear.

LAURYN: Note the spelling difference! Also different because she is white. She was too nice to let us know that we had been mispronouncing her last name all semester long (see: Profs. Wynn and Stoff).

LAURA: Laura is the mom of Normandy Scholars and one of the nicest people in the program. She is also blonde and is always smiling. She greets us with "Hi, friends!" which is an indication of how nice she is. She also has excellent style.

ANUSH: Anush is small and has gorgeous hair. She also has some of the best answers in class discussions, and is a good dancer. I plan on borrowing many of her clothes.

ELENA: Elena is one of the Jews of Normandy Scholars (see: Jamie). She can also shake it pretty well for a white girl.

JAMIE: Jamie is one of the most opinionated Normandy Scholars, and its other Jew. Known as 'Haus," she plays lacrosse for Texas but is not dykey, but pretty small. I'm not saying that lacrosse players are lesbians, but I'm also not trying to get into a political discussion. She may be small, but I still would not want to get into a fight with her. Although I like arguing with her.

CHANDRA: The tallest of the Normandy Scholars girls, Chandra has a last name that I don't think any of us have ever tried to pronounce. She has good taste in music and an adorable dog.

ALYSHIA: The smallest of the Normandy Scholars, Alyshia is the third blonde and tends to speak up in class when the rest of us are playing solitaire or staring into space, thus saving us from having to BS our way into some sort of coherent answer to a question we didn't even hear.

SANA: Probably the most intelligent Normandy Scholar. She has the best answers and phrases them the best, but is best known for her excellent giggle that she breaks out at parties when she has been drinking wine.

KRISTIN: Kristin is a pre-med major in a history honors program, which I think is totally badass. She also gets my vote for best shopping partner and best fondue-outing organizer.

CHERYL: Cheryl hooks up the Normandy Scholars with her parents' pool and ranch parties that result in massive headaches and fun all around. Also mad dance fests.

MATT: Matt Martinez made the mistake in one of our first classes of saying he didn't like an article that he didn't realize our professor had written. Through this, he immediately endeared himself to each and every Normandy Scholar. He also has surprisingly good dance moves. He may be quiet, but his hips don't lie. He also has a hot girlfriend.

GARRICK: Garrick is one of the two frat boys of Normandy Scholars (see: Tom Divine). He is the guy that won overwhelmingly the vote for "Guy I Would Do," from the boys themselves. He is surprisingly built and likes to argue with Jamie.

COLIN: Colin is a studious and eloquent Normandy Scholar, until he starts to drink. Then his dance moves come out and wow us all. Colin is also a prodigious beer pong partner, and the team of Colin and Alyssa is undefeated*.

ZANE: AKA Zanetrain. Zane has the best moves of all the Normandy Scholars, introduced at the famous "stair-hopping" of the first ranch party. He rides a yellow bike and has awesome hair.

CHRIS 1: Chris is 34 and was loath to hang out with the rest of us because he didn't want to be the "creepy old guy." However, he is one of the funniest people in Normandy Scholars and has simply amazing dance moves, and has not fulfilled his fear of being creepy.

CHRIS 2: The other Chris has a great singing voice and a habit of saying things that shouldn't be said in class. However, he is one of the kindest people in Normandy Scholars and has good taste in music.

ANDREW: I had no idea how funny Andrew was until the first ranch party, where he, Jamie and I bonded in the bathroom. Looks sort of like Harry Potter and loves my dog, who is scared of him.

TOM DIVINE: The other frat guy of Normandy Scholars. We use Tom Divine's last name because it is badass. Tom Divine is the Normandy Scholar most likely to wake up in a city during the trip that is not, technically, on our itinerary. He also gives the best hugs. It basically would not be Normandy Scholars without Tom Divine.

BRYNN: Brynn is only a half Normandy Scholar, because she got hit by a car and can't come to Europe with us, which totally blows.

THE PROFESSORS:
FRANÇOISE DEBAKKER: The only female professor of Normandy Scholars. Has the best accent in the world and is super stylish along with being extremely kind with a funny French sense of humor. Makes an excellent quiche.

JEAN-PIERRE CAUVIN: AKA "JP Money," Cauvin is probably the most badass of the Normandy Scholars professors. He is very tall and thin, has a deep raspy voice, and is said to be an excellent beer pong player. He seems like a crafty man, and although he is 70, the other professors say he walks so fast on his walking tours of Paris that often students are left huffing in his majestic wake.

CHARTERS WYNN: Wynn is one of the most popular professors because he seems the most like a regular person. He gets flustered sometimes when people begin to talk out of turn, but he is very likable and supposedly a great drinking buddy, although to date he hasn't pronounced my name right once.

DAVID CREW: My personal favorite, despite the fact I'm fairly sure he thinks I sexually propositioned him the last time I saw him (long story, but I didn't). Has massive hands and a jaded view of the world, which makes sense because he is the professor of Hitler and Nazism.

MICHAEL B. STOFF: What does the 'B' stand for? I like to think it stands for Bob. But Stoff speaks in his lecture voice whether he is teaching or talking to you, and is brilliant, although he knows this. He is also rumored to have a super hot fiancée. He also cannot pronounce my name.

*We aren't really undefeated.