I'm Officially Swiss!

So I officially became Swiss this week... well sort of. I apologize in advance for the ranting nature of this post, but sometimes a girl's got to vent.

Let's start from the beginning, shall we? 

You arrive in Switzerland, and you are super excited! After spending a week or two exploring and getting your student visa problems straightened out, you figure it's time to go declare your residency to the city so you don't get kicked out of their country. Yeah, you should probably get on that.... 

So you arrive at city hall, or at least where your GPS told you city hall is supposed to be. And after 20 or 30 minutes, you finally realize that that little hotel you've walked past 4 times, is actually city hall because "hôtel de ville" actually means city hall in French... As you enter, you silently curse all of your previous French instructors for never teaching you this little key phrase.

So you go inside, and open the door that says "Contrôle des Habitants" because this is what you were told to do. And you walk in the secretary starts yelling at you to leave in French... WHAT!?! So you stand outside the door with a befuddled look on your face before reading the sign on the door that instructs you to ring the bell before entering. Okay so you ring the bell, and a little light turns green and you enter again... Was that really necessary? Nope... but the Swiss like their rules. 

You're finally in, and you give them your paperwork and you pay your $150 fee and return home only to get a letter saying you are missing some of the paperwork. So you go back, and this process repeats itself a few times. Until you lose your nerve and start yelling at the city hall receptionist in English, and you really wish your French was better so they could actually understand how frustrated you are... Luckily, after that little spat, you have finally completed your paperwork and you will hopefully never have to see that receptionist ever again... Phew!

A week later, you receive a letter in the mail, and you nearly cry at the thought of having to deal with the contrôle des habitants AGAIN. So you open the letter, and jump with joy when you see that it is you summons to go to the Biometrics Lab to be fingerprinted. This is a good thing... this means you are in the home stretch of finally getting your residency permit! (Even though you have been living in Switzerland for a good two months now.) 

You go to the Biometrics Lab, and you step into this booth and put your finger on a screen that catalogs your finger prints and then takes your picture... Unfortunately, you weren't aware that your photo was going to be taken, so, like any other college student, you just dragged yourself out of bed without out brushing your hair or putting on any makeup. Great! Well, at least it can't be any worse than those passport photos you had to take in the Paris metro station. And when it's over, the nice Swiss woman directs you to a desk where you have to pay yet another fee for their services.   

Four days and one long trek to the post office later, you receive an envelop containing none other than your residency card! All of your hard work finally paid off! So what's the first thing you do? Take a picture with it and write an obscenely long blog post about the grueling process so everyone understands what you have accomplished!

With love, from Lausanne

Mindy

 

Smiles From Home

Today was a typical Tuesday abroad. I woke up, ate my favorite chocolate cereal, attended class, and checked my mail box on my way home. But today, a little yellow slip of paper was waiting for me in that letter box...

The anticipation builds!

So, of course, I turned right around and ran straight back to the metro station! I waited impatiently in line at the post office, and when they called my number, I giddily accepted my parcel and headed for home. (If I had had something to cut the tape with, that box wouldn't have made it past the parking lot!) 

I got the package home in one piece and hurriedly sliced open that pesky packing tape and emptied the treasures from home out onto my bed. 

Sometimes, all it take is a jar of peanut butter and some girl scout cookies to make you feel at home again. Thanks, Nana! I love you!

A photo of my delicious spoils

With love, from Lausanne

Mindy

Why Spain Took All My Money

Check Spain off my "Things You Must Do in Europe" List! It's a beautiful country, with awe inspiring architecture, delicious food (especially for meat lovers like myself) and absolutely amazing shopping!!! (In case you were wondering, those last two are the culprits behind my increasingly thin wallet.)

The beautiful Toledo

My first day in Madrid began much like my first day in London, with a walking tour of the delightful city. It began at Puerta del Sol, the center of the city where the city gates used to stand. After getting a crash course history lesson and an appetite whetting peek at all of the sites of Madrid, I stopped to eat an authentic Spanish meal with some new friends I met on the tour. I wrapped up the first day with a bit of shopping (okay a lot of shopping) and a little taste of the city's night life.

This is Amazing! EAT IT!

On Saturday I took a little excursion to the old capital of Spain, Toledo. Toledo is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen! The architecture is so original and unmodernized, it feels like stepping into a history book. The Cathedral of Toledo is absolutely breath taking too, with its high arches and intricate sculptures, it is by far the most grand cathedral I have visited in Europe. After working up quite an appetite, myself and two others I met on the trip went looking for a hardy meal. We found what we were looking for in a little hole in the wall place called  Casa de Cisneros where we all ordered a specialty of Toledo called Carcamusas a la Toledana which is a pork stew that was TO DIE FOR! Despite my wonderful meal, the highlight of my day was meeting up with my friend Zoe and some of the other globe-hopping WISE girls for dinner back in Madrid.

Some lovely WISE ladies

Palace Real

I spent the last two days of my trip with the girls from Iowa State. We toured the Palace Real, the Cathedral in Madrid, as well as the Reina Sofia Modern art Museum. (Personally, I wouldn't recommend the museum, I mean unless phallic sculptures and paintings are your thing.) On Sunday, we emptied our wallets yet again at the local Rastro Market and ate sandwiches from the famous Ham Museum, and delicious tapas. (Seriously, a meal with meat for less than 25 CHF! Is this heaven?!) I finished up my trip with a visit to Retiro Park after which Zoe and I said our good byes. It was so nice to see a familiar face it really makes being away from the people I love a little bit easier, thanks for letting me tag allong on your adventures, Zoe! I can't wait to see everyone at home and at Iowa State again in the summer!!!

With love, from Lausanne

Mindy

Carnival, Cows and Confetti!

On Saturday I departed Lausanne for Freiburg and Langenthal with a group of exchange students from Geneva. There, we toured the picturesque city and learned a bit about its history. Freiburg is a particularly interesting place because it rests on the border between the German and French speaking sides of Switzerland. The Sarine river is the geographical boundary between the two languages. We also explored a gorgeous Catholic cathedral in the heart of the city and picnicked at a quaint little restaurant overlooking the river before hopping a train to attend the Carnival in Langenthal. 

So what is this thing called "Carnival" that everyone seems so excited about over here? 

Think of it as a sort of hybrid between Halloween and the 4th of July put inside a giant snow globe full of glitter! There is a big parade, lots of beer, music, dancing, elaborate costumes and absolutely ungodly amounts of confetti!

This particular Carnival took place in a small Schweizerdeutch 
town called Langenthal. People started meandering toward the town center in the early afternoon on Saturday. Disguised children ran and shrieked as they threw confetti at one another while their equally costumed parents drank beer in the square. Later that night, the party truly began, the entire main street was packed with people in elaborate getups and brass bands played on every block. Vendors stayed open to sell their typically German bratwursts and other fair. And in the morning people awoke and went back, again sporting their colorful costumes, for the big parade! Bands played, people marched, and floats bombarded the crowd with confetti for more than two hours. When all was said and done, the street looked as if it had snowed for two days in a whirl of assorted colors. Everyone (myself included) will be shaking bits of paper from their hair and clothes for weeks!


Also, while waiting for the parade to start, on Sunday morning, we happened across a pasture filled with Swiss cows. So, of course, we stopped to take pictures! The cows were very friendly, some sporting large brass bells. A few even came up to the fence to investigate us, and one particularly curious fellow gave my hand a very wet lick when I reached out to pet him! I guess I can cross that off my bucket list!



With love, from Lausanne

Mindy