Cultural Learning Points

This evening I informed my Italian roommate that I had finally purchased a bag of instant coffee, so now I would be able to drink coffee at home in the mornings. We do not have a coffee machine in our apartment, and coffee machines in Geneva are way outside of my budget, so I have been going without since I arrived. Earlier in the summer, I attempted to buy a bag of instant coffee, and I incorrectly bought Espresso mix. So, I was excited that I had finally bought the instant coffee tonight.

However, upon telling my roommate that I have been going without coffee, he kind of laughed and asked me why I did not use the Espresso maker that we have. I responded that I did not know we had an Espresso maker, and where was this machine hiding in our little apartment? He then opened the cupboard and showed me a little metal pot. Incredulous, I asked how that little thing made Espresso. He then explained to me how to fill the bottom with water, the next piece with the Espresso, screw on the top, and place it on the stove to let it heat for about five minutes. I felt a little bit foolish.

Another time, I had decided to buy a microwave for our apartment because that is an appliance that I use practically every day. Upon seeing the microwave, my Italian roommate informed me that he had never actually had a microwave while growing up. His family thought it silly to reheat yesterday's meals instead of simply preparing a fresh, warm meal for that day. Incredulous yet again, I thought about how often I use a microwave, and I wondered how somebody could live without one.

Each day I carry in my bag a grocery bag to use if I decide to go to the store that day. Here, it costs money to buy grocery bags (50 cents / bag). This is because of the environmentally friendly culture that exists in most of Europe--they do not believe in wasting 20 or so plastic bags each time that you go to the store as most Americans do. My roommates here actually told me that they take classes in high school on the subject of how to cut down on waste and be more green. I really think this is a great idea, and I will probably continue to take my grocery bags with me to the store even if I move back to the US after finishing my studies.

Not Quite a Denny's Grand Slam

This morning I went with Ana to have breakfast at a restaurant for the first time in Geneva. The place was really good, and it had a deal going: the full breakfast for the price of 10 Swiss Francs. As an American, when I think of full breakfasts, I think of the Denny's Grand Slam. In other words, I think of a plate overflowing with eggs, toast, hash browns, and bacon. I also think of a coffee with free refills, and maybe even an orange juice on the side.

However, the Swiss idea of a full breakfast is a little, well, smaller. It consists of a coffee to drink, three pieces of toast, and butter and jelly for the toast. For the Swiss, the fact that butter and jelly are included is a big deal. Do not get the wrong impression; I am not insulting the Swiss breakfast. First, it is much easier on the fat intake. Instead of being a meal that satisfies a person's daily calorie count, it leaves plenty of room for calories in the next meals. Plus, the jelly is great and not just something out of a jar bought in a store. Additionally, the coffee comes out in a cool little personal mug for me to pour coffee into my glass as I please.

On a side note, I will say that I have found several food items that I prefer in Switzerland. First, the chocolate is great. I was never a huge chocolate eater, but since I have been here I think I consume chocolate at least once a day. Second, the bread at the grocery stores and restaurants is always fresh and tasty. They are very particular about their pastries and morning bread. Third, the cheese is pretty spectacular. And finally, the fruit and vegetables are much better. Still, I do miss a lot of American food, namely Mexican restaurants, Chick-fil-A, and buffalo wings.

I finished the first week of real class at the University. It is pretty different from my experience at the University of Miami. First, there is no busy work or weekly assignments. The only grade in each class is a final exam at the end of January. Period. If you fail the final exam, you fail the class. And I guess it is quite common to fail an academic year over here. Maybe it is because we pay so much in America that we expect to pass, but here, if you do not bring your A game to the final exams, you will be repeating that academic year.

Another difference is the price of books. Most professors put all the assigned readings on the Internet so we can easily access them without being required to buy a book. This cuts down on costs enormously. In one class, the professor required us to buy a book that costs $45. The students around me were up in arms at the thought of paying that much for a class.

Also, Switzerland leads the world in the amount of waste recycled per year. 52% of its waste is recycled annually. Austria is second, and Germany is third. The USA is seventh at 31.5% of waste recycled annually. So, teachers here do not like to print a lot of papers. I did not even receive a syllabus in any of my classes. We are expected to access that online.

I am curious to see as class continues how I feel about the value of a Swiss education versus an American education. I am withholding judgment at the current moment until I see how the semester plays out.

Berlin: Poor, but Sexy

I returned Saturday to Geneva from another excellent European city: Berlin. I had to leave Switzerland to get my student visa, and I chose Berlin since it was a capital city that I had yet to visit. I had a long layover in Copenhagen, so I ventured out of the airport and saw the city for about 3 hours. It was a nice, but short, first Scandinavian experience. Once in Berlin, the visa process went smoothly. I found the Swiss Embassy the first morning I was there, finished the paperwork, got my visa stamped in my passport, and headed out ready to explore the city.


Now, I have been thinking long and hard about the statement I am about to make, because I want to be sure in what I am about to claim. I think Berlin is the most interesting city I have ever visited. Ever. It is certainly not aesthetically appealing like a Prague or a Venice. Instead, it has massively daunting gray steel buildings everywhere that are typical of Communistic architecture. It is certainly not filled with dazzling shopping areas or global tourist hot spots like a London or a Paris. On the other hand, it has a really grimy, grungy and melancholic feel to it, and for this reason the city slogan is "poor, but sexy." Berlin has enormous unemployment and city debt. However, its recent history really appealed to and interested me.

The first full day, my friend Jo and I (he is Norwegian; we met during the summer French course in Geneva, and I invited him to come down from Oslo to meet me in Berlin) took a bike tour of the city. This proved to be a great choice because we got to see the whole city relatively quickly (5 hours) and had someone giving us information at each stop. Here is a pic of me on my bike, the government building that has a transparent dome to signify a transparent German government, and Jo and me in front of the remains of the Berlin Wall right near Checkpoint Charlie.




We also saw sights like Hitler's bunker where he shot and killed himself, a memorial to a massive book burning that took place under Communist leadership, the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled his child out the window for all to see, a plaza where Karl Marx used to preach, and a large Jewish memorial. This memorial was interesting because it is left open for interpretation--the designer says the meaning is for each person to individually interpret.

The next day, we did an alternative street graffiti tour. Berlin is renowned for its artistic, punk spirit of denying authority, and it really shows in its street art. We entered old, abandoned warehouses where squatters live, saw a mile long piece of the Berlin Wall ironically rebuilt just to be decorated with art, and just downright cool graffiti on the sides of buildings. Here are pics of a man made up of other naked, pink men eating a little white man, a corporate man bound in shackles by his gold watches while tightening his tie, me with some designs, and a piece on the rebuilt Berlin Wall.







All in all, it was a really nice way to end the summer. That is because I start classes tomorrow, so no more vacation for a little while. Maybe.

Meet the Neighbors

I recently moved to my new permanent residence in Geneva. It is called the Cite Universitaire. There are three buildings in total, and I somehow got lucky enough to land a shared apartment in the only building not consisting of traditional student dorms. I am now living with an Italian guy studying Economics, and a German guy studying Computer Programming. They seem like good guys.

Last night my roommates and I decided to go and introduce ourselves to our neighbors in our hall. First, we knocked on a door and four girls answered. They were nice, and a couple of them are here doing study abroad. The next door we decided to hold off on because there has been a baby stroller parked outside the door for the last week, and the names on the door indicate that a married couple lives there. (I guess there is some subsidized housing here for citizens who do not earn a large salary.)

The next door, we knocked, and all we heard was someone come to the door, pause, and then lock and bolt the door. I guess they did not want to meet the three young gentlemen from down the hall. The next door we came to was answered by a student doing his PhD in Biology. He invited us in to a dirty kitchen, and we had a brief conversation. He was nice, but it is obvious he is better at communicating with microscopes, Bunsen burners and petri dishes than with other students. At the last door, no one responded.

My bedroom is starting to feel a little more welcoming after decorating the walls with some pictures and University of Miami paraphernalia. I also put up my map of Europe with tacks in all the places I have visited. I started this travel log when I was studying in Spain, and oh how it has grown. I have really seen most of the key cities in western Europe. There are a couple of gaping holes that I would like to fill in, primarily southern France (Monte Carlo, Nice, Marseille) and northern Spain (Santander, San Sebastian, Pamplona).

After I visit Berlin this week, the next cities that I would like to see are Zurich, Vienna, Budapest, and Florence. At the moment, Prague is the eastern-most city that I have visited in Europe. I think visiting Scandanavia would also be quite cool, but those cities do not make the short list, and moreover, they are not ones to be visited with Fall and Winter right around the corner. Additionally, I have heard that Croatia has some great countryside and is quite cheap to visit. We will see where the discount airlines take me this Winter.

Venice: Everything I Hoped For

Venice was fantastic. Ana and I were only in the city for about 7 hours, but it was a 7 hours very well spent. We arrived via train, and our only goal in mind was to visit Piazza San Marco, or Saint Mark's Plaza. Other than that, we just wound our way through the old, curvy streets that cross over the canals. The streets were very narrow, and for September, there were a good amount of tourists. We thought of taking a gondola ride, but decided that our experience was full enough without perpetuating that tourist trap.
Here is me feeding the pigeons. They have actually stopped selling bird feed in the square, so we had to take a piece of bread from the restaurant to feed the birds. The only thing we could think is that the store owners and locals are tired of all the pigeon pleasantries left behind.



Here is me sitting in the Acqua Alta (high water) library. When high tide comes, I guess the water actually rises high enough in some places to enter the stores, like here. This bookstore had a lot of cool pictures and paintings of Venice.

Ana and I standing on one of the many bridges that cross the canals. There is one large canal that cuts its way through the city, and there are countless miniature canals.


While all of this was great and extremely memorable, I think the main memory I will have from my trip will be from Ana's grandparents. They live in a little town outside of Verona; it is about an hour train ride to Venice. We stayed at their place for 2 nights, and on the second night they took us to a great Italian restaurant that was very authentic and did not have the high price tags of the touristy Venice restaurants. It was cool to hear Italian being spoken.

The memory I will always have is of her Grandma trying to say my name. She could not for the life of her say "Chase." I realize that it is a very American name, and I have realized it more after being here for some time. She would try and try, saying things like "Chin, ch-ch-ch, shirk, cirque, chet, shay, cisk, shhhhh, etc.," but she could not get it down. It was pretty funny.

They were nice people, and they had a huge dog named Blackie. I thought to myself that this name would not be very well thought of in America. Additionally, their first dog was named Blackie. So, they would refer to Blackie, but then have to clarify that it was the first or the second Blackie. I think a new name would be easier, but who am I to second guess their naming system.