I think this is the point in the program where I don't really have a whole lot to blog about because I'm fairly adjusted to Geneva but haven't actually done anything or gone anywhere yet. Things that have happened since my last update include....

Finding a service for Rosh Hashana! A small group of us went to a Chabad Geneva service. We got in, flipped through the prayer book ferociously trying to figure out what was going on, got our prayer on with a bunch of women in the back of the room, and left. It was a very short and sweet service and I'm glad that I was able to see a little bit of the Jewish community around here.

Starting classes! During the first half of the program I am taking French 1 and Principles of International Health. Let it be known that although my last name is technically French, I have not and (probably) will not ever speak that language fluently for reasons being that there are 16 different ways to pronounce every letter and I get confused very easily. I suppose this is the part where you picture me sitting through a French class and laugh hysterically over the blank expression on my face. Nothing big to report about the health class yet but stay tuned.

Experiencing Geneva's nightlife! Trying to keep my blog G-rated so ask me about this if you are curious.

Eating dinner on top of Mount Salève in France! On Saturday night we finally had our official "welcome dinner" which seems silly because we arrived five whole days before that. But it actually ended up working out well because having a big formal dinner the first or second night here would have been awkward due to the fact that none of us were friends. We took a (scary) cable car ride up to the top of the mountain and dined in this fancy schmancy restaurant. Dinner was BANGIN and included salad, chicken and veggies covered in sauce (and if you know me you know I love a good sauce), chocolate cake, and lots and lots of wine.

This is the mountain

This is salad

This is chicken and sauce

This is cake

Here's a quick list of things I will probably be blogging about in the upcoming weeks...
-cheese factory visit in Gruyere (NOM)
-hiking and canyoning in Interlaken
-eating a lot of yummy Italian food in Lugano
-OKTOBERFEST in Munich

Miss ya Murica!

All Settled In!

Bonjour readers!

WOW what a long couple of days it has been. Here's an update on how things are going, in the form of a list because that helps me organize my thoughts and also I'm lazy and exhausted.

1. I spent a lovely morning in the Newark airport with Ellen and Bruce. Then met the group at the gate about an hour before our flight. Things were obviously awkward because hi have you met me? I don't exactly thrive in social situations. But everyone was super excited and just as uncomfortable as me so things definitely could have been worse.

2. The flight happened and all I can say about that is if you are ever assigned to sit in the middle seat of the middle section you should ask to change seats because that really sucks. Also, if you ever fly United and they offer you "BBQ chicken" ask for the vegetarian meal instead. Also also, see the movies The Kings of Summer and The Descendants as soon as possible.

3. Geneva is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Every time I step outside I feel like I'm stepping straight into a postcard. Don't believe me? Look at this picture:

(This image brought to you by google image search. You may be surprised to find out that that's not me in the picture, nor is it anyone I know.)

SEE WHAT I MEAN!??! The BU dorm is a minute walk from Lake Geneva (or Lac Léman for all you French speakers out there) and that big fountain, The Jet d'Eau, lights up in funky colors at night.

4. Orientation has spanned the past three days. Here's a sublist for you:

• Day 1: we arrived to the dorm around 10am and immediately dove into breakfast (I ate bread and lox in case you were curious....Nikki this is the part where I give you a shout out because I know you'd rather keep up with my meals than my adventures), registration, and tours of the building and the neighborhood. Naps were taken around 4pm and then a group of us went out by the lake for a bit at night.
• Day 2: woke up madddddd early and headed over to the University of Geneva for an orientation session that's not worth telling you about. Then we had a scavenger hunt all over the city. My feet hurt and my floor came in second. The winning team received a GIANT Toblerone bar and my team got nothing, so next time someone tells you that everyone is a winner don't you dare believe them.
• Day 3: More orientation blah blah blah you don't care about this boring stuff

5. This afternoon my friends and I are heading on over to France for a quick grocery shopping trip. Yes you read that correctly. We are grocery shopping in France. Grocery shopping. In France. NEAT!

6. I like it here.

7. I've been taking some photos and whatnot and as soon as I have enough to start an album at some point I'll post the good ones up on here. Also check my Facebook for pictures that I don't feel comfortable showing my grandparents (sorry Selma and Joe)

8. Rosh Hashanah starts tonight and I don't have concrete plans / I'm sad about it. There are a few other members of the tribe on this trip and we're all trying to find a service to go to but we've only been here for like a minute and still don't know anything about Jewish life in this area. I'll keep you posted mom.

So here it is - my inaugural blog post! I debated for the past few months about whether or not I would actually follow through with this blog nonsense. Half of me thinks this might be a bit narcissistic...I mean, does anyone out there ACTUALLY care about the shenanigans I'm getting myself into in Europe (besides my mom...hey Ellen, I know you're reading this and I appreciate it)? And, more importantly, how am I supposed to "live in the moment" and take advantage of everything I'm doing over there if I'm constantly thinking about which pictures of my dinner I should upload to this thing? But the other half of me knows that by writing about my experiences abroad I'll have something to look back on later, and that seems like a good enough reason to try this thing out.

I suppose I should inform you, whoever you are, of where I am going and what I'll be doing once I'm there so that you fully understand why I am choosing to start blogging in the first place. Since being accepted to this program in April I have answered a handful of the same questions every time I tell someone I'll be studying abroad. To keep this post (relatively) short, I've created this handy FAQ (click here!) for you to read!

Quick information for you to know: I'll be taking classes, interning, and playing in Geneva, Switzerland from the beginning of September until midway through December.

So I suppose that's it for now. Thanks in advance for reading! I don't want to be annoying and clog anyone's newsfeed every time I create a new post on here, so if you want to keep up with my trip but don't want to check this thing all the time I THINK there's some way for you to subscribe. To the right of this fancy post there should be something that says "follow by email" and I'm pretty sure all you have to do is type your information into there, but since I'm no blogspot expert I could be making that up. Maybe google "how to subscribe to Lindsey's Switzerland blog" or something. I'm sure that will yield many results.

Stay classy,
Lindsey