Wow, who knows where the time goes? It has been awhile since I updated the blog. The problem with waiting so long between blog posts, is you seem to lose all the interesting minor things that happen everyday and make things interesting. As I am doing this blog mostly as a diary for myself, I am definitely going to get back on the blog horse.
Things have been very hectic at school here. I am almost done with midterms though! If there is one lesson the midterms taught me is that I have to put in much more time studying than I am used to. I took a midterm last week and really bombed it-- at least it doesn't count if I perform better on the final. I really thought that I was going to have plenty of time to travel and explore while going to school. The course work here is very demanding and challenging.
A second year student from last year told me that last year 80% of students in the master of finance program failed at least one class-- he reassured me that this was an accurate number ...YIKES! That really puts the pressure on me. Might have been useful info six months ago. On a good note Emma and I are done with our case studies and we even managed to score the highest in the class on the last case.
Anyways enough of the bad news. Been pretty much hanging around Lausanne of late, including the farmer's market, shopping in the town center and a new club. A trip to Bern and possibly to Geneva are on the schedule for the next couple weeks. Here are some random pics:
Fall in Lausanne: the weather isn't so bad(nothing like southern California weather, but the colors are absolutely amazing.
Posing in front of a fountain at the English Garden in Geneva.
Getting ready to try beef taretare, which I can only describe as raw ground beef...as long as I didn't think too much about it, it tasted amazing. I was eating with Emma and Seliz and they swore they would touch it, but even they ended up trying and admitting it was so bad.
Solace. Nothing better than relaxing with a guitar. My roommate Yuan has a guitar and let's me play it whenever I want. I can't thank him enough for this. It was actually strange after not playing for a month and a half. I picked up his guitar and it took me about 20 minutes of playing before my fingers really started working smoothly again. I haven't driven a car for over two months....I really hope it doesn't take me 20 minutes to get the feel again!
Yesterday I took a walk from my apartment building to the town center. As I walked by the lake the sun and the sky were giving me some great scenery.
Me posing in the freezing wind in front of my school.
Emma and I enjoying a cold one after a week of rough tests.
Saturday farmer's market in Lausanne....reminded me of California w/out all the citrus.
Til next time au revoir.
This past year has been busy and full of good times and hard work. Life as taken many twists and turns and if someone would have told me I'd be writing my Xmas card(blog) from Switzerland I would have laughed my ___ off. Switzerland has been an adjustment, but a good one. School is extremely difficult here, and a little different than Claremont, but I am learning a lot and hopefully my tests go well in January. I am really making many friends now and really getting settled into life here. That is the problem with constantly moving-- just as you get settled it is time to leave. The chocolate, scenery, and food is amazing here. But do not get me wrong: I am excited to return to the states!
