Saturday, November 30, 2013
Friday, November 29, 2013
Thursday, November 28, 2013
On my way...
...to Berlin to meet my parents and Ruth! Christmas markets, here we come!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
Another concert!
Tonight I went to another concert at the Tonhalle, thanks to Ruth and Marie! This is all I could see from my seat:
...but the music was beautiful.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Four weeks!
As of last Thursday, I have only 4 more weeks in Switzerland. And, if you consider that I'll be traveling with my parents and sister for over a week of that time, I really have less than 3 weeks actually in Switzerland. And, if you consider that I have to move out of my flat relatively early in December, it turns out that I only have 5 more full days of living in my flat when I am actually in town. I have started sorting, but no real packing has been happening. I think
it will get done, but it's definitely overwhelming at the moment. Cue me breathing into a paper bag.
I have totally loved my time here in Switzerland, and for a long time I was really sad to be leaving. However, I've reach the point where I am ready to go home and to move on to the next adventure (a postdoc in Michigan). I am happy that I will be closer to my family; especially this fall, the distance has just seemed to be too large. I am looking forward to starting a new life all over again and seeing what happens this time. Although I fully expect to experience reverse culture shock, there are many things that are easier and more intuitive about living in the US, simply because it's what I have known for most of my life. I won't have to struggle to understand what people are saying to me or how to respond, I'll just know which stores sell the things that I'm trying to find, and I'll be within an hour-or-so flight of my family.
I also have high hopes for bringing some of the things that I love about my life here with me. I have learned that I love hiking, and hopefully I'll be more intentional about getting out for hikes in Michigan. I love how I don't have to drive here, and I've already made the choice to find a place to live in Ann Arbor that is within walking distance of campus so that I minimize my driving time. I really appreciate how I've learned to cook more healthily and with fresher ingredients here, which is something I think I can take with me. And I love how life is an adventure here, and moving to a new place, even within the US, is always an adventure.
I am so thankful for my time in Switzerland, but I can't wait to be home for Christmas!
I have totally loved my time here in Switzerland, and for a long time I was really sad to be leaving. However, I've reach the point where I am ready to go home and to move on to the next adventure (a postdoc in Michigan). I am happy that I will be closer to my family; especially this fall, the distance has just seemed to be too large. I am looking forward to starting a new life all over again and seeing what happens this time. Although I fully expect to experience reverse culture shock, there are many things that are easier and more intuitive about living in the US, simply because it's what I have known for most of my life. I won't have to struggle to understand what people are saying to me or how to respond, I'll just know which stores sell the things that I'm trying to find, and I'll be within an hour-or-so flight of my family.
I also have high hopes for bringing some of the things that I love about my life here with me. I have learned that I love hiking, and hopefully I'll be more intentional about getting out for hikes in Michigan. I love how I don't have to drive here, and I've already made the choice to find a place to live in Ann Arbor that is within walking distance of campus so that I minimize my driving time. I really appreciate how I've learned to cook more healthily and with fresher ingredients here, which is something I think I can take with me. And I love how life is an adventure here, and moving to a new place, even within the US, is always an adventure.
I am so thankful for my time in Switzerland, but I can't wait to be home for Christmas!
Friday, November 22, 2013
I've been dreaming of a white Christmas!
I was so excited that it started snowing yesterday- I couldn't stop grinning! This morning, Zurich is snow-covered and magical, and I feel that I am now totally justified to listen to Christmas music. Not that I've really stopped myself before, but...
I'm definitely dreaming of a white Christmas!
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
At the Tonhalle.
Tonight I went to a concert at the Tonhalle (Orchestra Hall), thanks to my dear sisters who got me a gift certificate when I moved here. I'm running out of time to use it, so I grabbed the chance to attend a concert. It was Schumann's Symphony Nr. 4 and Dvorák's Symphony Nr. 8, which were both truly fantastic. They were conducted by Kurt Masur, who is apparently a very famous and old (86!) German conductor. He has advancing Parkinson's and conducts from a wheelchair, but you can tell that he still puts his heart in to conducting. In fact, there were a few times he was so in to it that I think I could hear him singing along! It was a great concert- I definitely got chills during the Symphony Nr. 8. Makes me miss playing my horn!
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
A French wedding extravaganza.
Two weeks ago I went to Ardèche for Alex and Aurore's wedding. I've known Aurore for 6 years now (we first met at the University of Minnesota when we were in the same research group), and it was such a treat to get to attend her wedding!
It was definitely a super intense experience. It began early Friday morning when I started my train ride to Montélimar, via Mulhouse and Valence. There may or may not have been a strike on the regional trains, so I took a different route than I had wanted to take, but did manage to get to Montélimar, just two hours before anyone could pick me up. I hung out at the station for 2 hours before being picked up by one of Alex's cousins. We then had a 1.5 hour drive to St. Alban-Auriolles where the wedding took place. Alex and Aurore had made arrangements for guests to stay in little cabins at a campground near her village, and we had a little time to settle in before the evening's festivities started.
Alex and Aurore had a combined bachelor/bachelorette party with siblings, cousins, and friends. There were a bunch of games and activities planned that often involved the bride and groom blindfolded and/or doing ridiculous things, and then we went for dinner at a burger restaurant in a nearby town. Luckily there were a few people that spoke English, including some friends of Aurore's from Strasbourg that I've met a few times when I've visited Aurore, so I was able to talk with some people, although I didn't understand much of what was going on otherwise.
The next day (Saturday) the wedding activities didn't start until 3 pm, so we had a slow-ish morning. I ended up sharing a chalet with a couple with a 2-year-old, so there wasn't a lot of sleeping in that was possible. The weather was sort of drizzly, so I read some before getting ready for the big event. Eventually we all met in the campground parking lot and headed over to the town hall for the marriage ceremony. In France you have to get married in the town hall, with the ceremony officiated by the mayor. Some couples also have an additional ceremony in a church, but it's not so common.
Eventually Aurore showed up, having walked through the village with her father and family from her house to the town hall. Once she arrived, we all crammed in to the town hall to watch the ceremony. It was extra special because Aurore's father is the mayor of the town, so he gave the (somewhat long) talk before the vows. I had zero idea what was going on, but it was fun to see what a wedding ceremony is like in another country. Apparently the tradition is that you send flowers to the town hall for the couple, so the hall was full of orange (Aurore's favorite color) floral arrangements.
After the ceremony, they posed on the steps outside of the town hall. They both looked so beautiful and radiant with happiness. They made their their getaway in a decorated boat pulled by a tractor. Alex and Aurore share a common love for canoeing, which is why the getaway in a boat was so appropriate.
After that, we followed them to the apero (happy hour) location and took some photos before the apero started. Then there was a 3-hour apero featuring food and drinks that are specialties of Ardèche, including sausages and a drink of white wine and chestnut liqueur. Alex and Aurore are very proud of being from Ardèche, so the whole wedding featured special touches like this. At the reception, each table was named for a river in Ardèche, and the favors were homemade peach juice (her father is a peach farmer) and blueberry jam (made by Alex's mother).
The reception was at a different location, and I think the meal lasted for 6 hours! There was a salad course, a fish course, a liqueur for digestion, a meat course, a cheese course, and then 3 dessert courses: a typical Ardèchoise pastry, wedding cake, and the traditional French wedding cake with a champagne fountain. The meat course wasn't even served until 12.30 am! Of course, we weren't eating the whole time; between courses there were games, speeches, multiple songs that friends and family sang honoring the bride and groom (I understood nothing), and lots of dancing.
Alex and Aurore were really thoughtful about putting together the seating arrangements for the reception, so I ended up at the "international" table, which meant that everyone could speak English. Of course, after about 1 or 2 am, no one was really speaking English, so I just ended up dancing a lot. I was sore for days afterward, actually!
Something that struck me about the reception was how, despite the unlimited wine, no one got sloppy drunk. Maybe this was also because we were eating throughout the entire evening, but everyone had enough to drink that they were happy, but not enough to be inappropriate or sick.
One of my favorite things about the reception was that Alex and Aurore actually built their own table for two that was on wheels, and they moved from table to table between courses, so that everyone had the chance to see them and talk with them during the course of the evening. It was such a good idea! I'm pretty sure that of all of the weddings I've been to, theirs was the most thoughtful towards their guests and was such a fantastic expression of their personalities. I've never been to a wedding where to couple had been together for so long, and, because of their shared history with family and friends, it was a truly joyful and lovely celebration with people who are integrated and involved in their lives.
After about 5 am I hit my wall and caught a ride back with some random couple who was leaving at the same time. And this is how I found myself hurtling down dark, winding roads in the French countryside at 5.30 am with a driver who didn't understand English in a car that seriously sounded like a jet engine at takeoff. I just had to giggle at the ludicrous nature of situation. And I was SUPER happy that we didn't meet anyone on our drive, because I think we might have died.
The next morning Alex and Aurore came around to each of the chalets to greet us and to show off their vat of disgustingness that is another Ardèchoise tradition. Apparently, after the wedding is done and everyone has gone home, the close family and friends of the bride and groom hunt them down where they are staying, wake them up, and make them eat something that is designed to look revolting. Alex and Aurore had logs of chocolate and other candy floating in champagne that they were forced to eat, and the effect was truly heinous. Only after this event is the wedding really over, and everyone goes to bed. So, after everyone had appropriately admired the vat of disgustingness, we all de-camped to the reception hall for a brunch.
After the brunch, most people left for home. I had decided to stay an extra day so that I actually got to see Alex and Aurore, so I stuck around. After all of the English-speaking people had left, I spent a few pleasant hours sitting in the sun outside and reading. The location was really beautiful, and I enjoyed a little respite from trying to understand French. Eventually everyone that was still there pitched in to pack up and clean up the reception site, which took the whole afternoon.
In the evening, we all ended up at the apero site for dinner- at the point it was pretty much the immediate family that was still there. I felt slightly like an interloper, especially since I had no idea what was going on most of the time, but they were really nice to me. I've met both Alex and Aurore's parents before, and it was really lovely to see them again.
The next morning we did some little cleaning of the chalets before handing over all of the keys and going to Aurore's parents' home for lunch. There was more unpacking and sorting and repacking that afternoon, and finally Alex, Aurore, and I started our journey back to Grenoble. We made a brief stop for an apero with Alex's great aunt, and then had dinner with Alex's parents before finally driving to Grenoble.
We slept in on Tuesday and had lunch together before Alex went to teach his class and Aurore and I started our drive back north. Aurore is still based in Strasbourg, but the quickest way for her to drive back is through Switzerland, so I rode with her for several hours before she dropped me off at a train station that was convenient for both of us. I finally made it home late in the evening of Tuesday.
This was totally an epic and exhausting trip. For one, I am not used to staying up dancing until 5.30 am. Also, trying to focus really hard on understanding French (a language I have never learned) is totally draining. If I work really hard, sometimes I can understand the direction of the conversation, but eventually my brain just feels like jelly. Also, there was just SO. MUCH. KISSING. that happened. I've definitely gotten used to the three- kiss greetings and goodbyes, but that was a lot of people that had to be kissed, and I didn't know more than a few of them. I did love how the older female relatives actually grabbed me and kissed me directly on the cheeks- no air kisses for them! It was sometimes pretty awkward because in Switzerland and the south of France the proper number of kisses is three, but some of the family was from the north of France, where two is the proper number. There were definitely a few times when I went for that third kiss with someone that wasn't prepared and it was a disaster, even more so since I couldn't really explain myself! But it was so lovely how nice and welcoming everyone was of me- even though we couldn't understand each other, people really went out of their way to make sure that I was taken care of and relatively comfortable.
This may sound ridiculous, but I also was amused by how stereotypically French everything was. For example, very meal had to have an appetizer (something crunchy), wine, a main course (even if it was just plain noodles and a sausage), a cheese course, a dessert, and a coffee or tea. Even if we were having a quick lunch before running out the door, these things were immutable.
It was lovely to get to spend some extra time with Alex and Aurore after the wedding. They are very dear to me, and I am not sure when we will meet again once I move back to the US. This trip marked the start of the goodbyes that I will have to say before I move to the US, since I had to say goodbye to Aurore's parents, Alex's parents, and Alex, who are all people that I care about. I hate goodbyes, but I am happy that I had the chance to see them once more and to celebrate with a couple that are dear to my heart! Congratulations to the Pourrets!
It was definitely a super intense experience. It began early Friday morning when I started my train ride to Montélimar, via Mulhouse and Valence. There may or may not have been a strike on the regional trains, so I took a different route than I had wanted to take, but did manage to get to Montélimar, just two hours before anyone could pick me up. I hung out at the station for 2 hours before being picked up by one of Alex's cousins. We then had a 1.5 hour drive to St. Alban-Auriolles where the wedding took place. Alex and Aurore had made arrangements for guests to stay in little cabins at a campground near her village, and we had a little time to settle in before the evening's festivities started.
Alex and Aurore had a combined bachelor/bachelorette party with siblings, cousins, and friends. There were a bunch of games and activities planned that often involved the bride and groom blindfolded and/or doing ridiculous things, and then we went for dinner at a burger restaurant in a nearby town. Luckily there were a few people that spoke English, including some friends of Aurore's from Strasbourg that I've met a few times when I've visited Aurore, so I was able to talk with some people, although I didn't understand much of what was going on otherwise.
The next day (Saturday) the wedding activities didn't start until 3 pm, so we had a slow-ish morning. I ended up sharing a chalet with a couple with a 2-year-old, so there wasn't a lot of sleeping in that was possible. The weather was sort of drizzly, so I read some before getting ready for the big event. Eventually we all met in the campground parking lot and headed over to the town hall for the marriage ceremony. In France you have to get married in the town hall, with the ceremony officiated by the mayor. Some couples also have an additional ceremony in a church, but it's not so common.
Eventually Aurore showed up, having walked through the village with her father and family from her house to the town hall. Once she arrived, we all crammed in to the town hall to watch the ceremony. It was extra special because Aurore's father is the mayor of the town, so he gave the (somewhat long) talk before the vows. I had zero idea what was going on, but it was fun to see what a wedding ceremony is like in another country. Apparently the tradition is that you send flowers to the town hall for the couple, so the hall was full of orange (Aurore's favorite color) floral arrangements.
After the ceremony, they posed on the steps outside of the town hall. They both looked so beautiful and radiant with happiness. They made their their getaway in a decorated boat pulled by a tractor. Alex and Aurore share a common love for canoeing, which is why the getaway in a boat was so appropriate.
After that, we followed them to the apero (happy hour) location and took some photos before the apero started. Then there was a 3-hour apero featuring food and drinks that are specialties of Ardèche, including sausages and a drink of white wine and chestnut liqueur. Alex and Aurore are very proud of being from Ardèche, so the whole wedding featured special touches like this. At the reception, each table was named for a river in Ardèche, and the favors were homemade peach juice (her father is a peach farmer) and blueberry jam (made by Alex's mother).
 |
| Aurore's parents' gate was decorated for the wedding. |
The reception was at a different location, and I think the meal lasted for 6 hours! There was a salad course, a fish course, a liqueur for digestion, a meat course, a cheese course, and then 3 dessert courses: a typical Ardèchoise pastry, wedding cake, and the traditional French wedding cake with a champagne fountain. The meat course wasn't even served until 12.30 am! Of course, we weren't eating the whole time; between courses there were games, speeches, multiple songs that friends and family sang honoring the bride and groom (I understood nothing), and lots of dancing.
Alex and Aurore were really thoughtful about putting together the seating arrangements for the reception, so I ended up at the "international" table, which meant that everyone could speak English. Of course, after about 1 or 2 am, no one was really speaking English, so I just ended up dancing a lot. I was sore for days afterward, actually!
Something that struck me about the reception was how, despite the unlimited wine, no one got sloppy drunk. Maybe this was also because we were eating throughout the entire evening, but everyone had enough to drink that they were happy, but not enough to be inappropriate or sick.
One of my favorite things about the reception was that Alex and Aurore actually built their own table for two that was on wheels, and they moved from table to table between courses, so that everyone had the chance to see them and talk with them during the course of the evening. It was such a good idea! I'm pretty sure that of all of the weddings I've been to, theirs was the most thoughtful towards their guests and was such a fantastic expression of their personalities. I've never been to a wedding where to couple had been together for so long, and, because of their shared history with family and friends, it was a truly joyful and lovely celebration with people who are integrated and involved in their lives.
After about 5 am I hit my wall and caught a ride back with some random couple who was leaving at the same time. And this is how I found myself hurtling down dark, winding roads in the French countryside at 5.30 am with a driver who didn't understand English in a car that seriously sounded like a jet engine at takeoff. I just had to giggle at the ludicrous nature of situation. And I was SUPER happy that we didn't meet anyone on our drive, because I think we might have died.
The next morning Alex and Aurore came around to each of the chalets to greet us and to show off their vat of disgustingness that is another Ardèchoise tradition. Apparently, after the wedding is done and everyone has gone home, the close family and friends of the bride and groom hunt them down where they are staying, wake them up, and make them eat something that is designed to look revolting. Alex and Aurore had logs of chocolate and other candy floating in champagne that they were forced to eat, and the effect was truly heinous. Only after this event is the wedding really over, and everyone goes to bed. So, after everyone had appropriately admired the vat of disgustingness, we all de-camped to the reception hall for a brunch.
After the brunch, most people left for home. I had decided to stay an extra day so that I actually got to see Alex and Aurore, so I stuck around. After all of the English-speaking people had left, I spent a few pleasant hours sitting in the sun outside and reading. The location was really beautiful, and I enjoyed a little respite from trying to understand French. Eventually everyone that was still there pitched in to pack up and clean up the reception site, which took the whole afternoon.
In the evening, we all ended up at the apero site for dinner- at the point it was pretty much the immediate family that was still there. I felt slightly like an interloper, especially since I had no idea what was going on most of the time, but they were really nice to me. I've met both Alex and Aurore's parents before, and it was really lovely to see them again.
The next morning we did some little cleaning of the chalets before handing over all of the keys and going to Aurore's parents' home for lunch. There was more unpacking and sorting and repacking that afternoon, and finally Alex, Aurore, and I started our journey back to Grenoble. We made a brief stop for an apero with Alex's great aunt, and then had dinner with Alex's parents before finally driving to Grenoble.
We slept in on Tuesday and had lunch together before Alex went to teach his class and Aurore and I started our drive back north. Aurore is still based in Strasbourg, but the quickest way for her to drive back is through Switzerland, so I rode with her for several hours before she dropped me off at a train station that was convenient for both of us. I finally made it home late in the evening of Tuesday.
This was totally an epic and exhausting trip. For one, I am not used to staying up dancing until 5.30 am. Also, trying to focus really hard on understanding French (a language I have never learned) is totally draining. If I work really hard, sometimes I can understand the direction of the conversation, but eventually my brain just feels like jelly. Also, there was just SO. MUCH. KISSING. that happened. I've definitely gotten used to the three- kiss greetings and goodbyes, but that was a lot of people that had to be kissed, and I didn't know more than a few of them. I did love how the older female relatives actually grabbed me and kissed me directly on the cheeks- no air kisses for them! It was sometimes pretty awkward because in Switzerland and the south of France the proper number of kisses is three, but some of the family was from the north of France, where two is the proper number. There were definitely a few times when I went for that third kiss with someone that wasn't prepared and it was a disaster, even more so since I couldn't really explain myself! But it was so lovely how nice and welcoming everyone was of me- even though we couldn't understand each other, people really went out of their way to make sure that I was taken care of and relatively comfortable.
This may sound ridiculous, but I also was amused by how stereotypically French everything was. For example, very meal had to have an appetizer (something crunchy), wine, a main course (even if it was just plain noodles and a sausage), a cheese course, a dessert, and a coffee or tea. Even if we were having a quick lunch before running out the door, these things were immutable.
It was lovely to get to spend some extra time with Alex and Aurore after the wedding. They are very dear to me, and I am not sure when we will meet again once I move back to the US. This trip marked the start of the goodbyes that I will have to say before I move to the US, since I had to say goodbye to Aurore's parents, Alex's parents, and Alex, who are all people that I care about. I hate goodbyes, but I am happy that I had the chance to see them once more and to celebrate with a couple that are dear to my heart! Congratulations to the Pourrets!
Monday, November 18, 2013
A perfect fall hike.
My philosophy this fall has been to make hay while the sun shines, or, in my case, be in the mountains if at all possible while the sun shines. I have no idea if and when I will ever live this close to the mountains again, so seeing them as much as possible now makes sense. Also, I've determined that I'm addicted to mountains- they're like crack to me; I keep on needing to take "hits" of the mountains, and then I always feel so much happier. Sometimes during the day I even sneak up to the top floor of my building just to look at the mountains! Anyways this is why, the day after our Glacier Express adventure, I took myself into the mountains again for a hike.
Parts of the train ride were the same as the Glacier Express, but this time I got to sit facing forwards and by the window, so I got some clearer pictures. Mountain crack!
Eventually, I made it to Sedrun and started my hike, which was on a ridge along a valley, surrounded by mountains.
The landscape was covered in rich fall colors- all golden and crimson- which contrasted fantastically with the clear blue sky and the snow-covered mountains. The sun was warm but the air was still crisp, which, in my opinion, is perfect fall weather. Pretty much, it was amazing!
I really enjoyed the walk and the train ride back to Zurich.
It is pretty incredible how many km I traveled by train over the course of three days:
Thursday
Zurich to Zermatt: 300 km
Friday
Zermatt to Chur: 220 km
Chur to Zurich: 120 km
Saturday
Zurich to Sedrun: 130 km
Disentis to Zurich: 190 km
Parts of the train ride were the same as the Glacier Express, but this time I got to sit facing forwards and by the window, so I got some clearer pictures. Mountain crack!
Eventually, I made it to Sedrun and started my hike, which was on a ridge along a valley, surrounded by mountains.
The landscape was covered in rich fall colors- all golden and crimson- which contrasted fantastically with the clear blue sky and the snow-covered mountains. The sun was warm but the air was still crisp, which, in my opinion, is perfect fall weather. Pretty much, it was amazing!
I really enjoyed the walk and the train ride back to Zurich.
It is pretty incredible how many km I traveled by train over the course of three days:
Thursday
Zurich to Zermatt: 300 km
Friday
Zermatt to Chur: 220 km
Chur to Zurich: 120 km
Saturday
Zurich to Sedrun: 130 km
Disentis to Zurich: 190 km
View A weekend on trains October 2013 in a larger map
Basically, I love my GA!
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