Well today I had to wake up fairly early which was not a problem on account of me being super excited to go to Switzerland. All of us students met at the same tram stop, and by 8:30 we were off in our amazing tour bus. We stopped at this gas station in order to go to the bathroom and stock up on food for our upcoming expensive journée en ville (day in the city). I was even amazed by the gas station food here. I was able to get a sandwich for lunch, a breakfast sandwich, a drink, and some chocolate bon-bons for about 5 euros. Unbelievable! And this food was all fresh, it wasn't all like disgusting gas station food found in the US. So about an hour after our gas station stop we had made it into Geneva and had to show our passports before officially being able to enter the United Nations. So when we first arrived we had a few minutes so of course I went into the gift shop, I guess the spot of my favorite pastime! Then we went on a tour.
After we had this tour we were then able to spend some time in the city of Geneva. Let me just say, everything was trop chère! (too expensive!) When I was forewarned about Switzerland being expensive I just sort of shrugged it off thinking like it was probably like $2 different from what I was used to paying. No. To put things into perspective, me and my friends wanted to sit down at this outdoor park area that was next to a food stand. Not wanting to be rude we decided to buy something from the vender. Just an order of fries cost about 6 swiss franks, probably around the equivalent of $10. Yikes!
Needless to say the weather was again sweltering and since things were so expensive 2 hours was really sufficient in getting a feel for Swiss culture.
Needless to say the weather was again sweltering and since things were so expensive 2 hours was really sufficient in getting a feel for Swiss culture.
So after going to the Lake in order to take some "silly" pictures I then went downtown. The only shopping that I was able to afford doing was at H&M on the clearance rack. At one point in that day I just wanted to use the bathroom and sit down and write some postcards. In that case the most dependable answer to that predicament was to go to ye old faithful "Starbucks." I knew that here for sure they would have a bathroom, free WiFi, and tables to sit down at. Sure enough I was right, but in order to use the bathroom I had to buy something in order to obtain the code in order to access the bathroom. Being there felt fairly touristy but I did order the cheapest and most European thing I possibly could. I ordered a Nutella cookie which was about 3 swiss franks. Hey at least it tasted really good and gave me the code. After Starbucks I walked a little more around the town and then decided to go back to our meeting place.
While waiting I noticed that a lot of people were coming back discouraged about the ridiculous prices. Well eventually it was meeting time and once everyone arrived back on the bus everyone crashed. Next on the agenda was about an hour and a half drive to a quaint ski resort town called Chamonix. Before heading off anywhere Anna would give us ideas of what to do and would always put out there what their cuisine specialty was. In this case it was fondue (super exciting.) As a child I remember having fondue parties to celebrate birthdays and now this time it would be authentic.
So when I first got into Chamonix I dropped off all of my stuff and discovered that my roommate was Hayley. First I went to the museum. Museum trips are always sort of challenging for me because I have developed this vocabulary exercise that I feel obligated to do. So the game is comme ça (like this), I try to read as many exhibit boards as possible and then write down all of the vocabulary words that I don't identify or should start using on a regular basis. This is a truly exhausting exercise and after being there for about an hour and a half, I knew that I was spent. So I wanted to go back to my room and collapse but a part of me knew that I needed to go out and try the fondue. So fortunately there was a group of girls from my API group that I was able to go with and eat fondue with.
While waiting I noticed that a lot of people were coming back discouraged about the ridiculous prices. Well eventually it was meeting time and once everyone arrived back on the bus everyone crashed. Next on the agenda was about an hour and a half drive to a quaint ski resort town called Chamonix. Before heading off anywhere Anna would give us ideas of what to do and would always put out there what their cuisine specialty was. In this case it was fondue (super exciting.) As a child I remember having fondue parties to celebrate birthdays and now this time it would be authentic.
So when I first got into Chamonix I dropped off all of my stuff and discovered that my roommate was Hayley. First I went to the museum. Museum trips are always sort of challenging for me because I have developed this vocabulary exercise that I feel obligated to do. So the game is comme ça (like this), I try to read as many exhibit boards as possible and then write down all of the vocabulary words that I don't identify or should start using on a regular basis. This is a truly exhausting exercise and after being there for about an hour and a half, I knew that I was spent. So I wanted to go back to my room and collapse but a part of me knew that I needed to go out and try the fondue. So fortunately there was a group of girls from my API group that I was able to go with and eat fondue with.
Needless to say I now was able to say that I tried French fondue another check off the bucket list but while others were talking about going out and experiencing night life I knew that the best I could do was go directly to bed.
So I actually managed to do a little better than that. I was able to take a shower and watch "WipeOut" dubbed in French. No pun intended, but I was completely WipedOut!
So I actually managed to do a little better than that. I was able to take a shower and watch "WipeOut" dubbed in French. No pun intended, but I was completely WipedOut!