Arrival and Computers.

I made it to Zurich safely and am now currently fighting jet lag and my computer. Once my computer and my brain are behaving properly, I promise a longer post (with pictures)!

Home is a Place

Finding a home for my stay in Zurich was one of the biggest unknowns in all of my preparations, as Zurich has a apartment vacancy rate well under 1% (0.47%, currently). I searched various websites and was in contact with several different places in Zurich, but they were either full, wanted me to stop by the next day for a meeting, or wanted me to speak German. As I couldn't just pop over to Zurich for an evening or learn German in short order, I was stuck. Just when I was starting to seriously freak out, I ran in to some family friends, who mentioned that they have family in Switzerland. Thus, while working in Zurich, I will be staying with our friend's cousin's sister's friends, Lisbeth and Franz! They live in a smaller town outside of Zurich called Winterthur, which is more out in the country than in the city.

The Google Street View:


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If you look closely, you can see Franz in the doorway of the house in the lilac shirt!

I am excited to have the chance to live with real people (as opposed to living in short-term student housing) and to experience more of Swiss life! It doesn't hurt that I will have my own bedroom and bathroom and that Lisbeth has offered to make me breakfast, which we will take in her large garden! Yes, please! I think this will quite make up for the hour commute each way.

A New Beginning

There's something about the coming of fall that makes me ready for a change, and here I am, embarking on a new adventure!

I am spending the fall in Zurich, Switzerland, working at ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) as a part of my PhD research! I will be there from the 29th of August until the 22nd of November. I am really thankful and thrilled to have this opportunity to travel and work and meet new people and learn!

Map of Zurich:


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So far I have a passport, a visa, a plane ticket, and someone who will pick me up at the airport. I will be staying in our friend's cousin's sister's friend's house outside of Zurich and working in a lab at ETH with my advisor who moved to ETH a year ago. Beyond this, I have no idea what I will be doing for the next three months, which is really exciting. It's like the thrill and sense of anticipation that I have when I open a new journal for the first time- I always wonder what will be written on the blank pages. Who knows what people I will meet and places I will see and things I will learn and ways I will grow and escapades I will have?

Bring me that horizon!