trucs

So yesterday, after speaking for all 3 hours of french class with the 3 other people in the "advanced" level as we try to comprehend Suzanne's...words of wisdom?? (today, we learned a French proverb: "if Cleopatra's nose wasn't so long, the world would be a different place."), I and the 3 others that live in Yens avec moi began the long trek home. Upon boarding the BAM train from Morges (Bière-Applès-Morges...the 3 towns connected by this petit commuter train unique to our commute), we entered our compartment only to find a party going on. 4 boys were sitting in the seats next to us with beer bottles in hand and a half-downed bottle of Jack on the table. They looked to be about 12.

By the time the BAM got to Yens, it was pitch dark and had been snowing for about 3 hours. It was also the coldest day on record in Geneva for this winter. The thermometer read somewhere in the range of -15 C. We knew we had a trek up the hill to our houses, but couldn't remember exactly how long, so we just began walking. After walking through the arctic tundra for about 15 minutes (pictures to come), we came to what we thought was our turn off the main road...and shortly thereafter realised we were terribly mistaken. It took a phonecall to la maison André (my host family) and a ride (once we found the way back to the street) from my host dad to find the way back to our houses and a hot cheese pie (literally a pie crust filled with cheese) waiting on the table. That's another thing-I don't think I've eaten so much cheese in my life. Ever. But I'm not complaining...too bad the gym membership's 500 CHF. Yikes.

After learning more and more about our director, Earl, I've decided to name a few very false statements he makes all too frequently-

Earl falsities numbers 4358, 235, and 15:

-People in Switzerland NEVER shake hands. Au contraire, it's quite a popular gesture, which makes the choice of la bise or the hand shake upon first greeting a tricky situation. It took a few us a while to get accustomed to what the 'bise' actually was...I shan't name names.
-The marshalls NEVER check your train passes. False. I've had mine checked every ride but one. Today, the man who smelled like beer and cigarettes and looked like Lord Voldemort sitting next to me got fined 80 CHF for not having a ticket.
-You'll almost never see a police officer on the streets. Today, I saw 4. They have fly neon uniforms.

This morning, before leaving my house to catch the train at 7:08 am (the Swiss are among the most punctual people I have ever met. Guess that explains the watches...), I got my moment of glory when I got to help Helene, the daughter, with her english paper. I read the whole thing and made grammar corrections but somehow I still managed to feel dumb because she's in her second year of English, and I in my eighth year of French am probably at a comparable grammar level, respectively.

Time for homemade pizza. And more cheese. À demain...