i went and jumped off a bridge last night

I've been kept up late hearing Camino stories from Katie, Eleni, and Cath.

The Camino sounds hilarious, strenuous, stressful, inspring, and mostly exhausting. Which is why we didn't go clubbing tonight as planned, but instead watched "Taken" with my parents and ate chinese food and sat around my dining room table and chatted.

Mom legitimately told my dad to go out and buy "Taken" so that we could watch it before we left. As an educational experience or something. A two-hour-long-educational-experience-with-drugs-and-guns.

Me: Look at Mom, so pleased with herself. She's like "and that's why you should stay in switzerland for the next three weeks!"

Mom: And don't swim in the Aare!

Me: Because there are Albanians in the Aare! With heroin!

The Aare, by the way, is a river. And while I'm sure that sometimes there are Albanian immigrants swimming in the river (because it's quite the Swiss sumer activity), they have no interest in kidnapping any of us or selling us into sex slavery.

Today I did swim in the Aare. I jumped off a bridge into the river and it was probably the greatest half-second of my life. For the record, I did check to be sure the water was deep enough, and I knew I was a strong enough swimmer to take on the current. I'm a safe river-swimmer.

Danny and I were supposed to go at the same time, actually.

Me: Danny, have you never jumped before either?

Danny: No.

Me: We can have our first times together!

Danny: Um...

So he says, "On three..." and I'm freaking out and Chris is behind us. And Danny jumps. And we have to go down in a group because swimming in the river alone is another unsafe thing. So I'm like, "shit, I have to go, because otherwise I'm stuck without the group and/or Danny's by himself and neither of those are good.

So I jump.

Best half-second ever.

Love always,

Clara

P.S. Bonus points to those who got the Eddie From Ohio reference in here.