Author: plaidshirtdiaries

Expat Battle: Blogger Collaboration!

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Hey guys! Amy from the awesome blog Food Etcaetera asked me to inaugurate her new series called “Expat Battle,” which features expat bloggers discussing their experience in a new country. Amy is a Swiss blogger living in the United States and I’m an American living in Switzerland (duh), hence the “battle” 🙂 French speakers, get excited: You can enjoy the post in English and French by adjusting the language in the top left menu bar, thanks to Amy’s translation skills.

Check it out here! https://www.foodetcaetera.com/en/expat-battle-1usa-switzerland/ 

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Copenhagen: My First Glögg!

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Copenhagen is a super cool city. I actually wasn’t expecting to love it so much, given the chilly weather this time of year, but in our brief, 48-hour visit I decided I could totally live there. The bike-ability, the abundance of English, the architecture, the retro vibe… I loved it. Of course, there was also the cold, the sunset at 3:30pm and the high price tags, but the expenses seemed rather manageable after living in Geneva, and I could get some long underwear, right?

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Gruyères: Cheesy Goodness

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I love cheese. And I don’t discriminate either: whether it’s creamy brie or bright orange cheddar (my French readers are shuddering, I know), I truly love every variety. That’s all to say that I was pretty stoked to finally visit the Swiss village of Gruyères, home of the famous cheese often found in fondue. We used our new Mobility car share account — think Zipcar, Americans — to drive an hour and a half out to the picturesque town on Sunday, trying to catch up on the latest radio hits via France’s “Virgin Radio” during the ride.

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Venice: View from a Gondola

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For some reason, I always pictured going for a gondola ride at night, so I was pretty surprised that Venice’s canals were completely still and empty after sunset. Perhaps that was because we visited in the off-season, but when we asked the man at our hotel’s front desk when he would suggest we hire a gondola, he looked puzzled. “During the day… otherwise you won’t see anything…” A fair point, given that the canals appear to be a black pit of darkness after nightfall.

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Venice: Magical Even in the Rain

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The real Venice looks exactly like the Venice of the movies, but there’s a definite ‘wow factor’ that comes with seeing the building-lined maze of canals with your own eyes. Peering out the window of the water bus from the airport, I was fascinated by how the buildings sit directly in the water, often with their doorways opening straight into the canals for boat access. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. If you’re going to visit, I recommend taking your trip in the ‘off-season’ like we did. Yes, San Marco square flooded while we were there, but that was something to witness in and of itself. And yes, it was a bit chilly, highs in the 50s, with 24 hours of our trip plagued by rain. But I greatly prefer that to the sweaty and smelly tourist-filled experience that I’ve heard comes with a summer visit. Besides, Venice looks magical in every kind of weather. Am I right or am I right?

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On Going Back to School

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img_2408I turned in my first grad school paper Wednesday morning and I’ve spent the past two days reflecting on the whirlwind that has been my return to classroom after a seven year hiatus. Happily, I’ve found that I still love learning. Give me an afternoon discussion about TB at the World Health Organization or a morning lecture on human rights and HIV/AIDS and I’m totally hooked — though perhaps that’s not so surprising, as it’s one of the things I’ve always loved about journalism: every day you get to learn and write about something new.

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