Well so far so good (even great)!!! I’ve now been in Lausanne for almost two weeks holy time flies!
When I arrived in Lausanne Peggy, my mom’s friend’s cousin, met me at the airport and we took the train into Lausanne (with all of my stuff!). For the next few days I stayed with her and her husband Malcom who were SO great to me! Malcom helped me get all the practical stuff I needed: alarm clock, cell phone etc… He also showed me around Lausanne and even took me to a bar for some European beer. My first few days consisted of wandering around the city and just exploring. On the weekend Peggy and I went to the market in Lausanne where I bought some raspberry/apple/rhubarb jam, which is just fabulous! We also ventured on the train to a town called Chateau-d’Oex where the Swiss hot air balloon festival was taking place. Was that ever a sight to see! It’s one thing to see hot air balloons on tv or in pictures, but to see them in person is a whole other experience! I also learned a lot about hot air balloons… did you know that a Swiss man went around the world in a hot air balloon in 19 days?! Or that hot air balloons were used in wars (not the most efficient method if you ask me)?! Sunday night I had my last dinner with Peggy and Malcom and then headed for my new home in the student housing Triaudes.
My room is now set up with my snowboard as a bedside table and magazine clippings as art on the walls. I have two roommates, Valerie who is Swiss and Paul who is French. They both seem really great! Paul is a chef and even made Swiss chocolate cake one night. However, as it’s the university holidays right now neither of them has been around very much.
I am now in my second week of French classes which have overall been really good! The format of the Cours des Vacances (holiday courses) is really similar to the Explore program that I worked for last summer… minus the ‘CA’ position (planned events/sports/trips)… That being said, my classes went together after class last week to a chocolate factory and we got to MAKE Swiss chocolate. It was so much fun! Tonight we decided to have another class outing so we’re going for fondue!
Over the past week other highlights have been going to Geveva, Montreaux (where the song “Smoke on the Water” was written!) and even skiing in the Swiss Alps. Riding the Alps was probably one of the weirdest experiences I have ever had. When I picture the Alps in February I picture tons of snow and cold weather... Neither of those was there. At ~3000m it was ice, then as you went down it turned into dirt and then slush in the wettest sense of the word. Oh and it was 17 degrees! Even though it was not the best conditions it was still a fabulous day filled with sunshine and fun! I also spoke French the whole day as I went with a German guy from my class… Since no one in my class is a native French speaker it’s easy to not speak French, which is not so great…
I’m really feeling settled in (Swiss bank account and all) and am starting to truly get to know the city. I have met tons of new people and already feel like my French is improving! This weekend I’m heading to Interlaken with some people from my courses so that will be my first overnight trip of many!
LOVE TO ALL!!
MalPal
Ps. The translation for “Potluck” is “Repas Canadien”!
