Long Time No Blog

It's been a while. Mostly because Ryan and I hit sort of a slump. We read that this would happen... it's exciting (and scary) at first, until you realize that it's not going away. Then it just hits you. This empty apartment really is supposed to take the place of your comfortable old house, you have no friends, and no matter how hard you look, you won't ever find a jcrew. It's not much fun to write when you're down, so guess what that means? Today was a good day!

I'll start with school. Wonder why I haven't written on this subject? Because up to this point it's been pretty bad. Try coming in 5 weeks late to master's classes, forcing your way into group projects, and doing homework without text books (or a clue). I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to quit, thinking I had made a huge mistake. It turns out I just needed to give it a couple of weeks.

This week I started "November" classes. This means I come in at the beginning, just like everyone else. This is HUGE, and I feel better already. Organizational Behavior is awesome. I answered a question in class and the professor said, "your colleague has suggested a sophisticated theory." Hello - you're my favorite.

Those first three friends I made have been a life saver. It's so nice to walk in and be recognized, much less talked to and sat by. Ryan and I have even been invited to our first party! The theme? A celebration of chestnuts! Not kidding. People eat them like crazy here, and Isabel (from Bern) thought we should have a proper "Chestnuts and Wine" party. Sign me up.

We went to our first soccer game on Sunday. We were warned that the Lugano team was bad, but that was apparently by European standards. We were still impressed. Bonus - the fans were hysterical. There were a lot of old men, drinking wine out of little plastic cups, yelling "a casa, a casa" (go home) to the opponents.

I saved the best for last. Today, we got an iPhone. I'm going to let that sit a minute, so you can really feel the awesomeness of that statement. I say we because it's technically mine, but we all know who's playing with it. I took a picture of Ryan's face right after we walked away from the counter... that smile says it all.

I haven't had a phone since we left the states, so going from nothing to this is like taking the bus and suddenly driving the Bentley that's parked down our street. There's a "take me home" app on sbb (our swiss transport site) that tells me exactly what bus or train to take plus the pick up times. Those who know me well (Bill - I still don't like maps) know how great this is. Up to this point I've researched exactly which routes to take, checked the bus times ocd style before I left the apartment, and got to where I was going at LEAST 15 minutes early. This phone lets me relax (maybe). Ryan even put a picture of a lotus flower as my screen saver (is that term appropriate for a cell phone?). In Memphis, he liked to make fun of my yoga classes. I kept telling him the light within me respected the light within him, but he wouldn't listen. So, not only does the phone make my day, but I laugh a little when I see that flower.


Right this minute, we're watching last night's Saints game (against the Falcons). Thanks to Facebook updates, I already know they've won, but it's still fun to watch.

So now you're caught up... until next time, GO SAINTS, 7-0 BABY!

PS - Preview of future post - we may have made friends in our building... this story is so good I'm going to let Ryan write it (he thinks he's the funny one).

I forgot one more thing (it's late here) - we have light fixtures! I picked a bold one for the bedroom, but it's really growing on me. In fact, I love it. It's HUGE (but in its defense, the furniture is low - I was going for contrast) and made of paper. I can't really explain it, so here's a picture.