Hell no, we won't go!

This morning, I made a supreme effort to haul my lazy self out of bed at five to nine. Alex (my German housemate) and I scurried around to ensure that we left the house on time, as we had been warned that protests might be blocking the trams or preventing them from running on a normal schedule. Thus, we had planned on walking to the university, which I have never actually done but estimate that it takes 20-25 minutes. Upon leaving the house, we found that the tram was in fact running. The university, however, seemed oddly deserted, and there were multiple signs posted on the doors advertising the left-wing student groups' displeasure with the impending law change. Alex and I asked at the welcome office, only to be told that the university will continue to be blocked until Friday, at which point there will be yet another vote to determine whether or not the blockage is going to continue.

All that, and I could have stayed in bed.

The program directors, of course, are reminding us multiple times a day that this is not a vacation, we must do work, we must meet with our tutors, yadda yadda yadda. Me, I consider a productive day to be one in which I do my grocery shopping AND make my bed. Homework must be on a to-do list in order for me to even think it worthwhile to consider. Hey, if they're not going to tell me to read...

Around the house, we have had some problems with mice in the past. This is common in older houses here in France - particularly during the winter, when mice try to come indoors to get away from the cold. It is beyond me how they manage to make it up two flights of stone steps, but they are here nonetheless. There are mousetraps set strategically around the house, with several on this floor. Every once in a while, a mouse gets caught. Yesterday, I removed one of these mice and reset the trap while Marion (one of my French housemates) crouched in the hallway with her eyes covered. How many dead mice have I removed in total? Two. How many have my housemates removed? Zero.

Girls. Geez.