A Day in France and Then Some

Wow!  I can hardly believe it has officially been a week since I left Lakewood and started my journey to Geneva!  I feel like I have already done and seen so much, it is incredible!  So for updates on the last two days...Sunday our whole group to a day trip to Yvoire, France.  Situated just across the Swiss border, Yvoire is a picturesque lakeside destination that transports you into a medieval feeling town adorned with gorgeous flowers, gardens, and views of the Yvoire castle overlooking the lake.  The program treated us to a delicious 3 course lunch at a restaurant named "Les Flots Bleus."  We ate our delicious salads (ahh fresh greens--what a novelty!), sauteed fish and chips in a yummy white sauce, and strawberry sorbet and vanilla yogurt while enjoying an obstructed view of the lake and the Jura mountains.  Unfortunately, the weather was quite drizzly so our views were not sensational (and we couldn't take the 2 hour boat ride there) however, the weather did add a small town ambiance that could not be replaced.  At lunch, I got to talk to Dylan, Radu, and Brian who are 3 of the 9 guys on our program.  They are all so nice and come from different backgrounds that I have began to learn about!  For example, Dylan is really into biking and has two younger sisters.  He originally went to Skidmore his freshman year and took a gap year following that to travel and work in France and Italy.  Radu is from Romania and plays defense in soccer, and Brian swam for BU his freshman year and is interested in swimming for the university here in Geneva.  One of the many aspects I love about our program is the intimate size that allows everyone to get to know each other if they would like to--which of course I do!  Following lunch, I talked to the restaurant host/manager who asked about our group and I continued my practical French application and replied in French.  I started speaking in English but made a quick transition into French which I think they appreciated!  The woman offered me a restaurant pen, which I have been using in class these past two days.  We then headed to "Le Labryinthe: Jardin des Cinq Sens," which Yvoire is well known for.  This maze of a garden has 9 separate areas each of which targets a certain sense us humans posses.  One of my favorites was "le jardin d'odorat ou des senteurs" that targets the body's sense of smell.  Some of the plants and flowers elicited smells of chewing gum, lemon, and lasted on the tips of your fingers for several minutes.  My personal favorite was the lavender bush!  Reality seemed so far removed from where we were as we made our way through the various sections of the garden.  After a little over 30 minutes in the garden, a group of us made our way down to the lake where there was a misty view of the mountains adjacent to the castle itself.  The path down to the water was lined with the most beautiful pinky/coraly colored begonias I have ever seen.  All the colors were so vibrant and lined all the flower boxes of the stone and cement homes that make-up Yvoire.  Several people spent our last hour in town in a creperie where the ambiance reminded me of what I associate with an Alpine ski lodge.  Everything was warm and cozy and my friend Danny, whose had a lifelong dream of going to France, could not get over the fact he was eating a crepe in France!  We made our way back up to the bus, which was situated right next to a home that housed chickens, roosters, and the biggest geese I have ever seen!  We left Yvoire feeling sleepy, content, and ready for a nap.  Later that evening a huge group planned our first, non-Geneva, weekend excursion!  There are 20+ people in our program who will be staying at Balmer's Hostel in Interlaken, Switzerland Friday and returning on Sunday!!  My Art History class has a field trip in Bern all day Friday so whenever everyone else finishes class, they plan to meet us in Bern and we will all take the train down to Interlaken after 7(when we can travel by train for free)!  Who knows what we will actually end up doing there but we all look forward to starting our exploration of Switzerland outside of Geneva!

Yesterday, Monday, I had my first day of Art History.  We met in the classroom at Rue de Vollandes, where our instructor, Carla, handed out our textbooks for the next 5 weeks.  All the Swiss books have such eccentric covers so I'm hoping the content will be just as interesting!  The majority of our classes are "on site" so our first class took place in Le Jardin d'Eaux Vives, which is about a 5 minute walk from our classroom.  Carla crammed our brains with SO much information it was incredible.  Certain sites we had previously seen came to life with so much more meaning and a greater understanding of how and why they were built the way they were!  For example:  all the homes made of stone represent the slave labor used in the area centuries ago.  Since a lot of the stone homes were built for wealthy citizens who wanted a lake view that wasn't immediately next to the water, all the stone had to be transported FROM the water TO the building site.  This obviously required lots of hard labor, which was carried out by slaves at the time.  Since there were no safety regulations at this time, these houses also represent the hundreds of lives that were inevitably lost during construction--or as Carla put it, "the houses built by blood."  There are so many aspects of history that can be easily overlooked so I am excited to delve into the past of such a historic country!  One of the other points, not necessarily directly related to class, that really stuck with me yesterday was the thought that you "look better when you don't know what you're looking for."  This, ironically enough, is Carla's approach to our homework.  She suggests not doing the reading until AFTER our class so that we can look back on our day's discoveries and continue to learn about them and support what we now know with the hard facts.  Naturally, I think deeper past Carla's intended meaning (or maybe she meant for it to be as philosophical as I took it!) and apply the thought to real life.  I often find myself trying to look for things in life--whether it be potential jobs in the future, a cute pair of shoes, or even something as idealistic as love (yes, yes I know this is corny but think about it!!) sometimes it is better going into things blind and with little expectations only to be blown away by what you discover simply by absorbing your surroundings and taking everything in as you experience it!  There is always time later that day, or later in life, to process and really understand an experience.  Okay, I know I'm notorious for these philosophical rants, but I thought it was a really neat idea!  After class, Steph and I went for our first lakeside run in Geneva!  It was one of the most spectacular runs I have been on ever.  We were literally RIGHT next to the lake and had views of the Jura mountains the entire time!  We both went a lot farther than I think either of us anticipated on running, but it was such a great feeling.  We haven't worked out since we have arrived, and while we walk EVERYWHERE, there is something about breaking a sweat that I love.  I'm sure we will discover more running paths in the months to come but I was so stoked to get that first run under our belt :)  Everyone attempted to get an early night last night seeing as we had to leave Rue Muzy AT 7:20 this morning!  Mags and I had crawled into be around 11 when Lauren came up to our room.  The 3 of us had an 1+ long pillow talk that was epic.  Lauren is one of the best story tellers ever so the hour flew by and before we knew it, it was creeping past midnight!  Needless to say, this morning was rough.  After chugging back a quick cup of coffee we were off to a DOL type office where we validated our extended residency and got finger printed.  I guess it's official, I'm here until December!!  After that, Steph and I went on our same run before a noon meeting with our internship coordinator, Aline.  She talked to us about our placements, interviews, etc.  and everyone's nerves definitely escalated a little!  A lot of us have yet to receive our placements and that combined with the prospects of interviewing with such prominent organizations brought about some nerves from most everyone!  In Public Health today we had a speaker from the WHO talk to us about Physical Activity and Diet--one of my favorite areas of public health.  Professor Xuereb had a lot to say on the subject matter and was very engaging.  There are so many underlying factors that are easy to overlook when looking at program development for healthier food initiatives and encouraging physical activities across the globe.  This is a subject matter I am pretty passionate about so I really enjoyed receiving a professional insight on the matter.  Apparently, there is the second ever UN convention on the matter on the 19th/20th of September--so watch out for that in the news!  Another jam-packed couple of days here in Geneva.  I'm barely 1 week into my abroad experience and have already been exposed to SO many different opportunities and experiences.  They will just keep coming and I will try and be as diligent and keep sharing :)