I won't say it's my last day in Switzerland because I'm coming back for three weeks at the end of the summer, but it kind of is my last day... When I come back in two months, it will be more as a visitor, and less as a resident. I'll still have my residency permit, and technically I'll still be a Swiss resident, but it won't feel the same.
I cannot believe that the last eleven months have zipped by so quickly. This time last year, my family and I were frantically packing everything into boxes, making endless trips to the dump and Goodwill, crossing our fingers that our visas would be cleared, and hoping that the decision we just made would be a good one.
It was.
While I feel incredibly nostalgic looking at my California friends' graduation pictures, and really wish I could have been there to share that moment, this year in Switzerland has given me so much. I may not be fluent in French, and may not be able to make fondue from scratch, but I've learned so much living here... and I'm going to miss it so much! I remember writing back in October that Switzerland was starting to feel like home, and how weird it was to have two places feel like that--here and California. Now, I can't imagine Switzerland not being one of my homes.
And next year, Cincinnati will become a new home. And we'll see where it goes from there.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
I'm on a boat and I'm going fast and...
Our prom was on a boat.
Never mind that it wasn't held until the day before graduation, and never mind that they forgot to tell us they weren't serving dinner, and never mind that it was small and the music was mostly French club music.
It was on a boat. It was on a really cool boat that set sail from the Versoix dock, chugged all the way down the lake to Rolle, and then turned around and ended in Geneva. The weather was incredible and the mountains were perfectly clear. Right after the sun set over the Jura, a full moon, tinged pink by the last of the sunset, rose over Mount Blanc.
Best. Prom. Ever.
GRADUATE!!
I am now writing as a high school graduate! While I've been waiting for this moment for four years, it's really hard to believe that it's actually finally happened. I survived high school! (And learned a few things along the way as well, haha)
CDL's graduation ceremony was not the most inspiring... half of it was conveniently in French, and most of the guest speakers chose to speak about the school's 50th anniversary this year, instead of about the amazing class of 2010.
Still. I've graduated! I remember watching my brother Jamie graduate three years ago, and thinking how far away my graduation seemed... but it's happened!
And walking outside the hotel theatre to be greeted by the Jet d'Eau spraying white water 30 stories up into the clear blue sky was pretty amazing.
CDL's graduation ceremony was not the most inspiring... half of it was conveniently in French, and most of the guest speakers chose to speak about the school's 50th anniversary this year, instead of about the amazing class of 2010.
Still. I've graduated! I remember watching my brother Jamie graduate three years ago, and thinking how far away my graduation seemed... but it's happened!
And walking outside the hotel theatre to be greeted by the Jet d'Eau spraying white water 30 stories up into the clear blue sky was pretty amazing.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Hop Suisse!!!
I don't know about the States, but here in Switz, the World Cup is taken veryyy seriously.
Everyday, my facebook feed is flooded with cheers, excited updates, profanities, and predictions about the games. Yesterday, the day Brasil played North Korea, practically every other person I saw was wearing a Brasil jersey or flag (gross exaggeration, by the way. Definitely not every other... Haha).
And today, of course, Switzerland faced off against Spain-- who entered the Cup as the second best team in the world, and one of the favorites to win. Most thought that the Swiss, whose fortes are chocolate and watch making, not soccer, would get slaughtered by the team who beat Poland 6-0 in the last World Cup...
To be honest, the first half of the game was embarrassing enough, with the Spanish team basically playing keep-away and making attempt after attempt on goal (there is something to be said for the Swiss goalie, however, who--besides from being pretty cute--saved about ten trillion shots).
But seven minutes into the second half, Switzerland scored. It wasn't a beautiful shot. It looked more like a carwreck in front of the goal as about six different players tripped over themselves and fumbled with the ball. But the important thing was that the goal was made. And the even more important thing was that the Swiss held their ground afterwards, and actually played much better than in the first half.
And we won!!!!!
Within about five minutes, my facebook feed was flooded with a ridiculous amount of posts that all said something along the lines of "SWITZERLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" From my friend's house, we could hear nonstop honking on the lake road for about half an hour. A little boy I passed was wrapped entirely in a Swiss flag. When the train pulled up, people were hanging out the windows, waving flags and screaming.
For a small, demure, chocolate-loving country, Switzerland sure knows how to celebrate its soccer (or, as the Europeans all insist, football) victory.
Hop Suisse!!!!!!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Everyday, my facebook feed is flooded with cheers, excited updates, profanities, and predictions about the games. Yesterday, the day Brasil played North Korea, practically every other person I saw was wearing a Brasil jersey or flag (gross exaggeration, by the way. Definitely not every other... Haha).
And today, of course, Switzerland faced off against Spain-- who entered the Cup as the second best team in the world, and one of the favorites to win. Most thought that the Swiss, whose fortes are chocolate and watch making, not soccer, would get slaughtered by the team who beat Poland 6-0 in the last World Cup...
To be honest, the first half of the game was embarrassing enough, with the Spanish team basically playing keep-away and making attempt after attempt on goal (there is something to be said for the Swiss goalie, however, who--besides from being pretty cute--saved about ten trillion shots).
But seven minutes into the second half, Switzerland scored. It wasn't a beautiful shot. It looked more like a carwreck in front of the goal as about six different players tripped over themselves and fumbled with the ball. But the important thing was that the goal was made. And the even more important thing was that the Swiss held their ground afterwards, and actually played much better than in the first half.
And we won!!!!!
Within about five minutes, my facebook feed was flooded with a ridiculous amount of posts that all said something along the lines of "SWITZERLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" From my friend's house, we could hear nonstop honking on the lake road for about half an hour. A little boy I passed was wrapped entirely in a Swiss flag. When the train pulled up, people were hanging out the windows, waving flags and screaming.
For a small, demure, chocolate-loving country, Switzerland sure knows how to celebrate its soccer (or, as the Europeans all insist, football) victory.
Hop Suisse!!!!!!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Counting down
2 days until--I go to Paris for five days with Dina.
10 days until--prom... Swiss style! It's going to be on a boat that crosses the lake and then drops us off in Geneva.
11 days until--graduation!! I can't believe I'm finally graduating from high school. Also, congrats to all my Summit buds who graduated on Friday. I soo wish I could have been there.
12 days until--I leave Switzerland! And head to Amsterdam and Prague for a week :]
18 days until--I leave Europe. Wow. Then it's off to a family reunion at Lake Tahoe.
23 days until--I'm back in the Bay. I'm so excited to see everyone!
28 days until--LINES Ballet summer intensive starts... Five weeks of ballet in San Fran.
65 days until--LINES ends.
67 days until--I head back to Switz for a few weeks at the end of the summer.
85 (ish) days until--I go to Mallorca with Caroline and our moms for a joint birthday trip!! Cheap EasyJet tickets are truly amazing.
92 (ish) days until--I leave Switz for Cincinnati... college!!
I can't believe a year has gone by so fast, and I'm about to leave this amazing country. This time last year, I was frantically packing/cleaning/sorting/organizing/freaking out/preparing before our move... it seems crazy that was only a year ago.
10 days until--prom... Swiss style! It's going to be on a boat that crosses the lake and then drops us off in Geneva.
11 days until--graduation!! I can't believe I'm finally graduating from high school. Also, congrats to all my Summit buds who graduated on Friday. I soo wish I could have been there.
12 days until--I leave Switzerland! And head to Amsterdam and Prague for a week :]
18 days until--I leave Europe. Wow. Then it's off to a family reunion at Lake Tahoe.
23 days until--I'm back in the Bay. I'm so excited to see everyone!
28 days until--LINES Ballet summer intensive starts... Five weeks of ballet in San Fran.
65 days until--LINES ends.
67 days until--I head back to Switz for a few weeks at the end of the summer.
85 (ish) days until--I go to Mallorca with Caroline and our moms for a joint birthday trip!! Cheap EasyJet tickets are truly amazing.
92 (ish) days until--I leave Switz for Cincinnati... college!!
I can't believe a year has gone by so fast, and I'm about to leave this amazing country. This time last year, I was frantically packing/cleaning/sorting/organizing/freaking out/preparing before our move... it seems crazy that was only a year ago.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Room with a view
Thanks to the many holidays that the Swiss observe following Easter, we were able to escape to Italy this weekend for a three day vacation on the shore of Lake Maggiore.
The drive itself was stunning. It took us about three hours winding through the Alps on a brilliant clear day.
We stayed in a small, colorful B&B right across the street from the lake, with a fantastic view of the three islands. The first day we took a cable car to the top of Mount Rosa (I think that's what it was called... It's the second highest point in Europe!). From the top, we could see seven different lakes. It was gorgeous, but all the photos are on my dad's camera, so you'll have to wait. I'll post a photo journal of the trip ASAP.
Later, we drove to Lake Orta and the town of Orta, which was a quaint, quiet town next to another gorgeous lake.
On Sunday, we drove around Lake Maggiore, stopping in the cute little towns along the way, before taking a ferry back across the lake to Stresa. Monday, we toured one of the islands, Isola Bella, before heading back to Switzerland.
It was an amazing couple of days. The weather was perfect, and the area reminded me of a cross between Hawaii and the Amalfi Coast. I love living here, as it's so easy to travel to a huge amount of amazing places. Next on the agenda... Paris again, but for longer, and with warm weather!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
The drive itself was stunning. It took us about three hours winding through the Alps on a brilliant clear day.
We stayed in a small, colorful B&B right across the street from the lake, with a fantastic view of the three islands. The first day we took a cable car to the top of Mount Rosa (I think that's what it was called... It's the second highest point in Europe!). From the top, we could see seven different lakes. It was gorgeous, but all the photos are on my dad's camera, so you'll have to wait. I'll post a photo journal of the trip ASAP.
Later, we drove to Lake Orta and the town of Orta, which was a quaint, quiet town next to another gorgeous lake.
On Sunday, we drove around Lake Maggiore, stopping in the cute little towns along the way, before taking a ferry back across the lake to Stresa. Monday, we toured one of the islands, Isola Bella, before heading back to Switzerland.
It was an amazing couple of days. The weather was perfect, and the area reminded me of a cross between Hawaii and the Amalfi Coast. I love living here, as it's so easy to travel to a huge amount of amazing places. Next on the agenda... Paris again, but for longer, and with warm weather!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Fine dining with friends
Last week, our friends Joe and Leslie visited us from New York. Though I had school, babysitting and ballet to keep me too busy to accompany my parents and our guests on most of their excursions, I did get to spend Saturday evening with them eating what was probably the best meal of my life. We went to dinner at a restaurant called Auberge de l'Onde that was in a small town near Vevey and had a Michelin star.
First off, I met everyone at the restaurant a little late because I was in Geneva watching my ballet school perform the little mermaid (I was supposed to be in the show too, but unfortunately I fell down the stairs a couple weeks before and sprained my ankle pretty badly. Don't worry, it's just about better now!). Anyways, I took the train to the tiny town the restaurant was in. As you go past Lausanne along Lake Geneva, the mountains get steeper and run right into the lake. So, the towns along the lake there are built practically vertically, reminiscent of the Amalfi Coast (we vacationed there in summer 2007, and it seemed like there were more stairs than sidewalks). The train station at St-Saphorin is practically built on the lake. When I got off the train, it was just past sunset; even though it was hazy, I was still pretty amazing. I'm continually awed by the beauty of this place, despite having lived here for ten months.
The restaurant was elegant and old and amazing. The meal was the best I've ever tasted in my life. Not kidding. And after having tasted food from a restaurant with only one Michelin star, I'm itching to experience a three Michelin star meal.
First off, I met everyone at the restaurant a little late because I was in Geneva watching my ballet school perform the little mermaid (I was supposed to be in the show too, but unfortunately I fell down the stairs a couple weeks before and sprained my ankle pretty badly. Don't worry, it's just about better now!). Anyways, I took the train to the tiny town the restaurant was in. As you go past Lausanne along Lake Geneva, the mountains get steeper and run right into the lake. So, the towns along the lake there are built practically vertically, reminiscent of the Amalfi Coast (we vacationed there in summer 2007, and it seemed like there were more stairs than sidewalks). The train station at St-Saphorin is practically built on the lake. When I got off the train, it was just past sunset; even though it was hazy, I was still pretty amazing. I'm continually awed by the beauty of this place, despite having lived here for ten months.
The restaurant was elegant and old and amazing. The meal was the best I've ever tasted in my life. Not kidding. And after having tasted food from a restaurant with only one Michelin star, I'm itching to experience a three Michelin star meal.
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