Inner Wheel

Today I met and gave a presentation to the women of Inner Wheel in Neuchâtel. It was definitely one of the more laid back presentations I've given and the experience as a whole felt much more personal. It was held at the house of one of the members where she prepared the best lasagna and ice cream I have ever had in my life.

[image: Me with the ladies of Inner Wheel in
Neuchâtel minus 2 because they had to leave]

Inner Wheel is unique from Rotary because it is made up of only women who are dedicated to service above self. It's members are mostly wives of Rotarians, but I believe also includes sisters, mothers, and daughters of Rotary and Rotaract.

Inner Wheel in Neuchâtel (if I understood correctly) started out as a group of Rotarian wives around WWII. The wives wanted to keep up the values and traditions of Rotary while their husbands were away at war and thus created the club :)

**FYI: The first Inner Wheel was created in 1924 with Margarette Golding as the groups first president.

Unfortunately (from what I heard today), it sounds like Inner Wheel in Neuchâtel is coming to a stand still due to low membership. :( It's not that women do not want to join, it's really more of the lack of time. Between work, school, kids etc. it's hard for younger members to participate actively in the club. Hopefully that will change sooner than later.

Overall, it was a smashing day :) The women of Inner Wheel were exceptionally cheery, funny and good natured. It was an excellent way to spend my afternoon.

Interested in Inner Wheel? Click here!

Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars Conference: London!

This past weekend I attended a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars Conference in London! It was a great chance for me to meet other Rotary scholars as well as a few Rotarians. If you are given the opportunity to attend a conference like this- GO. It was really useful to have half way through my year. Not only did it allow me to meet other scholars, but it also helped me assess where I am now in my year abroad and what else I would like to accomplish (for myself and for Rotary) during the remainder of my stay.

I'll first go into when I arrived in London and I will work my way to the conference :)

Since the conference was Saturday and Sunday, I arrived in London Friday afternoon around 1PM with plans of going to the Tower of London and then on a Jack the Ripper Tour. Unfortunately, after going through customs, taking the Gatwick Express to London, taking the Tube to my hostel, finding my hostel, then actually GOING to the Tower of London the Tower was already closed (bummer! I guess I'll just have to make a trip back to London!)

So now that I had two hours to kill (and alone none the less since the other scholar from Neuchâtel had to cancel coming to London and I didn't know anyone else in the city) I walked around the Tower as well as Tower Bridge.







[image: Walking on Tower Bridge]















[image: View of the Tower of London, the London skyline as well as the Gherkin from Tower Bridge]






At 7:30 I headed to the meeting place for the Jack the Ripper tour and was eventually joined by a group of people who also wanted to spend their Friday night walking around the East end of London :)

The tour itself was pretty awesome and I'm glad I went. The guide was really knowledgeable and even managed to throw in a few jokes every now and then. He went over each murder case by case and even explained the area we were in and what it was like at the time of Jack the Ripper. Overall it was a really neat tour! I even managed to meet a group of guys (4 Americans and 2 Canadians) whom I ended up going to a pub with after the tour for a drink and a meal. They were all students who were also working for Parliament. Meeting them was a neat feeling... being completely alone one minute and putting myself out there to make a friend (or 6) the next. I was really grateful that I didn't have to spend the evening by myself with no one to talk to and they seemed pretty happy to have me tag along :)

Moments like that always have a profound feeling on me. Just knowing that we aren't as isolated as perhaps the media or news makes us out to be is a great feeling. Knowing that yes, you can go up to a complete stranger on the street (or tour in my case) and become their friend without being murdered or disappearing or just being plain old rejected makes me really happy. We're social creatures. I love it.

I went to my hostel that night content and with contact information from my new friends :)

As part of the conference, Saturday was going to be filled with food and a tour of London! I arrived at 6 York Gate at 12:45 as expected and began to meet Rotarians as well as other Rotary Scholars.





[image: 6 York Gate. The Rotary International District 1130 Headquarters- set in one of the "posh-ist" (is that a word?) areas of London]











[image: Me in front of 6 York Gate]











What a great group! Everyone was so talkative and friendly- I loved it! I became friends with everyone, but ended up going out at night with James, an Australian studying in Budapest, Eileen, an American studying in Copenhagen, Juliana and Mark, a couple who I actually met at ASETS in Austin (!), and a guy named Alex who is studying in Hungary.

The tour of London was excellent and I got to see a lot of wonderful sites that I might not have been able to see on my own. Here are a few pictures :D







[image: Buckingham Palace]













[image: Nicholas (France), Eileen (America), Me, and James (Australia) near Buckingham Palace]











[image: Me blocking Westminster Abby :P]















[image: The obligatory Double Decker Bus picture]














[image: Me with Big Ben in the background. Did you know that Big Ben is actually named after the bell in the tower and not the actual tower??? I did not know that! Knowledge is power people, and knowing is half the battle.]









[image: OK now before you go wondering why on earth I took a picture of this creepy alley, I would like to state that this is where the Demon Barber of Fleet street did his business. Still have no idea what I'm talking about? I'll give you a hint: Sweeney Todd. Yeah, turns out it's based on a true story. The barber would lure his victims in for a shave and once they were in the chair, he would kill them and drop them from the chair through a trap door to Ms. Lovett's where they were then cut up and made into meat pies. It's no wonder people are always commenting on the quality of London's food...]





We all ended the night at Pizza Express (not like what we have in the US) and we all went our separate ways.

Sunday was the conference which was made up of guest speakers and 3 discussion sessions where we divided into 4 groups and talked about how we found out about Rotary, our involvement with our club (at home and in our study country), our counselors, in what ways we have served as an ambassador of goodwill, our challenges and successes, and finally, what we planned to do after our year abroad.

As I mentioned before, it was really helpful going to the conference. I was able to assess where I was in my year and what I wanted to accomplish. It also gave me a chance to make suggestions to other scholars as well as receive suggestions :) It was wonderful being around other people in my situation :) At the end of the conference, we all took a group picture (which I will hopefully find a copy of...) and went our separate ways.

James, Eileen, Juliana, Mark and I decided that we were going to eat Mexican food that night and planned to meet for dinner at 8PM. Since it was only 5, James, Eileen and I decided to walk around Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.






[image: In front of Tower Bridge. Me, James and Eileen]







The whole night ended with full bellies of (much missed) Mexican food- which was actually REALLY good!

And that was my trip to London for the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars Conference! I made a ton of new friends and new connections, shared and received valuable information with Rotarians, and had a splendid time in general!

Rotary Presentation!

Today I gave my first presentation to my Rotary Club! There were a lot of problems with the projector and my computer (read: my computer didn't have the right plug in to hook up to the projector) so Cerena had to run home (literally, and in high heels) to grab her computer which also ended up not working because the projector could not read her computer.

Despite the technical difficulties, I gave my presentation anyway- with Cerena as my lovely assistant, holding my computer for all to see :)

Overall, I'd say it went rather well! They laughed at a few of my jokes... as well as a few of my non-jokes o.ô And I even managed to get them to sing "Deep in the Heart of Texas" - my "finishing move" if you will ;)

THAT was quite a site to see!

Some were very eager to get started and began clapping before I had a chance to say "Let's try it!". It was really fun and amusing! I'm sure for them singing the song was a bit difficult since it was in English and I couldn't project the words on the screen like I had originally planned, but they clapped and sang none-the-less, and it was awesome! I only WISH the video function on my camera had worked :( I made Cerena try to take a video of the process so I could show all of you my club singing "Deep in the Heart of Texas", but for some reason it didn't work. I'm pretty bummed out about that but what can ya do? I'll just have to make them do it again :)

I was told after my presentation that that was the first time the club was made to sing- to which I replied, "Good" :D

I think overall they thoroughly enjoyed it. One member even sang a bit of the song while I was leaving (haha), and plenty asked Cerena if she had a song to teach the group as well.

I wonder what else I can get my Rotary Club to sing? :P

Alex



[image: Exchanging the club banner as well as exchanging a horse-shoe (my gift to the club. For those who are not from Texas- the horse shoe is a symbol of good luck. You hang it above your door, like so -> U . The good luck is supposed to "fill" the U part of the shoe and will never run out :) I was told that it was the most..."interesting" gift the club has ever received :P ) From left to right: Denis Maillat- my host counselor, Leon du Pasquier- Cerena's host counselor, Me, and Brian Walters- the substitute President for todays meeting]











[image: Cerena exchanging club banners with the Rotary Club of Neuchâtel]

Sapin Rotarien 2008!

Last Thursday, December 4, was the Sapin Rotarien (Christmas tree lighting ceremony!)! A giant fund raiser that is held to raise money for various organizations around Neuchâtel that are dedicated to helping others.


This years beneficiaries were:

RECIF: Rencontres, Echanges, Centre Interculturel pour Femmes- an organization that focuses on helping foreign women who have recently immigrated to Switzerland. They have various services such as language training, child care (or babysitting), and job searches. I met the co-founders of the organization at a Rotary meeting a few weeks ago and gave them my contact information for future volunteer work.

Les Chatons: I'm not exactly sure what this organization does (horray for learning a new language!) but I'm under the impression that it is a child service agency. Now... what that means I'm not entirely sure. I'm under the impression that it's some sort of program where kids are helping kids. I of course could be completely wrong o.o

Les Perce-Neige: a workshop for those who are handicapped in Neuchâtel. Once again, I'm not quite clear on the specifics... but the general idea sounds great!


For the Sapin Rotarien, yours truly was in charge of selling the chocolates and cookies :)



And yes, the chocolates DO say "Rotary International" and yes they WERE made by a Rotarian (having a Rotarian who owns a popular chocolatier has its benefits- are you taking notes District 5890?)!





Not the smartest area to have me work, but who am I to complain? :D I could have been serving hot wine :)

Oh man... the WINE. Serving hot wine is really a thing here during the Christmas Holidays. In the German speaking parts of Switzerland Glüewine (pronounced: Glue-Vine) is the thing to drink while you're out shopping at the Christmas Markets. In the French speaking part of Switzerland they serve basically the same thing, but I think they add more sugar to their hot wine o.o So if the funky Jazz music, raclette (a cheese dish), and chocolate won't get you hyped up for the party- the sugary wine will most certainly do the job! A word to the wise though- I would not recommend drinking more than 2 cups. You'll more than likely end up with a headache.





[image: Drinking on the job Taking a break from selling goodies to enjoy a hot glass of sugar and wine]







Overall, I would say the fund raiser was a success! I have not heard how much money was raised yet, but I'm sure I'll hear something at the Rotary meeting this Tuesday right before I give my presentation :)



Seasons Greetings!

From difficulties and frustrations to things finally looking up.

Being a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, I have certain requirements that are expected of me and that I WANT to follow. Presentations, service projects, being involved with the community etc.

This entry isn't about how to give a presentation, or how to come up with a service project. This entry is about what to do when you have difficulties booking a presentation with a Rotary Club.

Back at the end of September, Cerena, the other Rotary scholar with me in Neuchâtel, and I sent out an e-mail to 24 Rotary Clubs throughout Switzerland. The e-mail was written in English, French and German (We wanted to reach out to as many as possible what with Switzerland being so multi-lingual!) explaining who we were and if it would be possible to visit their clubs. It is now November 3, and we haven't received a response. To make matters worse, we hadn't even presented to our own club in Neuchâtel, even though it was talked about in the past... on several occasions.

So what do you do when you receive no response? You take matters into your own hands- that's what. We're Ah-Mericn' gosh darn it- we solve things ourselves :)

So Cerena and I planned a dinner a few weeks ago and invited both of our Host Councilors to attend so we could discuss our duties. Long story short, instead of us cooking dinner, my Rotary Councilor and his wife invited US to their house, and Cerena's Host Councilor had to cancel because his son was going to Afghanistan with the Red Cross the next day (very understandable). It was a productive dinner and we learned just how much our Rotary Club in Neuchâtel DID NOT understand our duties and responsibilities.

Lesson 1: Discuss well in advance EXACTLY what it is you need to do and is expected of you as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. While your Rotary Club may be knowledgeable of Rotary- they may have no idea what your purpose is. Educate them.

We discussed a possible service project, and explained that our presentations did not all have to be to Rotary Clubs. By the time we left, we felt much better about our situation (we also had reeeeeaaally great food).

Some time goes by... no response. More emails from Cerena and I are sent out... no response.

Let's fast forward a bit to about a week ago. We still hadn't heard anything from other Rotary Clubs, but finally received an e-mail from a Rotarian in Geneva asking all of the Rotary Scholars in the district (about 5 of us), to send him our CV (erm, resume) as well as check some personal information for him, so he could help us start scheduling our presentations to Rotary Clubs... in December. Well, I guess better late than never. I imagine it would be much easier to give presentations over the Christmas break as opposed to during the semester. He had also mentioned a conference in Bern in January (which I am going to).

Lesson 2: Take what you can get with gratitude. No matter how late you feel it is.

THEN a few days ago, I had a meeting with Monsieur Maillat, my Host Councilor, where we discussed the Rotarian Christmas Tree Project, their biggest service project of the year, as well as 3 organizations around Neuchâtel that Cerena and I could present to!

Cerena and I also received an email from a Rotary Club in London about attending a weekend conference in January. We're both signed up and just need to find transportation there!

Lesson 3: Say Yes to everything.

And finally, my last good news to write in this post: I FINALLY have my first presentation with Rotary scheduled (as of yesterday, actually)! It's about time right? I've been wondering since I've been here if other Rotary Scholars (particularly in Europe) have been having the same difficulties with scheduling presentations? Is this a cultural thing? Have Cerena and I not been proactive enough?

Lesson 4: Bug the crap outta them.

And yet, a part of me still feels like this isn't enough. While things have been looking up in terms of scheduling presentations with Rotary Clubs- I still feel WAY behind.

Some things Cerena and I have organized or are trying to organize:

- A presentation with the ERASMUS students to discuss Rotary and how they can apply for an Ambassadorial Scholarship (yes, if you are an Ambassadorial Scholar in Europe you can borrow this idea :P)
- English lessons to a Rotarian's son and daughter (Cerena has already done 2 lessons, I'm going with her on the next one)
- Volunteer work outside of the Rotary Club (trying to organize this one)
- Conference in London
- Conference in Bern


I need to remember to stay focused and proactive!

All of this for a new Metro?

P9200046
Originally uploaded by AlexHall38

Last weekend Lausanne celebrated the opening of a new Metro (subway for those of you who aren't sure what I'm talking about) line by having various stages set up around the city. Each stage played a different genre of music and varied from techno/dance at Place de l'Europe to Salsa at Ouchy.

Very Very cool!

Originally, we (Tori, Céline and myself) were going to go back to the apartment and watch a movie after our "Mexican" dinner (which pales in comparison to the Tex-Mex I miss so much), but after Céline received a phone call from Mitko about some sort of music festival in Lausanne, the 4 of us found ourselves on the next train out.




We arrived at about 9PM. Lausanne was packed and was still just as hilly as I left it. The whole city was in party mode and people could be found dancing in the street, drinking beer and eating chinese food :)



Our main spot for the night was Place de L'Europe where a DJ was playing party/techno music. We spent a good hour dancing there.




Once we felt that it was time to move on, we treked down to Ouchy, the area by the lake where there was a tent set up to play Salsa music. After about another 45 minutes there, it was time to head back to the train station to catch the last train (which was arranged specially from Lausanne to Neuchâtel for the party) at 1:20AM.

I promise I don't just party every weekend- but this IS a month that has a lot of parties in Switzerland. My next BIG blog entry will focus on the Fête des Vendages, the Neuchâtel wine festival that is being celebrated THIS weekend. According to one of the pamphlets I picked up from the tourism office and my Lonely Planet: Switzerland Guide, this festival is one of the Biggest in Switzerland. I look forward to sharing it with all of you when it's over :)

Arriving in Neuchâtel

I've been here for about a week and 1/2 now and things have been absolutely crazy. To give you a brief update: I'm living in La Tour des Cadolles, University owned apartments that once belonged to the hospital across the street that is being torn down as I write this. I live on the 3rd floor and I have a pretty decent view of the city from my room :) I share a bathroom and a kitchen with my flat mates (I think there are about 6 or 7 of us right now), who are super nice despite the fact that I don't see them very often.

I do however, see the people on the floor below me almost every single day :) I've become really close friends with two of the girls on that floor and by knowing them, I know the rest of their roommates (their floor is much more social than t
he one I'm on).

Last week was full of registration must-do's. It was actually quite difficult to get everything done. I must have gone between student housing and the registration office at least 5 times. If one building wasn't open, the other had a horrible line. When the other building was open, the person I needed to speak with wasn't available. When the other building DIDN'T have a huge line, it just wasn't open! Back and forth back and forth. It was a registration nightmare- but it all got done!


I also kind of feel like they prefer to pass the task on to other people... How to explain this... Ok, for instance, I had to pay my tuition- not a problem, but I couldn't pay it at the academic services office... instead I had to go to the post office. I'm... not entirely sure why it had to be paid there... but that's where I went anyway. Unfortunately, the post office doesn't accept visas and I don't have a swiss bank card yet (I have an account!... but no card) so I have to pay with cash. Alright, no problem, I'll just use this ATM over here to- oh but wait, what's this? I can only withdraw so much money a day???? Greeeeaaaat.

That little example kind of summed up my week. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. Oh, and for those of you who are DYING to know how I paid my tuition and rent- I did it at the bank where Geraldine (can you tell that I've seen her a lot recently?) made the transfer for me from my Swiss Bank Account which has part of my Rotary scholarship in it :)

Aside from all of the Admin stuff, last week was a blast! Mikey, an American who found this blog!, and I went hiking the Sunday before Registration and ended up in Chaumont. It was about a 2 hour hike and was totally worth it. We had absolutely no idea where we were going, but ended up right where we wanted to be on accident! Chaumont is a neat little city perched right above Neuchâtel. They also had an observation tower :)




And to give you an idea of where we were...


See that little tower in the middle/left part of the picture? We were at the very top! You can't really tell how high up that is since the photo is zoomed in so much- but trust me, it's up there. :)






On Monday I went to an apero/tandem and met a TON of people (mostly foreign students who are also learning French). For those of you who don't know, an apero/tandem, or at least this one, consists of a group of people who want to learn a language and divide into groups according to the language they wish to learn (this is the tandem part). For instance, since I was there to learn French, I sat at the French table and spoke French the majority of the night. The aparo (short for aparatif) was the drinks part :) Drinks and conversation. I dug it.

I also rented a pedalo (umm.. paddle boat?) with Tori, an English girl I met on a group afternoon trip to Bern, and went out on Lake Neuchâtel. It was awesome to see the city from the water.



After that, we met up with Cerena, the other Rotary scholar in Neuchâtel with me- yay! Mikey and Celia, a German foreign exchange student, for dinner. Tori and Cerena had been craving meet and decided that we should all go to a restaurant for a nice steak dinner (lucky Celia is vegetarian! but still found something to order ^_^). After dinner we frolicked around town taking various pictures and being marry!




Another day I took an afternoon trip to Bern with the Erasmus students. We didn't stay long, maybe about 4 hours, so I wasn't able to see much of the city. I ended up going back with Cerena, Tori, Celia and Céline, a girl from Belgium who is super funny, on Saturday- but STILL didn't get to really explore the city on account of it raining. We did get to go to a few neat shops though :P

Ahh and today, today I had my second day of class. I'll go into this on the next entry. o.o I'm kind of sad that I don't get to run around the city with my friends anymore, but I guess I can't do that forever :p

Collection De L'Art Brut

Yesterday I went to the Collection de l'Art Brut. I had wanted to visit the museum ever since I read about it in my Lonely Planet Switzerland book.

It's an art gallery dedicated to artists who had no training but had something to express. Some of the artists were mad, while others were mentally handicapped. Then there we a few who were just plain eccentric!



[image: Entrance to Collection de L'Art Brut]

I was fortunate enough to view an exhibit featuring 12 artists from Japan (most of whom are mentally handicapped). The exhibit was amazing- in fact, the whole museum was impressive. I'm very glad I decided to go by myself. Usually when I can't find anyone to do an activity with me I don't end up doing anything. This time, however, I was determined!

I had a great time! My only wish is that I had more time. I spent a total of 4 hours in there, but I could have easily made it 6.

What the artists produced is so original and interesting. Learning about them and their history made it more real as well. The Japan exhibit played films that show cased the artists. I found myself sitting there for a good 30 minutes at a time just listening and reading the French subtitles.

One artist focused on words and pictures, while another created his own language from text/drawings. One man was just eccentric and created hats and clothing out of things he found in the garbage. One the weekends he goes to the Chinese district in Yokohama wearing his creations while delivering a message of peace.


[image: Exposition Japon poster for L'Art Brut. Created by Takashi Shuji]

Most of the artwork (outside the Japon exhibit) was very pleasant to look at. There were others, however, that were a little disturbing. One man, who had gotten into witchcraft during his travels, created dolls out of old rags, paint, blood and dirt. That was the only part of the exhibit that sort of creeped me out. But in that train wreck sort of way (the kind you just can't look away from). His "dolls" were contorted into various shapes that looked more like demon babies than dolls. I wish I could have taken a picture- but it wasn't allowed.

To commemorate my experience, I bought a few postcards! :D I plan to create some sort of collage with these when I return to Texas.

The first one is by Edmund Monsiel, an untreated schizophrenic who did most of his work on scraps of paper. There is a strong religious theme in his work. I bought his postcard because I was amazed at the detail that went into his work. During WWII he hid himself in his brothers attic and remained there for 20 years until he died in 1967. When his stuff was cleaned out, over (I think) 500 scraps of paper were found. The card I bought is a photograph of one of his many sketches; composed of nothing but faces. Sometimes, there are as many as 3,000 faces in one drawing. Very interesting.

The second card I bought was by Carlo. He was sent to the front during his military service and this became too much for him. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1947. The background of the postcard is filled with numbers and words. Something seen throughout his work.

3rd: Paul Amar- possibly my favorite sculpture at the museum. He essentially makes his art work out of shells and eats plenty of shellfish in his apartment in Paris to keep his stock up. Afterwards, he paints the shells and creates various ocean-scapes. His colors are so vivid and bright. To add to this, he hides lights in his masterpiece to create depth. Absolutely stunning. My postcard doesn't do justice.

4th: Rodolfo Abella- created life sized animals out of scraps of wood he would find in the river. I was completely in awe of the horse he did (which is why I bought the card).

5th. Takashi Shuku. He creates all of his art using charcoal (mostly black) and in fact creates with such force, that his face is usually black after he has finished. He draws what is put on his table. The process is beautiful. It was so interesting to watch and learn about him and how he creates his art. The postcard I bought is his image that was also used for the "Japon" exhibit.

All in all, I had a wonderful day. I'm so glad I decided to go out by myself! In fact, I think I had a better time exploring the museum by myself than I would have had if someone came with me. I was able to really take my time and enjoy the art and learn about its creators.

Great day.






[image: Postcards I bought. Right to Left/Top to Bottom: Takashi Shuji, Carlo, Paul Amar, Rodolfo Abella, Edmund Monsiel]

A visit to Neuchâtel!

Today I had the pleasure to meet not one, but TWO Rotarians! I had been in contact with Monsieur Maillat, a retired professor from the Université de Neuchâtel (and of course a Rotarian :) ), for the past few weeks and we decided to meet in Neuchâtel this afternoon.

When we greeted each other we did the common Swiss greeting of 3 kisses on the cheeks (faire la bise). This is done by touching your left cheek to the other persons left cheek, then switching sides (right cheek to right cheek) and then switching back again to the left. I found this interesting because in France, if I remember correctly, it's only done twice. (I think it's interesting to see the subtle cultural differences between French speakers from different regions.) I also found it interesting that people do not hesitate to "faire la bise" when meeting someone for the first time. I originally thought that when two people meet for the first time they shook hands and then every meeting after would be the kisses- but apparently I'm wrong :) There are of course exceptions- I don't want you to think that all the Swiss do is kiss each other all day, no matter how entertaining that would be to see.

After leaving the train station, we went to a restaurant and sat outside on the terrace that overlooked Neuchâtel. The view was amazing. While there, M. Maillat pointed out the different areas of town and told me a little bit about the University.

Afterwards, we decided to tour the l'Université de Neuchâtel campus and even ran into a few professors who knew Prof. Maillat. While walking around campus, M. Maillat showed me the building where Rotary meets every Tuesday. It is a HUGE building- very classy (pictures will come at a later post). He told me that there were 100 members in his club alone (not TOO intimidating, right? :P) and that it was one of the oldest Rotary Clubs in the area. I've very excited about attending my first Rotary meeting!

After viewing the building, we decided to head towards the center of town. On our way there, M. Maillat asked if I had a Swiss Bank account yet and I said no. Lucky for me though, I had my passport with me (okay, so I sorta was hoping this would happen) and within minutes we were inside the BCN (Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise) opening an account! I can now say that I have a Swiss Bank Account- How cool is that? :D

After opening the account, M. Maillat took me to the greatest place on earth. Remember that chocolate shop I wrote about in a previous post? That's right. We went there and it IS in fact owned by a Rotarian (one I was in contact with before I met M. Maillat)! The place smelled heavenly. You could almost taste the different flavors of chocolate roasting in the air.

After a few minutes, M. Walder came out from the back to greet us. His personality is just as vibrant as his chocolate :) Both men are very good-natured and have a wonderful sense of humor. Naturally, it made me think of the Rotarians back home and how helpful and great they are. It was a neat feeling to see the similarities between the two groups.

Before leaving the shop, I was given a parting gift:












CHOCOLATE!!! The Walder's were kind enough to give me two different kinds of chocolate (milk chocolate and dark chocolate. I am currently munching on the milk chocolate :D It is by far the best I have had in Switzerland - and I'm not just saying that. The outside has a bit of a form to it while the inside just melts away in your mouth. It's taking a lot of self control for me right now to NOT eat the bar in its entirety. I felt like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when he opened his Wonka Bar and found the golden ticket. Only I bet my chocolate is WAY better).

After saying our good byes and our Merci Beaucoups! M. Maillat and I went to the student housing dorm/apartment I will be staying in. Part of the place is currently under construction (but "should" be completed by the time school starts). It offers a magnificent view of the Lake and of the city, while on the other side of the building are trees/mountains. I can only hope that I'm on one of the top floors... we'll see come September 1st :)

I feel like I got a lot accomplished today. I'm so glad I was able to meet with a few Rotarians- I feel much more acquainted with my future home thanks to them.


ps. I'd like to give a shout out to Liz who's about to have her District Interview for a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship! I wish you the best of luck! Being nervous is normal- just be yourself and remember to have a great conversation :D You got this!!!

Food, Glorious Foooood!

As I'm sure you can tell by the title of this entry, I've decided to devote a post to food (Hopefully you have Oliver! in your head now too! ).

Eating food in Switzerland has been an interesting endeavor. Not the actual act of eating mind you (that part is pretty easy), but the preparation of food has been more or less confusing.

Allow me to show you a few examples.

[image: the back of a mini pizza box. Click to enlarge.]

Note the different languages written on the box! In case I don't understand the French explanation, I can try my luck with German or Italian! My Spanish roommate, Susana, does this more than she admits I think. French and Italian are very closely related to Spanish. ( I once heard if you knew French and Spanish, you (essentially) knew Italian and vice versa for the other languages. I question the accuracy of that statement though...).

Difficulty of Preparation: Easy.


[image: the mystery directions box. Click to enlarge.]

Here's one that stumped me. This was one of the first food items I ended up buying at a small convenience store on a Sunday. I didn't really take a look at the directions (pictured on the right) until the other day when I decided to prepare it. What does it all mean??? Am I supposed to soak the package for 15 minutes in water before I stab it and shoot it with laser beams set to 650W? I'm pretty sure this does NOT go in my oven because my oven only goes up to 250ºC... but if not the oven then what? The microwave? Is 650W high heat? Medium heat? Why do I have to put it in water??? Suggestions anyone? Anyone? Anyone? Beuller?

Difficulty of Preparation: I'm still trying to figure it out.


Since food in Switzerland is rather pricey, I eat most of my meals at home by myself or with my roommates. I was able to eat out with Susana the other night though! Her program (she goes to the Université de Lausanne for her language training) held a museum and a dinner get together on Monday night and she asked if I would like to go. The plan was to tour the Musée Historique de Lausanne (Lausanne History Museum) and then eat at a restaurant that highlighted Swiss cuisine.

I'm not going to lie, I was in it for the food.

The museum was interesting- albeit, short because we only had about 45 minutes to an hour to tour it. Afterwards we went next door to the Cathedrale (I'll post pictures of this in a later post- my roommates and I had toured it over the weekend). Finally, around 7PM it was time for dinner! We (about 8 of us) headed over to Café de l'Evêché where a table was already set up for us. We had all ordered drinks and were looking over the menu when about 7 more people joined our group. I had one item on my mind for dinner that night: Fondue.

That's right. Cheese. Fondue is a specialty in Switzerland and I quickly understood why. It's amazing. There are a ton of different options to chose from and when they bring it out to you, it's in a huge bowl over a small flame. One person can't eat a vat of fondue by themselves- which is why I was lucky that there were at least 10 other people who also ordered it :) We all chose "Fondue au Fromage Moitié et Moitié" which meant it was made of half strong cheese and half bland cheese. It was delicious.




[image: thumbs up!]

This is my roommate Susana :) I really enjoy hanging out with her- we giggle a lot










[image: huge bowl of fondue!]

Since the bowl of fondue was cut off on the first image, I had the person across from me take our picture again. :P






When ordering fondue in Switzerland, the waiter will charge the fondue by the person- not by the pot. You do get an unlimited amount of bread to go with it though. They also have a saying that if you drop/lose your bread in the fondue, you have to buy a bottle of wine for the table.

I lost my bread.

Twice.


But luckily no one held me to this standard :)


Et Voilà! My experiences so far with the food in Switzerland!

First Impressions + First week

Now that I've lived here for about a week, I feel it appropriate to give my point of view of Switzerland. At a glance, everything I'd thought when I heard the word "Switzerland" was true. As soon as I stepped off the plane into Geneva I saw watch and chocolate adds :)

Chocolate

The Swiss are very proud of their chocolate. I don't think I understood the gravity of this statement until I actually went grocery shopping and found myself standing in the chocolate aisle (yes, an entire aisle dedicated to this delicious treat) for about 10 minutes deciding on what kind and what brand of chocolate I wanted. I haven't even set foot in an actual Chocolatier yet!

Watches

So far I don't have much to comment on this because I haven't been able to actually LOOK at watches yet. The bit I did see, however, blew my mind. Which brings me to my next observation...

Switzerland is Expensive.

Okay, I heard this one a million times before I left Houston- but it's not quite the same until you experience it for yourself. I knew what I was getting into, but I have to admit I wasn't prepared for the prices I see now. From what I've seen, clothing, and rent are almost the same as the United States: it just depends on where you go or where you live. It is possible to find an inexpensive place to live if you're willing to be a bit off the beaten path. The main thing that bothers me is the price of food. I have a hard time justifying 10-12 Swiss Francs (about $9/$10) for a half gallon of ice cream. I just can't do it no matter how much I love the stuff. I am definitely learning to become a thrifty shopper.

First Week

So far, my first week in Switzerland has been great! There are a few things I need to get use to though. The first one being that everything closes early and nothing is open on Sunday. Of course, there are a few exceptions to this. My first Sunday here I managed to find a tiny shop that sold various food items (nothing expansive like a grocery store, but the food got me through the day). The store also sold "Taxcards", a card that you can use for a pay phone so you don't spend an arm and a leg calling your mom and boyfriend back home :)

Finding out the name of this card was one of the more frustrating things I've been through so far. I must have asked at least 5 different people (in 5 different ways) where I could buy a phone card. None of them knew what the heck I was talking about. The closest I got to someone understanding me was when I accidentally asked for "une carte de mobile" meaning a pre-paid minute card for a cell phone. When I finally managed to explain what I was really looking for, the owner told me they didn't have what I needed. Fed up and frustrated, I decided to just use my debit card to call home. It was in the phone booth that I discovered what I needed was a "Taxcard".

People and "Les Draguers" aka the guys who try to pick up chicks

The people I've encountered in Switzerland have been extremely nice. No one has copped an attitude with me (a stereotypical trait of French speakers- also not true from my experience) and most people seem willing to help. There are those of course, who like to help a little... too much.

I am referring to "les draguers" (translated as "flirts" I guess). I'm currently trying to train myself to not let my eyes wander while I'm walking down the street. When it does happen (while I'm looking for something usually), I meet the eyes of a guy who thinks I'm trying to pick him up. Some take this as an invitation to start talking to me (or in one case, yelling at me from a balcony). Of course not all European men are like this, and this has only happened to me maybe 2 or 3 times since I've been here. There was one time when I sneezed while walking down the street and a guy, who was in his car with his windows rolled down, yelled "Santé!" (God Bless you) to me. I actually found this to be pretty amusing and told him thank you. :)

Institut Richelieu

My class at Institut Richelieu has been pretty intense- but in a good way. I feel like I'm learning French very thoroughly, which is exactly what I need. The professor can be a little much at times (because she talks and talks and talks and talks), but she's very helpful.

My classmates are also very nice. I haven't been able to hang out with any of them on a one on one level though. Hopefully that will change. A few of them are married (and seem to hang out with each other and their husbands), while others have jobs right after class.

Planète Bleue

This is where I've made most of my friends so far. I adore my roommates. I live with two guys from Turkey, Elnour and Ibrahim, as well as a girl from Spain, Susana. I hang out with Susana the most, but from time to time I hang out with Elnour and Ibrahim :) There are other people at Planète Bleue I've hung out with as well, but I tend to be around my roommates the most.

Welp, it's time for bed on my end- I hope this finds everyone well :)

Home-ish

Ahhh Friday- FINALLY :D

I've been looking forward to Friday all week. Not only does it mean that I get to sleep in (not that I've been able to do that recently, what with waking up at 4/5/6 AM every day this week) but it also means I get to explore the city a bit.

I also need to shop if only for the shear fact that I'm running out of clothes to wear and I don't have a laundry card yet to do laundry. I also want to fit in with the locals.

While out tomorrow, I have plans to take pictures of the city. Something I haven't been able to do yet for many reasons (forgot the camera, bad weather, passing out after class etc.). Hopefully the weather wont be too bad tomorrow.

Today has been an excellent day. I made an 8 on my French test (an 8 in Switzerland/Europe is really good. 10 is the highest you can get. This is according to Susanna, one of my roommates who is from Spain). After class, I went window shopping downtown and found a lot of stores I would like to check out tomorrow. While shopping, I stopped in a store called Globus and accidentally discovered that it was a grocery store- and a good sized one at that! FINALLY!
I bought some much needed breakfast foods (miniature liquid yogurts just weren't cutting it for me) as well as a few dinner items.

I would like to state for the record that food in Switzerland is expensive. Clothes and lodging are pretty much the same as the United States- it all depends on where you shop at or what district you live in- but food... man they kill you on the food. Coming from Texas where "Everything is Bigger" and then living in a place where you're not getting as much bang for your buck feels like highway robbery. Not only are the quantities small here, but they cost more. I don't think I've been this thrifty with food since college. I kind of like it :)

When I finally returned to the apartment at 2, I ran into Susanna. I had completely forgotten that she had mentioned getting lunch today. I felt awful and apologized and asked if she would like to get lunch tomorrow instead. I'm pretty sure she agreed. There's a definite language barrier between us. It's not huge, but it's enough to cause confusion. She then said that she was going to watch a movie in the common room and I asked her if I could join. She smiled and said yes and 20 minutes later, I was in the common room watching Braveheart in Spanish with English subtitles :)

It was a neat bonding experience. I like her. We practice our French on each other and giggle a lot :P

At the end of the movie, Susanna had to leave to meet up with a friend and I retreated back to my room. Around 7/8PM my other two roommates Elnour and Ibrahim (both from Turkey) came home and had brought a friend with them (who's name I cannot remember). Ibrahim asked me if I would like to join them for dinner (pizza!) and I agreed. While dinner was cooking, I talked to their friend a lot about Texas. He had gone to Austin a while back and we both started to talk about the Bats and then about Texas in general.

When dinner was ready, the four of us sat around the kitchen table and talked about Texas, Turkey, vegetarianism/veganism, Michigan (where Ibrahim and his friend studied) and FEMA. I explained to them what my job was and then briefly talked about Hurricane Katrina and how the Disaster response system works on the government level. It was a really interesting and fun conversation filled with laughter. I feel closer to those roommates now :)

I needed tonight. I'd been feeling very disconnected from everyone at Planete Bleue. A part of that is because some days no one would leave their room, while other days I would take extremely long naps after class and just missed everyone. In the past I've realized that if I go long periods (maybe just 2/3 days) without human interaction I get kind of down. I guess I just need to talk to people to make me happy :P

Permit de Séjour (Residence Permit)

As a foreign student in Switzerland, it was brought to my attention that in order to obtain a year long VISA I must go to the Cantonal Foreign Police of Neuchâtel and register myself as a resident. Note: the VISA I DID receive was only good for up to 3 months.

What was not brought to my attention was that this needed to be done within the first 8 days of my arrival. I was now on day 3.

Luckily, Cerena (another Ambassadorial Scholar from Virginia who will also be studying in Neuchâtel!) passed the news on to me. She found out from her Swiss Embassy that it was necessary to register as soon as possible. Thank God she told me or else ... well, or else I'd be illegal! And that would not be fun.

So I began to do some research. Everything I found said to go to the "Contrôle des Habitants". I would need to bring my passport (entry VISA included of course), 2 picture IDs, my acceptance letter to UniNe (Université de Neuchâtel) and my Letter of Financial Guarantee from Rotary. When I contacted the Swiss Embassy in Atlanta, I had two different people tell me two different things. The first person I spoke with told me to go to the Contrôle des Habitants, just like I was planning to do. The other person told me I was completely wrong. That I needed to go to the Migration Office and sort things out there. I was then given a website and I found out that I needed at least 3 more documents to bring with me. This was becoming more difficult than expected. By the time I discovered that I needed 3 more print outs, I did not have access to a printer. I decided to turn to my roommates for inspiration. One of them, Elnour, suggested that I talk to the man who owns Planete Bleue and who also happens to live here.

Feeling a little nervous, I rang the directors doorbell. A few seconds passed until finally an older gentleman answered. In my most polite French I apologized for disturbing him and asked if there was a printer I could use. His response could not have been more warm and welcoming. He went above and beyond in helping me and was extremely impressed that I was going to study Sociology in Neuchâtel.

All night I stressed about where I needed to go and if I was forgetting anything. I only had one shot at getting this done the right way. Note: Since it's the summer, a lot of people are on vacation and the Controle des Habitants office was only open from 8 to Noon this week.

I made sure to catch an early train to Neuchâtel and managed to find the office.

The process could not have been less painful :) It in fact, went a lot smoother than I was expecting (which was admittedly, the worst). I didn't even have to go to the Office Of Migration - the Controle des Habitants sent it over for me! I was in and out in about 20 minutes.

So, having much more time than I was expecting, I decided to explore the city I will soon be living in.

I am so excited. Neuchâtel is gorgeous... everyone seemed extremely nice and helpful, the city was clean, and I felt safe. I didn't feel like I disappeared in the hustle and bustle like I sometimes feel like I do in Lausanne.

I first decided to make my way to the Lake, which did not take long at all. All along the lake are bike/jogging paths...














After a walk along the lake, I went into the city a little bit.








And then discovered one of the greatest things to have come out of Switzerland...

Chocolate

EDIT! Okay, so this is just now occurring to me, but I think a Rotarian owns this shop! If it's the person who I think it is, he was actually the president of Rotary Club of Neuchâtel last year!

Mmmmm.... :D


So after about an hour of walking around, I decided that it was time to go back to Lausanne.

Even though I only had a small sample of Neuchâtel, I can tell that I'm really going to enjoy living there... :D

I made it to Switzerland!!!

After two flights, a train ride and a taxi cab I managed to make it to Lausanne :)

The flights were okay. I can't say they were the most comfortable jets I've flown in- but they did get me here in one piece! I first flew into Frankfurt and waited about 2 hours for my connecting flight to Geneva. Once in Geneva, I found the train station (which is conveniently located inside the airport!) and proceeded to the counter where a young Swiss man *wiggles eyebrows* helped me order a train ticket and explained to me in very clear French what platform I needed and how much time I had left before the train departed.

I have to say, Swiss trains/train stations are very "heavy bag" friendly. When I studied in France a few years ago, I remember having to lug my huge suitcase up and down stairs quite a few times AND THEN somehow manage to get it on the train (which was a good 2-3 feet off the ground. Not an easy thing to do when you've packed enough stuff for 4 months). Switzerland seems to understand the concept of making it easy for international travelers :P

The train ride from Geneva to Lausanne was beautiful. I wasn't able to take any amazing photos because various objects would block my view (trees, buildings, telephone poles etc.).

Once in Lausanne I decided to take a taxi to Planète Bleue, the apartment I'm currently in for the next month. I quickly get a cab and he takes me there without a problem. I pay him, he drives off and I enter the building. When I arrive on the floor Planète Bleue is on, No One is there.

Now, let's rewind a bit. Thursday, the day before I leave Texas, I send an e-mail to Planète Bleue letting them know what time I will arrive on Saturday (approximately 3:00/3:30 PM. I was asked to do this 2-3 days before my arrival so someone could meet me and give me a room (no one works on Saturday, that's why they wanted to know what time I planned to arrive).

Okay, back to where I left off: NO ONE was there. The doors are locked. Lights are off. No sign of life. Naturally, I begin to freak out. It is here that I am reminded of the words my friend Luan gave me before I left: "DON'T PANIC" (that's for you Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fans out there ;) ) . I check my watch and realize that it is only 2:30. I have shown up an hour early. Okay. Okay. Still good. I'll just... sit here and... wait for someone to show up.

While I wait, I decide to get out my laptop to see if maybe I could use Skype to call the director of Planete Blue... or at least find alternative lodging. No luck. I can't get an internet connection despite the fact that there are at least 3 available networks. Then I hear someone come up the stairs. It's a student and he lives at Planete Bleue. I explain to him, Edouardo, that I'm supposed to begin my stay that day and he lets me into the main lobby area (Alright! I'm in!).

After a few seconds of talking to me, he leaves me in the lobby and retreats to his room. Not exactly what I was hoping for (which was a cell phone to call planete bleue or at least directions on how to get to a pay phone) but I'm grateful that I am no longer in the stairwell. It's about 3 o'clock now, and there is still no one in the secretaries office. I pull out my computer again and fiddle with the internet but still no luck. At 3:15 (no one yet) I walk around the main lobby area which is complete with a "baby foot" table (foose ball), a ping pong table, two couches and a book case with religious books and Lausanne guides. I pick up a guide and start looking at alternate lodging options.

At 3:25 I hear a noise across the stairwell outside of the lobby. A few minutes later I peak my head out the door (being sure not to close it behind me since the doors lock automatically) and find the director getting ready to LEAVE on the elevator after he had just arrived! After a huge sigh of relief and some jumbled French, he gave me a key to my room and showed me around.

I have to admit, I wasn't too terribly interested in checking out the place at the time. I was extremely tired and cranky- all I wanted to do was pass out. But now that I've been here for a few days, I'd have to say that the place is pretty cool! It's made up of international students who share a living space. Each person has their own room, but each apartment (made up of 4 rooms) shares a kitchen/hangout area. It's a great way to meet people! Currently, there are a lot of students here who all work together on an Intern Program (but I get the impression that they don't do anything because one guy was telling me about how he surfed the net all day, while one of my roommates, who is also in the program, didn't actually show up to work until after lunch- haha).

So far so good in the Land of Swiss. Tomorrow I have to apply for "un permis de séjour" (a residence permit) with the cantonal police of Neuchâtel, so we'll see how that goes. I did not find out until yesterday that this needed to be done within 8 days of my arrival and since the office is not open on the weekends, and for some reason all this week the office will not be open in the afternoon, I'll have to skip my language class tomorrow morning and hitch a train to Neuchâtel. I'm definitely excited about seeing the city I'll soon be living in- but I am definitely NOT excited about what I'll have to do while I'm there. I have this sinking feeling that they're going to ask me for something that I do not have, despite the fact that I've searched their website over and over to make sure I have what they're asking for. I guess we'll see! I'm hoping for the best!

Less than 24 hours...

I can't believe it's almost time for me to go. All of this feels so surreal and I'm almost embarrassed to say that I'm not ready yet (despite the fact that I've had over a year to prepare for this trip). I don't think I'll ever feel entirely ready for anything in my life though :) I function best when I dive headfirst into a situation anyway.

I feel excited and nervous. It really hit me today when I was looking up different ways to travel from Geneva to Lausanne and then from Lausanne to Planète Bleue that I would be leaving in 24 hours. For the next month I will be in Lausanne while I attend the Institut Richelieu for my language training. I'm really excited about this because I KNOW I need to brush up on my French. I remember telling a classmate, who is fluent in French, that I had forgotten the language. He insisted that it was not forgotten but only dormant. I have a feeling once I'm around it all of the time I'll pick it back up with no problems.

I guess we'll see. Here's to the start of a great adventure!