The First Weekend
My first weekend here was a bit of a whirlwind (with the lack of sleep and all), but nonetheless good.
After being picked up from the airport I was taken around the city for a bit before being brought to my apartment. It is much larger than I anticipated—this being Europe and my roommate having described it being small—and I am pleased with the accommodations. After getting settled a bit, Mike from the office (who was one of the people who picked me up) and his friend Kat came to take me to get my bus/tram/public transportation pass. I got some pics in a photobooth for the pass which reminded me a lot of Amelie and the process was pretty painless. Mike and I seem to have a lot in common so it will fun working with him. He’s actually from Cincinnati, having gone to Xavier, although he’s been living in Geneva for about four years now. He’s really into social justice stuff and we already had some interesting conversations.
We then walked to lunch at an Italian place where Mike informed me of a few key things: pizza does not come sliced, people eat it with a knife and fork, no one asks to take leftovers with them, and tipping is unnecessary. The food was good and I was even able to decipher most of the menu (which was only in French). We then went to the grocery store where Mike was kind enough to advise me on purchases and answer all my questions. While I knew that this city was going to be expensive, I was unprepared for the combination of high prices and small portions. It will take some adjustment, but maybe I'll even lose some weight.
I’m also now fairly convinced that half of the reason Americans are so overweight is because of the massive amounts of pop we consume. In Europe there are far fewer options (we saw Dr. Pepper at the store which I was told is a rarity), bottles are smaller, and restaurants do not offer free refills. Plus, if you have to pay 3.80 in Swiss Francs for a .5 liter bottle (as I saw at a restaurant today), you’re bound to drink a lot less sugar water. Cultural differences sure are interesting... (Also, eggs and milk aren’t refridgerated—weird!)
Anyway, following that shopping experience, I came back to the apartment and took a brief nap. At around 7:00 Nicki Armstrong (UC graphic design alumni a year above me who’s been working at FI for the past year) and her roommates—the other female FI interns—came to get me and we got dinner at a reasonably priced Asian restaurant. A couple of the girls are Canadian and one is local so she was able to interpret for those of us without any French experience (though this menu at least had English translations). By this point, I was already thinking about looking into the French classes both Mike and Nicki had mentioned. It’s not that I can’t figure out what’s going on, but I would like to at least be able to understand conversational French…
Regardless, the food was good. It turns out that I arrived on the final day of Fêtes de Genève, a big festival in the city. The finale of this event is a massive fireworks show. I forgot to take my camera so this photo is from Geneva’s tourism site from the 2004 show.
This was seriously the largest fireworks extravaganza I’ve ever witnessed. It lasted for 45 minutes, was set to music, and included a truly grand finale of huge glittery-white fireworks that were bright enough to make me have to glance away. It was quite nice and a good welcome.
Today I slept in and then went for a run along the lake which was refreshing (albeit chilly and slightly damp). My roommate Farhad returned from his trip to India so I got to meet him. He’s a really nice guy and I think we’re going to get along well. He was born in India and lived there until 14 when he moved to Canada. Anyway, this evening he and Nicki (who are dating) and I went out for some Kabob and then watched one of his Bollywood movies. It was entertaining and different… But I’m not sorry I watched it. Anyway, it’s getting somewhat late, I’m not entirely caught up on sleep, and tomorrow’s Day 1 of work, so I should sign off.
Until next time.
After being picked up from the airport I was taken around the city for a bit before being brought to my apartment. It is much larger than I anticipated—this being Europe and my roommate having described it being small—and I am pleased with the accommodations. After getting settled a bit, Mike from the office (who was one of the people who picked me up) and his friend Kat came to take me to get my bus/tram/public transportation pass. I got some pics in a photobooth for the pass which reminded me a lot of Amelie and the process was pretty painless. Mike and I seem to have a lot in common so it will fun working with him. He’s actually from Cincinnati, having gone to Xavier, although he’s been living in Geneva for about four years now. He’s really into social justice stuff and we already had some interesting conversations.
We then walked to lunch at an Italian place where Mike informed me of a few key things: pizza does not come sliced, people eat it with a knife and fork, no one asks to take leftovers with them, and tipping is unnecessary. The food was good and I was even able to decipher most of the menu (which was only in French). We then went to the grocery store where Mike was kind enough to advise me on purchases and answer all my questions. While I knew that this city was going to be expensive, I was unprepared for the combination of high prices and small portions. It will take some adjustment, but maybe I'll even lose some weight.
I’m also now fairly convinced that half of the reason Americans are so overweight is because of the massive amounts of pop we consume. In Europe there are far fewer options (we saw Dr. Pepper at the store which I was told is a rarity), bottles are smaller, and restaurants do not offer free refills. Plus, if you have to pay 3.80 in Swiss Francs for a .5 liter bottle (as I saw at a restaurant today), you’re bound to drink a lot less sugar water. Cultural differences sure are interesting... (Also, eggs and milk aren’t refridgerated—weird!)
Anyway, following that shopping experience, I came back to the apartment and took a brief nap. At around 7:00 Nicki Armstrong (UC graphic design alumni a year above me who’s been working at FI for the past year) and her roommates—the other female FI interns—came to get me and we got dinner at a reasonably priced Asian restaurant. A couple of the girls are Canadian and one is local so she was able to interpret for those of us without any French experience (though this menu at least had English translations). By this point, I was already thinking about looking into the French classes both Mike and Nicki had mentioned. It’s not that I can’t figure out what’s going on, but I would like to at least be able to understand conversational French…
Regardless, the food was good. It turns out that I arrived on the final day of Fêtes de Genève, a big festival in the city. The finale of this event is a massive fireworks show. I forgot to take my camera so this photo is from Geneva’s tourism site from the 2004 show.
This was seriously the largest fireworks extravaganza I’ve ever witnessed. It lasted for 45 minutes, was set to music, and included a truly grand finale of huge glittery-white fireworks that were bright enough to make me have to glance away. It was quite nice and a good welcome.
Today I slept in and then went for a run along the lake which was refreshing (albeit chilly and slightly damp). My roommate Farhad returned from his trip to India so I got to meet him. He’s a really nice guy and I think we’re going to get along well. He was born in India and lived there until 14 when he moved to Canada. Anyway, this evening he and Nicki (who are dating) and I went out for some Kabob and then watched one of his Bollywood movies. It was entertaining and different… But I’m not sorry I watched it. Anyway, it’s getting somewhat late, I’m not entirely caught up on sleep, and tomorrow’s Day 1 of work, so I should sign off.
Until next time.
posted by Aaron at 10:14 PM
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