Geneva

IT'S HAPPENING!!!

You know when you plan for something months in advance, and never really feel like that day will actually come? 

Well........ It came!!!!! 

Welcome to Geneva, Switzerland!!!!! Land of cheese, chocolate, mountains, and designer watches. Aaaaaaaand last but not least, home to THIS GIRL (pointing at myself) for the next four weeks :). I can't even believe it. 

I'm here for a month, participating in an international exchange for medical students. I'm working at the University Hospital (or L'hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève en français hon hon hon!), in the plastic surgery department. 

As far as work goes, I was thrown right in! The day after my arrival, I got my I.D. badge, picked up my uniform, and was swiftly brought into my first Swiss operation. 

IS THIS EVEN REAL LIFE??!! 

I work 5 days a week, mon-fri, 8am until whenever I am told I can go home. It's a weeeeeeeeeeeeeee bit more intense than I was expecting, (I'm giving a presentation on a research article in a couple weeks!!! Like whaaaaaaa???? I don't even GO here!!) but I'm thankful for the experience and have learned so much already. 

I'm living with a host family in a small community called Vernier just outside of the city. They're originally from Sri Lanka, and are the nicest people!!!! The cute lil mama lays breakfast out for me every morning, with this delicious sugary coffee she makes on the stove. I think they worry about me a little bit when I go venturing off on my own, which is nice, someone to notice if I ever go missing, lolz. 

For my first weekend off, I decided to stay in Geneva and go exploring! My priority for this exchange is to really get to know Switzerland, and to do ALL OF DA SWISS THANGS!! (Plus I have a bunch of Swiss Francs I can't use anywhere else, so might as well spend them am I rite!!??) 

Day 1 of my weekend was spent wandering around the lake. 

"Lake Geneva" (which is ACTUALLY called Lac Léman, who knew!) is just booooootiful. 

Nestled right in the heart of bustling downtown, the lake comes as a breath of fresh air. 

In the middle of the lake sits the famous Jet d'Eau, one of the city's best known landmarks. 

Couples stroll the path around the lake hand in hand, tourists with over-sized cameras pose with the jet, locals relax and picnic in the gardens, I kind of just got lost in it all as I made my way along the water's edge. 

On an unrelated note, roses. 

ROSES EVERYWHERE!!!!! 

It seems like everywhere I turn in Geneva, I somehow run into an exquisite rose garden (even my host family and neighbours all have them!!). The air... just smells so geewwwd!! I can't get enough of it!! 

Before I knew it, like 4ish hours had gone by, and I wasn't even 1/4 of the way around the lake!!! I quickly turned er around, and bee-lined it back to Bel-Air (one of the major bus stops) to meet the other Canadian med student on exchange in Geneva for dinner. 

But first, check out these green grassy loungy things!!!! You'll find them at bus stops, tourist attractions, and in the middle of major squares all over the city. Kids play in them, people lounge in them, I love it!! Makes waiting for public transportation a little more bearable ;) 

At last, it was time to eat! We picked an Italian restaurant at random, a cute little place with a patio along a cobble stone street. It was my first time seeing Geneva at night (I'm usually zzzzzzzzing at a pretty early hour to get to work on time!) and I'm sooooooo glad I finally did! Even though like logically speaking more people are sleeping, in my opinion cities come alive at night! And check out the cobblestone! The ones that lit up said "goodnight" in a bunch of different languages. Neat-o Geneva, neat-o. 

All in all, twas a good first day of exploration. 

LET THE ADVENTURES BEGIN!!