I’ve been living in Geneva, Switzerland for just about two weeks at this point. I have a few complaints, but there are far more good things then things worth complaining about.

I’ll start with the arrival, as it was a little more difficult to get here then I had originally hoped.

To begin with, on January 5, I spent about seven hours just sitting in the airport, watching the departure time click back. Eventually it got to the point where there was no way I would make my connecting flight to Paris, and the airport lady just told me to go home and try again tomorrow. They did give everyone waiting pop and candy, so that was alright.

The next day went much smoother. I flew from Des Moines to Minneapolis, and then Minneapolis to Paris, and Paris to Geneva. On the long flight to Paris I mostly just watched films and tried to sleep, but the excitement pretty much kept me from that.

Originally I had been expected to take a taxi from Geneva to the university campus. This was a problem for me, as I have never taken a taxi before. I didn’t want my first experience in a foreign country with a language I didn’t speak to involve currency I hadn’t yet exchanged for. With the original flight being canceled though, a very nice woman was there to pick me up, and delivered me to orientation while she dropped my bags off at the dorms.

There was orientation, and meeting people, and learning the difference between the tram and the train. I ended up riding both of those illegally for a few days because I didn’t know where to buy my passes. It’s very humbling to be in a country where you don’t really speak the language. I know French enough to get by, but very, very few people speak English. This hasn’t been much of a problem though, a big smile, a bit of pointing, and a lot of apologizing for not being able to communicate has worked well for me.

Thankfully everything at the campus is in English. Many of my professors are originally from there as well. Most of the students though, are European, and apparently no one ever taught them not to pronounce the ‘s’ in Illinois.

My traveling experiences have been few, mostly just around Switzerland, but I’ve greatly enjoyed them. There are real castles, real croissants and real Swiss cheese. Mostly I’ve been learning about the Swiss, and trying to remember that just because things are different doesn’t mean that things are weird. The Swiss do not drive big trucks like I’m used to seeing around the Midwest (the roads are very narrow here), they are firm believers in following the rules (don’t even think about crossing the road before the sign turns green) and nearly everyone I see is very fashionable (no uggs or flannel for sure), even the men.

There are a lot of great things in Switzerland, and the not so great things, like $25 for a cheeseburger, can easily be overcome with some Swiss chocolate.