International Flavor

The past week and this week I have been at work without my supervisor. From Italy, she is back at home for two weeks and she left quite a bit of work to do, also leaving me with time to put together a poster that I have to complete for the end of the program. It was a bit difficult to carry out the experiments without her, but I was able to manage for the most part. Work in general has been pretty good at the tuberculosis lab. As I've said previously, everyone here is very nice and helpful, especially when I run into problems.

I had the chance to walk around Lausanne this past week. On Wednesday I went with several people to The Dark Knight, which finally came out here in Switzerland. It was the first night that it was in English, and the theater was absolutely packed. As evidence, I was in the center of the very first row. The movie was phenomenal and everyone I was with enjoyed it.

One thing I haven't really discussed is some of the details of my day. To get to the University for work, I have to walk 10 minutes to a metro and then ride the metro for 10 minutes. This past week I had the chance to explore the University campus a bit. The campus actually has a beautiful view of the mountains and the lake. It seems that people here take life a bit more slowly though. Even in my lab, lunch is an entire hour ordeal which consists of going together to the cafeteria and then together drinking coffee afterwards. The day typically also has several coffee breaks.

Unfortunately, the city pretty much shuts down at 7 PM here, so there isn't a whole lot to do after work. I usually go to the gym, which was closed for two weeks before opening up again this past week. The gym is very old and the machines reek of sweat that seems to be embedded forever. Afterwards I usually chat with the people living at Planet Blue. This past week a Serbian and an Italian moved into the apartment so I spent time with them, learning about Serbian history from the Serbian guy.

An observation I would like to comment on is Swiss culture. I feel as if Switzerland does not have a culture of its own. Its culture is a combination of the strong regional influences of its French part, German part, and Italian part. Switzerland has no language of its own, although arguably Romansch is "Swiss." It does not produce a significant amount of music or movies. Even when walking through town, I do not get a feeling of what is truly Swiss. Although not a bad thing, I still feel that I am missing out on something by not being able to engage in true "Swiss" culture.

That being said, it is exactly this conglomeration of different cultures that has shaped my trip thus far. The different parts of Switzerland provide testimony to the fact that my trip has been marked with an international flavor. From the very first day that I have been here, I have been surrounded by people from all around the world. My program itself consists of people from Brazil, Lithuania, Serbia, China, Romania, Egypt, Jordan, Hungary, and many more countries. Even in my lab, my colleagues are from the Netherlands, France, the UK, and Greece. To hear that a person is actually from Switzerland comes as a surprise to me.

What is the most noteworthy to me is the fact that despite being from completely different countries, everyone that I have met is very open-minded and harbors a desire to learn from people unlike themselves. Perhaps it is the inherent nature of people who travel abroad to be more adventurous and curious of other cultures. Regardless, the open-mindedness and inviting nature of everyone I have met only serves to enhance my experience here.

Finally, I would also like to comment on the fact that it is truly unbelievable that I have just 2 1/2 weeks left here. Time has flown by and I have really enjoyed it. Even still, I am also excited to return home and to be again with friends and family. At this point, I am planning my week long trip after the program to Vienna, Prague, and Berlin (and perhaps to Budapest, Hungary for one day).

As always, I will keep this blog updated as I finish off my last few weeks here. Hope everyone is doing well.

Au revoir!