Thursday night brought the much anticipated boat trip down the river Thames. It was wet, and windy and the food was beyond horrible. But I actually had a really fun time. The boat was rocking on what felt like 3-4 foot waves, so it was like a combination boat / roller coaster. Most everyone on the boat became progressively and significantly more drunk as the night went on, so by the end of it, every boat sway in one direction led to a drunken sway in the other, and I don’t think anyone actually fell down. With full and complete knowledge of how superficial it sounds, it was really nice to be the center of attention. There were at least 10 guys for every girl on board, and being the only American girl gave me a distinct level of popularity. In fact, I had a crowd of performers – everything from magic tricks (actually good) to drunken songs (not so good), and it was a nice escape from reality. (So bring on the comments about my ego, I am ready!!!!)

I also learned some new French slang. I was showing off my French skills to a group of French colleagues who were very enchanted that I was even trying to speak another language (as a big, dumb American). I was wowing them with my “Ou est la Louvre?” when they all burst into laughter. I honestly had no idea what was so funny. Being a bunch of drunken Frenchmen, they though I had asked Ou est la loup (where is the wolf) which apparently is a sort of invitation not very appropriate to work, yet much appreciated by these fine gentlemen. I still don’t really get it…..

Perhaps the best part of the whole trip was going in to work the next day, and noticing that only about half the attendees had actually made it in, and those who did were strewn about their desks in various stages of embarrassment, hungoverness, or in a few cases, still drunkenness. I think I can safely say that a good time was had by all!