Hey everyone, it's been a long time. I realize that my posts disappeared abruptly. Allow me to explain. Towards the end of the summer, I got involved more in work and had for my free time had to choose between blogging and other stuff. I first chose mostly other stuff, thinking that I would get back to blogging later, but then I kept putting it off for so long that it just slipped to the back of my mind.
I'll let you know how my decision turned out. I decided not to move to Switzerland. Although there are some nice things there, I feel too closely tied with my own American culture/customs/environment/lifestyle to abandon it for a completely different one. That's not to say that I don't enjoy international travel; I rather do. I would just prefer to do it for one, maybe two weeks at a time, and try to change it up in terms of where I go.
You may be wondering why I am returning to this blog now. Well, I happen to be at CERN for the next few weeks and I was reminded of it. There is also another decision that I am in the process of making that I felt belonged on the internet, a much more significant decision than this one. I am currently deciding whether or not to continue with my phd. I have been thinking a lot recently on what I want to do with my life (I know, this is a good 3-4 years overdue) and have begun to realize that a hd may not be in my best self interest, both in terms of my career options and quality of life. Since this is not particularly relevant to the living situation of this blog, I will probably start another one for this topic (don't worry, I'll include a link once I get it set up). This will not be an easy decision to make, but I think it would help if I were to write my though processes out. In the off chance that someone actually reads that blog and decides to comment, I will have advice to take into consideration.
So yeah, that's what I'm doing now. I'll try to get that blog up within the week. Hope you will enjoy.
P.S. I realize I did not include much humor in this. This decision is a very serious one though. I have also been a little depressed lately for a few reasons, so I'm not exactly feeling very funny right now. Hopefully I'll be back to my goofy self soon enough.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Rainy-day-type stuff
It has come to my attention that I somehow look French. I honestly have no idea how this is. I have a distinctly non-European style of dress. Most of my shirts have English writing all over them. I walk around most places with a either a backpack, map, or something that should act like a big neon sign that says "tourist" and points directly at me. And yet, people still feel comfortable walking up to me and asking me questions in French. I say to them in broken French that I don't speak any French (at least I'm pretty sure that I get that point across), but they will ask me again, because clearly my blatant American accent and poor French skills means I was lying. I'm hoping that it won't come down to me making a big sign saying "I DON"T SPEAK FRENCH!"that I have to wear at all times, but I'm really running out of ideas here. I could try to just deal with the status quo, but that involves me tolerating people, so clearly it's not an option. Maybe I just need to be a less approachable person in general. I thought I was a little old to start a goth phase, but perhaps this is a sign. I've got the pale skin covered, now I just need some new clothes.
+ So I noticed something kinda cool the other day. At street intersections, where you push the button to get the "walk" signal, there is a small touch pad underneath. When the signal turns to the walk signal, it vibrates so as to let blind people know they can cross. This isn't particularly applicable to me now, but one of these days I will probably try moonshine, just 'cause. When this happens, there's a reasonable chance that I will go blind, so it's not a bad idea to prepare for this.
-I'm getting real sick of the weather around here. It has rained every day for the past two weeks. Also, it's been sunny every day for the past two weeks. The weather has just been too erratic for words. In the U.S, most days are either rainy or sunny. Sometimes there is a quick shower out of nowhere, but for the most part, I could look at the forecast at the beginning of the day and decide either A: "Today is a rainy day, so I will take my umbrella and dress for rain" or B: "Today is a sunny day, so I will dress for a sunny, rainless day". In Geneva, the forecast doesn't mean squat. They may as well not even bother to make it. The rain and sun are both on and off constantly. Planning outdoor activities is the most aggravating thing because you never know if you will get rained on. If it lasts long enough, it's almost guaranteed to happen at some point. This chaos will not do. I need structure in my life, and this bipolar weather pattern does not work at all.
-Last of all, let me tell you a little story about something called Region Coding. In pretty much every continent (except our penguin friends in Antarctica), you can find DVD's and DVD players. You attach the DVD player to a TV, put the DVD in the player, and then you watch your movie and everyone is happy ... except, that would be just a little too convenient. Now each continent apparently decided that the others can suck it, and they designed their DVDs to be playable ONLY in their players. So that DVD you bought for real cheap when you went on vacation in China probably won't work in your DVD player. Sorry. This is particularly frustrating for me. I brought a small binder of movies here, just to watch in case I get bored. Now, my apartment comes with a TV and DVD player, so it certainly would seem like I have a nice little arrangement here. The disappointment came when I tried to put the DVD in the player in it gave me the finger. Not literally of course, but it wouldn't play my movie and that kinda pissed me off. I still have my mini-screen laptop, but that's really not the same, now is it. So, to DVD manufacturers everywhere, I don't understand what you're accomplishing by making your product region specific. It would certainly seem easier to make all DVD players play all DVDs, and it would certainly make your often-traveling customers much happier. So please, let's cut out this BS and let me watch my movie. kthanx.
+ So I noticed something kinda cool the other day. At street intersections, where you push the button to get the "walk" signal, there is a small touch pad underneath. When the signal turns to the walk signal, it vibrates so as to let blind people know they can cross. This isn't particularly applicable to me now, but one of these days I will probably try moonshine, just 'cause. When this happens, there's a reasonable chance that I will go blind, so it's not a bad idea to prepare for this.
-I'm getting real sick of the weather around here. It has rained every day for the past two weeks. Also, it's been sunny every day for the past two weeks. The weather has just been too erratic for words. In the U.S, most days are either rainy or sunny. Sometimes there is a quick shower out of nowhere, but for the most part, I could look at the forecast at the beginning of the day and decide either A: "Today is a rainy day, so I will take my umbrella and dress for rain" or B: "Today is a sunny day, so I will dress for a sunny, rainless day". In Geneva, the forecast doesn't mean squat. They may as well not even bother to make it. The rain and sun are both on and off constantly. Planning outdoor activities is the most aggravating thing because you never know if you will get rained on. If it lasts long enough, it's almost guaranteed to happen at some point. This chaos will not do. I need structure in my life, and this bipolar weather pattern does not work at all.
-Last of all, let me tell you a little story about something called Region Coding. In pretty much every continent (except our penguin friends in Antarctica), you can find DVD's and DVD players. You attach the DVD player to a TV, put the DVD in the player, and then you watch your movie and everyone is happy ... except, that would be just a little too convenient. Now each continent apparently decided that the others can suck it, and they designed their DVDs to be playable ONLY in their players. So that DVD you bought for real cheap when you went on vacation in China probably won't work in your DVD player. Sorry. This is particularly frustrating for me. I brought a small binder of movies here, just to watch in case I get bored. Now, my apartment comes with a TV and DVD player, so it certainly would seem like I have a nice little arrangement here. The disappointment came when I tried to put the DVD in the player in it gave me the finger. Not literally of course, but it wouldn't play my movie and that kinda pissed me off. I still have my mini-screen laptop, but that's really not the same, now is it. So, to DVD manufacturers everywhere, I don't understand what you're accomplishing by making your product region specific. It would certainly seem easier to make all DVD players play all DVDs, and it would certainly make your often-traveling customers much happier. So please, let's cut out this BS and let me watch my movie. kthanx.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Cooling off
-Before I start my usual rants, I must say it has been a rather cool summer so far, temperature-wise that is (and other stuff too I guess). Before I left, it was already in the 80's in Virginia and rising, not a good sign considering that it wasn't even June yet. Ever since I've gotten here, it hasn't risen above the mid 70's, and sometimes at night it can get as low as the high 50's. Now, if memory serves me correctly, it doesn't stay like this all summer. So as much as I am enjoying the delay in heat wave now, it'll get here by July. This brings me to the word of the day:
AIR CONDITIONING
by which I mean the lack thereof. Somehow, back in the early 1900's when air conditioning was first invented, Europe didn't really seem to catch on. From there I guess they figured they just missed the boat on this one. Now, on a really hot day when the sun is beating on you and you just have to escape the heat, there are two feelings that you can't beat: drinking an ice-cold beverage and walking into a well air-conditioned room. I've already covered the former not being a possibility, and now I'm telling you that the latter isn't gonna happen either. I'm not just referring to private residences and offices. Even the mall feels like a swamp. Even movie theaters aren't well air conditioned, Movie Theaters! Being able to sit in a cold-ass room for two hours is one if the biggest draws of paying to see most summer movies nowadays. Here all they give you is a weak fan system that feels like some guy across the room is breathing on you, at best. I read an article online earlier stating that in 2003, nearly 15000 people died of heat stroke in France alone. Fifteen thousand! It's one thing to take green initiatives to save the planet in the long run, but when your people are dropping like flies, you'd think that the government would maybe take some action, at least maybe set some regulations for cooling public buildings. Also, the sheer amount of cigarette smoke in the air doesn't help either. I suppose if I absolutely needed to cool down I could hang out in one of the computer cluster rooms, though that is generally frowned upon. Other than this, my only defense against this heat is the desk fan I bought on sale for 20 chf. If it breaks, or someone steals it, I'm just screwed I guess.
-Now you're probably asking "why don't you just get an AC window unit and install it in your room?" Well, it just so happens that the French/Swiss thought of this possibility and thus, all of their buildings have windows that make this impossible. By this I mean that all windows swing open on hinges rather than slide along grooves. This means that even if you were able to find an AC window unit, you wouldn't be able to create a seal around it and it would be useless. "But couldn't you just leave the window open? At least then you'll get some cool air blowing in." Ok, fine. I could open the windows to get some air flow, except there's one other thing I forgot to mention. NONE OF THE WINDOWS HAVE SCREENS. That means if I open the window, not only will air get in, but so will anything smaller than the window frame. For someone who bugs particularly like to bite, that's a problem. I'm not just talking flies and mosquitos either. There are some bugs here that could totally be played by Jeff Goldblum. If I try to sleep at night with the window open, it's open season on my carcass.
+ On the topic of windows, there is one thing that the got right here: the blinds. Instead of the soft, translucent materials you find in American shades, They use rigid metal for the blinds here. Furthermore, they are fully retractable, so they disappear completely if you want them to. Also, the metal bars that compose the blonds are separated by small chain links. So when they are still hanging, there is some room for light to get through. If you lower them low enough, the metal bars start to stack on one another, so that you can prevent any light from getting through, particularly nice if you like to sleep late like me. I'd be doing this more justice if I could take a picture, but it was already kinda dark out by the time I thought of this, so maybe in my next post I'll put a belated picture so you can get a better idea of how this works.
+ I will end this post on something completely unrelated to anything above. That is that 5-liter beer towers rule. Yes, these exist. And the best part, they're not even the largest size. Pitchers will no longer be the standard for ordering beer for multiple people, at least in my mind. America, get on this.
AIR CONDITIONING
by which I mean the lack thereof. Somehow, back in the early 1900's when air conditioning was first invented, Europe didn't really seem to catch on. From there I guess they figured they just missed the boat on this one. Now, on a really hot day when the sun is beating on you and you just have to escape the heat, there are two feelings that you can't beat: drinking an ice-cold beverage and walking into a well air-conditioned room. I've already covered the former not being a possibility, and now I'm telling you that the latter isn't gonna happen either. I'm not just referring to private residences and offices. Even the mall feels like a swamp. Even movie theaters aren't well air conditioned, Movie Theaters! Being able to sit in a cold-ass room for two hours is one if the biggest draws of paying to see most summer movies nowadays. Here all they give you is a weak fan system that feels like some guy across the room is breathing on you, at best. I read an article online earlier stating that in 2003, nearly 15000 people died of heat stroke in France alone. Fifteen thousand! It's one thing to take green initiatives to save the planet in the long run, but when your people are dropping like flies, you'd think that the government would maybe take some action, at least maybe set some regulations for cooling public buildings. Also, the sheer amount of cigarette smoke in the air doesn't help either. I suppose if I absolutely needed to cool down I could hang out in one of the computer cluster rooms, though that is generally frowned upon. Other than this, my only defense against this heat is the desk fan I bought on sale for 20 chf. If it breaks, or someone steals it, I'm just screwed I guess.
-Now you're probably asking "why don't you just get an AC window unit and install it in your room?" Well, it just so happens that the French/Swiss thought of this possibility and thus, all of their buildings have windows that make this impossible. By this I mean that all windows swing open on hinges rather than slide along grooves. This means that even if you were able to find an AC window unit, you wouldn't be able to create a seal around it and it would be useless. "But couldn't you just leave the window open? At least then you'll get some cool air blowing in." Ok, fine. I could open the windows to get some air flow, except there's one other thing I forgot to mention. NONE OF THE WINDOWS HAVE SCREENS. That means if I open the window, not only will air get in, but so will anything smaller than the window frame. For someone who bugs particularly like to bite, that's a problem. I'm not just talking flies and mosquitos either. There are some bugs here that could totally be played by Jeff Goldblum. If I try to sleep at night with the window open, it's open season on my carcass.
+ On the topic of windows, there is one thing that the got right here: the blinds. Instead of the soft, translucent materials you find in American shades, They use rigid metal for the blinds here. Furthermore, they are fully retractable, so they disappear completely if you want them to. Also, the metal bars that compose the blonds are separated by small chain links. So when they are still hanging, there is some room for light to get through. If you lower them low enough, the metal bars start to stack on one another, so that you can prevent any light from getting through, particularly nice if you like to sleep late like me. I'd be doing this more justice if I could take a picture, but it was already kinda dark out by the time I thought of this, so maybe in my next post I'll put a belated picture so you can get a better idea of how this works.
+ I will end this post on something completely unrelated to anything above. That is that 5-liter beer towers rule. Yes, these exist. And the best part, they're not even the largest size. Pitchers will no longer be the standard for ordering beer for multiple people, at least in my mind. America, get on this.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Little America, Morning Munchies, and Homemade Aqauriums
This weekend, while researching fun and interesting things to do in Geneva, I discovered that there is an America Store, by which I mean a store that sells foods that can only be found in America. Naturally, I had to investigate. So today I took an extra long lunch break and went downtown to this little store, which happens to be located near the main train station in the red-light district interestingly enough. This was a rather tiny store, certainly no larger than 400 sq ft in floor space, but it was packed with lots of things that I have not seen anywhere else since coming here: lots of soda (particularly the more obscure such as root beer, creme soda, Dr Pepper, etc..), oreos, Reeses peanut butter cups, barbeque sauce, skippy peanut butter, and the list goes on. Now, this easily could have instantly become my favorite store in Geneva, except for one little catch: supply-demand economics come into play here. For those of you who fell asleep in intro econ (which by the way, I'm not judging, it happens to every one), I am referring to the astronomical prices of these goods. Yes, I have already complained about the price of food here, but this store takes it to a whole 'nother level. For example, I found that they sell Aunt Jemima pancake mix at this store. It costs about $10. Now, this sounds like a bit much to ask for a box of pancake mix, but I have been missing pancakes for a little while, so I almost went for it. But then I realized I would need some syrup to go with these pancakes. Fortunately, they had bottles of syrup next to the pancake mix on the shelf. THEY WERE OVER $20!!! I'm not talking giant vats of syrup, nor am I speaking of top-shelf maple. A standard bottle of Aunt Jemima syrup costs over $20 at this store. I don't know about any of you, but that's where I draw the line, for now at least. Maybe later down the line I'll be like a crackhead willing to sell his life savings and even dignity for a fix. But for now, a pancake breakfast better sing me a song and do a dance if I'm gonna pay $30 for it. I didn't leave the store empty handed though. I bought some Hidden Valley ranch and Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce, both of which will be very appreciated in my kitchen. This still set me back $16, but at least they'll probably last me while I'm here.
-Speaking of pancakes, I really miss breakfast food. I'm not talking cereal and milk, I mean full, hearty American breakfast: pancakes, bacon, eggs, waffles, all that stuff. Diners don't seem to exist around here. If someone were to open one up, I'm sure they would make a fortune. Even if I was their only customer, I would put their kids through college. The other day I was specifically looking for pancake mix in the store (this was well before the America Store trip) and was freaking out. I looked through every aisle multiple times and found nothing. God help everyone if I ever have a hangover while I'm here. Waffles (at least in hot, syrup-coated breakfast form) are also surprisingly unavailable. I guess I have to go up to Belgium if I want some of these. Bacon technically is available here, but you have to work at it to get it just right. By that I mean that it is cut incredibly thick and you would have to use surgeon hands to get it to appropriate thinness. Also, if you order it in a restaurant (on pizza or crepe or elsewhere), it comes very under-cooked, so sizzling crispy bacon is something that I will just have to go out and make myself, given that I have a full afternoon to prepare it. They also have lots of bacon-looking things: prosciutto and other such h'ors doeuvres meats. Though they have a good bacon disguise, they don't pass as bacon when it comes to the taste test. Now that I think about it though, I have never tried microwaving it or turning it into bacon. Such an experiment would most likely turn out disastrous, but if I ever go through with it y'all will be the first to hear the results, after the fire department of course. Eggs are simple enough to cook, but it would feel so sad without the proper breakfast sides that usually accompany them. I'm amazed they don't even have bagels here. Everyone and their mom has a giant plate of croissants on their table, but sometimes that's just not what I need. What I need is that dense, less butter-soaked roll for delicious flavors such as salt, blueberry, cinnamon raisin, or just a good excuse to eat pizza anytime. And don't forget the creme cheese. That is also crucial to the bagel breakfast, and dos't quite work on croissants. And unlike croissants, you can be sufficiently full after one or two bagels and not 17. So to all those Jewish bakers in Switzerland, I send out my plea. Make the bagels that you were born to make. And to those aspiring Swiss entrepreneurs, go to the U.S., try Ihop, take some notes, and go back home and make yourself some money.
-There is something at home that has been bothering me a bit lately, and that is the shower. Take a look.
Notice how there is neither a curtain nor a door. Instead, there is a piece of glass that extends two feet from the wall. Now, one of the nice aspects of the shower is that the pressure is great. However, given the lack of a proper barrier, this is also a disadvantage. Every time someone takes a shower, no matter how brief, water goes EVERYWHERE! The bathroom floor towel gets fully drenched and the floor around it becomes totally flooded. This bathroom flooding cannot be avoided, but it can be minimized by aiming the shower head at the back wall. The problem with this though is that every time I need to get under the water, I hit my head on the wall, and thus suffer a little more brain damage every time I want to get clean. So if I seem a bit dumber the next time you see me, it's because my hotel doesn't understand the concept of a shower curtain. It should also be mentioned that even though the pressure is decent, the temperature can only be decent for so long. There is not much hot water allocated to each room, so if you're not the first shower, you can expect the hot water to shut off real soon. I don't mean luke warm, I mean ice cold, cooler than cool. There are few things less pleasant that waking up to water so cold that you become short of breath by sticking your head under it.
Well, I now officially have a craving for Ihop. Maybe if I eat enough chocolate I won't have these cravings anymore , or my foot for that matter. Better stick to 18 croissants instead.
Before I end, I should note that my postings will probably start to get shorter. When I first arrived I noticed/remembered a lot of topics, perhaps too much too say all at once. Now after a week here, I'm noticing new things a little less frequently, so I will subsequently mention fewer items in each post so as to make this blog last longer. I'm still keeping track of the things I have to write about on the side though, and I've got plenty to last me for quite a bit. So if you have been keeping up, don't worry, there is still plenty more on the way.
-Speaking of pancakes, I really miss breakfast food. I'm not talking cereal and milk, I mean full, hearty American breakfast: pancakes, bacon, eggs, waffles, all that stuff. Diners don't seem to exist around here. If someone were to open one up, I'm sure they would make a fortune. Even if I was their only customer, I would put their kids through college. The other day I was specifically looking for pancake mix in the store (this was well before the America Store trip) and was freaking out. I looked through every aisle multiple times and found nothing. God help everyone if I ever have a hangover while I'm here. Waffles (at least in hot, syrup-coated breakfast form) are also surprisingly unavailable. I guess I have to go up to Belgium if I want some of these. Bacon technically is available here, but you have to work at it to get it just right. By that I mean that it is cut incredibly thick and you would have to use surgeon hands to get it to appropriate thinness. Also, if you order it in a restaurant (on pizza or crepe or elsewhere), it comes very under-cooked, so sizzling crispy bacon is something that I will just have to go out and make myself, given that I have a full afternoon to prepare it. They also have lots of bacon-looking things: prosciutto and other such h'ors doeuvres meats. Though they have a good bacon disguise, they don't pass as bacon when it comes to the taste test. Now that I think about it though, I have never tried microwaving it or turning it into bacon. Such an experiment would most likely turn out disastrous, but if I ever go through with it y'all will be the first to hear the results, after the fire department of course. Eggs are simple enough to cook, but it would feel so sad without the proper breakfast sides that usually accompany them. I'm amazed they don't even have bagels here. Everyone and their mom has a giant plate of croissants on their table, but sometimes that's just not what I need. What I need is that dense, less butter-soaked roll for delicious flavors such as salt, blueberry, cinnamon raisin, or just a good excuse to eat pizza anytime. And don't forget the creme cheese. That is also crucial to the bagel breakfast, and dos't quite work on croissants. And unlike croissants, you can be sufficiently full after one or two bagels and not 17. So to all those Jewish bakers in Switzerland, I send out my plea. Make the bagels that you were born to make. And to those aspiring Swiss entrepreneurs, go to the U.S., try Ihop, take some notes, and go back home and make yourself some money.
-There is something at home that has been bothering me a bit lately, and that is the shower. Take a look.
Notice how there is neither a curtain nor a door. Instead, there is a piece of glass that extends two feet from the wall. Now, one of the nice aspects of the shower is that the pressure is great. However, given the lack of a proper barrier, this is also a disadvantage. Every time someone takes a shower, no matter how brief, water goes EVERYWHERE! The bathroom floor towel gets fully drenched and the floor around it becomes totally flooded. This bathroom flooding cannot be avoided, but it can be minimized by aiming the shower head at the back wall. The problem with this though is that every time I need to get under the water, I hit my head on the wall, and thus suffer a little more brain damage every time I want to get clean. So if I seem a bit dumber the next time you see me, it's because my hotel doesn't understand the concept of a shower curtain. It should also be mentioned that even though the pressure is decent, the temperature can only be decent for so long. There is not much hot water allocated to each room, so if you're not the first shower, you can expect the hot water to shut off real soon. I don't mean luke warm, I mean ice cold, cooler than cool. There are few things less pleasant that waking up to water so cold that you become short of breath by sticking your head under it.
Well, I now officially have a craving for Ihop. Maybe if I eat enough chocolate I won't have these cravings anymore , or my foot for that matter. Better stick to 18 croissants instead.
Before I end, I should note that my postings will probably start to get shorter. When I first arrived I noticed/remembered a lot of topics, perhaps too much too say all at once. Now after a week here, I'm noticing new things a little less frequently, so I will subsequently mention fewer items in each post so as to make this blog last longer. I'm still keeping track of the things I have to write about on the side though, and I've got plenty to last me for quite a bit. So if you have been keeping up, don't worry, there is still plenty more on the way.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
More on restaurants and stores
Before I get on with the main topic of today's post, I would like to formally announce that the guy who works at the CERN security gate can go blow himself (not the whole staff, just the guy working the gate today, he knows who he is). Allow me to explain. Last night I had misplaced my CERN ID card. The last time I specifically remembered having it was when I went to pick up my bike last night. My bike was parked outside a building about 30 yards behind the front gate. After I got my bike, I rode it back to my apartment. I chilled there for a little until it was time to go out for the evening. When I was getting my stuff together, I couldn't seem to find my ID, but I didn't really need it then so I just didn't worry about it. This morning when I woke up, I decided to search for my ID just to make sure I had it. I searched nearly every inch of my apartment but couldn't find it. I realized that I must have dropped it on or before the bike ride back. I got on my bike and retraced my path. I kept my pockets zipped shut last night, so I figured that my ID must have fallen out when I got my bike key out where it was parked. Now, an ID is required to get on site at CERN, but I carefully wrote out a letter in French to the guard saying that I thought I dropped my ID card a few meters from the gate and would like to just check the ground to see if it was there. I brought my passport as picture ID and the key card to my office, which I wouldn't have been able to get unless I worked there. The security guard said that he could not let me in. I explained to him that the place I wanted to check was within 30 yards of where he was standing and he had a clear view of me the whole time. If for some reason I had tried to go anywhere else, it would have been too easy to stop me. It would have taken literally 20 seconds for me to run to that place, check the ground, and determine if my ID had fallen there or not. If I found it there, then he could see it and let me in. If not, I would just realize it's not there and come back. The guard still wouldn't allow me to pass. Seeing how this was pretty much a lost cause, I gave up and biked back home.
Now, as fortune would have it, I passed the receptionist as I was entering the building and she was leaving. She told me that my ID card was found in the building's garage last night and was being held behind the counter. I gladly thanked her and got got back my ID. Now, seeing how I have my ID back and don't have to worry about going through the process of getting another one, I should be happy. I should be able to forget about the whole thing and move on, but the guard's general rudeness and unwillingness to help still really rubbed me the wrong way. For that, he has earned a spot on my shit list. If that is something that I'm going to have to deal with a lot, then Switzerland loses quite a few points here.
With that off my back, let me get back to where I left off.
-I believe I had started mentioning the issue with restaurants being expensive. That's it really. Going out to eat is something that I can't really do that often because I really just can't afford it. If you go walking down the street looking at the menus for various restaurants, it's pretty uncommon to find things under $20. The cheap options are pretty few and far between. There isn't a whole lot of fast food here like in the US, and by that I don't just mean the big chains, but anywhere that can provide cheap food within a reasonable amount of time. Delivery also doesn't exist, at least as far as I can tell. I think one of the cheapest things I found so far is McDonald's, but come on. It's still the same shitty McDonald's food that you would find in the states. Almost any other fast food chain would be better. I particularly miss Chipotle and Subway, though those are only really semi fast food. Even Wendy's, perhaps one of the most underrated fast food places out there, would be much appreciated. I suppose there's always the kebab place, but I need some variety to my diet. There are some places in Geneva and St Genis that look moderate in price, but really sketchy in character. For example, when a restaurant serves both pizza and sushi (and nothing else), you really have to ask if any good can come out of this. I guess this is just motivation to learn to cook more, though the limited kitchen utensils I have don't exactly help with that.
-Another thing that is really starting to get to me is the hours which places are open. Any store will be closed by 7:30 PM on weekdays, if not sooner. Most places close around 6. This is not particularly helpful when I have to stay at work late and I need to do errands. Since our storage space is so limited, I can only really get enough food for 2 or 3 days usually. This means I have to go out of my way to schedule days during the week where I have to leave early enough to go do errands. The worst is Sundays though. Everything is closed on Sundays: restaurants, stores, general services, you name it. This means that if I am not adequately stocked with food by 7:30 on Saturday, I can either beg on the streets or starve. Even public transportation runs on a limited schedule on Sunday. That last bus comes to my stop at around 5 PM on Sunday. This means that if I go anywhere on Sunday and I'm not back by 5 PM, I'm screwed. Also, if I have to go anywhere that is beyond biking distance after 5 PM on Sunday, I am screwed. Not that any stores are open, but say I want to meet up with people who live far away for dinner or just to hang out. This makes that very difficult. And God help me if it's raining (more on this later).
+/- On the subject of public transportation though, it is better than New Haven. Granted, I have a car there, but every now and then I use the Yale shuttle when I know I will not be able to drive, and I have quite a few grievances with the Yale shuttle. Anyone who has been around me waiting for the shuttle has already heard these many times though, so I will not get into that here. Geneva has a much more accessible transportation system that makes getting around easy, for the most part. When you're in the city itself, the bus comes rather frequently. You rarely have to wait more than a few minutes for the bus to come. The further out you go, the more you will be waiting. In St. Genis, where I am staying, the bus comes once an hour. It'll come once every half hour during the morning and evening rush hours, but this is only a small portion of the day. It gets kinda frustrating when you have to start basing your schedule around when the bus comes. This becomes particularly true at night, since the bus stops between midnight and 1 AM. This means that if I am spending an evening in the city, I have to be really careful to leave by 11 PM so I can catch the last bus home. If I miss it, it's either take a 4-hour walk back or pray that whoever I am hanging out with has a place to crash at in the city. On Friday and Saturday there is a night time bus which runs extra late, but it only comes once every two hours. This means that if you don't carefully plan your night, it could mean the difference between getting home at 3 AM or 5 AM. And of course, as I just said, transportation practically doesn't exist on Sunday.
+ One thing that's kinda nice is that the laws regarding carrying and drinking from an open container are much more relaxed. If I am headed from one place to another and want to finish my drink while walking or even taking the tram, it's perfectly fine. It gives much better seating options at bars too, since it is ok for people to hang out and drink outside. Some of the European people I met were actually quite baffled when I explained the U.S. laws regarding open containers. They couldn't wrap their heads around the idea of being forced to finish your drink before you leave the bar, or not being allowed to drink while in a moving vehicle. Of course, there are people who take advantage of this law a bit too much. Last year, for example some guy was walking through the train station chugging a beer and then just passed out right on the floor. No one knew who he was and I think the police just came and got him out of the way. Also, just last night on the bus home, some guy had just finished his drink. For a few minutes he wasn't looking very good, mainly just tired, but then I noticed him projectile vomit all over the floor. People started screaming and running to the other side of the bus. The people running the bus didn't even seem to care that much. They just covered it with baby powder to mask the smell and kept on driving. Of course for the rest of the ride the air was filled with a cloud of vomit-infused baby powder, but at least I got home without them stopping the bus. When all was said and done, at least it makes for a good story, and no one got seriously hurt.
I think that's all I've got for now. Next time I'll try to talk a little less about food, but I will still probably have a few comments about particular items that I have on my mind.
Now, as fortune would have it, I passed the receptionist as I was entering the building and she was leaving. She told me that my ID card was found in the building's garage last night and was being held behind the counter. I gladly thanked her and got got back my ID. Now, seeing how I have my ID back and don't have to worry about going through the process of getting another one, I should be happy. I should be able to forget about the whole thing and move on, but the guard's general rudeness and unwillingness to help still really rubbed me the wrong way. For that, he has earned a spot on my shit list. If that is something that I'm going to have to deal with a lot, then Switzerland loses quite a few points here.
With that off my back, let me get back to where I left off.
-I believe I had started mentioning the issue with restaurants being expensive. That's it really. Going out to eat is something that I can't really do that often because I really just can't afford it. If you go walking down the street looking at the menus for various restaurants, it's pretty uncommon to find things under $20. The cheap options are pretty few and far between. There isn't a whole lot of fast food here like in the US, and by that I don't just mean the big chains, but anywhere that can provide cheap food within a reasonable amount of time. Delivery also doesn't exist, at least as far as I can tell. I think one of the cheapest things I found so far is McDonald's, but come on. It's still the same shitty McDonald's food that you would find in the states. Almost any other fast food chain would be better. I particularly miss Chipotle and Subway, though those are only really semi fast food. Even Wendy's, perhaps one of the most underrated fast food places out there, would be much appreciated. I suppose there's always the kebab place, but I need some variety to my diet. There are some places in Geneva and St Genis that look moderate in price, but really sketchy in character. For example, when a restaurant serves both pizza and sushi (and nothing else), you really have to ask if any good can come out of this. I guess this is just motivation to learn to cook more, though the limited kitchen utensils I have don't exactly help with that.
-Another thing that is really starting to get to me is the hours which places are open. Any store will be closed by 7:30 PM on weekdays, if not sooner. Most places close around 6. This is not particularly helpful when I have to stay at work late and I need to do errands. Since our storage space is so limited, I can only really get enough food for 2 or 3 days usually. This means I have to go out of my way to schedule days during the week where I have to leave early enough to go do errands. The worst is Sundays though. Everything is closed on Sundays: restaurants, stores, general services, you name it. This means that if I am not adequately stocked with food by 7:30 on Saturday, I can either beg on the streets or starve. Even public transportation runs on a limited schedule on Sunday. That last bus comes to my stop at around 5 PM on Sunday. This means that if I go anywhere on Sunday and I'm not back by 5 PM, I'm screwed. Also, if I have to go anywhere that is beyond biking distance after 5 PM on Sunday, I am screwed. Not that any stores are open, but say I want to meet up with people who live far away for dinner or just to hang out. This makes that very difficult. And God help me if it's raining (more on this later).
+/- On the subject of public transportation though, it is better than New Haven. Granted, I have a car there, but every now and then I use the Yale shuttle when I know I will not be able to drive, and I have quite a few grievances with the Yale shuttle. Anyone who has been around me waiting for the shuttle has already heard these many times though, so I will not get into that here. Geneva has a much more accessible transportation system that makes getting around easy, for the most part. When you're in the city itself, the bus comes rather frequently. You rarely have to wait more than a few minutes for the bus to come. The further out you go, the more you will be waiting. In St. Genis, where I am staying, the bus comes once an hour. It'll come once every half hour during the morning and evening rush hours, but this is only a small portion of the day. It gets kinda frustrating when you have to start basing your schedule around when the bus comes. This becomes particularly true at night, since the bus stops between midnight and 1 AM. This means that if I am spending an evening in the city, I have to be really careful to leave by 11 PM so I can catch the last bus home. If I miss it, it's either take a 4-hour walk back or pray that whoever I am hanging out with has a place to crash at in the city. On Friday and Saturday there is a night time bus which runs extra late, but it only comes once every two hours. This means that if you don't carefully plan your night, it could mean the difference between getting home at 3 AM or 5 AM. And of course, as I just said, transportation practically doesn't exist on Sunday.
+ One thing that's kinda nice is that the laws regarding carrying and drinking from an open container are much more relaxed. If I am headed from one place to another and want to finish my drink while walking or even taking the tram, it's perfectly fine. It gives much better seating options at bars too, since it is ok for people to hang out and drink outside. Some of the European people I met were actually quite baffled when I explained the U.S. laws regarding open containers. They couldn't wrap their heads around the idea of being forced to finish your drink before you leave the bar, or not being allowed to drink while in a moving vehicle. Of course, there are people who take advantage of this law a bit too much. Last year, for example some guy was walking through the train station chugging a beer and then just passed out right on the floor. No one knew who he was and I think the police just came and got him out of the way. Also, just last night on the bus home, some guy had just finished his drink. For a few minutes he wasn't looking very good, mainly just tired, but then I noticed him projectile vomit all over the floor. People started screaming and running to the other side of the bus. The people running the bus didn't even seem to care that much. They just covered it with baby powder to mask the smell and kept on driving. Of course for the rest of the ride the air was filled with a cloud of vomit-infused baby powder, but at least I got home without them stopping the bus. When all was said and done, at least it makes for a good story, and no one got seriously hurt.
I think that's all I've got for now. Next time I'll try to talk a little less about food, but I will still probably have a few comments about particular items that I have on my mind.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Of food and such
Having left off with mean things, I feel a bit obligated to say some nice things first.
+ The kebab here is fan-freakin-tastic. For those who haven't explored this part of Europe before, it's not quite the same as kebab in the U.S. They take a large slab of meat, either chicken or lamb/beef, skewer the whole thing on a stick, and rotate it in front of a hot surface to slowly cook it for several hours. The meat turns out tender and super juicy. They then shave off super thin strips, serve it on a giant fresh roll, and then top it with various delicious toppings and sauces. Also, it's cheap, one of the only foods here that is (more on this later). I could get use to eating it a lot. Perhaps a few weeks from now I'll be posting that I've eaten so much kebab that I'm sick of it and never want to see it again, but I doubt it.
+ One more little thing, this morning on the walk to my bus stop, I turned around and there was snow on the mountains. It was not only a beautiful view, but something that completely caught me off guard considering it's June. I wish I had my camera so I could post a pic, but it was too cloudy to get one when I got back home. I'll be ready for it next time though.
Ok, now back to the angry rants:
-/+ I believe I had started on the cafeteria last time. I have some nice things to say about it, but it certainly has it's flaws. I already mentioned the staff, so now I'll go on about the food. First let me start with the beverages. Usually when I have a beverage with my lunch, I try to go with the healthy option, but I would prefer something with a little more flavor than water. Any sort of fruit juice is perfect. It is important that I have enough though. Usually a ~16 oz bottle or glass will do the trick. At CERN, all the good stuff comes in either juice boxes or bottles the size of juice boxes. Also, they're not refrigerated, so they're luke warm. Even the milk only comes in warm and way too warm. When it's 90 degrees out and I come by for lunch, I need something cold, and a lot of it. They don't have ice readily available either, and if they do there is already so little liquid that it will taste super watery by the time the ice has any effect. This has made me realize that I have taken fountain drinks for granted. Think about it, you can take a glass as big as you want, fill it up as much as you want (with already cold beverage!), add as much ice you want (for even colder beverage!), and to top it all off, you get a free refill (in most places anyway). If I could get a free refill on any of the drinks here, there wouldn't really be much to complain about, but for every 8 oz of liquid you have to drop almost $2.00, and even more for the "finer" drinks. This goes not only for the cafeteria, but pretty much all restaurants around here. When eating out I typically go for water so as to not burn a whole in my wallet, but whatever you do, MAKE SURE YOU SPECIFY TAP WATER! I made this mistake last year and got stuck paying $6 for a glass of fancy water. It wasn't even sparkling water or anything like that, just extra clean or something. This is about to bring me back to the expensive restaurant issue again, so before I digress, let me get back to the cafeteria.
The actual taste of the drinks though isn't bad. There's this stuff, hohes C (which I'm pretty translates to Hi C, but is actually very different), I could drink it every meal of the day. It's basically a mix of various fruit juices, mostly citrus, forming the perfect fruity combination. It only comes in juice boxes, with a straw that is way too small for some reason, but each drop makes me that much happier. Sometimes I will get one for lunch, and then get two more afterwards from the vending machine for a snack. This does drop me back $5 though, so I try to resist when I can.
I have less to complain about regarding the food in general than the drinks, but it still could improve. The sandwiches in particular are a huge disappointment. Normally cafeterias allow to make your own, or at least customize your order and someone else makes in front of you. Here everything is pre-made and pre-wrapped, and not much is included. The baguette they use for the bread is decent, but the toppings are super scarce. The last sandwich I got there consisted of the bread, a single layer of ham, and a single pickle slice. That cost me about $7. They're also real funny about the pizza. You can't get it by the slice, you have to order the entire thing (probably between small and medium if you go by dominos standards). It tastes ok, but sometimes this is too much for one sitting. They don't really have take-out or to-go options, so you have to either over-stuff yourself or let it go to waste. The toppings also vary from day to day. Sometimes they'll have something normal like pepperoni, but there's an equal chance that the flavor of the day is tunafish, or something equally bizarre. The salad bar is alright. A lot of the stuff is unrecognizable (and probably unpronouncable) European cuisine, but I usually just get typical items. If you get there early enough, they might even have some cold cuts. The hot food varies from day to day. Some of my personal favorites include the kebab and the fish sticks, which are probably the only two things that I will wait in the 20-minute line for. Also, the fries are quite good. Usually I'll go with the simpler (read "recognizable") foods to be safe. Every once in a while you just get totally screwed over. Sometimes the only thing close to decent being served is meat with 90% of the fat still on it. Those are the days I stick to the salad bar, assuming I get there early enough to grab the good items.
Let me note that all my comments regarding the cafeteria thus far have been about lunch. Dinner there is significantly worse, they just serve the leftovers from lunch that day, and I'm pretty sure the leftovers from dinner(s) before that. Most of the food is either near or past its expiration. They will cook some more hot food, but it's the stuff that doesn't get finished at lunch, so usually the 90% fatty meat, or pasta if you're lucky. It also costs just as much as lunch. I wouldn't want to eat dinner there unless I absolutely had to stay late or it was my last resort.
-Now, onto my own kitchen. It certainly nice to even have this, though there is certainly some interesting choices regarding appliances and utensils.
Exhibit A:
If you can't gauge the size of the fridge from this picture, it is the size of a mini fridge, with an even smaller mini freezer on top. Normally when you think of a mini fridge, you think of a device that college kids use to store beer for their parties. Fortunately, for me and my roommates, my demand for beer has gone down a bit since college. Unfortunately, there is still a bit of a space issue. In my apartment in New Haven, I have 2 roommates and a full sized fridge, and even then fridge space can be tight. With this I have no idea how we're going to get by. I suppose we can change our diets to exclusively party beer, but my body would probably not appreciate that after a while. I guess we'll just have to buy 2 days worth of food at a time and go grocery shopping every other day (Actually, this won't work, more on this later). The sad thing is, I don't think the small fridge is exclusive to the apartment. Last year, when my adviser invited me over for dinner, even her place had the mini fridge. I guess food that isn't cold is just a common theme in Switzerland.
Exhibit B:
Here is the largest glass available in my kitchen. For size comparison, I have placed it next to my phone. As you can see, the phone is taller. and wider. Basically, the glass is smaller than a cocktail glass. That means that if I want to make myself a cocktail, I have to make about half, finish that half, and then make the rest. Even for everyday uses it gets rather ridiculous. The other day at breakfast I had to refill my glass 3 times before I had enough to wash down my food. It also doesn't make a good beer glass. As some may know, drinking beer out of a glass is better than drinking out of a bottle because you get to experience the aroma in addition to the taste. When you have to refill every two sips, it really just isn't worth it anymore. As I mentioned, this is the LARGEST glass in the kitchen, meaning that there are others. The "coffee" cups are no larger than shot glasses. I personally am not a huge coffee person, but for those who are, I guess doing multiple shots each morning is how they're going to start their day.
Exhibit C:
This is the standard spoon we have. As you can see, it spans nearly the palm of my hand. This is not always a bad thing. For one thing, I can finish my cereal a lot faster than before. It's not very practical in all situations though. With yogurt, for example, the spoon can barely fit in the cup. I have to use the other spoon, the one used for stirring coffee in the shot glass. This makes eating yogurt a laborious chore that takes forever. Hopefully over time I will be able to find the right balance between the two.
Well, if you've read this far, you should now exactly what it's like to eat at CERN, and a little of what it's like to have a kitchen in Switzerland. Next time, I'll get to the points that I left open-ended today, and hopefully some new stuff as well.
+ The kebab here is fan-freakin-tastic. For those who haven't explored this part of Europe before, it's not quite the same as kebab in the U.S. They take a large slab of meat, either chicken or lamb/beef, skewer the whole thing on a stick, and rotate it in front of a hot surface to slowly cook it for several hours. The meat turns out tender and super juicy. They then shave off super thin strips, serve it on a giant fresh roll, and then top it with various delicious toppings and sauces. Also, it's cheap, one of the only foods here that is (more on this later). I could get use to eating it a lot. Perhaps a few weeks from now I'll be posting that I've eaten so much kebab that I'm sick of it and never want to see it again, but I doubt it.
+ One more little thing, this morning on the walk to my bus stop, I turned around and there was snow on the mountains. It was not only a beautiful view, but something that completely caught me off guard considering it's June. I wish I had my camera so I could post a pic, but it was too cloudy to get one when I got back home. I'll be ready for it next time though.
Ok, now back to the angry rants:
-/+ I believe I had started on the cafeteria last time. I have some nice things to say about it, but it certainly has it's flaws. I already mentioned the staff, so now I'll go on about the food. First let me start with the beverages. Usually when I have a beverage with my lunch, I try to go with the healthy option, but I would prefer something with a little more flavor than water. Any sort of fruit juice is perfect. It is important that I have enough though. Usually a ~16 oz bottle or glass will do the trick. At CERN, all the good stuff comes in either juice boxes or bottles the size of juice boxes. Also, they're not refrigerated, so they're luke warm. Even the milk only comes in warm and way too warm. When it's 90 degrees out and I come by for lunch, I need something cold, and a lot of it. They don't have ice readily available either, and if they do there is already so little liquid that it will taste super watery by the time the ice has any effect. This has made me realize that I have taken fountain drinks for granted. Think about it, you can take a glass as big as you want, fill it up as much as you want (with already cold beverage!), add as much ice you want (for even colder beverage!), and to top it all off, you get a free refill (in most places anyway). If I could get a free refill on any of the drinks here, there wouldn't really be much to complain about, but for every 8 oz of liquid you have to drop almost $2.00, and even more for the "finer" drinks. This goes not only for the cafeteria, but pretty much all restaurants around here. When eating out I typically go for water so as to not burn a whole in my wallet, but whatever you do, MAKE SURE YOU SPECIFY TAP WATER! I made this mistake last year and got stuck paying $6 for a glass of fancy water. It wasn't even sparkling water or anything like that, just extra clean or something. This is about to bring me back to the expensive restaurant issue again, so before I digress, let me get back to the cafeteria.
The actual taste of the drinks though isn't bad. There's this stuff, hohes C (which I'm pretty translates to Hi C, but is actually very different), I could drink it every meal of the day. It's basically a mix of various fruit juices, mostly citrus, forming the perfect fruity combination. It only comes in juice boxes, with a straw that is way too small for some reason, but each drop makes me that much happier. Sometimes I will get one for lunch, and then get two more afterwards from the vending machine for a snack. This does drop me back $5 though, so I try to resist when I can.
I have less to complain about regarding the food in general than the drinks, but it still could improve. The sandwiches in particular are a huge disappointment. Normally cafeterias allow to make your own, or at least customize your order and someone else makes in front of you. Here everything is pre-made and pre-wrapped, and not much is included. The baguette they use for the bread is decent, but the toppings are super scarce. The last sandwich I got there consisted of the bread, a single layer of ham, and a single pickle slice. That cost me about $7. They're also real funny about the pizza. You can't get it by the slice, you have to order the entire thing (probably between small and medium if you go by dominos standards). It tastes ok, but sometimes this is too much for one sitting. They don't really have take-out or to-go options, so you have to either over-stuff yourself or let it go to waste. The toppings also vary from day to day. Sometimes they'll have something normal like pepperoni, but there's an equal chance that the flavor of the day is tunafish, or something equally bizarre. The salad bar is alright. A lot of the stuff is unrecognizable (and probably unpronouncable) European cuisine, but I usually just get typical items. If you get there early enough, they might even have some cold cuts. The hot food varies from day to day. Some of my personal favorites include the kebab and the fish sticks, which are probably the only two things that I will wait in the 20-minute line for. Also, the fries are quite good. Usually I'll go with the simpler (read "recognizable") foods to be safe. Every once in a while you just get totally screwed over. Sometimes the only thing close to decent being served is meat with 90% of the fat still on it. Those are the days I stick to the salad bar, assuming I get there early enough to grab the good items.
Let me note that all my comments regarding the cafeteria thus far have been about lunch. Dinner there is significantly worse, they just serve the leftovers from lunch that day, and I'm pretty sure the leftovers from dinner(s) before that. Most of the food is either near or past its expiration. They will cook some more hot food, but it's the stuff that doesn't get finished at lunch, so usually the 90% fatty meat, or pasta if you're lucky. It also costs just as much as lunch. I wouldn't want to eat dinner there unless I absolutely had to stay late or it was my last resort.
-Now, onto my own kitchen. It certainly nice to even have this, though there is certainly some interesting choices regarding appliances and utensils.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Here is the largest glass available in my kitchen. For size comparison, I have placed it next to my phone. As you can see, the phone is taller. and wider. Basically, the glass is smaller than a cocktail glass. That means that if I want to make myself a cocktail, I have to make about half, finish that half, and then make the rest. Even for everyday uses it gets rather ridiculous. The other day at breakfast I had to refill my glass 3 times before I had enough to wash down my food. It also doesn't make a good beer glass. As some may know, drinking beer out of a glass is better than drinking out of a bottle because you get to experience the aroma in addition to the taste. When you have to refill every two sips, it really just isn't worth it anymore. As I mentioned, this is the LARGEST glass in the kitchen, meaning that there are others. The "coffee" cups are no larger than shot glasses. I personally am not a huge coffee person, but for those who are, I guess doing multiple shots each morning is how they're going to start their day.
Exhibit C:
This is the standard spoon we have. As you can see, it spans nearly the palm of my hand. This is not always a bad thing. For one thing, I can finish my cereal a lot faster than before. It's not very practical in all situations though. With yogurt, for example, the spoon can barely fit in the cup. I have to use the other spoon, the one used for stirring coffee in the shot glass. This makes eating yogurt a laborious chore that takes forever. Hopefully over time I will be able to find the right balance between the two.
Well, if you've read this far, you should now exactly what it's like to eat at CERN, and a little of what it's like to have a kitchen in Switzerland. Next time, I'll get to the points that I left open-ended today, and hopefully some new stuff as well.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
First REAL Post
Ok, as promised, here begins to good stuff.
- This is pretty obvious, but it needs to be mentioned anyway: the language barrier. (Screams into pillow). French is seriously the hardest language I have ever tried to learn. And I'm not just trying to pick it up as I go along. I've tried using audio CD's. No good. I've tried taking a class. Still nothing. I have a French Dictionary and a French Phrasebook and I can still barely speak a word of this language. If ever I need to think of a sentence to say, I pretty much need an online translator, and those are still wrong a good portion of the time. And here's the thing. Most people around here know English. Some of the nicer people will actually speak it to you if they catch on that your French isn't very good. Usually though, they just scoff at my ignorance. Now, I've tried to be reasonable about this. When I look at it from their point of view, I realize that they shouldn't automatically be expected to speak a foreign language in their own country. If someone came up to me in the U.S. and tried speaking anything but English, I wouldn't be able to help them, and I wouldn't really feel bad about it because I know the national language and I can't be expected to know just any language that someone may try to speak to me with. BUT, the official language at CERN is ENGLISH! All the scientists speak ENGLISH to each other (unless it's a private conversation, in which case they can speak whatever they want). All business is posted in ENGLISH! Meetings are conducted in ENGLISH! However, when I go to the cafeteria, those people don't speak a word of English. I don't know whether or not they CAN speak English, but if they can they certainly choose not to. And I'm pretty sure it's out of spite. I don't have any actual proof of this, but believe me. I can tell. Whenever I have to point to a food because I don't know how to say it, they give me a smaller portion than the people in front of me. When the people at the register have to point to the price because I don't instantly translate what they say to me, they give me the look of death. I'm getting a little off topic here, but I promise I will have more to say about the cafeteria in the near future.
Well, I was hoping to include a bit more in this post, but jet lag is kicking in and I'm already starting to forget some of the things I was going to say tonight. Once I get some shut-eye and get my head straightened out, I'll get back to y'all soon.
- This is pretty obvious, but it needs to be mentioned anyway: the language barrier. (Screams into pillow). French is seriously the hardest language I have ever tried to learn. And I'm not just trying to pick it up as I go along. I've tried using audio CD's. No good. I've tried taking a class. Still nothing. I have a French Dictionary and a French Phrasebook and I can still barely speak a word of this language. If ever I need to think of a sentence to say, I pretty much need an online translator, and those are still wrong a good portion of the time. And here's the thing. Most people around here know English. Some of the nicer people will actually speak it to you if they catch on that your French isn't very good. Usually though, they just scoff at my ignorance. Now, I've tried to be reasonable about this. When I look at it from their point of view, I realize that they shouldn't automatically be expected to speak a foreign language in their own country. If someone came up to me in the U.S. and tried speaking anything but English, I wouldn't be able to help them, and I wouldn't really feel bad about it because I know the national language and I can't be expected to know just any language that someone may try to speak to me with. BUT, the official language at CERN is ENGLISH! All the scientists speak ENGLISH to each other (unless it's a private conversation, in which case they can speak whatever they want). All business is posted in ENGLISH! Meetings are conducted in ENGLISH! However, when I go to the cafeteria, those people don't speak a word of English. I don't know whether or not they CAN speak English, but if they can they certainly choose not to. And I'm pretty sure it's out of spite. I don't have any actual proof of this, but believe me. I can tell. Whenever I have to point to a food because I don't know how to say it, they give me a smaller portion than the people in front of me. When the people at the register have to point to the price because I don't instantly translate what they say to me, they give me the look of death. I'm getting a little off topic here, but I promise I will have more to say about the cafeteria in the near future.
Well, I was hoping to include a bit more in this post, but jet lag is kicking in and I'm already starting to forget some of the things I was going to say tonight. Once I get some shut-eye and get my head straightened out, I'll get back to y'all soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)