Les Genevois

I know most sculptures in Europe are nudes, but still.

Happy belated Thanksgiving, everyone!

Someone asked at one point what I thought of Geneva so far.  "It reminds me a bit of Boulder, Colorado - it's surrounded by mountains, and everyone is much more outdoorsy and laid-back than in Paris."  It's interesting how much Europeans, who have either gone to New York City or San Francisco or dream about it, know so much about American history and politics but know nothing of the geography.  "Colorado?  Hmm, well I've been to Lake Tahoe."

I've been trying to put my finger on the concept of Genevans, but I think it's just about impossible.  The entire city is made of people falling in and out of place - most seem to have been
somewhere else last year and are already planning out their escape next year.

But one thing that's consistent (and certainly different from Boulder) is that everyone smokes.  A lot.  I'm used to holding my breath in the States whenever I pass by a smoker, but, here.. well, I have to breath.  I don't know how many times I've left work and had to get through a line of smokers, who move over slightly and look at me like, wow, thanks for being in the way.

Another, less surprising characteristic is that Genevans have lots of money.  Certainly, there are lots of banks around here, but I guess foreigners working for organizations here also make above-average salaries.

I've come up with a rule here that everything is twice as expensive as in the States - small bottles of name-brand lotion are on the order of $24, as is chicken biryani at a restaurant (normally around $12 in the US), and a well-priced meal is usually $20-30, while a "snack" of a small dessert and coffee is $8 at a chain.  I went to McDonald's just to see if this rule was consistent - sure enough, medium fries were about $4.

But, randomly, grocery store food is well-priced.  And the chocolate is dirt cheap and delicious.  I can't complain too much!

I was surprised to see this random display of PacMan characters up for the holidays (I don't know what holiday has to do with PacMan, but I'd like to find out!).  I don't know how many times in a given shopping trip someone hits me in the rear with their shopping cart.

Likewise, others will leave their cart in the exact center of the aisle and run off to get something.  Somehow, in 3-weeks' time, I've become that little round yellow thing trying to gather up my food and avoid getting hit in the aisles!

Likewise, due to the foot of snow we got in the last 36 hours and because the city was so late in getting salt on the sidewalks, all walkways have been burrowed down to narrow pathways.  Every time I've tried taking pictures, I have to watch out for the bundled-up people stomping their way in the snow toward me and continue on, lest I step in over a foot of snow.  Always on the chase.

Lately in the trams, the conductors have been saying over the intercom that trams can no longer arrive on schedule due to the massive amount of snow.  That's another thing about people here - very time-conscious.  It doesn't bother me too much that I can't know down to the minute when a tram's coming, especially when it comes every 10 minutes.

I totally agree with her - it's darn cold!

But all in all, Genevans are much nicer than I expected, since I had been warned that the Swiss can be a bit rough around the edges.  I imagine this is a consequence of a huge mix of people stuck in a relatively small city (some 200,000 people).  Despite my carefully drawn-out maps, I often get off the bus completely disoriented.  Other than having an SLR on me, being lost is a great conversation-starter, and people are always willing to help.

The first snow day, I asked one lady for directions to the building where I was going to have my French-English language exchange meeting.  After going out of her way to make the route simple for me, she took off.  A few minutes later - I must've looked pathetic walking through slush in my tennis shoes - she pulled up in her car and gave me a ride there (don't worry Dad, this isn't a habit!).

Well tomorrow I'm heading off to Zurich - the first in a string of weekend traveling adventures!  My friend Audrey, who studied in Paris with me, is flying in and we're going to check out Zurich and Bern on our way back to Geneva: Audrey & Val Take On Europe, Part II. :)  Which is perfect timing, there's no better way to get out of the holiday slump than to have a visitor!

Bundling up