A lot has crystallized out of the past five weeks. Until a few hours before flying out of Chicago, I did not have a place to spend my first night in Zurich. After a few jet-lagged nights in a youth hostel, a second-year student offered some space to crash on his living room floor, where I've been for the entire month of September.
Until a couple weeks ago, I didn't know how long I'd be staying in this living situation. This week I move to a more permanent solution, "more" being the operative word. It will last through February - sharing a place with a few second year students I've gotten to know and enjoy.
Until one and a half weeks ago, I had no idea what my class schedule would look like. After sitting in a couple extra lectures and spending a lot of time poring over the course catalogue, I have a reasonably interesting schedule lined up with classes ranging from Neuromorphic Engineering to Robust Statistics to Basics of Instrumentation.
Until a few days ago, I didn't know German. Oh wait, that's still true. But it does feel good to have gotten past all these events that, like the distant Alps, loom as hurdles in the future as you approach them. And perhaps also like the Alps it can take some work to get over them, but it all gets much more accessible with a halbtax card in your pocket and bread and chocolate in your backpack. (A halbtax card is a travel pass you buy on an annual basis that makes almost all train travel within Switzerland half price. Pays for itself pretty quickly.)
So life is settling down to some sort of normal (yeah, Mom, I know, "what IS normal??"). I've applied for a residence permit and a bank account, am finding running routes around the city, will get a bike soon, and am slowly figuring out what my schedule and rhythm will be for the next little while.
Just in case you were curious, here are what some of the local Alps look like ("local" might mean a two hour train ride away, but hey, I have more Alps than you do so quick nitpicking).
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Faith Restored (it's not what you think)
The start of classes is quickly closing in: next Monday we kick things off with the program's orientation meeting. Four years after finishing at Goshen, it'll be interesting to see what it's like back in the academic rhythm. Maybe I'll even get some proper study habits, in contrast with my previous schooling. It should be a good atmosphere, though - the other students that I've met so far seem like a really bright, motivated, energetic group of people. Studying appropriately will be much easier when everyone else is heading in the same direction and running into the same walls. The previous couple years of students have clearly formed a very cohesive group, and it's exciting to see how that energy can build off itself and keep everyone going.
After a couple years as a research tech, I never saw the classes side of the experience, only the lab side. I heard a little about classes, but they were simply one of those things that happened to other people. The Miller lab was great to work in because people interacted so well on both social and professional levels. I really enjoyed seeing the dynamics that come out of those situations - where people are comfortable enough to relax around each other, but still focused on the problems at hand that the lab is tackling. That's one of my favorite aspects of the academic/research world in general.
Not to overblow the situation, but it's almost on the level of "restoring one's faith in humanity" to see a group of people who respect each others' abilities consult with each other and work together to figure out not who is right so much as what is right. That step from competitive to collaborative is one of the biggest ways I can think of to ensure a positive work culture. Going beyond concepts of "synergy," teamwork, divide-and-conquer, and all of those ("synergy" gets quotes because I refuse to give it status as a legitimate word. I maintain that it's the bastard child of business school and buzzwords), the collaborative atmosphere shows respect for and legitimizes all contributions and ideas (and contributors!) rather than only rewarding the most successful. So to make a long story short, that's why I appreciate the work atmosphere I've experienced in academia.
In other news, I'm still functionally homeless. Well, functionally sheltered but technically homeless (sleeping on someone's floor... thanks, Gerick!). I've seen about 7 apartments so far and have just as many more visits planned within the next few days, so eventually one of these people will give me a piece of paper to sign and I'll be on my way!
After a couple years as a research tech, I never saw the classes side of the experience, only the lab side. I heard a little about classes, but they were simply one of those things that happened to other people. The Miller lab was great to work in because people interacted so well on both social and professional levels. I really enjoyed seeing the dynamics that come out of those situations - where people are comfortable enough to relax around each other, but still focused on the problems at hand that the lab is tackling. That's one of my favorite aspects of the academic/research world in general.
Not to overblow the situation, but it's almost on the level of "restoring one's faith in humanity" to see a group of people who respect each others' abilities consult with each other and work together to figure out not who is right so much as what is right. That step from competitive to collaborative is one of the biggest ways I can think of to ensure a positive work culture. Going beyond concepts of "synergy," teamwork, divide-and-conquer, and all of those ("synergy" gets quotes because I refuse to give it status as a legitimate word. I maintain that it's the bastard child of business school and buzzwords), the collaborative atmosphere shows respect for and legitimizes all contributions and ideas (and contributors!) rather than only rewarding the most successful. So to make a long story short, that's why I appreciate the work atmosphere I've experienced in academia.
In other news, I'm still functionally homeless. Well, functionally sheltered but technically homeless (sleeping on someone's floor... thanks, Gerick!). I've seen about 7 apartments so far and have just as many more visits planned within the next few days, so eventually one of these people will give me a piece of paper to sign and I'll be on my way!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
The Foundational Chocolate
I came to this place, where the hills flow with cheese and chocolate (easy milk and honey allusion, right?), and managed not to immediately gorge on either. The cheese fast was broken a couple days ago when I made some homemade mac'n'cheese, which ended up being shell pasta with cheese melted over it. Without the patience to make a proper sauce, it was simply a nice stringy mix of emmentaler, gouda, and gran padano cheeses, tossed into the pasta with sliced leeks and mushrooms sautéed in more butter than you want me to mention.
Out of this, I was trying to figure out how to turn the cheese into a proper sauce. After thinking of a few extra ingredients that would help, I realized that I basically intended to make a cheese fondue and pour it over pasta. And then eat it along with a glass of whichever white wine or vermouth had gone into the fondue. So mac'n'cheese fondue is now on my list of foods to make for a tasty, cholesterol-heavy meal (and now you want some, too).
But what about chocolate? I managed to last a full week without indulging. My only chocolate while still in the youth hostel was a Cadbury's Caramel bar, courtesy of Heathrow airport and about $2 more than should have been spent on it. Late last week, one of my friends from Chicago asked how much chocolate I'd eaten, spurring an interest and a craving. So on Friday I bought one. Something milk chocolate filled with something even milkier chocolate. Saturday I bought another. Sunday, a third. Honey-chocolate with nougat, and dark chocolate with orange filling, respectively.
The back of my mind knew what was in those chocolate bars besides mouthfuls of rich, Swiss culture and the fatty milk of cows raised on three languages and banking in alpine meadows full of edelweiss. The back of my mind knew what the future held if I kept eating those bars like that. Either a lot more running and biking (not as likely) or a whole lot less (much more likely).
After finishing each of the first three bars came the, "Why did I buy only one??" feeling. This is good. It reminds me how lucky I am to be here, and is a good indicator that I didn't eat myself sick.
I did buy bar number four today. It may even last until the afternoon. I will try to keep track of all the different kinds eaten, to move through the world offered by the Swiss chocolatier. My first inclination was to try to explore every nook and cranny of the local chocolate world, but dietary sense, fiscal sense, and the sheer magnitude of it makes that quite an undertaking. So I will start by trying to cover the basics - to run the range of bars that are readily available, covering the center of the local spectrum. The foundational chocolate.
Out of this, I was trying to figure out how to turn the cheese into a proper sauce. After thinking of a few extra ingredients that would help, I realized that I basically intended to make a cheese fondue and pour it over pasta. And then eat it along with a glass of whichever white wine or vermouth had gone into the fondue. So mac'n'cheese fondue is now on my list of foods to make for a tasty, cholesterol-heavy meal (and now you want some, too).
But what about chocolate? I managed to last a full week without indulging. My only chocolate while still in the youth hostel was a Cadbury's Caramel bar, courtesy of Heathrow airport and about $2 more than should have been spent on it. Late last week, one of my friends from Chicago asked how much chocolate I'd eaten, spurring an interest and a craving. So on Friday I bought one. Something milk chocolate filled with something even milkier chocolate. Saturday I bought another. Sunday, a third. Honey-chocolate with nougat, and dark chocolate with orange filling, respectively.
The back of my mind knew what was in those chocolate bars besides mouthfuls of rich, Swiss culture and the fatty milk of cows raised on three languages and banking in alpine meadows full of edelweiss. The back of my mind knew what the future held if I kept eating those bars like that. Either a lot more running and biking (not as likely) or a whole lot less (much more likely).
After finishing each of the first three bars came the, "Why did I buy only one??" feeling. This is good. It reminds me how lucky I am to be here, and is a good indicator that I didn't eat myself sick.
I did buy bar number four today. It may even last until the afternoon. I will try to keep track of all the different kinds eaten, to move through the world offered by the Swiss chocolatier. My first inclination was to try to explore every nook and cranny of the local chocolate world, but dietary sense, fiscal sense, and the sheer magnitude of it makes that quite an undertaking. So I will start by trying to cover the basics - to run the range of bars that are readily available, covering the center of the local spectrum. The foundational chocolate.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)