Day 5-6: Premier jour de classe

I didn't make a post yesterday, so day 5 is from Sunday August 30. It was a fun day, I woke up and had breakfast with some of the family. Every meal is eaten together for the most part and all the food is brought out to the table and then served. I am definitely getting spoiled, my host mom cooks a good meal every night for dinner and breakfast is usually fresh bread, cheese, some fruit and either tea or coffee.

In the early afternoon, Jessica (the older one) and I watched a movie, we watched it in english but with french subtitles. Then she took me into Nyon which is a beautiful town right on lake. It's a bit bigger and is where I transfer trains when I go into Geneva. We walked around a bit and down by the lake. It's definitely a more touristy place, and for good reason. There is a beautiful old chateau that has an amazing view of the lake and alps (France is on the other side of the lake). Jess speaks english fairly well so our conversations are a random mixture of french and english.

This morning I got up around 7:30 and took an 8:35 train into Nyon. The station is about a 7 minute walk so its super easy. I met my friend Tracy (we call her Ace) on the train since she is living in a village a bit north of mine. Then in Nyon we got on a bigger train to Geneva and saw a bunch of other students from the program. We had our seminar class from 9:30-12 which was so painful. It was almost impossible to keep my eyes open and at one point I started leaning over to my left falling asleep so that Ace had to shake me awake. It was almost all lecture with just a 15 minute break. Hopefully the other lectures will be more interesting. Then we had a break from 12-1:30 where we went and got baguette sandwiches for lunch. Then the group met to take the tram to french class, just 5 minutes away. We were put into classes based on level of about 6-8 students per class. French was from 2-4:45 with a 20 minute break. It wasn't too bad, but I definitely will be getting more sleep tonight.

After French, I hung out a little with some friends then got home around 7pm. I have a bit of reading to do tonight, but one article is by the professor that gave us the lecture and he said the lecture was completely based on the reading, so I don't think I will be doing anything more than skimming it.

Oh and in case anyone needs to send me anything, my address here is:

Ch. du Couchant 13

1270 Trelex

Switzerland

That's about all for now, the rest of the week is class then I'm sure we will do something fun this weekend. Hugs and love to you all

Day 4: Move in with ma famille

I moved in my with my family today! Last night was our last night at the hostel in Geneva, we went back to the lake again at night which was fun. Then this morning we met our families at Hotel des Alpes in Nyon (a town about 15 minutes from Geneva). My host mom picked me up, her name is Nadia and very nice. She speaks hardly any English, but we were able to communicate pretty well.

We picked up my host sister Tamara, who is 17 and then went back to the house. I have my own room and had time tom unpack and get settled, then Nadia made some lunch for us and I met my host-dad and his friend. The food was great, tomatoes, bread, cheese and couscous salad. Everyone was really nice and the dad and his friend talked to me in English a little when I couldn't keep up with conversation.

They also have wi-fi which is really nice. Ill definitely be able to keep up this blog and check my email and stuff. Well that's all for now, we're all just hanging out with our families this weekend and then classes start on monday. Hugs and love.

Day 3

So Day 2 was from August 27...I wrote it last night but didn't get a chance to post it until now.

Anways, its day 3 and everything is going amazing. I already feel more at home in the city and am starting to learn my way around. The public transportation system is amazing, the program gave us passes to get around on all buses/trams and they run every few minutes all over the city. They are also electric and clean and hardly make an noise. I am also getting closer with the other kids in my group, everyone is really cool and super fun to hang out with. We had more academic orientation this morning, then a lunch break, then our French placement tests in the afternoon. I should definitely be much better at French than I am, having taken it for 8 years, but oh well. This is my chance to improve.

After that, my 2 friends Annie, Hartley, and I went on a search to get cell phones. Apparently all the nearby stores had sold out of the cheap phones so we took the bus a few minutes away to a farther store. We found super cheap phones and most people in our group are getting the same server (so its only 9cents per hour for calls with people with this server, which is basically free).

Tonight we are all going out to a later dinner and then out somewhere after. This is our last night actually in the city at the hostel, tomorrow morning we meet our host families and then go to their houses for the weekend. Classes start monday, so that is the beginning of a busy 8 weeks.

The program is great though, we have class from 9am-12pm every morning, but tons of different speakers/experts come in, like from the United Nations and stuff. Then we have French class from 2-5pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. Despite all the time in class though, the homework is pretty minimal so we will definitely have time to explore the city and the country.

That's pretty much all for now. Annie and I are sitting on a bench facing the lake right now. I still can't get over how beautiful everything is. Hugs and love to everyone.

Day 2

It’s only day 2, but I feel like I’ve been here for way longer. Everything is already getting easier. The girls in my room at the hostel are all really nice and I’m getting to know them a lot better and the other people on the trip as well. There are only 40 people in the group, so I’m sure we will all get to know each other really well since we will be taking classes together every day.

Today we had a long orientation session in the morning, then lunch, then a 2 hour walking tour of the city. I feel a bit guilty for not listening too much, but our guide was really old and we were all exhausted. The tour ended at 4pm, or (16h) and after that some of us went down to Lake Geneva to swim.

It was absolutely beautiful. You pay just 2 francs and then walk down this pier type deal with lots of places on either side to sit and lay down a towel. There were tons of people there along with a 3 story diving platform thing. The lake is beautiful and its so cool swimming and seeing the city all around the lake. It’s also a much more relaxed environment than in the US, tons of people are drinking and smoking (cigarettes and pot) and just hanging out.

We then had a group dinner at this Italian place. It was really good and then after a few of us went back down to the Lake to hang out around 10pm (22h). It was awesome, there is a small outside bar right next to the water and sooo many people just hanging out on the wall of the lake and in the grass. Apparently the discos do not get lively until around 1am, so we’ll see if I actually can make it up that late…

That’s pretty much all for now, we have more orientation stuff in the morning then our French placement tests in the afternoon, oh man. Tomorrow night we are planning to go to dinner late and then out to the lake or something after. I love you all! I’ll try and take pictures and put some up. Hugs and Love.

Day 1

So I actually made it to Switzerland after a very stressful trip. I arrived in Brussels with an hour and a half till my flight to Geneva, there was a HUGE mess of people trying to get through the passport check...I made it through around 8:40 (my flight was at 9am), then I had to go through security and needless to say I ended up running through the Brussels airport arriving at my gate around 8:50. The flight to Geneva was easy, but of course my baggage was delayed/lost. One bag came in from a later flight but I am still awaiting my other bag, the more important one obviously which has my toiletries and shirts and everything. It will hopefully get here either tonight or tomorrow morning.

The people in my group are really nice, we are doing a bunch of orientation stuff the next few days and staying at a hostel in Geneva. The city is absolutely beautiful, I am sitting in a grassy park area right next to the lake where the city provides free wi-fi. I won't lie, I'm a little nervous about having to get around on the public transportation and meeting my host family on Saturday, but I'm sure I'll be all settled in after a week or so. The program provides us with a food stipend as well as an unlimited transportation pass which is nice.

I miss you all so much, please email me and let me know what is going on in everyone's lives. I think the trick with this whole experience is just to take it a day at a time and enjoy every minute. That makes it seem more fun and less overwhelming. Well, that's all for now. I will make every effort to keep up with posts. Hugs and love!

Day -1 of Geneva

Dear World, I know that all of you will be reading my blog and one day it will be turned into a book like the Julie and Julia blog that is now a movie. I am already in the midst of the casting process for my movie which will star a young Audrey Hepburn as future me and my brother will be played by either Jude Law or Orlando Bloom, I know they look exactly the same. Crazy right? Anyway, I am off to Newark Intl. Airport tomorrow to fly on some random Indian airline to Brussels and then a Belgian airline to my new home. As many of my soon to be thousands of readers know, Geneva is known for its chocolate, fashion, and super-amazing -awesome-crazy-fun-lifestyle. I will be updating you all constantly with videos, pictures, and blog posts; so don't expect too many personal emails, if you email me first however, I may fit you in. HAHA! Bring it on Switzerland. I will miss you all just so much, but Chris I will miss the most, sorry Mom, Dad, and Mackenzie. Boom! Roasted.

OK, so this is actually Ashley . Chris wrote that first intro (obvi...which I guess is the new abbreviated word that I have added to my repertoire). All of this above is true, however the movie of my trip will be a sequel to the first movie of my summer in San Diego (Barry, you are already hired as the director and cast manager of this future Lifetime movie, Chris says he wants to be a co-writer however I leave that decision up to you). So yes, I leave tomorrow night to embark on my junior semester abroad, as Chris already included I will be updating with videos and posts. That's all I have for now but I will try and give an update as soon as I can and also give you my address when I find that out (I will be expecting hand written letters).

I love you and miss you all! (equally)