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.