Jessica From SwissStory Interviews Me

This is a unique kind of chain "mail" or silly survey you see posted on facebook. Bloggers interviewing each other? That's right. Hopefully this will catch on and we can all learn about each other a little more. Especially the community of expat bloggers out there!

Jessica from Swiss Story had a lot of responses to her offering to interview people, including me. Here's my interview answers - enjoy!

Jessica - Q1. Where do you think you would be right now if not in Switzerland?

Tina - A1. I would be back home in California. No question about it.


Jessica - Q2. What do you like the most & the least about living in Switzerland?

Tina - A2. What I like the most about Switzerland is the proximity of everything Europe. So many great places are an easy train ride, car ride, or plane trip away. I also love the scenery. The alps cannot be beat. I also really enjoy all the local farmers markets and the freshness of all the cheeses. I also enjoy the multinationals of Geneva. There are people from every country in the world here (almost). It's not unusual to see a woman in full abayas standing next to an Japanese business man standing next to a old Australian woman on the bus.

I am really starting to be annoyed by the pace of life. People take it easy in most cases. I have only seen people be aggressive when "in line" or in a car when the person in front of them screws up in their mind. They like honking and pointing out mistakes to feel superior. I also think this is isolated to the Francophone parts of Switzerland.

I also HATE THE SMOKING. It is such a hazard. It prevents me from the silliest things. I won't eat at certain places because of the smoking and I won't stand under the bus stop cover, even if its raining, because there is always somebody smoking underneath it. Smokers also seem to put their cigarette out on anything and everything. I am always annoyed to see the young Swiss put their cigarettes out on the bus door button. Everybody has to touch that! It's so inconsiderate.


Jessica - Q3. If you could only eat chocolate or cheese, and not both, for the rest of your life which would it be and why?

Tina - A3. Cheese. Hands down. I'm not a big chocolate fan. I must admit, overdosing on either of those pleasures leads to a major stomach ache. I overdosed on chocolate on my birthday by having a chocolate lunch. Hot chocolate, chocolate cake, and a truffle. Ugh - I did not feel good. I also think there may be more variety in cheese then in chocolates. But that is just my guess. I could never give up creamy goat cheese for a piece of chocolate.


Jessica - Q4. Why do you blog and which blog/s inspire you most?

Tina - A4. I blog because I want to look back and have vivid recorded memories of my year abroad. I don't necessarily care about how many readers I have or what people think. My blog is mainly for me. (and Rob). I always have a million thoughts going thru my head and its a nice place to write them all down. I have considered starting a new blog unrelated to the expat life that is all about politics and religion. I have also connected with old friends - Hi Amanda!  Did you know that Amanda from Quezo Suizo blog is a friend of high school? Funny that we both ended up in Switzerland. 

I think foodie blogs inspire me the most. I love reading all the blogs by the White on Rice couple. 

Jessica - Q5. And stealing from Ms. Mac, if you had to choose a flavor of ice cream that most fits your personality, what kind do you think you would you be?

Tina - A5. This questions is harder then is seems. If I choose Vanilla, I view myself as plain but classic. If I choose chocolate, I view myself as the typical woman who like to indulge. But what I choose is .... lemon sorbet. I am sweet with a sour side. I am also not smooth and creamy but more crystallized and structured. Hence, I don't just go with the flow, I organize and compartimentilize.


Would you like to be interviewed for your blog? I'll continue with the same rules as Jessica . . .

The rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions. (here they are!)
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. Be sure you link back to the original post.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

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More Mont Jura Skiing

Mont Jura skiing consists of several resorts. Crozet, La Faucille, La Valserine, and Menthieres. Last weekend was Crozet and this Sunday was La Faucille. The weather was worse this week.  At the top of the chair lift it was quite windy with snow and ice blowing into our faces. We had to ski about 200 meters before the trees shaded the wind. I was  happy with this resort since there was a large easy slope down to the bottom of the hill. We actually thought the easy slope was a paved road in the summer time and was just packed with layers of snow in the winter. It was enjoyable and not crowded at all. We witnessed quite a few people off route skiing and getting stuck in the powder. 

On the drive down - the view of Lac Leman (Geneva's Lake)

The amazing drive

Rob stuck in the powder

It was so cold the tips of my hair frosted. You have to look closely. 

One of the small chair lifts. Can you see the lack of crowds?

On the easy slope. 

Frosted Trees

Rob needs ski goggles really badly. I have my huge sunglasses.

Rob up ahead.

A video of the serene easy slope... and me being more confident on skiis

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Extra Paris Photos

I just wanted to throw in some more pictures from our time in Paris. Thanks E for sending me your pictures! 

Cute Children's Program Poster

E's amazing photo.

There are several things of note in this metro ad. A bear with a six pack and a properly placed leaf to hide his naughty bits? This sells Orangina how? 

New Year's Eve. Awh. 

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Kings's Cake

This post is definitely a little delayed in the season as most bakeries have stopped selling King's Cake.

Wikipedia defines King's Cake as -

"A king cake (sometimes rendered as kingcake or kings' cake) is a type of cake associated with the festival of Epiphany in the Christmas season in a number of countries, and in other places with Mardi Gras and Carnival. It is popular in Christmas season in France, Belgium and Switzerland (galette/gâteau des Rois), Portugal (Bolo Rei), Spain (Roscón de Reyes and in Catalonia called tortell), Greece and Cyprus (vasilopita) and Bulgaria (banitsa). In the United States, which celebrates Carnival ranging from Pensacola, Florida to East Texas, centered on New Orleans it is associated instead with Mardi Gras season traditions.

The cakes have a small trinket (often a small plastic baby, sometimes said to represent Baby Jesus) inside, and the person who gets the piece of cake with the trinket has various privileges and obligations."

The "La galette de rois" has frangipane (almond paste) and is light and fluffy and has many layers. We sampled several and found the original bakery in Paris had the best tasting. Inside the king's cake they hide a small plastic figurine called the "la feve". Whoever finds the figurine is king or queen for the day. When you buy one at the store it comes with a paper gold crown that you wear around. Also, if you find the figurine, you have to buy the next King's cake.

Silly traditions. Once again something religious turned into just a good time for us.

On our winter vacation we spotted them in Paris at a small bakery where we bought our baguettes and had some sandwiches. Here is a photographic tale of the adventure -

French Style King's Cake - Doesn't It Look Delicious?

At The Bakery

Cutting into our cake at our Paris apartment hotel. 

This is serious business

Kings and Queen for the day. 

???

Here is the trinket!

She's carrying a basket. MC carried it around the rest of the trip.

It made some random appearances at our dinner table. 

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Geneva's Housing Crisis

Here's a great article from World Radio Switzerland that talks about Geneva's housing crisis. Rob and I had a full time job the moment we landed. We ran around for two weeks's finding a place. And had to wait 6 more weeks to move in. I can't imagine how to do this if Rob's work wasn't so understanding. Looking back on the experiance, we are lucky to have found a place in only 2 weeks!

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Our Tiny Apartment

Speaking of the housing crisis, I have forgetten to post pictures of our little place. It's not much, but it's home for just a year.

Dining Table and Tiny Kitchen. Check out my Ikea wall mounted system for our cutlery. 

The couch, a small desk will be behind the couch, and the bookcase that divides the room from the bed.

The view from the kitchen to the living/dining

We are not quite done with making it ours. We are still looking for a small but useable and affordable desk to go behind the couch. We are also looking for a small kitchen cart where we can store fresh items like fruits and bread. We are making one more trip to IKEA tonight and hopefully we can find everything we need to make this place complete.

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Jura Skiing

Rob and I finally got the time to go skiing today. The season started back in Decemeber but we just haven't made it till today. We went up to Crozet in Jura mountains. You park your car and take a funicular up to the slopes. From there, their are chair lifts and one person lifts. If you go to the top chair lift, you can ski down the other side of the mountain or into another town along the base. Since this is only my 4th time skiing ever, I am still no good. I fell several times and got frustrated easily. I still made it down a long intermediate slope despite the difficulties. We packed some great sandwiches for lunch with our homemade bread. (We bought a bread machine yesterday and made a great loaf of whole wheat!) All in all it was a fun time and its going to be a great rest of the season!

   

 

Lunchtime (with our homemade whole wheat!

Sometimes it was hard to tell where the sky started and the snow began.

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