Almost a month in..still so much more to learn and see. Summer is when Geneva is at its best. This single factor has made the decision to move your entire life to another country much easier. So what if you are lost and you can't ask anyone for directions and you can't just use your phone..it's nice out and your getting a tan. So what if the only way to explore the city is by walking and using a map and no internet...what a nice day to get lost. So what if you are constantly confused on the cultural norms and are scared to even order food because you can't pronounce anything and don't know how to read the weather, might as well take your time because its nice, and besides when its hot out you don't want to eat very much anyways. Thank you weather for making such a big step seem so small.
Let's see where to start. We moved right in to our apartment and absolutely love it, and can't wait till all our stuff comes (in mid August!). We have kitty proofed the backyard and even bought a plant! To Chris's demise...we might be falling into the land of suburbia, well that is if we weren't 10 minutes walking distance to the city centre. Location, location, location. Living in the city, having a secret garden apartment has truly been the best of both worlds. Yes, it would be nice to live in the countryside (which is actually quite close to the city) but it would also be nice for Chris to not have to spend 45 minutes commuting to work. Needless to say, compromises are good, and the countryside is only a 15 minute scooter ride away. This I guess will lead me to the next thing, we bought a SCOOTER! We are super excited and can't wait to make full use of it for the entire summer!
Everything in Genevea is imossibly expensive and even though it is a very walkable city, let me tell you, it's not so much fun to hall a 42' TV two miles up the road. It probably wasn't even two miles, but it still took us 1 1/2 hrs. No taxi would take us, without a 20 CH sur charge, and you know us Hodges, save a penny wherever you can, we're young, athletic, we can just carry it...in the BLAZING heat. Same goes with groceries, accessories, anything you buy at the store you better be able to haul home yourself because there is no magical trunk or valet service, the good news is...I'm losing weight and I'm not even trying to. That in itself makes all the hauling more than bearable. However, we did learn the hard way that you cannot take a tank of propane on the bus. But thanks to Mr. Creative Chris we snuck it on when the next bus game..haha....brilliant we are, or he is ;)
The culture and language is more of a barrier than we thought, but we are happy about this; sort of. Of course we are happy as we want to emerce ourselves in the language and culture and blah blah, but it does get overwhelming and tiring when there is no break, no easy out, nothing. This for me has been the most challanging in a good way for me.
I must say, we have learned a lot. It's hard not to when you have no other choice but to learn really, but what I miss the most about home is just spending time with friends and family. Life here has been a dream, but it's just a place...we are definitely looking forward to visiting friends and family for our wedding.
So cheers to our new home; I think it's a pretty good place to start a life together, what do you think?
