Bienvenue a Geneve!

Oui, j'y suis!

Ah, the beautiful Geneva. Granted it is absolutely freezing here, it is a beautiful city! I arrived safely on wednesday morning after a brief layover in London. I awoke on my connecting flight to Geneva just in time to catch a glimpse of the alps peaking up above the clouds. It was just amazing to see.

Upon finally arriving in Geneva airport, our group met and we went together to the youth hostel on Rue de Rothschild. Driving from the airport to the hostel, I got a taste of our next three months, seeing the beautiful houses and scenery, dotted with the homes of international organizations. When we arrived at the youth hostel, we met Earl, our academic director.

I am sure that my description of Earl will not do him justice, but I must make an attempt. When we first met Earl, he was wearing a vest and a scarf. He has round glasses and is bald, which allow the wrinkles that furrow his brow when he is deep in thought to take over his head. He likes to dance and figure skate, and his entire range of movement shows it. He tilts over a lot, uses flamboyant hand motions, and says, "excuse me," in the middle of his sentences a lot. It seems that our entire group, myself included, is obsessed with Earl.

After a group dinner immediately after a painfully long orientation, I went to bed early to try and alleviate my jet lag. Thursday morning we had an orientation in Nyon, where we will be having our French classes. We also took a French placement test. Amazingly, I am in the intermediate class. We'll see how that goes. After the placement test, the group went to Fisherman's, a popular expat bar in Nyon down near the water. After more bonding and a falafel dinner in Geneva, everybody was still pretty tired and we had another early night.

Friday morning we had our first seminar, but on Friday afternoon we took a walking tour of the old city in Geneva, which was beautiful and charming. Geneva is a medieval city, and the architecture is stunning, especially when paired with the backdrop of the Swiss and French alps. Friday evening I finally had some fondue! It was delicious, as is most of the food here. I haven't eaten anything yet that I don't like. The water is delicious also. Evian is the cheap stuff here, which is funny considering how expensive it is in the States.

On saturday morning, there was a reception at a hotel in Nyon, where the host families came to get us. I finally got to meet Annik, who I corresponded with via e-mail. We went back to the house in Gland, where I met my host brother Daniel, host sister Cecilia, and later my host father Oscar. The house is very nice. I have my own room, and I can see the Alps from my window! The dog, Cayenne, and cat, Skippy, are cute. It's interesting learning how to live with animals in the house. As of yet it has been a bit awkward, but I am sure that once I get to know the family I will feel more at home.

Using French has certainly been exhausting. It is frustrating to have difficulty expressing myself, and not to be able to fully understand what my host family is saying to me. I am working hard though, and I have faith that I will greatly improve my French skills for the duration of this program.

As of yet, Geneva has been fantastic -- Switzerland is beautiful, my host family is great, and I already really like the people on my program. I look forward to having more adventures to write and pictures to post!

Day -1

I'm leaving for Geneva tomorrow!! I am sure that this will be a grand adventure. Right now, I am just flipping out about packing.

A demain, la Suisse!