Long Weekend

We just had THE BEST dinner, ever. Ryan has tomorrow off, so we were in the celebratory mood. We planned in advance, chose a fancy restaurant, and got dressed up (by that I mean I wore heels). I never wear heels here, because you have to walk ten miles to get anywhere. But not tonight! Tonight, we took our neighbor's car and I wore heels!

We sat outside (the weather was perfect), the waiter was charming and spoke English, and the food looked amazing. After we ordered, we were told to pick a wine from their cantina, so we left our table and made our way to the cellar. Here are pictures of us doing just that. We have that deer in headlights look, because we wanted to take pictures before our waiter came through and realized we were big dorks. It worked. He never suspected a thing...

We're Famous! (not really)

Many of you, after moving abroad, might read the New York Times or maybe the Wall Street Journal, to keep yourselves abreast of the latest news from home. I don't bother. However, I do faithfully read one article by a certain Bill Wellborn that appears in the Memphis Business Journal. The reason? It usually makes me laugh out loud. He's sort of the Chris Rose of Memphis. And there's a personal connection... Mr. Wellborn is our friend Brandon's dad (the friend that just came to visit).

In the June 25th article, we got a mention! Well, Ryan got a mention, but it still counts. I am SO excited! Check it out...
"My son recently returned from a trip to Europe — one-upping me again, of course — to visit his former college roommate. His buddy is a CPA with KPMG and took advantage of an opportunity to work in Switzerland for a couple of years. Hey, they’re young. Timing couldn’t be better."

We agree Mr. Wellborn!

The World Cup - a Learning Experience

We've been watching a lot of soccer lately. The nice thing about being in Switzerland is that we're really close to lots of other European countries, which seems to make this World Cup experience much more personal.

We watched the US vs. England game with our English friends, and learned lots of new words. I thought I knew what posh was... turns out, it's not so complimentary. And ginger - I had no idea what that meant. Ginger is what you would call your average fair, red headed, Englishman (or woman). After our trip to London, we came back and got cable (which includes the BBC channels). We LOVE the British commentators. They're harsh (when their team is playing badly), really funny (when we can understand what they're saying), and use the word "crikey."

On my little Zurich trip, I got to watch the Swiss play, surrounded by Swiss Germans, in a barn with a big screen. They were serving beer and bratwurst. I really can't explain this one.

On Friday, we watched the Swiss vs. Honduras game at a friend's house. It was quite a mix... Germans, Swiss, Italians, Swedes, and of course, the two random Americans. The Germans were talking about the 2006 games, and how that was the first time in their lives they felt proud to wear their flag. Everyone in the room seemed to understand and Ryan and I were totally confused. Our friend Jonas explained that, in Germany, there is a very fine line between patriotism and nationalism. Germans are afraid to flaunt their flag, fearing it may seem insensitive, knowing to some that flag represents their nazi past. It was crazy to us... Americans love their flag, and don't think twice about sporting it. I never imagined it would be different for anybody else. And besides, I meet a lot of German people here, and I never mentally link them to anything nazi (I link them to being hard working, somewhat mechanical, and very blunt). But they assume people do, and are very careful not to seem too proud of their country. Except for during the World Cup games. Then they paint their faces like the rest of the world.

At the moment, we're watching Argentina vs. Mexico. We don't have any Argentinean or Mexican friends to share this experience with, but we did eat fajitas and drink sangria, which we think helps us get into the mood of the game. Last night, while watching the US play, we decided to try a meal without meat, that may be on the menu when our vegetarian family comes for a visit in July. We had prawn cakes (I got the recipe from our English friends) with asian noodles in fish sauce with lime, chilies, and green onions. This has NOTHING to do with the US or Ghana, but it did make for a really great meal!

Quote of the Day

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." -- Mark Twain, American author

Studying

I felt like I had to share this... I liked to complain about my exam schedule, but there's not much to complain about when this is how you spend your hours studying. The weather was perfect for sitting on the balcony in your pj's, computer in hand, in total peace and quiet (except for an occasional boat or bird). Every once in a while my French neighbor would call down from her balcony, and ask if I wanted a break. I get the feeling this is not other people's grad school experience.

Let the Games Begin

Brandon and Lindsay coming to visit was sort of the start of the summer for us. The weather wasn't great while they were in town, but we still managed to enjoy ourselves. Here's a video of Lance's time trial (which went RIGHT in front of our apartment).



We took them on the walk to Gandria. It's the path that goes right next to the lake and ends up in a tiny old town. We sort of count on it being a crowd pleaser, and it did not disappoint. We ended the walk at a little restaurant on the water, sipping some sort of prosecco concoction... not a bad way to end the day.


I had to study, and unfortunately missed out on this hike. The views looked amazing. They were from the top of San Salvatore which is a mountain right across the lake from us.


Our friends moved on to Venice, I finished up exams, and Ryan just kept on working. We met them in Milan for their last night in town, had a three and a half our dinner, then spent the next day shopping. It turns out we just needed a little direction to enjoy Milan... our first trip just centered around the Duomo and seemed a bit over the top. This time, Ryan's friend from work told us about an "uptown" version of Milan which was much more our speed. That same friend had lunch with us on Saturday, and we got caught in a bit of a storm on the way out. This is Giulio and his girlfriend improvising without an umbrella.


We came home and had another meal to look forward to! This time with our new English friends that just moved from Cambridge. We got to their apartment at 7:30... three bottles of wine, three courses and five hours later, we walked home. I think that's a sign that you've had a good time. We actually had a great time... I definitely see more dinners with them in our future. Or lunches, or trips to the beach... we really hit it off, so I'm just a LITTLE excited about having them around for the next year and a half.

Unfortunately, we're saying goodbye to our friends in Zurich. They're moving to Africa in July, so I'm actually heading up there in about an hour to help them pack. They were the main reason we chose Switzerland, the first trip we made when we moved here, and have always been just a phone call or email away when one of our one million questions popped up. Even though we don't see them a lot, knowing they're just 3 hours away has been nice, and I think we'll miss it.

However, can't be sad for long. This summer has a lot in store.. when I get back from Zurich I only have a couple of weeks before my family comes in town. We have a whirlwind tour of Italy and France planned, and thankfully Ryan gets to participate in all of it. Then, my sister stays (yay!), I take a quick trip home, and when I get back another friend of ours will be here. Afterwards, Ryan and I are spending two weeks in Florence, and before I know it school will be starting up again. Busy summer - I can't wait to get started!

Friends in Town

We had such an amazing time with these two! We'll have to tell you about it later, though... just got back from Milan, and I'm too tired to type. Such a hard life we lead.

Visitors

Lance Armstrong and Brandon Wellborn are here! We could not be more excited.

My neighbor actually saw the former ride his bike right past our apartment building. He's warming up for the Tour de Suisse tomorrow. And Brandon, he's just coming to hang out.

Friends and famous people... looks like we're in for a fun weekend.

Ryan Copes

Ryan came up with the perfect solution for watching TV while I'm studying. Headphones = I can't hear anything. Every once in a while, I look up, and he's smiling at a commercial. It makes me laugh.

Correction

I just realized that my "no holidays and siestas" post came RIGHT after two vacation write ups. So maybe we are living the European life of holidays. But no siestas! Does that still count as a reason for me to complain??? I miss Ryan and I'm grouchy.

Long Week

Ryan's in Zurich this week for training. The days are really long when he's not here. And when he is here, he doesn't get home until 8 or 8:30 (and this is not busy season). So much for a laid back European life full of holidays and siestas. Although my part of life here is pretty laid back... most days I get home before 5:00 (and lately even earlier) and there are loads of school holidays. But it's no fun if you're by yourself! Well, it's still a little fun.

I have exams this week, so you'd think studying would occupy my time. Wrong. I still manage to piddle, dawdle, and mindlessly search the internet. I am studying, though. There's just only so much you can take. Exams are tricky this semester - split right down the middle. On one side, it's all math, a little finance, statistics and economics. One of my teachers is from MIT, and I've realized that those guys really are in a different league. Everybody in the class is FREAKING out. I'm not, surprisingly. It's not because I think I'm going to do well... we'll all be lucky if we pass. It's just that it's fascinating how smart someone can be, and how truly dumb we all are in comparison. I find that class an interesting study in the human mind. I'm going to need to find the actual subject matter interesting later on this week. The other half of my exams are business theory, so you can do well in those classes, you just need to memorize 15 chapters worth of material. Yay for summer break!

Until then, I'll just wait for Ryan to get back. I've gotten good at it.

Hound Dog

My friend picked up a stray on the side of the road a few weeks ago. I love people who do that... those animals have nothing to rely on but the kindness of strangers.

I've picked up a few strays. Some weren't even ready to be rescued. I crept into the high voltage area at my college, trying to rescue a tiny kitten. Turns out her mom was about 3 feet away. Ryan and I pulled over one day, and picked up a dog that was dangerously close to a busy street. We got his attention, started looking for a number on his tag, and were leading him to our car when his owner called him into the house. He lived on that busy street, and was just taking a bathroom break.

But some animals need to be rescued. This dog my friend picked up, turns out he was heartworm positive. A shelter agreed to treat and take him only if she took one of their healthy dogs as a foster. So, anyone want a hound dog??? Here's a picture and description from Julie:

Introducing our new foster pup! Her name is Carley and she is about 4 years old. She is a purebred bassett hound who is heartworm negative and up to date on vaccines. She will be spayed next week and ready for her forever home a week after that. She is a very laid back, VERY sweet girl.

GREAT Dinner

So, we just finished the best dinner I've ever cooked. I wish I could post Ryan's reaction. For those of you who have seen What About Bob, picture Bill Murray at the dinner table. This recipe tells you to throw away the marinade, but I baked the fish with the juices all around. And after it was cooked, I poured the leftover marinade on top of plain couscous. Also, I baked the salmon (at 400 degrees) instead of grilling it, because we're not allowed a grill at our apartment. All together, we had salmon, couscous, and asparagus. Yummy!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grilled-Salmon-I/Detail.aspx

By the way, it's 9:30, and the sun is just going down. It's unbelievable... since the weather's gotten warmer, we've had full sun at 8:30 at night. We've been going to bed later and later... it sort of messes with your mind.

Ryan had the day off, and today we got to try out our Lido, which is basically a little beach area with a pool and full access to the lake. It was perfect. We see many weekends there in our future. Happy weekend to all - ours has started off right!