There's a Fish on my Fish: Sushi at Uchitomi

Yesterday, I got sushi with Zoe after our final class with Hofmann and Krause. I vowed I would never get asian food while I was abroad, but apparently I crave that shit way more than I thought. Zoe and I already had a sushi craving this past weekend, when I looked up this place online. If you look up "Sushi in Geneva" a bunch of results pop up that are essentially a million Americans or Brits desperately craving their favorite cuisine from home. They are also craving the prices they had a home, but settling for whatever they can get.
One highly recommended sushi spot was uchitomi. It was described as good quality and cheap. I got two pre-made rolls for lunch and a water bottle, which came out to about 21chf. That's Geneva for you! It also goes to show how desperate people are when it comes to prices if they consider that lunch price reasonable and even cheap.

Look at this artsy angle of my sushi that makes it look absolutely amazing. Look at that spicy tuna! YUM!

 

oooo there's a fish on my fish! This is actually what they put the soy sauce in. It cost 20¢ extra -__-

I got a spicy tuna roll and a tempura roll (I finish things I don't like as much first). 

The spicy tuna was actually pretty good, the tempura roll could use some avocado or some kind of moisture

This is a more realistic picture of my sushi, basically a lot of trash.

Isn't it funny how food looks better close up while people always look gross and pimply

This is Zoe coming back to the table with two 20¢ soy sauce fish

I forgot to mention that my 21ch lunch was held in a grocery store. Oh Geneva.

Ô Calm: Monday Brunch in Geneva

It's the third week of May and it's 59º outside and raining. I feel that for this late in the year, I should be enjoying beautiful weather as I sit in a park shining with sunlight.... not this March weather. Well, I guess at this point in the year, I also shouldn't have the majority of my schoolwork to complete for all my courses either. Despite that, I have still left almost all of my essays to do.... sometime in the future? I guess I deserve this weather. Maybe the gods are trying to keep me inside so that I'll do work. Clearly, they don't understand the temptation and distraction of Hulu. I have a TV problem.

Yesterday, which was Monday and the last day of my four-day weekend, was a pretty nice day. Well, a nice day for March, not for May. It was just a little chilly, but looking outside it seemed nice. Thankfully, I didn't spend the entire day inside on my computer procrastinating, only part of it. In the morning, I went with Keith, Zoe, Alice, and Tara to get brunch. Although I thought we were going to the same brunch spot that Zoe’s family brought us to on the island, we went to another restaurant called Ô Calm.

The restaurant was pretty cute and had quite a home-y vibe. In fact, it could have easily been someone’s house. The kitchen was literally a kitchen I’ve seen in plenty of my friends’ homes—even with that island that I’ve played pong on. Moving into the main dining area, it looked kind of like a living room. My favorite element were the bookshelves, I don't quite understand why not every café has a library/book component because it adds a certain level of charm or coziness that can't be rivaled. 

However, when we got there, the whole dining/living room area was too full to accommodate  group of five and they offered us a table outside. When we walked outside, I was almost glad that there wasn't enough room for us inside. Despite the slight chill factor , sitting outside was a very enjoyable experience. I actually think that the patio was my favorite aspect of the whole restaurant. Probably because it vaguely reminded me of the outside seating at Zazie (only Zazie is slightly cuter with flowers everywhere), and I relish every opportunity I spend time outside these days. 

 

 What I was disappointed by however was the food. Now, the rest of the crew seemed to think it was really good and were impressed by the wide selection of jams and spreads. But I can get that at Migros and put it on some toast myself. I can also make better scrambled eggs, the pancake wasn't even near the best pancake I've had in Europe (let alone the US), and my cappuccino was gross for practically the same price as Boreal. So basically, I could have either made it myself or gotten the same thing in Geneva. Yet I paid 27F. WHAT!?

 Now, you should all know that I'm allll about my brunch and I'm willing to go pretty big for it. For example, at the formerly mentioned Zazie, I have easily dropped $27 several times. But do I leave Zazie upset? Of course not because not only do they have a great ambiance, but they also have absolutely AMAZING food. My $27 brunch at Zazie would have beautifully poached eggs sitting on prosciutto, covered with heirloom tomatos, and with a side of home fries with garlic. Not to mention the fluffy pancake for dessert and the latte the size of my face. 

Ultimately, ô Calm was cute and it was nice to get brunch with the crew instead of just staying inside. But I'd rather go someplace else (even in Geneva) for brunch  next time. I'm for ambiance and all, but you're going to have to give me something a little bit more to demand that much dough....even in a city as expensive as Geneva.

Wow, this post made me really want to get Zazie when I go home. Expect a post, hopefully from the patio, within the next two weeks.

Expecto Patronum

I think I'm one of the worst procrastinators of all time. I can say with a good level of certainty that I am one of the biggest procrastinators on my study group. You say you want proof? Yesterday, after coming home from Boreal where I was attempting to do work but probably spending half the time on facebook or watching Ted talks, I decided to change my scenery and come home. Did I then continue to do work, even at that same slow and distracted pace? Of course not, I proceeded to watch both the Hunger Games and Harry Potter. Now just watching the Hunger Games, I feel, would have been a merited 2 hour break. But the part that was really out of control was continuing and watching Harry Potter.
What convinced me that I just had to watch Harry Potter was Pinterest. Stupid pinterest. While pinning away while watching the Hunger Games (yes, I can't even fully focus while watching a movie) I found this really strange Harry Potter Workout. Since I hadn't worked out for a while, I decided it was totally worth spending like three hours watching Harry Potter instead of doing my homework. Here's the list:

Everytime...

• a spell is cast: 10 jumping jacks
• anyone is awarded points: 10 lunges
• points are taken away: 10 squats
• hagrid says "i shouldn't have said that": 30 jumping jacks
• a painting talks: 15 crunches
• someone says "he who must not be named" or "you know who": 15 mountain climbers
• ron says bloody hell: 10 butt busters
• someone cries: 20 crunches
• someone says voldemort: 5 push-ups
• anytime is pet is shown: 10 bicycles
• a ghost talks: 5 push-ups

This exercise really made me notice things about Harry Potter that I had never before. For example, there are constantly animals in the movie! I'm surprised my abs weren't more sore this morning after all those bicycles! Another observations? for a name that no one is supposed to say out-loud, they sure say Voldemort a lot.

But this workout wasn't the only Harry Potter gem I found yesterday. As I continued to pin between jumping jacks, I was looking at pictures of tattoos. While purusing, I came across one that says "expecto patronum." Now I have to admit, that I had already seen this tattoo and not thought much of it. There are a million Deathly Hallows tattoos and other Harry Potter themed tattoos on tumblr and Pinterest that I've never really understood. Harry Potter might have been an integral element of my childhood, but I'm not sure if I want it inked on me.
But this time the caption of the photo caught my eye. "I await a guardian." It had never occurred to me that the spells in Harry Potter meant something, but the etymologies are quite interesting for some of them. Suddenly, expecto petronum is more than just some silly Harry Potter spell, but actually is quite meaningful. See the explanation for this girls tattoo here.

Where the Beer Is Cheaper Than Water: Praha

During our Eastward trip, one of our amazing destinations was Prague. While once upon a time Prague was the major destination for the 'alternative' study abroad student who wanted to go someplace off the beaten track in eastern europe, these days Prague has become quite a typical study abroad choice. Known for its cheap beer, party culture (as well as its amazing communist history and velvet revolution), Prague really seems like a perfect study abroad destination.

We of course did not have a perfectly stereotypical 20-year-old trip to Prague, but rather one unique GSG experience. Ok well, parts of it were pretty stereotypical. The first (and pretty much only) stereotypical part of our experience in Prague was our free walking tour. Well there are two little details about surrounding this walking tour that did make it rather GSG specific. It was the very first thing we did when we arrived in Prague after arriving from Berlin at 15:26 (Rutherford time right there) and traversing town to check into our hotel. Of course our tour was scheduled at like 7, and with barely enough time we ran across town to make it to the tour.

And when I say we ran, we ran. Literally, our professor was running ahead, as the rest of us ran desperately behind him. For the end of the leg, I was in the front looking out for his blue jacket in a sea of tourists and occasionally looking behind me and waving my new Liberty handkerchief to show the rest of the group the way. So that was the stress element, classic GSG. The second detail is that the tour was supposed to be geared towards revolutionary Prague aka the Velvet Revolution to solidify our studies in our Democratization seminar. We're cool.

Our tour guide was this quirky little nerdy man who was not nearly as engaging or funny or amazing as any of our tour guides in Berlin. But he tried, so I guess I'll give him that. But his generally overly theatric tour style just made me think he was trying too hard and gave me horrible flashbacks of the drama kids in high school. During our tour around Prague, we noted the beautiful Baroque architecture that just made me think of Disney Land (well, I guess that makes sense. Classic princesses were probably from that era), saw one of the most disappointing tourist sites in the world (Prague's cookoo clock), and looked at a statue that looked like a Death Eater (a reference that merely made me a stage two nerd) commemorating Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. 

By the end of the tour, I had completely tuned out the tour guide. All I remember is at the end of his tour, he tried to say that he was very close to the Velvet Revolution because his parents were going to go to the movies that day around where the protests started but then I think he pooped his pants so then they didn't. So basically, he pooped and ruined their chances of being a part of a huge historic moment in Prague. However, I'm pretty sure he presented this picture in a positive light. I don't know how he managed that. 

So while we only partially listened to our guide as he talked about pooping his pants, we were all either completely zoning out or taking pictures of each other. Look how cute we all are! By the way, if you are wondering who the random dad looking guy in the blue jacket is. That is my professor!

After our two hour walking tour, we were famished (reminder, we had also just arrived from Berlin that afternoon). Strangely enough, our first meal in Prague was Mexican. We were already rather far into our semester abroad, and we were beginning to crave some Mexican. However, I really don't trust Mexican food in Europe and I guess no one else really did either because none of us had had some good mexican food for months. However, multiple people had recommended this one Mexican restaurant in Prague as some of the best Mexican food they had ever had that also required reservations weeks in advance. It was probably the reservation requirement that convinced me that this restaurant was legitimate. Nothing says it's good like competition and lines! 

Due to our hunger level and our cravings for Mexican food there is no photo evidence of this meal. However, from what I can remember, it was pretty good. I think I had a steak burrito and a virgin strawberry daquiri (don't yell at me, this meal was covered by Colgate and they wouldn't pay for alcohol so I opted for a completely free meal rather than an overpriced margarita on a Sunday night). But what I do remember is the nachos or how quickly those nachos disappeared. Literally, the moment they set those nachos on the table (or was it even as it was still suspended in air) we all stood up and went for it. Within a minute (probably 40 seconds), the entire plate of nachos were devoured. We still look back at that moment with shame. 

The next day, I woke up in a boat. No, I didn't get shit faced drunk off the cheap beer on a Sunday during a school trip. But rather, GSG was staying in a BOTEL (Boat Hotel). When we were first told about our accommodations, everyone greeted this news with excitement. I however was not so pleased. What was so great about a botel? Let me tell you, there was nothing great about staying in a botel. I'm pretty sure this just gave them an excuse to provide lackluster beds and tiny rooms that made you motion sick. Yea, don't do it, total tourist trap. 

But after we got some free buffet breakfast (ok I'll admit the breakfast was pretty good), we headed on over to our first real meeting: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The security for this place was as intense as the UN, requiring my passport, security, metal detectors, etc. Apparently, their old building had been bombed so they had increased their security. Apparently people think that their message of spreading democracy and Western values is propaganda or whatever.

Our meeting was a lot more boring that I was expecting. Honestly, my meeting with a rep from Al Jazeera the year before was far more interesting. But it was 12:30 and we had the rest of the day free in Prague! One of my friends best friends from high school was studying abroad in Prague, so I decided to be a creeper and asked her for some almost local recommendations. This was her response: 

Mama coffee, standard cafe, cafe savoy (very nice need reservations), clearhead or maetrea (sister restaurants probably the best in prague), lokal (if you want to try traditional czech food).

Since I was only in Prague for a couple days, I decided it was best to try the regional specialties so we headed over to Lokal. I can't quite remember what this was called, but it was some sort of beef (right?) stew. I looked up the restaurant and they also recommended the bread dumplings. Now I was really excited for the dumplings, mainly because they reminded me of Chinese dumplings which I'm absolutely in love with. However, that's not exactly what they were. Instead, it was pretty much just really spongey bread that soaked up the sauce really well. Good, but bland and not what I was expecting. However, note the beer that is to the side of my photo. Yum yum yum! Really after all my travels in Europe, I'm such a wine and beer drinker. 

Also, after going around all of Europe tasting all of their local dishes, I don't know why everyone makes fun of americans for our eating habits. HELLO! Where do we think we got these habits?? All of europe's delicacies are sausage (aka hot dogs), potatoes, and fried dough! How they aren't all obese is beyond me. 

Generally, my time in Prague was amazing. The colorful architecture, the communist history, the beautiful Jewish cemetary, even the botel...ok maybe not the botel. Like the rest of the cities I visited on my Eastward trip, I wish I had been able to spend more time there and get a better sense of the culture. Also, I would NOT choose to visit on a Sunday after all that traveling and would opt for a crazy weekend because honestly, all the kids who study abroad there say the nightlife is killer. So here's to next time!

Berlin: I Drank Beer on a Bike

What did I do in Berlin? Well....

I drank beer.....

and more beer...

Went to the Berlin Wall...

in business casual....

in Burberry Trench....Yey capitalism!? Yey economic classes!? (don't judge me)

but I did take a picture of this iconic mural. I'll never quite understand some of those Communist traditions.

But this time on a beer bike, classic Berlin....right?

Things got a little goofy...

And maybe a little aggressive...

 oh and did I mention that my professor was there too?? (only he doesn't drink)

He loved it, obviously.

ALL THINGS SHALL PASS AWAY.

In honor of my dear friend, a poem by Theodore Tilton

Once in Persia reigned a King,
Who upon his signet ring
Graved a maxim true and wise,
Which, if held before his eyes,
Gave him counsel, at a glance,
Fit for every change or chance:
Solemn words, and these are they:
'Even this shall pass away!'

 

Trains of camels through the sand
Brought him gems from Samarcand;
Fleets of galleys through the seas
Brought him pearls to rival these.
But he counted little gain
Treasures of the mine or main.
What is wealth? the King would say;
'Even this shall pass away.'

 

In the revels of his court,
At the zenith of the sport,
When the palms of all his guests
Burned with clapping at his jests,
He, amid his figs and wine,
Cried, O loving friends of mine!
Pleasure comes, but not to stay:
'Even this shall pass away.'

 

Lady fairest ever seen
Was the bride he crowned his queen.
Pillowed on the marriage-bed,
Whispering to his soul, he said,
Though a bridegroom never pressed
Dearer bosom to his breast,
Mortal flesh must come to clay:
'Even this shall pass away.'

 

Fighting on a furious field,
Once a javelin pierced his shield.
Soldiers with a loud lament
Bore him bleeding to his tent.
Groaning from his tortured side,
Pain is hard to bear, he cried,
But with patience day by day,
'Even this shall pass away.'

 

Towering in the public square
Twenty cubits in the air,
Rose his statue carved in stone.
Then the King, disguised, unknown,
Gazing at his sculptured name,
Asked himself,And what is fame?
Fame is but a slow decay:
'Even this shall pass away.'

 

Struck with palsy, sere and old,
Waiting at the Gates of Gold,
Spake he with his dying breath,
Life is done, but what is Death?
Then, in answer to the King,
Fell a sunbeam on his ring,
Showing by a heavenly ray --
Even this shall pass away.

Expert Sledding: The Alps

I had a near death experience sledding. I can hear you laughing, how bad must I be at sledding to make that a dangerous activity? Well, sledding in the alps is a whole different experience than that innocent race down the nearest hill with some plastic disk. In Switzerland, they take sledding to a whole new level. But let's start from the beginning....

Look at that dude

When choosing to study abroad in Geneva, it didn't occur to me that I would be studying abroad in Switzerland but more Europe in general. Therefore, it didn't occur to me to travel within Switzerland. However, when my friend came to visit for a weekend and her sophomore year roommates planned a whole trip to Interlaken to show her our new home-country of Switzerland, I decided to join in on the fun. So the weekend before my study group left for a week-long adventure "Westward," we headed up to the alps.

The very train trip to Interlaken was beautiful, as is every train and plane ride to/within Switzerland. The country is just full of beautiful countryside and landscapes. Although I am usually resentful of the snow, a quality I have gained since attending school in Upstate New York where the winter is six months long, I couldn't help but find the winter wonderland before me absolutely breathtaking.
When we got to Interlaken, we stayed in this hostel called Balmers. Apparently, it's the place to stay in Interlaken because two other girls from Colgate who are studying abroad in Dijon also happened to choose this hostel for their impromptu trip to the alps that weekend.

Why you may ask is this hostel the place to stay? As seems to the pattern with highly recommended hostels, it has very little to do with the cleanliness or bed quality but everything to do with the social life. Balmers has a lively biergarten for post-ski socializing and drinks, which was unfortunately unavailable while we were there. They also have a club attached to the hostel called Metrobar, which is apparently one of the hottest spots in town. The seven of us (five from my group, two from Dijon) met up at the club on our first night. It was probably the biggest sausage fest I have ever been to in my life (well, besides that one time I visited an all boys high school).
Looking around the room, there was the sense that people were attractive. Fitter and broader shouldered than any of the guys we had seen in skinny France, these skiers and snowboarders gave off the look of attractive. Upon closer inspection, we had realized that none of these guys were Swiss, but rather the entire club was full of American college students studying abroad, just shoveling out cash to go skiing in the alps. Upon even closer inspection, none of these guys were even cute, but yet they all seemed immediately more attractive than the hoards of Europeans we had seen all semester. This was the first time we experienced the American attraction phenomenon. (As Americans, we are more attracted to other Americans).
While we were at the club, Daheuin and Allie (the two girls studying in Dijon) said that they were going paragliding the next day. Staring at the screen which advertised this adventure, I was immediately pulled in. I starting sending emails to my mom, begging her to let me drop 170F to go paragliding in the alps! The next morning, I checked my email for my mom's verdict. You need to look at your expenses and see how much you are spending on your basic necessities. That sounded like a passive aggressive "No" to me.

That could've been me!

I was heartbroken; I had been certain that paragliding was going to be one of my crazy study abroad experiences to tell for years to come! And with that email, she had deprived me of having an experience of a lifetime. Perhaps inspired by my desire to have some nature-related adventure in the alps, our group decided to actually go up into the mountains. Now, we had not fully prepared for this, since we thought we'd just be wandering around the town of Interlaken. Therefore, we were not all ready for a nature adventure....well none of us were properly prepared, but we were all screwed to varying degrees. I had thought to bring some athletic spandex, running shoes, my parka from Aqua, and my super cute jackalope sweater from Madewell--the perfect clothing for snow! So I layered as much as possible, and we took the train to Grindelwald and then then up to the mountains!
 When we got off the gondola at the top of Männlichen mountain, we looked like complete idiots. Everyone else around us was doing serious Alp skiing and decked out in ski gear, while I was wearing a little jackalope sweater and running shoes. We wandered around the mountain and grabbed some food from the stands and headed over to the tanning area of the mountain. Yes, there were tanning lounge chairs on top of this mountain, since despite the snow everywhere, it was probably 70 degrees up there. After finishing our delicious food and taking some beautiful shots of the Swiss Alps, we went looking for the sleds.

so sporty

A little sunbathing in the Alps

Although this had been our entire plan when coming up this mountain, as we were coming up in the gondola, we realized that this was a real mountain, not a hill. Suddenly, this little adventure seemed a lot more risky and scary. When we got to the sled desk, they looked at us with some amusement. We told them about our concerns and they told us we would be fine...until they saw our shoes. "Shit shoes" they called them. We would have no traction in the snow, unless we rented snowshoes that all of us were too cheap to rent. After fifteen minutes of freaking out, we decided to do it and grabbed our old-school sleds. The guys' final piece of advice was to be sure to avoid the difficult trail, since with our shit shoes, we wouldn't be able to handle it, and it was for expert sledders. Expert sledders?
We started down the first hill and it was pretty mild, I can handle this. As we kept going, the real declines approached. The first one was terrifying, as I mildly lost control, futilely trying to dig my heels into the snow to slow down. Thankfully, the hill leveled out, naturally slowing me down. That was amazing! I thought to myself, I can totally handle this.
Exhilarated from that experience and the shot of adrenaline, I went for the next hill with confidence and didn't even dig my heels in as early. And then I kept on accelerating and accelerating. I began to dig my heels in as the first hill was followed not by a flat period, but another hill. The next thing I see is a "Slow Down!" sign followed by a even steeper drop. Slow down? At this point, I'm desperately digging my heels into the snow but with no affect. I let out a high pitched scream as my heart hung, suspended in my chest and then dropped as my body continued to accelerate. Soon I was going too fast that I knew there was no chance I was going to make it and my sled raced completely out of control straight towards the curve in the trial. I was thrown off my sled as it continued forward, only to be caught my the ankle attachment. I opened my eyes and found myself at the edge of the trial with my sled dangling over the side of the trial, half-way over the edge.

As I lay in the snow, waiting for my heart to stop racing, I watched the trial as I heard some shrieks. One by one the rest of my friends came screaming down from the hill and crashed into the snow (or one another). Suddenly, this sledding experience seemed really scary (and dangerous) all over again. After sitting there for a while to recover (and watch the experience sledders make it through that point with such ease), we decided to continue on. The hills only got steeper to the point where I gave up on sledding and tried to just walk down the hill. It was still too sleep. I scooted down on my butt. I still went down pretty fast. It was a really steep hill. In case you don't believe me about the intensity of this hill, we were directly parallel to the ski trial, coming from the top of the Swiss Alps. It was that steep.
It took us some time to realize that there was a reason why the trial we were on was so steep. We had accidentally taken the "expert" trial, instead of the safe, gradual trial for those with "shit shoes". When we finally got back to the regular trial, the whole experience was quite enjoyable and not dangerous at all. There were beautiful views with a nice, easy descent. If only we had just taken the right trial....well, if we had, I wouldn't have gotten my crazy abroad story from the alps! Oh, I almost forgot to mention the craziest detail of our sledding adventure. While we were struggling down this mountain on the verge of tears (well that was basically just me, but we were all freaking out), these parents with their babies trapped down would be whizzing down no problem in perfect luging form. Crazy Swiss families.