For our first full day in Geneva, all of us students took a tour of the Old City. Two very sweet older women, both Swiss-German, walked us through all of the beautiful medieval architecture, art museums, opera houses, churches and monuments. The modern part of Geneva is nice, but this historical section was much more up my alley. I learned a lot of the city's history, but I'll limit myself to just a few pictures here:
The birthplace of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Cathedral St. Pierre
The Reformation Wall - dedicated to the founders of Protestantism
Geneva Opera House
The next day, we took a train to the much smaller and more quaint city of Nyon. This is where I'll be taking most of my classes each week, and it is exactly what I pictured Switzerland to be. Geneva has all the perks of a big, international city, but Nyon is much more picturesque. I love that it is such a manageable size, and I can't wait to get to know it even better in the coming weeks!
Le Château de Nyon
View from the Castle
Ladies by Lake Geneva
The two city tours were definitely the highlight of these first few days. Hostel life was fun because all of us students lived together (and it felt like dorm life!), but it wasn't always the greatest. Thanks to jet lag, I woke up every day at 4:45am (very unusual for anyone who knows me) and most nights were filled with screaming French high schoolers playing football - the European kind - in the hallways.
But that's all behind me now, since I have a beautiful Swiss home and a wonderful new family! The village I live in, Arzier, is really up in the mountains and it has the most amazing views. As my host mom told me, all the girls in Arzier have smokin' hot legs (since walking up the street literally entails hiking a mountain).
Chez moi!
(My house)
I can see Mont Blanc from my window!
I'm very proud to say that I've spoken nothing but French to my family since I've met them. My host mother and siblings know enough English that we could get by on it (although my host father knows none), but I'm determined not to resort to any of that. It's difficult though, because even though I can get the gist of most conversations, I feel like I'm always missing something because there's just too much French vocabulary I don't know. With practice though, I'm sure it'll get better.
Everyone in the family has been so welcoming to me. My host mom is very chatty, which is great for my language skills, and my host dad warmed up to me a lot more after he realized that I was really game for speaking French. My 21-year old host brother Justin, who lives downstairs with his girlfriend, and my 19-year-old host sister Margaux, are nice as well, although they tend to do their own thing. This family has had 5 American students stay here before me, so this is all old hat to them.
Dinner was especially great though, because it brought everyone together. We had wine that my host-mom's brother-in-law makes at his own vineyard (!) and I gave my family a gift for their hospitality: Boston foods! Salt water taffy was a big hit, but they also tried some Boston Baked Beans, lobster lollipops, and maple sugar candy. And in return they fed me Swiss chocolate: a fair trade.
My accommodations, I should also note, are awesome. I have a full room to myself (see below) and a bathroom that I share with only Margaux. The house itself is beautiful - my host dad proudly told me how he designed all the woodwork and decorations. I'll try to take more pictures, but I didn't want to seem like too much of a creep on the first day.
A panoramic view of my room
And the best part of my new home? Quello! My enormous St. Bernard, new best friend and constant companion. I'm going to spend this entire trip completely covered in dog hair and drool, but I could care less. Gandalf the cat also reminds me of my cat Shadow at home, so as far as animals go, I'm in heaven.
That's about it for now. Classes start Monday though, so I guess the honeymoon phase is coming to an end. À plus tard, mes amis!
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