I've been back in the US for almost three weeks now and a few differences became apparent almost immediately:
1. In Europe there is a toilet brush next to every toilet public or private thus minimizing the embarrassment of an already lengthy trip to the loo.
2. It's not that American's are friendlier than Europeans, but they are more likely to start up a conversation and ask about your day
3. Being able to understand the conversations around me was surprising and new when I returned, not hearing French, German, or Slovenian at every surrounding table was quite a shock at the beginning
4. I noticed the strange phrases used amongst the Geneva Study Group participants slipping into my day to day conversation such as
- "la meme chose" or "the same thing"
- "d'accord" or "I agree"
- "DTC" or "down to clown"
- "The Wif" or "WeeFee" or "WiFi" or "Wireless Internet"
- "Ca va" or "OK/That's Fine"
5. The prices, the difference in price of my latte in Geneva at Starbucks, versus the price of my latte in portland is unbelievable-the first time I went to Starbucks with my Dad we ordered 2 grande nonfat lattes and when I saw the total I thought they forgot the second latte then realized that the price was half the franc price (unfortunately my current deadbeatness and lack of job have prevented me from enjoying this sudden affordability)
6. Getting ID'd when purchasing alcohol (sometimes twice)
7. Unlimited bread and drinks at restaurants
8. Watching the news-despite having the Wif the whole time in Geneva, we didn't really pay much attention to news worthy events
9. Knowing when I arrive at a counter I will understand the person who is helping me and they will understand me-despite a couple of "s'il vous plait"s, "merci"s and "ca va"s end up coming out on my side.
10. Using my phone in order to make phone calls and not just as an ultra helpful more intelligent than I Smartphone.
I think the biggest surprise is that despite all the very noticeable differences, the transition has not been as hard as I expected it to be, returning to daily life was almost like I never left in a weird way, and all the trains, monuments and cultures seem like a really good dream-I guess part of that comes from any once in a lifetime experience.
I have returned with a travel bug that just wont quit, so much so I volunteered to take a trip to Memphis this summer, I also have a trip to Las Vegas on the agenda in order to celebrate my 21st birthday with my two best friends. So as the say (cheesy as it may be) and I think (hope) this will hold true-It is only the end of the beginning of my travels, more are yet to come!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Leavin' on a Jet Plane-Don't Know When I'll be Back Again... I Really Hate to Go
The last week in Geneva I spent my work time at the Human Rights Council at the UN, far more interesting then the downtime we'd been spending in the office. We were responsible for monitoring the sessions' spontaneous happenings. There was also a lot of debate about the happenings in Israel which kept it interesting and I got to see the council vote on a draft resolution. It was like my MUN experience was finally fulfilled. We spent the evenings hanging around the cite not doing anything in particular.
Thursday Melissa, Grace, Elise and I had the day off so we decided to go to the infamous Bain de Paquis that Professor Shain always raved about, it's supposed to be a public beach where you can swim in the lake and hang out, there's a restaurant etc. and because of Shain's obsession with it, and it being the place where I celebrated my 21st birthday it was on our bucket list of Geneva must dos. Unfortunately the weather wasn't really cooperating and it was pretty cold. So we decided to go in the Hammam or sauna/steam room thing. In our typical American fashion we wore our swimsuits, the Europeans in the typical European fashion did not. So we were accompanied by two women in their mid to late forties, naked who eventually began to scrub each other down. Big win for us. We stayed for probably 15 minutes or so and then hit the road to do some last minute souvenir shopping, enjoy a final kebab and try another reputable ice cream place. My ice cream was chevre flavored (that is goat cheese) it tastes like cheesecake and was really good with chocolate.
That night we had our final group party and Melissa, Ben and I were in charge of the shopping so we stopped by the cite to shower and went to meet Ben at the Coop (in Switzerland the Co-op to us Colgate kids the Coop). We enjoyed our final party playing beer pong, flip cup, and 7s (as taught to us by Professor Shain). Even Lady Garga, our internship coordinator, joined in the fun. Afterward a couple of us went to another Geneva Bucket list local - Mr. Pickwick's the Ex-Pat bar, I enjoyed a nice frothy Boddingtons (as seen on Friends!) We stayed until it closed and caught a cab back.
Friday morning was the worst part of the whole trip. Packing. Eventually fitting 5 months of our lives into 2 suitcases, 1 carryon and 1 personal item. After sufficiently depressing ourselves through packing, Melissa, Grace, and I went to old town to have a beer in the finally cleared up weather. We sat for a while and then went for our final meeting with Shain where we stored all the GSG kitchen stuff for the 2011 group. Afterward a bunch of us went and got Pizza which we enjoyed on the roof of the cite until we were told that was "illegal" and moved the party downstairs to play kings. Then we went to a club on Ben's recommendation where we all had a lot of fun. We made it home in time for me to enjoy my last cite shower, and catch about 2 hours of sleep before getting up to catch the plane home.
Luckily Melissa was looking out for me because I didn't hear my alarm and she knocked on my door at 6:10 am (we had a 6:15 departure time) Just enough time for me to throw the rest of my stuff in my bag and run out the door (leaving my room a little messier than I would have liked). But we all got on the bus and to the airport, without being charged for overweight fees (despite all of our bags being at least a little bit overweight, the one thing Geneva didn't over charge us for). After an uneventful flight from Geneva to Newark, I am currently sitting in Newark waiting for my final flight to Portland. In the airport I enjoyed a giant hamburger with blue cheese and french fries.
I haven't even made it home yet, and the move hasn't really hit me, but already the changes and cultures are hitting me. English is the biggest transition so far, but we'll see once I begin re-immersion.
In about 8 hours the trip will be officially over. It all seems a bit like a dream.
Thursday Melissa, Grace, Elise and I had the day off so we decided to go to the infamous Bain de Paquis that Professor Shain always raved about, it's supposed to be a public beach where you can swim in the lake and hang out, there's a restaurant etc. and because of Shain's obsession with it, and it being the place where I celebrated my 21st birthday it was on our bucket list of Geneva must dos. Unfortunately the weather wasn't really cooperating and it was pretty cold. So we decided to go in the Hammam or sauna/steam room thing. In our typical American fashion we wore our swimsuits, the Europeans in the typical European fashion did not. So we were accompanied by two women in their mid to late forties, naked who eventually began to scrub each other down. Big win for us. We stayed for probably 15 minutes or so and then hit the road to do some last minute souvenir shopping, enjoy a final kebab and try another reputable ice cream place. My ice cream was chevre flavored (that is goat cheese) it tastes like cheesecake and was really good with chocolate.
That night we had our final group party and Melissa, Ben and I were in charge of the shopping so we stopped by the cite to shower and went to meet Ben at the Coop (in Switzerland the Co-op to us Colgate kids the Coop). We enjoyed our final party playing beer pong, flip cup, and 7s (as taught to us by Professor Shain). Even Lady Garga, our internship coordinator, joined in the fun. Afterward a couple of us went to another Geneva Bucket list local - Mr. Pickwick's the Ex-Pat bar, I enjoyed a nice frothy Boddingtons (as seen on Friends!) We stayed until it closed and caught a cab back.
Friday morning was the worst part of the whole trip. Packing. Eventually fitting 5 months of our lives into 2 suitcases, 1 carryon and 1 personal item. After sufficiently depressing ourselves through packing, Melissa, Grace, and I went to old town to have a beer in the finally cleared up weather. We sat for a while and then went for our final meeting with Shain where we stored all the GSG kitchen stuff for the 2011 group. Afterward a bunch of us went and got Pizza which we enjoyed on the roof of the cite until we were told that was "illegal" and moved the party downstairs to play kings. Then we went to a club on Ben's recommendation where we all had a lot of fun. We made it home in time for me to enjoy my last cite shower, and catch about 2 hours of sleep before getting up to catch the plane home.
Luckily Melissa was looking out for me because I didn't hear my alarm and she knocked on my door at 6:10 am (we had a 6:15 departure time) Just enough time for me to throw the rest of my stuff in my bag and run out the door (leaving my room a little messier than I would have liked). But we all got on the bus and to the airport, without being charged for overweight fees (despite all of our bags being at least a little bit overweight, the one thing Geneva didn't over charge us for). After an uneventful flight from Geneva to Newark, I am currently sitting in Newark waiting for my final flight to Portland. In the airport I enjoyed a giant hamburger with blue cheese and french fries.
I haven't even made it home yet, and the move hasn't really hit me, but already the changes and cultures are hitting me. English is the biggest transition so far, but we'll see once I begin re-immersion.
In about 8 hours the trip will be officially over. It all seems a bit like a dream.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)