So I haven't written in awhile and I guessing that people are wondering what I have been up to. Well I just came back from a week long journey through Switzerland and Germany. I technically had classes during the week but it was the time that we could actually make the trip work so my Russian commando and Myself went for it.
We took off last Saturday around noon. Upon arriving to the train station it turned out that all the trains were delayed due to an accident that happened somewhere in the region. I'm hoping that everyone was alright. After waiting a few hours and just hanging out outside our train finally departed. We almost didn't make it trough customs because mein Russian freund didn't bring his passport for some reason. We missed our connection in Geneva so we had to catch another train. After realizing that we had 5 minutes to catch the next train it was a bit chaotic. Yet with our mad train catching skills we made it. Whoo!
We met up with our Swiss amigo in Zurich and he drove us back to his place which is near Konstanz Germany. The first night we spent chilling at a pub in the a local college town. It was really nice to just sit back, relax, and discuss future plans. The next day we went on a tour of the swiss country-side and where able to get an awesome view of the lake. We visited a neat town called Appenzell (If I remember correctly) and it really had a nice Swiss charm.
That evening we went to a water-park-spa that was in Germany. It was a lot of fun because it was like combining a water park and a hot tub all in one. Another thing that was cool is that you wore a wrist-band that had an electronic chip that controlled everything from the lockers to the tanning beds.
One thing about Switzerland is that it is really expensive. Maybe double than the prices in France at times, yikes! The good thing is that we had a place to stay covered so we didn't have to worry about any hotel expenses.
On Monday we took off towards Germany to visit our German amie. I took advantage of the ride over there to catchup on some sleep. When we arrived we had some tea and cake, yay tea party!, and then just took some time to relax. Afterwards we went up "The Eiffel Tower" of the region and had a 360 degree view of the area.
That evening we made a pizza. Afterwards another German friend arrived and all we played poker. Eventually we wound up drinking way to much German liquor but all of us managed to hang in there. It was pretty funny to say the least.
The next day we took a tour of the town, I can't remember the name of the town anymore, oh well. The town was groovy because it was in the same off a circle with a cross inside it. Each end of the cross had a clock tower, well one side was missing the clock tower because it was destroyed during world war II. Yet the town over-all was pretty spiffy to see.
That afternoon we went skating. It was really good because it was the first time that I think that I was actually starting to get the hang of stating. I have only stated a few times in my life but thing time if felt that I was maybe actually skating.
That evening we said goodbye and returned back to good old Switzerland. We had a good time in Germany filled with silly memories.
The next day we took off towards Zurich to take a tour of the city. In the cathedral we climbed to the very top tower. From that vantage point we were able to see a good chunk of Zurich. The city itself wasn't too interesting but it was still nice to see. We were able to see the upscaleness of chic Swiss culture.
That night we had a concert. Yet it wasn't just any old concert, it was a Jimmy Eat World concert. It was cool to see them in concert because they were one of my favorite bands a few years ago. It was nice to bring back the nostalgia of a band that I really liked. The crowd was a pretty good crowd and we all sang and danced along. It was the perfect way to end my last night in Switzerland.
The day after we said goodbye to our Swiss friend and took the train back towards Geneva. While on the train we decided that we wanted to see some more of Switzerland so we got off of the train at Bern. We took a tour of the city with the map that we commandeered from a hotel. The city contained everything from fancy stores to furry bears. Yep, that's right there were bears. it was kind of depressing in a way because the bears were in a kind o pit area and just passed their time either sleeping of begging for food. Yet they still had a kind of cuteness to them.
The next town that we stopped off in was Lausanne. The entire town was on a hillside that overlooked Lac Leman. It was nice to be able to speak in French again. Well we didn't really stop speaking French but it was funny trying to communicate in German and Swiss German for most of the week. Luckily we had a bona fide Swiss-German with of for the Duration of the break.
After taking the train to Geneva we were just about home free. I spent the train ride reading my dictionary because I didn't really bring anything else to read. Finally I made it back home and it was nice to be back. I'm going to be spending this catching up on thing and getting back into the French groove.
Yet for now, Good Night!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
School Starts Tomorrow
Lets see some recent updates would be nice.
On Wednesday night I was back at movie night again. This time it was a japanese anime and I can't remember what it is called now. The movie itself was a bit strange but that can only be expected from watching animes. Afterwards "commodore Russia" and I went to Charly's. It turned out to be international night so people from all around the world were there. Apparently there was a wave a Tennesseeians that arrived here a few days ago so undoubtedly I will meet them at some point. I guess that Chambery has an exchange deal with Tennessee.
The following night I wound out being at a mini concert that was in a local bar. The music was pretty cool. It a had a nice folky sound to it that reminded me of living in a country town were life was just relaxed and full of good times.
...
Over the past week I have been trying out what it is like to been a an actually French college class. I have tried out courses such as 20th century Literature, Geography, History, and Heritage. They are a bit tough at times but I can still understand a lot of stuff that is going on in class. The next week I will try out a few more classes as well.
...
On Friday a new roommate arrived at our house. He is a guy from New Zealand and from what I can see so far he is a really chill and cool guy with a good sense of adventure. He already speaks a decent level of French so I can't talk in French and he will understand a lot of it. This is a good thing because I was afraid that I would only be able to communicate with him in English. I have too many opportunities speaking in English as it is. This doesn't really help with improving my French.
On Friday night I went to the cinema with my roommate. She has been asking me for awhile to go see a certain film with her so we finally went to go see it. It was a Chinese movie with an assassination plot spiced with a bit of tragic romance . The movie itself might be considered pornographic by some American standards. I was surprised that it was Chinese due to there censorship and the content in the movie. It seemed be fitting for French theaters. Something about romance-tragedies just reminds me of French films. When the film was done my roommate asked me if I like the film. I told her I was glad that it was finished, that was probably the best was to describe it.
...
Yesterday I took a little skiing trip at Motteret again. I was a bit disappointed, sad even, that everyone that I thought was going either didn't go or felt too sick to go. I wound up Skiing with a Italian friend and a met a few new people as well. The weather was a bit cold in the morning and we were basically skiing in the clouds so the visibility wasn't that great. Later it cleared up some where we could actually see where we were going. The snow was really nice because we spent pretty much most of the day skiing in demi-powder. It was the kind of choppy skied-over powder that is hard to ski on if you are not used to it. I loved it. Each round down the ski hill was another round of exercise. By the end of the day I was exhausted.
Well that's the news, tomorrow classes officially start for us so I will be glad to have some more French practice. Ciao.
On Wednesday night I was back at movie night again. This time it was a japanese anime and I can't remember what it is called now. The movie itself was a bit strange but that can only be expected from watching animes. Afterwards "commodore Russia" and I went to Charly's. It turned out to be international night so people from all around the world were there. Apparently there was a wave a Tennesseeians that arrived here a few days ago so undoubtedly I will meet them at some point. I guess that Chambery has an exchange deal with Tennessee.
The following night I wound out being at a mini concert that was in a local bar. The music was pretty cool. It a had a nice folky sound to it that reminded me of living in a country town were life was just relaxed and full of good times.
...
Over the past week I have been trying out what it is like to been a an actually French college class. I have tried out courses such as 20th century Literature, Geography, History, and Heritage. They are a bit tough at times but I can still understand a lot of stuff that is going on in class. The next week I will try out a few more classes as well.
...
On Friday a new roommate arrived at our house. He is a guy from New Zealand and from what I can see so far he is a really chill and cool guy with a good sense of adventure. He already speaks a decent level of French so I can't talk in French and he will understand a lot of it. This is a good thing because I was afraid that I would only be able to communicate with him in English. I have too many opportunities speaking in English as it is. This doesn't really help with improving my French.
On Friday night I went to the cinema with my roommate. She has been asking me for awhile to go see a certain film with her so we finally went to go see it. It was a Chinese movie with an assassination plot spiced with a bit of tragic romance . The movie itself might be considered pornographic by some American standards. I was surprised that it was Chinese due to there censorship and the content in the movie. It seemed be fitting for French theaters. Something about romance-tragedies just reminds me of French films. When the film was done my roommate asked me if I like the film. I told her I was glad that it was finished, that was probably the best was to describe it.
...
Yesterday I took a little skiing trip at Motteret again. I was a bit disappointed, sad even, that everyone that I thought was going either didn't go or felt too sick to go. I wound up Skiing with a Italian friend and a met a few new people as well. The weather was a bit cold in the morning and we were basically skiing in the clouds so the visibility wasn't that great. Later it cleared up some where we could actually see where we were going. The snow was really nice because we spent pretty much most of the day skiing in demi-powder. It was the kind of choppy skied-over powder that is hard to ski on if you are not used to it. I loved it. Each round down the ski hill was another round of exercise. By the end of the day I was exhausted.
Well that's the news, tomorrow classes officially start for us so I will be glad to have some more French practice. Ciao.
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