My Study Abroad Trip to Switzerland!

Hey Hey! Yes I know, its only been about a day since I last blogged but I feel like a few things have happened since then and feel the need to vent through my blog. It feels so weird to me to have this sudden desire to blog and tell you my experiences since I had never done a blog like this before, but it feels so good to write down my thoughts/emotions on paper...wellllll internet paper I guess?! haha

Anyways, I left off on my last post telling you that I would write about the amazing time I had on the lunch cruise on "Lake Leman". I will definitely tell you all about it and also put up some pictures, however, I want to start with a funny little thing that happened to me yesterday...well know that I think of it 2 things! Sooo, as I had mentioned in one of my previous posts, yesterday was my very 1st day of French class...remember I was SUPER excited?!?! Well, being the very first day of class, I aways think its a good idea to wake up extra early to make a good first impression with the professor. The plan was SO ON....untilll...the morning. I wake up, get ready, and suddenly realize I had NO IDEA where my french class would be. Me and a floor mate (also in my french class) went around the whole building in a frenzy trying to find someone who could answer this question. Let me give you a run down of the time..class started at 10, it was now 9:40.....we run around even more and someone shouts that they saw 2 people heading over to the main university (my thoughts= WHAT?! that is over 30 minutes away and its a big building, im going to die!)...me and this girl decide to head on over....by the time we get there 10:15 ahhh!! When we got there we went to a room where we thought the class would be...EMPTY...10:22....we droop on over to the steps and are on the verge of defeat when we decide to call the emergency number on our "important number list"....ok ok it wasn't a medical emergency but it was pretty darn urgent haha....the lady tells us she doesn't know what room its in but tells us she will find out and call us....10:30...she FINALLY calls us with the room number...10:40...by the time we find the elevator, ask for instructions, and muster up the courage to open the door of the class its 10:50!!!! Needless to say we definitely made an impression! My french professor was nice, but for sure not amused by the situation...guess I will have to be extra nice in class and get everything correct! Moral of the story???? Ummmmmm......dont know!!! hahaha

Okkkk...so this story is pretty quick b/c I don't want my posts to become too long but there is this girl in my program that is from Puerto Rico and speaks fluent Spanish so its pretty cool to talk to her so I can practice the language myself. However, bad thing about 2 people who speak a different language?!...you think noone understands....but I have learned my lesson!!!!!!! hahaha Don't want to go into specifics but needless to say my jaw dropped and I was thoroughly embarrassed!

Ok...so cruise on "Lake Leman"!!! There isn't much to write since pictures are worth a thousand words!!! It was such a gorgeous day out...I think it was like 40 degrees and sunny, which is definitely a change from the cold weather recently. Almost the entire group went, which was nice since it gave all of us an opportunity to talk and meet new people. The cruise lasted for about 2 hours and we were able to see some incredible scenery of the swiss alps! The tips of the mountains are all covered in snow and I can't wait to go skiing in a few weeks!!! Check out the pictures!

• **A friend of mine recommended that I start uploading my pictures to a website called "tumblr", since the pictures are bigger and it will be clearer to see. So, I will try to set that up and will keep you updated***

Till next time!

Hey everyone! It was such a great experience to blog the other day- it felt so nice to be able to share my experience thus far in Geneva and I found myself yearning to blog as soon as possible...soo...translation= I will be blogging frequently and there will be new stories for you to read and you won't have to be mad at me for not blogging!!! Ok ok...lets get to the fun part!...

Sooo at the end of my last blog post I promised that I would be writing about my experience to the US MIssion to the United Nations. Let me give a little background for those of you that are not familiar with my involvement in the international organization world. I am currently a pre-med student majoring in Psychology, however, I was starting to get frustrated by the fact that even though I am on the pre-medical track at BU, I don't take any classes directly pertaining to health and well-being. I found myself desperate to get involved in the medical field and decided that I would also pursue a public health minor at my university.....this is a CRAZAY decision considering I am a Psychology major, Spanish minor AND pre-med!! Anywho, public health is an important component of the medical community- many of the vaccines, statistics of disease, and preventive measures are ALLLL designed and implemented by public health organizations and therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to get a minor so I could use this knowledge during my medical career. Ohhh...and if it isn't already WAYYYY tooo obvious I want to go to medical school and become a doctor!! haha (I think this bio is wayyy too long but its ok its my blog!)

So, Geneva is actually the global hub of many of the world's leading international and health organizations like the WHO (World Health Organization) and the United Nations..just to name a few. It is a privilege to be in this city where so many leading politicians and policy makers have been...actually Hillary Clinton was here last year and some students were able to go see her!....but yeah so FINALLY about this trip to the UN (sorry it took so long to get to this point haha)......our university as well as 2 other universities were invited to the United Nations and were briefed by the Chief Deputy of the United Nations as well as the the lady who runs the Human Rights Council...it was incredible since she was telling us about how long her work hours are and how much of a difference she can do in one day...it was definitely an enlightening experience.

Good thing about the United Nations....BREAKFAST!!!! It was all very goood and freeeeeee hahahaha If you have every been to Switzerland you will know that everything here is SUPERRRRR expensive...for example 1 just 1 steak costs 13 dollars (did I mention its just ONE steak?!) I think I will be going through meat withdrawl pretty soon.....actually correction.... I AM going through meat withdrawl!

Ok.....sooo yesterday I also went on a tour of the old section of Geneva. It was such a HUGE difference from the part of Geneva where I am living right now. It was only like a 20 minute walk to get there but it felt as though I was already in a different country! We had an older lady give us a 2 hour walking tour and she was such a good guide. She definitely knew her history but I was def. spacing out since I am not a history person at all. Look at this picture!

We also saw many coffee shops and hot chocolate places so of course I dragged my roomate so we can sample the chocolate! It was definitely worth the 5 dollars..yes ridiculous I know but hey your in Geneva! OH....huge sidenote but a small hot chocolate here costs 8 dollars! ahhhh sooo long starbucks- won't be having you until I get back to the states (

In conclusion, the old town tour was fantastic since it gave us ideas where we can go hang out at night or have a nice cup of hot cocoa! Today we went on a BEAUTIFUL cruise on Lake Geneva!!!!!! The view was splendid and the food was not that bad!!! I will upload the pictures on my computer and write about it next time!

Till then! Au Revoir!!!

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Hey everyone!!! I am so sorry that I haven't been able to update this blog since my arrival to Geneva- my week was filled with orientation activities and the jet lag is really starting to get to me Anyways let me take you back in time to the plane trip!!!!.....So I arrived in Newark airport already behind schedule. I was supposed to get there around noon but ended up arriving a little before 3:40 and the flight was set to leave at 5...I know I know I am CRAZYYY! haha We park, go to the check-in kiosk and I tell the lady that I am going to Geneva. She gives me a puzzled face and tells me I am in the wrong terminal! However, she was really nice and tells me not to worry that I can check in my bags at this terminal and I could then take the air train to terminal C. Well folks, this is where the funny part starts. For those who know me pretty well (which I imagine its everyone since who else would read my blog that isn't a close friend or relative memeber?!?!), know that I don't tend to travel light! Well, I placed my bags to be weighed and surprise surprise....BOTH of my bags were 35lbs overweight!! The lady wanted to charge me $250 for each bag but mom came to the rescue!!! She talked to the lady in Spanish, told her I would be studying abroad and I got off the hook!

Now to the flight itself...I met some people from the program at the young travelers lounge at the airport and was happy that I was starting to make some friends! I got the aisle seat on the plane so I was pretty bummed that I wouldn't be able to see the take-off and landing...*sidenote* for those that don't know, I am aspiring to get my private pilot license so I am really into aviation...there was a lot of turbulence when we were midway through the atlantic ocean but all was fine and we finally made it to Geneva at 7:51 am (I have nooo idea how I remember that).

We had two huge buses waiting for all of us at the airport and off we went into the town and our apartment building! I am pretty sure though that I lost like 3 pounds carrying all my suitcases to my room! There is one TINYYYYY (emphasis on the word tiny!) elevator that fits about 1 1/2 suitcases and I live on the 5th floor so I had to wait about 2 hours until it was my turn to put the suitcases since 2 suitcases times 60 people in the program makes for ALOT of suitcases to go into the elevator!!!

My room is pretty tiny with a bathroom..but hey not complaining! I am sharing a room with a friend I met at BU and so far its going great. We have the MOST amazing view of the "jet d'eau" (google it!!) and of the swiss alps! We have already started a nightly ritual...every night before going to bed we open our windows, look at the breaktaking views and scream "Geneva!". Hopefully no one calls the police haha

We have been going to a lot of orientation meetings, stocking up the fridge with food, and had our very first 2 classes of public health! We also went on a scavenger hunt around Geneva which was great because we got to see so many things that we otherwise wouldn't have bothered to go see. I will be posting up pictures as soon as I figure out how to do so. French classes don't start until next week but I am extremely excited and anxious for them to start because it is almost impossible to communicate with people in a language other than French, which makes going around town very difficult

That's it for now! There is sooooo much more I could talk about but its getting late and I have to wake up tomorrow for a walking tour of the old part of Geneva- pretty exciting!!! Next time I will write/share photos of my visit to the "US Mission to the United Nations". It was such a fantastic experience and it felt amazing to be in the same room with such accomplished people!

Thank you allllll for reading! Au Revoir!!!!!!

I never imagined I would be living this moment- sitting at this desk right thinking that in 64 days I will be on a plane on my way to Geneva, Switzerland! When I applied, I didn't think that I would actually be accepted to the program, and when I got that e-mail....oh boy I think I actually jumped up and down in the middle of a very busy college hallway! I am so excited for this trip and looking forward to all the wonderful adventures that one day I will be able to share with my kids and grandkids.

I absolutely loveeeee traveling and hope to explore a new destination every weekend once I arrive in Geneva and write about it here for my family, friends, and fellow adventurers to enjoy! Even though I have traveled many times before, I have never kept a journal of my experiences, and often find myself trying to remember specifics of what is is I saw on certain trips of mine. I am hoping to change that this time around and that I will be able to come back to this blog years from now and relive all the wonderful moments!

Oh, and to be even more precise....64 days, 7 hours, 33 minutes, and 10 seconds left!! Woohoo!