I must admit, I didn’t think it would be quite so long between emails about my Swiss life, but alas, I have always been terrible at this sort of thing. Where to begin? I guess my last email was sent shortly after I arrived here in Geneva, and since then I have certainly settled in, but what sticks out the most to me are the trips away.
I have taken several trips in the past month or so, most notable was last week (now closer to two weeks ago) which the entire program spent in Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium. We had meetings with organizations in the mornings, but the afternoons were largely free to explore the cities. Brussels, the headquarters of the European Union, was a really amazing city. I had no expectations going to Brussels because I hadn’t heard too much about it as a tourist destination, but I have no idea why because it was stunningly beautiful with several really interesting museums. Belgium is famous for beer, waffles, and chocolate, so needless to say it was a great place to spend my 21st Birthday. We all went out to celebrate at the bar that holds the Guinness World Record for most types of beer offered (2,005!). There would be a photo attached but, funny thing, my iPhone (which I had been using as a camera since it was easier than my actual camera to tote around) was stolen out of my hands when we were walking home one night. It certainly put a damper on the trip, but I guess we all have to learn painful lessons sometimes. Bottom line: go to Brussels, drink beer and eat heavenly waffles, but hold on to your valuables.
After Brussels we headed to Paris, which is a city that needs no introduction. To be honest, though, I was rather underwhelmed. Paris was a bit too large to feel comfortable in, and kind of dirty. Plus, what I had heard about rude Parisians turned out to be largely true. All that being said, I did enjoy seeing the major sights in Paris: Notre Dame, Pere Lachaise cemetery, the Catacombs, Sacre Ceur, the Louvre (for free on Friday evenings if you’re under 26!), Musee d’Orssay, of course the Eiffel Tower, and my personal favorite, stumbling upon the gorgeous church St. Etienne du Mont . I was also sure to eat crepes, of course, but they just couldn’t compete after the Belgian waffles. Luckily I do have a camera here as well, so I was able to take plenty of photos in Paris.
The day before we left for our “study trip”, I took a day trip to Annecy, France with some friends. Annecy is absolutely adorable and known as the Venice of France, with canals running throughout the city (unfortunately I didn’t upload my pictures before I left on my trip, and, alas they too are lost). I have also taken a day trip to Bern, which is the cute little federal capital of Switzerland. My favorite of the day trips, however, was definitely going to Chamonix, France and going up to Mont Blanc with my host parents. Mont Blanc is the tallest mountain in Europe, and, incidentally, I can also see it from my window. After taking a cable car to the top, and snapping too many pictures, I stopped halfway down and met up with my host parents to take a good hike across the side of the mountain until we reached a huge glacier, where we took a train back to the little town where we parked our car. Such a great day!
The trips are certainly the things that stick out as hilights, but a bit about my daily life would probably be appropriate. I generally get up at about 7:30am and take my two trains into Geneva for classes to start at 9:30. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays we have a broad seminar about international relations that usually features guest speakers ranging from professional diplomats at the various international institutions based here to professors and specialists from the nearby universities. The same afternoons, we travel across town to a french school for three hours of French class, and if I come straight home and rush I get in at about 6pm. On Wednesday and Friday mornings we take a class about research methods and Swiss culture, and then have the afternoons off. It’s considerably more time than I have spent in class everyday since High School, but the academics aren’t all that demanding.
I am really growing to love my host family more and more. While we don’t speak very much French at home and that’s a bit of a bummer, there are a lot of things about having a half American family that I really appreciate. We have a subscription to the economist, listen to NPR, and keep peanut butter in the house. Also, with my appreciation for awful teen girl movies, I have the same movie taste as my 12 year old host sister. On my birthday the girls made me a cake, my host mom made Raclette (a Swiss specialty), and the family sang me happy birthday in five different languages. It’s really easy to feel at home here and I love it!
After five weeks of 80 degree weather that had us all complaining because we hadn’t packed according, fall has arrived in full force here in Geneva. On the bright side, however, the dollar is finally doing better than the Swiss Franc! It’s still expensive as heck, but every little bit counts I guess…
Hope all is well on your end! Would love to hear how you are doing and to catch up.
albinobservations 