Exploring the rest of Europe

I realized today that it has been more than a month since my last post. Actually I've handwritten about my experiences but haven't had the chance to transcribe my thoughts. My apologies.

Time has been passing fast here in Geneva. Only 41 more days until I'm finished with my internship. Soon after that glorious day when I no longer have to report to the dismal despair I call my summer internship, one of my best friends, Cate, will be flying to meet me in Geneva and from here we will travel through Italy, first checking out Venice, perhaps making a stop at Milan, then on to Cinque Terre. After Cinque Terre we'll head back to Switzerland, again making a stop, but this time at the Swiss-Italy border in the city of Lugano. Finally back to Geneva for a morning flight, Cate flies back home and I fly to London to enjoy a day of shopping, eating a picnic in Hyde Park, roaming around some trendy art museums, and sleeping in a fabulous hotel around the corner from Buckingham Palace. Life is good. Then the next day I fly home to Louisville. And you may ask, "Sara, what will you do while you're home?" And I will respond, "Absobultely nothing, except eat Mexican food and sleep." Oh and play with Baby Dog.

On a final note, July consists of a heavy travel schedule. This weekend I'm flying to Prague, I haven't decided my destination for next weekend, then Budapest, then possibly Berlin or Munich, then Vienna, and finally a three-day weekend in Rome.

Geneva Winery Weekend

Every year the local transportation authority in Geneva offers free transportation to and from the local wineries in and around Geneva. Luckily we happened to find out about this one-time event the day before. Also, seeing that we are poor grad students seeking free entertainment, myself and others decided to take advantage of the free alcohol and transportation. We all drank a little too fast (and our low cal diets didn't help) so we only made it to two wineries, which were both quite nice. All in all I think we tasted more than 20 wines, so let's just say we all felt good. After the wine tour we decided to split and then regroup later in the evening for din din. The wine made us all very sleepy. However, because our apartment is located in Bellevue and the train only runs once an hour on the weekends, Nina and I decided to stay in Geneva and tour the "Old Town."

Compared to most European cities, Geneva is not rich in history. I'm not quite sure why, but there isn't much. Anyhoo, Old Town is the oldest part of the city, with hilly, cobblestone streets and lots of churches. We meandered through Old Town then took a stroll by Lake Geneva until the weather decided to punish us and downpour cold rain drops and small pieces of hail. On another note, the weather in Geneva has been terrible. Cloudy and 60 everyday, yuck. After our stroll we rejoined the group at the main train station (the central meeting place for everyone) and set off for Planpalais (a neighborhood/district in Geneva that's not as touristy). --Unrelated , I paid 2 francs to use the toilets at the train station, remember Geneva is the 7th most expensive city in the world--

Originally our mission was to find Raclette, which is a traditional Swiss food featuring none other than Swiss cheese. Here's a better definition courtesy of Wikipedia.

Raclette is also a dish indigenous to parts of Switzerland, Wallonia and France. The Raclette cheese round is heated, either in front of a fire or by a special machine, then scraped onto diners' plates; the term raclette derives from the French racler, meaning "to scrape". Traditionally, it is accompanied by small firm potatoes (Bintje, Charlotte or Raclette varieties), gherkins, pickled onions, dried meat, such as prosciutto and viande des Grisons, sliced peppers, tomato, onion, mushrooms, pears, and dusted with paprika and fresh-ground black pepper.

However, the price of raclette for one person was quite expensive. Although I've found that I'm not as price sensitive as my peers (probably because my bank, Bank of Mom and Dad, is a very generous one). Nonetheless the others encountered sticker shock so we opted for pizza instead. After a delicious margherita pizza that cost me 13 francs I headed back to Bellevue for some zzzs.

Today, like everyday, it was cloudy and cool so I decided to stay inside and plan my European adventures for the rest of the summer. I opened Excel (Nick would be so proud of my planning strategies) and started searching the web for must-sees while I'm here. Recently I purchased a half fare card for the train, a special promo for the UE Soccer Tournament that's being held in Switzerland and Austria. This handy dandy half fare card let's me buy train tickets to anywhere in Switzerland and Austria for half price but it's only valid for the month of June. Thus, June is my 'discover Suisse' month of travels. I've already booked my hotel rooms for the upcoming weekend in Luzern (or Lucerne for you Yankees). Luzern is located in the Swiss German part of the country. I was thinking earlier today and realized that I do not know any German words or phrases. None. Nada. That's probably something I should look into. Anyhoo. Lucerne, Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen, Zermatt, someplace over in eastern Switzerland and finally Vienna, Austria, are all on my list of places to visit in June.

The weekend is not over but I'm already praying for next weekend to arrive (since my internship sucks A LOT.)

Finally, to round out the weekend, I bought my plane ticket home. It was triple what I paid to fly to Geneva. A one-way ticket from Geneva to Louisville was going to cost me around $2100. One freaking way. Yeah right I'm not paying that. So instead I'm flying to London (for which my plane ticket cost a total of $60, not too shabby, eh?), staying a night in a super luxurious hotel (I wanted to treat myself since my internship is so horrible), then flying to Louisville just in time to go to the My Morning Jacket show on the waterfront with my honey.

Geneva is growing on me, but I'm still looking forward to my journey home and eating tons of Mexican food and chips and queso and cuddling with my two kitties. Oh yeah and smooching Nick.

Working Overtime

I know that technically speaking I'm in Geneva to work; to gain valuable experience that I can use for years to come. This internship is an important addition to my resume but somehow I feel entitled to work the minimum amount possible while still appearing somewhat productive. That's wrong I know but in reality I'm paying for this internship so I shouldn't be required to work the long hours that my coworkers work, right? Wrong. My boss could care less. If I have to work 12 hours a day then so be it. Help me now. However on a positive (and rather random) note, work gave me a cell phone. I don't really know what I'm supposed to do with it, but it made me feel slightly more important than the peon I am. I'll take what I can get.

In other news I will soon be posting a video of the new toilet we had installed at work. It's a self-disinfecting toilet that is craaaaazy. The seat twists around and looks like rubber. Hard to describe but a video will tell all. Stay tuned.

Today also was Colleen's birthday so we (me, Nina, and some other people through her program) ate and drank at a British pub called Mr. Pickwick's. Naturally everyone (even the bartenders and waitresses were English). I had a large glass of cider, Strongbow, to be exact. When I lived in the UK more than a few summers ago, Strongbow was my favorite beverage. The first time I was drunk (drunk drunk and stumbling around) I had a glass and a half of the stuff. Good times. Anyway this place was fabulous (in the sense that I felt like I was back at Oxford) and not living in an unwelcome French-speaking city. Unfortunately I cut the night short because I had to catch the last train back to my apartment. I'm growing fond of the train station, as I should since I'm there everyday. It has everything you need, shopping and food and atms. Also, since it's Switzerland, chocolate is everywhere. I discovered a little cookie/dessert at the chocolate place that I pass by everyday. The cookies are called Snobys. Hard to describe but oh so scrumptious. I'm sure I'll develop diabetes soon if I don't stop buying them. They look like meringue cookies but they're not. They're two cake-like but crusty cookies with a whipped creamy center. Yum. Pistachio is my fave.

TGIF, which means I get to sleep in tomorrow. Sweet.

Ciao.

It's been a while

I can't exactly say I'm enjoying my time in Geneva yet. It's a rough transition. My biggest complaint is the language barrier. French is not my forte that's for sure. And work is the worst....I love receiving e-mails in French and having to google translate. But what's even better, is when my meetings are half in French. Love it. Jesus people show some respect for the stupid American who only speaks English.

Maybe it's just Switzerland (seeing that there are 3 or maybe 4 official languages), but no one seems to understand why I don't speak another language. Most of the people I work with speak at least three.

So today was a mentally stimulating and intellectually challenging day. I spent probably three or four hours making copies and stapling papers. I'm as serious as a heart attack too. My $60,000 education is being put to good use. Now, most people think MBAs can be snooty and egotistical. I like to think I'm not your run-of-the-mill MBA student, however, the other day a coworker asked me if I knew how to sort a column in Excel and I just stared at her. Really? Are you serious? Dang man. Of course I can freakin sort a column. Maybe I should have asked if she would like me to figure the probability (in Excel of course) of her getting fired for asking stupid questions.

I'm not a genius. I probably wouldn't even qualify as "smart" by most accounts, but I can surely do a lot more than make copies. Although I will admit that it's challenging when the copier jams and the control panel is in French. Pushing random buttons is the best solution, eh? I guess it could be worse but one would think these people could see I have somewhat more to offer than making copies and reserving hotel rooms. Get with it people. That's the last of my bitching about my internship, I promise (well at least for today).

Moving on. Yesterday was horrible. I found out my dog got bit by a poisonous snake, the train I catch to go home was canceled because someone decided to commit suicide by jumping in front of it (which I might add happened mere minutes before I arrived, at least I have one thing to be thankful for....not being traumatized for life), and I screwed up making hotel reservations at work. Lovely.

Tomorrow is Colleen's birthday so we're going to the local Irish pub, called Pickwick's, where all the Brits and US expats drown their sorrows with booze. Sweet! Most of the UN interns will be there too so it'll be nice to bitch and moan to other peon interns.

Wow this post sounds so cynical. All apologies but I need to get it out somehow or another.

I've Lost Count........

Yesterday was chilly and rainy so I didn't venture out into the city and instead chose to spend my day indoors. However it didn't start raining until after I got to the main train station so I decided to pick up some groceries at the train station. As I'm standing in line with my little basket full of goodies I notice a sign that says the store doesn't accept bills over 10 francs. Fantastic. I was planning to break my 100. I try to look for a credit card machine and there's none in sight. So long goodies. I got out of line and put all my groceries back on the shelf :-( Also I couldn't find an exit so I narrowly slipped past someone as they were paying. Grocery shopping = BAD news.

Today however was probably the best day I've had so far in Geneva. My friend Colleen, who was in my Social Entrepreneurship course at IU, is working for an NGO here in Geneva and she arrived late last night. So we arranged to meet up, grab a bite for lunch, and discover the city together.

We met at the train station and ventured toward the lake in search of *cheap* food, which is difficult to find. We found a little stand selling croque monsieur, which is a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, sweet! A simple little ham and cheese sandwich slapped on a grill and a can of coke cost me about 10 francs and today the exchange rate for US dollars and Swiss francs were even so it cost $10.

Just for your information, Geneva is the 7th most expensive city in the world, according to a 2007 CNN article.

Moving on to better things....after our ham and cheese sandwiches we walked up and down the right bank of Lac Leman (otherwise known as Lake Geneva). It was a gorgeous, sunny, 70-degree afternoon and it's a national holiday today so lots of people were out and about. Colleen still seemed overwhelmed since she only arrived last night and I remembered how very overwhelmed I was too so we decided to go grocery shopping together.

Well I don't think I've told you but shops close usually by 7 or 8 each night. Most are not open on Sundays and hardly ever on holidays. So the Migros grocery store was closed of course. Instead we went back to her place, which is a dorm for the Cite Universite.

I'm glad I'm staying where I am.

Then we decided to ride the bus (a first for me) back to the main train station. On a side note, the public transportation system is nice and very widespread and accessible. But the weird thing is....no one EVER checks tickets. I've not once been asked for my monthly pass (that cost me 45 francs) on the train and I've ridden the train probably more than 20 times. I think my monthly pass is good for all public transportation, but the key word is think. Colleen didn't have enough change to purchase a ticket so she chanced riding the bus and train without a ticket. It worked. I feel like you could get away with riding the transport system without buying a ticket or pass all around town for a year and never get caught, but I'm not taking any chances. I should also note that the train isn't like the Tube in London where you buy your ticket and feed it through the machines just to get onto the platform, it's a free for all in Geneva.

Anywho. We bought a pizza and some drinks at the grocery store in the train station (luckily this time I had 10s and 20s) and wandered back to my apartment for dinner.

It was soooooooo nice to have someone to talk to, whine to, laugh with, who is in the same situation. Like I said, last week was rough but this week I'm feeling proud of my accomplishments. I did it, by myself, with absolutely no help from anyone. Impressive Sara impressive.

Tomorrow is my 2nd day of work and I'll finally meet up with my boss (who I've only met once in Indianapolis. Cross my fingers.

Au revoir.

Jour Quatre

I'm getting better at French already. Not.

Well today started out like any other day. Bad. See last night I decided I should be prepared for my first day of work, so I took the train route to the office and it was perfectly smooth.

This morning I got up, got ready, walked to the train station with plenty of time to spare, got on the train, arrived at the main Geneva train station and transferred to my next train. Wait. Where is my next train? Minutes tick by and it still hasn't arrived. It's now a few minutes after it's scheduled departure. Big uh-oh. The Swiss are very on-time. 9:08 a.m. must be at work at 9:30 a.m.

There's a small sign posted that looks like it might tell me why the train is nowhere to be seen. Of course it's all in French.

Option 2. Take a taxi. Problem 2. Taxi driver does not speak English. I show him the address I wrote down for the office where I'll be working, which is located in a building called the Air Center. He starts speaking for what seems like 5 whole minutes none of the words in which I recognize then drives off. Note that taxis in Geneva start (without even driving a millimeter) at $7.50 (that's in Swiss Francs of course). Jesus.

I end up at the World Trade Center, right next to the airport. I have no clue how to get to the office from there. But I'd already spent $27 on maybe a 3-mile taxi ride so I'm having no more of this taxi driver.

I start walking and walking and walking and finally conclude I'm lost. So what does any American girl do when she's lost in a big, foreign city. She goes to the Ramada of course. I step into the Ramada and ask the concierge (who's well versed in English I might add) and she points me in the direction of a cab (a Mercedes Benz of course), sounds like more money trouble to me. But as I'm walking to the taxi I find a business card for my boss (in French). Thank you lord.

I try my best to say, "Je ne parle pas Francais," which as you can probably guess means, "I don't speak a lick of French so don't try to have a conversation with me." I show him the business card and 5 minutes later I'm standing in front of the Air Center (at 10 a.m.) only 30 minutes late.

Fantastic. I'm off to a running start.

I meet the HR lady who I've been in contact with and she's quite nice and probably only slightly older than myself. I read the company's lame-o red book of guidelines that basically told me not accept gifts or give gifts to anyone, don't participate in insider training, and ask the Legal Department for permission to wipe my behind. That sort of thing.

Next I met the Team (minus my boss boss because she was in Egypt). The team consists of me and three others (two guys and a girl) (oh and my plus my boss boss). Two of them are under the age of 30. Good. The girl is from Missouri and she's 25. Even better. I worked until roughly 6 p.m. helping put media kits together for an event next week and I worked on other stuff no one else had time to do. Not terribly mind blowing. Although I noticed when I was typing that the keyboards at the office are funky (I found that in Argentina too). The Y and Z are switched plus some other irregularities but it's really annoying. You'll never know how much you use the 'y' key until it's missing. I bet if you counted all they y's in this blog post that it would be over 100. That means 100 corrections to make at the office. By the time I get used to the y, I'll be back in the States and have to re-learn the positions of y and z. Suck.

I also was told this is the busiest time of the year so be prepared to work late some days. I sure am glad I'm getting paid adequately. Wrong.

Anywho. I took the 6:18 train back to the main train station and was home by 7 (without any hiccups I might add.)

Then I fell asleep.

I'm not sure what the weekend has in store. I was thinking Interlaken. But I'm also thinking that I should explore Geneva more. Hmmm.....

Au revoir.

Day Three

You may be wondering if I will keep going with my numbered days (ultimately it could get up to 90 by the end of my summer if not more), perhaps I will.

Today was much better than yesterday. Although my sleeping schedule is still out of whack. I'm going to bed around 3 or 4 in the morning. Not good. But hopefully my schedule will be back on track tomorrow night seeing that I have to be at work tomorrow morning.

Moving on...I figured out the whole train system, or so I think, which gave me a boost of confidence. Although I misread the schedules (which are all in French) and waited at the wrong platform for the train back to my apartment, which in turn resulted in me having to wait an extra hour to catch the next train. Ugh. Oh well. Lucky I had my Switzerland travel book and was able to read more about the best places to visit for views of the Swiss Alps.

I'll be riding the train lots of places since we aren't in the city. Today on my dry run to work there were two teeny boppers (in every sense of the word) that had there boom boxes on their shoulders and the volume was maxed out (on the train). I swear it was Modest Mouse but in French. The Swiss seem to be conservative folks that don't like a lot of raucous. So the Swiss lady sitting adjacent to me kept giving them dirty looks. Ximena, the lady who rented us her apartment even warned us not to do laundry on Sundays because the Swiss like it quiet. I didn't know that doing laundry, which is located in the basement (with concrete walls and all) was loud. Anyway back to my story....the "boom boxes" were the speakers you get for your iPod. It felt like I was living in the 80s and I was waiting for them to start breakdancing on the train, but it didn't happen.

I also found out that there's an American supermarket somewhere in the Paquis neighborhood (not that I have any idea where that is) but I'm really wanting some peanut butter and bagels, both of which I can't find in Swiss grocery stores.

Have I mentioned how expensive this place is? In all my guide books, they have a recommended list of "inexpensive" restaurants, and meals at these "inexpensive" restaurants in Geneva are $20 and up (one meal for one person) Yikes! I also was looking at some day excursions in Geneva. $200 for a guided tour of Mont Blanc (the mountain, technically located in France that overlooks the city of Geneva. Another Yikes!

Lucky for me my pops is a generous man and gives me unlimited access to his mastercard. What would I do without my fabulous parents?

Au Revoir.