Le Salève

The Salève is a mountain east of Geneva that makes up part of the Northern Alps. I actually live about a 20-minute run from the base of the Salève, and I see it every day when I look out my front door. Even though it is extremely close to Geneva, it is actually located in France. Its highest peak is 1400 meters.

On Wednesday, I went on yet another class field trip. We took a cable car up to the top of the Salève, went for a little bit of a hike, and then just kind of enjoyed looking over Geneva. Being able to actually see all of Geneva from a high vantage point made me realize that Geneva is indeed very small. There is a big cluster of buildings, the lake, and then open countryside for as far as the eye can see.

Here is a picture of Geneva taken from the Salève. The second picture is a picture of the people who jump off of the side of the mountain and parachute down. I watch groups of people parachuting off the mountain on sunny days. Maybe one day next summer I will be able to try.

Tomatoes and Erotica

Saturday I went to La fete de la tomate (The Tomato Festival) here in Geneva. However, when I first saw the signs posted around town I had visions of La Tomatina held annually in Bunol, Spain. Here, people gather and have the largest food fight in the world, throwing over 150,000 kilograms of tomatoes. So I thought it could perhaps be a smaller version of that, but La fete de la tomate was a little bit more calm.

In fact, La fete de la tomate is an annual tradition, and it is held at an outdoor market. There are over 50 different styles of tomatoes to taste. Additionally, there are all types of cheese, goat's milk, honey, absinthe, sausages and wines to taste. I tasted a lot, considered buying a bottle of wine, a small pot of honey, and a few tomatoes, but I ended up holding off and leaving empty handed. I probably should have bought a few tomatoes in retrospect.

The next topic has nothing to do with tomatoes, but I really would like to comment on its presence here in Geneva: erotica. I have started to try and read the newspaper in French throughout the day, attempting to build my vocabulary and see how much I can comprehend. In every newspaper I have read so far, I keep coming upon erotica advertisements... in the daily newspaper! There are people advertising for spouse swapping, homosexual and heterosexual adventures, and escort services. They describe their physical appearance, age, race and profession, but they do not stop there. They also describe their personal preferences and...well...you get the point.

Also, I have the most basic cable television package that Geneva has to offer. There are 40 channels, and only 15 are in French. The others are in German, Italian, Portuguese, and I have CNBC in English. However, when I've been flipping through the channels at night before bed, I occasionally run across what I consider to be soft core porn. They bare all, and it is basic cable television! For me, this is pretty strange. Still, I guess it all goes back to the fact that Europeans are more open with the human body while Americans are a bit more private in that department.

So in conclusion, I had a great time tasting tomatoes on Saturday.

Gruyeres: Cheese Country

Yesterday I went on my second field trip with my summer class. We visited Gruyeres, a small town of about 1,600 people just over an hour northeast of Geneva. What Gruyeres is really known for is its world famous cheese. Since I arrived in Geneva, I have been sure to buy Gruyere (spelled with a final "s" when it is the city, without when it is the cheese) cheese each time I go to the grocery store. It's too hot to eat fondue now, but I guess it is the best cheese to use when making fondue, a very traditional Swiss activity in the winter.

First, we went to yet another museum. And like usual, it was pretty boring. After, we went to the factory where the cheese is made. That was a little more interesting. The best part was undoubtedly the final visit: we went to the Chateau de Gruyeres (Castle of Gruyeres). It is surrounded by an extremely small town probably just there to give the tourists somewhere to stop to eat and buy some Gruyere cheese. The views of the surrounding mountains are nice, and there are a lot of cows hanging around in the fields.

After taking the bus back to Geneva, a few other students on the field trip invited me to go to an outdoor concert. For the entirety of July and August, Geneva has plentiful free outdoor concerts, plays, and movie showings. It is pretty cool. I think tonight I am going to an outdoor showing of O Brother, Where Art Thou. Geneva is definitely a lot better in the summer than in the winter based on my short observations.

Trip to Nyon

On Wednesday, I went on a trip with my summer course to the small city of Nyon. It is located about 15 miles north of Geneva on Lake Geneva. It is known for being an important colony in the Roman empire, for being the headquarters of UEFA (the association in charge of soccer in Europe), and for the porcelain that is crafted in the city.

Personally, I thought the visit was a little dull. We went to a castle first, but it was a very unimpressive castle. I have found while traveling through Europe that the so-called "castles" in each small city are usually pretty repetitive and unoriginal. It is just a way to attract tourists and get people to spend their money. Then, we went to a museum, which I found to be equally unimpressive. Still, Nyon did have a pretty cool, laid-back atmosphere. There were some really good views of Lake Geneva as well.

Here is a picture taken from the lake.


Later that night, I went to watch the Spain vs. Germany soccer match with some people. At half time, I saw an American football sitting in the yard, so I asked if anyone wanted to throw it around. A couple guys said sure, and we started throwing the football. I could not help but laugh the first time I saw one of the guys throw the ball. He didn't grip it by the laces, and he pushed it more than he actually threw it. The ball had no spin whatsoever, and it fell about 10 feet short of the person he was throwing it with. And the throws did not get much better. I guess I thought everyone knew how to throw a football, but as I saw, that is not at all the case.

I am picking Spain to win the World Cup this Sunday, and I think Germany will win the consolation game. I take Spain 1-0, scoring late in the first half and then playing shut down defense against Holland the rest of the match to take home it's first 1st Place finish in the World Cup.

4th of July Reflection

Yesterday was my first ever 4th of July out of the country. I guess I've become accustomed to the tradition of playing country music, cooking out, going to the pool, shooting fireworks, drinking beers, and feeling genuinely proud to be American.

Last year, I ran the Peachtree 10K road race in downtown Atlanta and spent the remainder of the 4th at the neighborhood pool. The year before, I was living in Nashville and my good friend Curt came to visit. We went to the Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Jewel and Sammy Hagar concert at LP Field in Nashville. After, we walked on the streets in downtown Music City U.S.A. watching the fireworks light up the sky. The year before, I was on a boat all day at the lake, and I spent the night watching fireworks.

This year, I just wanted to make sure I did something somewhat similar. So, I went to a big public pool near my apartment. It was gigantic; the maximum capacity is 2,000 people. There were 4 pools, 3 diving boards, a huge slide, lots of European men who should not have been wearing Speedos, and multiple European women who should not have been topless. It was not the traditional American 4th of July, but I still had a good day.

One Week Down

Well the weekend is finally here. It was a grueling first week back to the grindstone. No more weekends that never end, or at least not for a while...

The first week has gone nicely. I am really enjoying being on a more fixed schedule. Even though I'm not wild about having Friday class (I was spoiled at UM and seldom had Friday class), I like settling into a routine. From 9-1 p.m. each day I am in my small class. In the afternoons, there are optional sessions that anyone can attend based on your level of French.

On Tuesday and Friday, I went to the writing session. We learned how to open and close letters and wrote post cards on Tuesday, and today I had to accept and reject an invitation to go to a party. It's pretty essential stuff to learn, especially for me since I have to turn down a lot of invitations to parties.

Today and Wednesday I also attended the pronunciation sessions. Here, I sat at a computer with headphones and a microphone. I listen to the French speaker say something, and then I repeat it, and I hear what I am saying. Thursday, I went to the grammar session. In the grammar session, we learned about les verbes pronominaux, or reflexive verbs. For example, in French (and Spanish), when you say "I brush my teeth," it is necessary to say "Je me brosse les dents" and not simply "Je brosse les dents."

Je (I) me (reflexive "me") brosse (brush) les dents (teeth).

Here is a good clarifying example.

Je (I) me (reflexive "me") reveille (wake up) means I wake up. It is necessary to put the "me" to show that it is me waking myself up. However, the "me" is not necessary when I say I wake up the children, "Je reveille les enfants." This is because the action (waking up) is not being performed on the subject (me), but rather on the children.

It is different from English, but I guess the reason is to show that the action is being performed on you and not on somebody else. The concept was not too difficult to grasp since Spanish is the same.

I am liking my new apartment. For the first 12 days of renting, I was in a different apartment. However, the guy I am renting from requested a change, and the change took place on June 30. It was a small switch, just from one building to its neighboring building. Now, I finally feel like I am living here and not just here for vacation. I finally unpacked a suitcase, so I guess that made me feel a little more at home. The roommate I have met is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The other one whom I have not met is from India I think. And the guy's room I'm renting for the summer is from Algeria. Again, a lot of diversity here in Geneva.

I'm trying to decide what to do for the 4th of July. I think I might try and have an extremely American day. Any recommendations?

French Class Begins

My 9-week intensive French course began on Monday. The first day, all that we did in the morning was take a placement exam. It lasted for about an hour, and it was not too difficult for me. There was a brief orientation session and welcome to Geneva after, and in the afternoon, there was an seminar given in English and one given in French about why Geneva is so great. I decided to attend the French one, and I actually was able to understand a decent amount.

In the afternoon, we went on a tour of the old town of Geneva. I learned that John Calvin spent a large portion of his life here in Geneva, and there are several academic buildings in the old town named after him. He is the founder of Calvinism, a religion known for its reformed approach to Christianity. About two times a week there are excursions offered in the afternoon that students can pay a reduced fee to attend. These excursions are only for summer French course students.

On Tuesday, I had to come early in order to see which class/level to which I had been assigned. It is split up into two groups: the 9-week summer schoolers, and the 3-week summer schoolers. For the 9-week summer schoolers, there are a total of 7 levels, 1 being the true beginners to French, and 7 being the "advanced beginners" to French. To my surprise, I tested into the 7th level.

We started class, and I could not believe the variation in age of all the students. It ranges from 17-year-olds (there are a lot of high school seniors it seems like), to 70-year-olds. In my class, there are 12 students. Another thing that was a shock to me was the level of diversity in this summer course. I thought I knew diversity in Miami, but that does not even hold a candle to the diversity here in Geneva.

I am the only American in my class. There are 3 people from Russia, one from Germany, one from Afghanistan, one from Rwanda, one from Spain, one from Latvia, one from Lithuania, one from China, and one from the German-speaking part of Switzerland. It is a strange feeling (but one that I enjoy nonetheless) to do a partner speaking activity with a girl from Singapore and a guy from Kabul. Geneva looks like it will be quite an excellent place to study International Relations.

I am really progressing much quicker than I thought I would in French. We had to introduce ourselves in class and say for how long we had studied French. Most people had studied for at least a year (several for longer), and when it was my turn to say, I said I had been studying for 3 months, and my teacher was incredulous. The Rosetta Stone, although a bit expensive, really is worth it in my opinion. It has really given me a strong grasp on the pronunciation and listening comprehension aspect of learning the language.

Something I am determined to do with French that I never did with Spanish is force myself to speak it even when the person with whom I am speaking can speak English. Even though I have a strong control of reading and writing Spanish, I still make mistakes when I speak and pause at times. In other words, it is obvious that I'm not a native speaker. With French, I am not going to be nervous or afraid to speak with other people. If I make mistakes, that is the best way to learn, and that is the mindset I want to have this summer.