Hello all! I'm blogging from the train on my way to Yverdon for work. The train ride is only 42 minutes, and I've heard that the hotel I'm staying it is really nice, so I'm looking forward to reaching my destination! In the meantime, here are some other tidbits from my first couple of months in Geneva:
1. After my half marathon on Sunday, I was speaking with my friend Katie. I was mentioning how this is now the FOURTH half marathon that I have done without adequate training, and it made me think – why can’t I stick with a training plan? I always sign up for these races with grand plans of sticking with a training plan and seeing how I will fare, but inevitably, something happens and I fall of the wagon (if I ever get on it in the first place). Katie and I were talking about how I don’t lack self-discipline (refer to the vegetarian years and the gold star calendar of 2012), but somehow, it really doesn’t translate to training for races. So I am going to try – really try- to commit to a training plan for the Geneva half marathon in May. You heard it here first.
2. This is my first time in years that I’ve had to cook meals for myself. Even when I was living in Nashville, I probably didn’t cook at home as much as I should have. And to be honest, I threw together a lot of salads and such that didn’t require much effort. Here in Geneva, I think I’ve actually missed cooking so much that I’m almost overcompensating. Plus, it’s getting cold out, so salad is not really what I want to eat for dinner. Last week, I made carrot soup, pasta with butternut squash, leeks, and bacon (a la How Sweet Eats), homemade applesauce, spaghetti squash with tomatoes, feta, and olives, and two batches of stewed fresh figs. And now, I have tons of leftovers. But I don’t want any of them (except the applesauce, of which I just made another batch). And the only thing on the list above that is suitable for freezing is the soup – which I devoured, because carrot soup is my favorite! So I need to figure this out. I feel guilty spending money on food when I have perfectly good food at home, but it is sucks to eat a meal that you are tired of eating. (I realize that there are way too many people who face food insecurity and think that this is a ridiculous problem that I have.) Anyway, I’m open to suggestions on how to remedy this situation.
3. Apparently, we here in Europe have Daylight Savings Time before those in America. I still don’t understand why we can’t all just agree on this concept! (In Singapore, we didn’t have DST at all, so sometimes we were 12 hours ahead of EST, and sometimes we were 13 hours ahead!)
4. Feta cheese goes with everything.
5. It is so much easier to keep up with sports from Switzerland than from Singapore. Honestly, it's a really great change!!
6. The expat network here (at least the one I've gotten plugged into) has SO many more Americans than in Singapore. And unlike Singapore, I haven't come across very many English people at all!
7. My French classes are going alright. I feel like I'm keeping up well while I'm sitting in the class, but then when I go out into the world and hear people speaking at a normal pace, it is super tough. Also, it is very strange to have homework to do.
1. After my half marathon on Sunday, I was speaking with my friend Katie. I was mentioning how this is now the FOURTH half marathon that I have done without adequate training, and it made me think – why can’t I stick with a training plan? I always sign up for these races with grand plans of sticking with a training plan and seeing how I will fare, but inevitably, something happens and I fall of the wagon (if I ever get on it in the first place). Katie and I were talking about how I don’t lack self-discipline (refer to the vegetarian years and the gold star calendar of 2012), but somehow, it really doesn’t translate to training for races. So I am going to try – really try- to commit to a training plan for the Geneva half marathon in May. You heard it here first.
2. This is my first time in years that I’ve had to cook meals for myself. Even when I was living in Nashville, I probably didn’t cook at home as much as I should have. And to be honest, I threw together a lot of salads and such that didn’t require much effort. Here in Geneva, I think I’ve actually missed cooking so much that I’m almost overcompensating. Plus, it’s getting cold out, so salad is not really what I want to eat for dinner. Last week, I made carrot soup, pasta with butternut squash, leeks, and bacon (a la How Sweet Eats), homemade applesauce, spaghetti squash with tomatoes, feta, and olives, and two batches of stewed fresh figs. And now, I have tons of leftovers. But I don’t want any of them (except the applesauce, of which I just made another batch). And the only thing on the list above that is suitable for freezing is the soup – which I devoured, because carrot soup is my favorite! So I need to figure this out. I feel guilty spending money on food when I have perfectly good food at home, but it is sucks to eat a meal that you are tired of eating. (I realize that there are way too many people who face food insecurity and think that this is a ridiculous problem that I have.) Anyway, I’m open to suggestions on how to remedy this situation.
3. Apparently, we here in Europe have Daylight Savings Time before those in America. I still don’t understand why we can’t all just agree on this concept! (In Singapore, we didn’t have DST at all, so sometimes we were 12 hours ahead of EST, and sometimes we were 13 hours ahead!)
4. Feta cheese goes with everything.
5. It is so much easier to keep up with sports from Switzerland than from Singapore. Honestly, it's a really great change!!
6. The expat network here (at least the one I've gotten plugged into) has SO many more Americans than in Singapore. And unlike Singapore, I haven't come across very many English people at all!
7. My French classes are going alright. I feel like I'm keeping up well while I'm sitting in the class, but then when I go out into the world and hear people speaking at a normal pace, it is super tough. Also, it is very strange to have homework to do.
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