My plane arrived with a slight delay in Zurich because there were technical difficulties with one of the plane engines in Boston that had to be resolved before take-off. Other passengers were grumbling, but I certainly am of the opinion that it's better to fix the engine while we're on the ground than to have it stop working while we're in the air... but maybe that's just me?
In Zurich, I had a little under an hour to get on the plane to Geneva, which would have been fine were it not for crossing the border into the Schengen Area, of course. Luckily, I didn't have to wait terribly long, and the exchange, once I made it to the border control agent, went something like this:
"What will you be doing in Switzerland?"
"I'm going to be studying in Lausanne."
"Lausanne" (not sure if she was correcting my pronunciation, or differentiating from Lucerne?)
"Yes"
She then stamped my passport and returned it to me, leaving me to rush to the gate where the flight to Geneva was already boarding.
When I got to the gate, I showed my boarding pass and the flight attendant exclaimed, "Here you are! We've been waiting for you! You're our last passenger."
Phew!
Upon arrival in Geneva, I grabbed my bag and went to try to buy a train ticket to Lausanne from the little machine in the baggage area. I must look like a very knowledgeable person, because two women instantly came up to me asking (in French) how the machine worked. I couldn't really tell them because the machine hated my American debit cards and my French debit card, and I had to go to the regular ticket counter. When I told the woman at the ticket counter about the machine not accepting my American card, she asked me why..... uhhh how am I supposed to know? I just laughed in response because I'm guessing it was an attempt at humor (?)
On a related note, people have been coming up to me quite often asking how to get to places, how to do things, and where things are. And it's usually Swiss people, too. I've usually been able to answer, so I guess that speaks to my ability to orient myself fairly quickly to a new environment
The first few days were occupied by me dealing with my jet lag, learning my way around the city, thanks to my very helpful landlord, and making sure that all of my paperwork is in order with the University of Lausanne and with the local government.
Two highlights were a trip to the Wednesday morning market to buy farm-fresh green beans, carrots, and strawberries and Lake Geneva in general.
I can see the lake from my apartment... and it's a breathtaking view. I'll leave you, for today, with a couple of examples, all taken from my bedroom window:
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