No, I'm not dead.

I've been in France for two and a half weeks, first in Espira and then in Argeles. It was a whole lot of fun and I'm even thinking of going to camp again next year.

We spent our nights in tents which I *shockingly* survived. Our meals weren't Michelin-star worthy, but it was edible. The showers... well, they annoyed me. Adjusting temperatures was impossible, and pressing a button every 30 seconds bugs me. As does wearing flipflops whilst showering.
So apart from showers and my trusted Albert Heijn food, I missed hot chocolate, tosti's, full length mirrors, spoons at dinnertime, proper lamps, a pillow and of course music. I didn't miss any friends or family, my computer, tv or any other electronics I often use. I guess the people I traveled with kept me busy enough to not miss anybody.

What I've done? The first week was the intense week, with one activity after the other. I went rafting, during which I fell out of the boat twice. Yes, twice. The first time wasn't that bad, the raft just flipped and everybody fell out. The second time was when I was in a different raft - because the first one got a 30cm rip - and we were on a waterfall-ish thing. We were stuck between the rocks, and our raft was almost standing up right. I tipped out when the raft started rocking, and swam down about 100m of the river, past all the rocks and such. It was actually pretty fun, and the scared faces of people (and instructors!) in the other rafts made it that much more fun. We also went on adventure hikes, walking through bushes and rivers in the Pyrenees, resulting in many wet clothes and many scratches on legs and arms. We went canyoning, something I thoroughly enjoyed and abseiling, which was absolutely amazing despite my crashing into the mountain the moment I started. We also spent plenty of hours on mountainbikes, climbing up and racing down steep slopes. Of course we also had a campfire, which we made during the bivouac on the second night. This was a great night because by sleeping right next to each other, and having nowhere else to go, the group was able to bond better.
The second week, spent in Argeles, was much more focused on relaxing and doing what we wanted. We were given lots of free time, which we could spend on the beach or shopping in the city. On some days there were organised activities which we could choose to join, such as sailing, midget golf, a trip to a waterpark. I did the first two. We also went to Barcelona on one day, where we saw the Sagrada Familia, Camp Nou (only drove around it) and Parc Guell, but we obviously also had time to shop. There was another day on which we took the boat to some island where we spent the day shopping and lying on the beach. In the evenings we went out with the whole group to a number of different clubs. We were often allowed to choose at what time we wanted to leave because there would usually be three shifts (for example at 1am, 2am and 3am). The highlight of the week was the foamparty on our last night where we all turned into little snowmen and got soaked.
All in all, the 17 days were great. Maybe even better than I expected.

What I've learnt? First off, I can easily cope without the luxuries I'm used to, it just takes some getting used to. In the beginning the lack of hygiene threw me off a little, but in the end it didn't matter to me that I was wearing the same shirt as the day before, or that the cup I was drinking out of wasn't crispy clean. Secondly, I've learnt first impressions aren't everything. I was able to get along pretty well with people who, when I talked to them for the first time, came off very bitchy or arrogant. Lastly, I've found that supermarkets are a great relief after spending a week in the middle of nowhere. It's great when you can buy your own food.

It's roughly 10pm now, and I've just finished my packing for tomorrow. I got back about 30 hours ago, and I'm leaving in less than 10 hours again. I only get to spend two nights in my own bed :[. I'm off to France (I hope they can speak English where I'm staying, Argeles sucked when it came to communicating with people) for about a week.

Photos and better updates will be published when I get back!

But right now, I need to tidy up my room, else momma-woman shall nag about it all week. And oh yeah, I got an emo henna tattoo. Funny that no-one in the family has noticed yet. I got the stars on my wrists. How scene is that. I got it because of a mix of peer pressure and just the urge to try it for once. Again, photos will be up once I return.

Much love from a tanned Maxime :)