J'ai pris le mauvais train!

Now that school has started, the days have begun to pass quickly and blur together.  Wednesday morning we had a lecture about Global Security, and it was very interesting and very frustrating at the same time.  Many of us were annoyed at the criticism of the United States and its strong military, which provides aid and support for many other countries around the world.  I am enjoying my classes, but it is interesting to see how ideology and reality do not always match up.  Wednesday afternoon our group visited the United Nations library to get our passes and have a tour so that we know what to do when we come here to do homework and research.  The United Nations building is up on a hill not too far back from the lake, just above the Botanical Gardens and with a beautiful view of the Alps and Mont Blanc.  Not too shabby.  The library itself was not that big, but it has a lot of resources that will be very helpful for both our 10-page international studies paper and our 30-page independent project.  This is probably one of the only times I will ever go in the U.N. library, so it’s neat to have that opportunity while I’m here! 

View from the back on the United Nations

By the time the tour finished it was time for me to head back to Gland, so I caught the 5:21 train and got to the house a few minutes before 6.  I love how the trains run EXACTLY on time here.  This is especially wonderful after dealing with the SNCF in France.  It is quick, cheap, and easy to take the train almost anywhere in Switzerland, and the distances are not that far.  I’m excited to see as much of the country as I can!  Martine made delicious steak for dinner Wednesday evening, served with broccoli and potatoes.  We both had plum tart and espresso for dessert…yum!  Then after about an hour of reading for school, I went to Nyon with Kaity, Sophie, and a couple other friends from the program.  We ended up going to a bar called Cactus Jack—it was Tex Mex themed of course.  It gave us a little dose of home, and we had a lot of fun!  The Margaritas were very strong, but good J  I had a blonde moment on the way home though…instead of getting on the train to Gland, I accidentally got on the train to Geneva, because I don’t usually take the train from Nyon and am not familiar with the station.  So my return trip took nearly an hour instead of 5 minutes…oops.  Thursday we had a guest speaker from the Graduate Institute for International Studies, who talked about U.N. peacekeeping efforts and how to combat threats to international security.  Sophie, Kaity, and I had Indian food for lunch—a buffet—and it was delicious!!  We mainly reviewed grammar in French class, with a little bit of oral comprehension, and then at 5:00 we were free to go.  Martine made salmon and risotto for dinner, yum!  Then I spent a lot of time reading and doing a little research for my 10-page paper… Ten pages really isn’t that long, but I don’t like having an assignment looming over me, so I would like to get a lot done in order to be able to travel worry-free.  Friday morning I had to do a group assignment at the library at the International Committee of the Red Cross, and then Kaity and I went to the U.N. library to do some work before our group meeting with the homestay coordinator at 3.  We ate lunch at the U.N. cafeteria and sat outside because the weather was beautiful.  After the meeting was over, I came home and went for a run in Gland.  I decided to explore the other side of the train tracks and was happy to find that Gland has a beautiful old part of town (my part is very pretty, but it’s newer).  I ran down a street that went straight through a vineyard, and there were beautiful old houses up above.  I really enjoyed seeing a different part of Gland, and I will definitely be going back up there!  After showering, I headed into Geneva to go to dinner with some friends.  We ended up at a really good pizza place that was actually pretty reasonably priced (for Geneva), and the pizza was delicious.  Everyone else went out afterwards, but Sophie and I decided to come back and go to bed so that we would be rested for our trip to Montreux the next morning.

Walking along the lake in Montreux

Yesterday morning I caught the 9:15 train to Montreux with Sophie, Kaity, Fiona, Maryn, Julia, and Ben.  The ride took less than an hour, and the views along the lake were spectacular.  When we arrived in Montreux, we set out to walk to Chateau Chillon (about a 30-minute walk along the lake).  It took us longer, though, because we kept stopping to take pictures of the beautiful views and the flowers.  The weather was beautiful, and we stopped for a snack on the way.  When we reached Chateau Chillon we decided not to go inside, because it was expensive and Fiona said she had been before and the inside is not that great.  But we spent lots of time walking around outside taking pictures, and I bought a few postcards as well.  What a beautiful setting for a castle—right next to the lake with mountains rising up behind.  It was so pretty!  Then we headed back to Montreux, bought food at the grocery store, and had a picnic on the beach.  There were really nice public lounge chairs on the little beach, so we enjoyed sitting in the sun and wading in the lake.  

Fiona, Julia, Sophie, and me wading in Lac Léman

After lunch, Sophie, Kaity, Ben, and I decided to explore the town some more, while the others stayed on the beach.  We saw a beautiful old church way up high and decided to climb all the way up to see it.  It was definitely a long walk uphill, but we got to see the beautiful old part of Montreux—gorgeous old buildings with flowers spilling out of windowboxes, cobblestone streets, etc.  

Kaity, Sophie, and me at beginning our climb up to the church

And the views of the lake were spectacular.  When we finally made it up to the church we realized that there was a wedding going on, so we weren’t able to go inside.  But what a beautiful place to get married!  We saw some steps leading up the mountain behind the church, so we climbed up quite a ways and got an even better views of the church, town, lake, Alps, and Chateau Chillon.  We went so far up that we crossed the tracks for the cable car that goes up to Rocher de Naye!  I’m so glad we went all the way up there, because you would never know that the old part of Montreux existed if you just stayed down along the water by the hotels.  It was a wonderful way to spend the day.  

On top of the world!  Looking across at the church steeple

View of Montreux from above

We came back in time for dinner, and then later on Kaity and I went to the disco in Gland because there was a party there and Sandra, Aurelie, and Gabi had invited me.  François and Vincent were there, too.  We had such a good time!  Sandra, Aurelie, and Gabi were all working at the event, so we really didn’t get to hang out with them much, which was a shame because last weekend was so much fun.  But Kaity and I still had a great time.  It was nice to sleep in a little bit today, and I’m going hiking with Kaity and Sophie in about an hour.  The weather is beautiful, and I’m really looking forward to being outside for most of the day!