Where I've Been

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Its a New Year!

I haven't updated my blog in quite a while...a lot has happened since New Year's that I can't remember, and well you probably wouldn't want to read about, but here is an overview.



I still really love my job and everyone I work with. I still love living in Basel and traveling so basically I love my life. With that being said, I take my Level 1 CFA exam the first week of June, so I'm supposed to be studying...which the fact that I haven't blogged in how long and suddenly it's a priority over studying, well that's how I feel about sudying...

Let's see, January and February were pretty calm...mostly dinner parties, basel museum night, (http://www.museumsnacht.ch), hiking at Wasserfellen, fondue night, etc.


At the end of February was our St. Moritz weekend...incredible! We went with the Prague crew (Urs and Marcelo) and we stayed at Urs's. We went out at night (nice looking ski instructors and some crazy guys we met on the way to Prague to spice the nights up), and during the day we went hiking inside a glacier, sledging (sledding), and Urs taught us how to ski before we went to the horse race on the lake...what an amazing weekend!

After that, life as usual...

I went to Lausanne one weekend to wander and on my way back I found out I needed to go home and quite quickly. Grandma was in the hospital and it was quite serious. I had planned on going home a week later after carnival in Basel but it was that serious. I'm very glad I left early as I was able to be there with my family and my grandma recovered :) I still got to see most of my friends and family...my grandma, mom, and uncle, made it to Stan and Jill's, wine with Angela, swung by UPS, nights out with Kim, Norman, and Dana, Dana's birthday, shopping in Concord Mills, saw Elease's new house, breakfast before leaving with Dana and Yoko, a few days working, and other things I'm sure I forgot to mention, but I did miss seeing a few people...like friends in Raleigh, my brother.... overall good trip though. Grandma recovering was all I wished for!

It's been non-stop since my return. The following weekend was the work ski-trip in Grindewald. I was talked into going down black slopes...I made it, but with very little grace;)

Last weekend I went to Poland. We went to Łódź, Kraków, and Warsaw. We went for a job fair at work, but that was only one of the days...great times with great people.

I will put pictures on here sooner or later, but most are on my facebook page if you're interested. While I'm limiting my travel for the next few weeks, things are still crazy. I go to London at the end of the month for a revision course (and to visit), then Dana and Kim come, then I have to take an exam with only about a thirty percent pass rate so....

Where I'm Going and Where I've Been

Again...quite a while since I've updated my blog. It seems as though the last two months went flying by..in fact, two months from now, I'll be back in the States for a visit. I think it will be easier to start with what am I up to now...and the answer to that question is: trying to lay low (unlikely, but trying). So much went on the past two months that i need to recover. Also, it is ski season and while I absolutely love the mountains and the idea of skiing and boarding, the actuality is I am awful and should stick to snowshoeing. This should keep me home a couple of weekends, but I will still have to ski again as we do have another ski trip in March for work and I am compelled to be in the mountains. In the next few weeks I'll begin my studies for the CFA and between that and German my educational pursuits should take quite a bit of my free time. I'm still trying to go rock climbing on Tuesdays and Squash on Thursdays. Of course, I have to do some socializing(people are coming over for dinner shortly)...but I really am trying to stay focused.

So what have I done...I guess my last post puts us back to Halloween so...
I had such a great Halloween Party. Everyone showed up in all types of costumes. At the end we went off to Paddy's...and then I got a Kebab and went home. I couldn't have asked for a better time! Then it was my birthday...27...I feel so old (sorry to whomever is older than me) but seriously...I have so much to do...My birthday was pretty much the first time I was homesick...and then the next day was the beginning of the two month cold. My eyes were swollen shut when I woke up...I had to go to work or they would have thought I just partied too hard on my birthday. I did go home early once they saw my eyes. Well back to the two month cold; I haven't been sick the entire two months but off and on I've had colds all the way until yesterday.

The next big thing was our trip to Prague...what happens in Prague stays in Prague...but the city was beautiful, the night life incredible, and we had the most fun I think you could possibly have in a weekend.



A couple weeks later was the trip to Zermatt. I must admit, I completely wasted this trip. The way there was great and the first night was so much fun....but the next day, nothing would go right for me. I completely forgot everything I learned about snowboarding, I fell off a ski lift (no, not getting off, getting on...so embarrassing), I went the wrong way on the train, I couldn't find the hotel room, and I was tired... Dinner that night was great and I had an early night so that I could start fresh the next day...unfortunately a fresh start does not make me able to snowboard. I fell so many times I was laughing and crying together. I decided to go home early (I was supposed to stay the next day) and I left for Basel Saturday night. I felt like such a loser because the people I went with were incredible and so much fun...but I was in a slump and I was Basel-sick.

In between these trips and Christmas a lot of things went on....snowshoeing in the Alps, bowling, parties, driving to Ikea, Curling at our work Christmas event, fondue....but the next big event was when Matt flew in from Sudan. I borrowed a car and picked him up from the airport in Zurich. It was the second time I drove since August and so fun. We drove to Germany to shop, France for lunch, then had dinner and drinks that evening with a group of friends in Basel. The next day a group of us went to start our Christmas trip...the first stop, Bern. Bern was a beautiful city, and the hostel was incredible. I may just go back to stay at the hostel!!! We also had Mexican food, which I love love love. The next day we headed to Lauterbrunnen for fun in the snow. The first day we went for a walk...how beautiful. The next day I tried boarding again. I do have a witness, I fell so hard under a bridge I bounced. When I showed the bruises on my leg that evening everyone was like, you didn't say anything happened to my leg...I said that the other fall (on my ass) hurt so much worse the leg didn't count....no, I didn't show all of them. There were only three of us left the following day and I opted for snowshoeing...safer, but challenging, and rewarding!

Finally it was Christmas eve. I had my tree and it was time to start cooking my seafood alfredo. I had several friends (quite an international croud) over for dinner and we had games and drinks and an incredible time. The next day we had brunch at another friends house and watched "A Christmas Story," one of my favorite movies. I think that was the best brunch I ever had..seriously. Unfortunately Matt was sick...but he woke up later and we went out and met some friends for drinks.

The next day it was time for Matt to return to Sudan...I felt so bad as he was really sick. When I got back I cooked dinner for some friends and went to bed early. I had to leave very early Saturday morning to meet Scott in Geneva. Scott is a friend from Wake Forest that had come to do an incredible trip to Chamonix, Paris, Vienna, and Basel...we only made it to Paris.
Saturday in Geneva was great. We wondered, rested, ate an incredible meal, and drank some incredible wine. On Sunday we had two choices, take a transfer to Chamonix that takes about an hour, or take the train which takes three hours but has incredible views...we opted for the train...bad idea. We got on the train and when we got off at the first stop I began to search for my backpack....oh yea, I left it in Geneva. I prefer blaming Scott for this (sorry Scott) but I was carrying one of his 3 bags!!! But the fact is I left it sitting on the floor and my computer and Passport were in it. Luckily I got my bag but we had to wait forever. After a series of wrong turns we had to pay a fortune and get a cab to take us there...but the reception was incredible. The next day we went skiing...yes I skiied believing I would be better at that than boarding...I was wrong. The views were so incredible but I don't want to talk about what happened; I had to take the lift down...yes down. Anyhow, dinner was nice that night and the next day I just relaxed in the Sauna while Scott went skiing. The next day Scott headed directly to Paris and I headed to Paris via Basel to drop one of Scott's bags off so we could fly to Vienna. My head cold got so bad that I was really sick by the time I met him in Paris. The restaurant we went to was incredible but I was so sick...it was New Year's Eve and I just wanted to sleep. I did make it til Midnight but I left Scott in Paris the next day and went home to rest...unfortunatley I also left Scott with a cold, and he had to go home early as well...and that leads us to know...cooking dinner.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Moving out of your comfort zone definitely leaves you missing a few things about home...but, it also introduces you to things that you never knew you didn't have. So, here are a few of my favorite things about Basel:

• The International Community...there really are people here from everywhere. I love all the accents...
• The Turkish grocery stores...they are open on Sunday; they have wine!
• The "Wanderweg"s or walking trails. Wherever you go, there are well marked paths for hiking or just enjoying a nice stroll.
• The Rhine...there's something about living on a river! At night, it's amazing watching the moon reflect upon the current and the lights of the surrounding city glitter like stars within reach.
• Cafes...there is always a little cafe to have a nice coffee or glass of wine with a friend and some good conversation.
• Public Transportation...I really do like it. I haven't quite missed my Highlander yet! Of course it would be convenient from time to time but I can get wherever I want almost whenever I want...walking is still a form of transport that we often forget about in the US.

Anyhow, there are many other things but I definitely need to study at least a little German and I have to be on time tomorrow for lessons so I need to get to sleep at a decent hour. If not before, I'll definitely be posting pics of my place from my Halloween/Housewarming! Until next time...

Finally Home

Finally I feel completely at home. I'm in my new place and have all my things, the only thing missing is my family and friends from the States. I'm so excited about planning my Housewarming/Halloween party....yea!!! Anyhow, busy as always but starting to get a routine. We are going to do Climbing every Tuesday and I'm playing squash for the first time ever on Thursday. I have pretty much decided to do my CFA...so I'll be pretty busy studying soon...well, as busy as I usually am studying ;) This weekend we went shopping for snowboard gear so I'm ready for the Zermatt trip on the first week of December. I also got my climbing harness so I'm ready for some outdoor adventures!!! More pics to come as soon as I buy a battery charger ;) I am so excited about Christmas...Matt Besser (High School Friend) is coming from Sudan to visit so we are going to have a great time...and Scott (Grad School Friend) may be coming for New Years...then Dana and Kim are coming next year...I can't wait!!!

Feel free to add any recommendations you may have for my Halloween Party...

The Summer is Ending ;(

Well it's been a while since I sent an update...much has been going on. Work is work and I still love it. I've been trying to figure out what course of study I'm going to pursue...yes, I'm still planning on studying...my German lessons are fun but my German skills are Nicht Sehr Guten (not sure that's even spelled right).

Since my last update I went out to this really cool restaurant called the Blindekuh, in which no lights are allowed and you are served in the dark. As you can imagine, it is quite an experience and we made it more interesting by eating the mystery meal. It is so weird not being able to look around and see who is in the restaurant. I really wanted to see the faces when I said "when do we get our clothes back"! Unfortunately, I didn't start thinking of all the fun things you could do in a completely dark restaurant until the end of the meal, but I'm keeping a list for next time. Feel free to add ideas!
http://www.blindekuh.ch/e/basel/story/story.html

That weekend we went bowling on Friday night and then left for Savognin for a mountain biking weekend early Sat morning. I have never felt so out of shape in my life...but the views were spectacular and totally worth the pain. The first day we ended up in a village that was having an end of summer festival and we stopped and joined the locals for coffee and dessert while listening to the bells of cows dressed for the festivities. The guys in the group got crazy and jumped into a lake on the way back...and it was cold outside...That evening we had an incredible cookout by the lake and rested up for the next day. Most of us were in bed by 10...amazing.



The next morning we started our next ride; I took the easier route (easy is relative to the other route, which was crazy) up to the lake, which was still very, very steep. But the view of the pristine lake was priceless. However, it was freezing, and I really enjoyed stopping for Hot Ovaltine (I think it is spelled differently here).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savognin

During the past week, 6 of us took private group climbing lessons at a local inside rock climbing wall...it was incredible. I think I found a new hobby. We plan on going every Tuesday...I can't wait!!!

On Friday I signed for my new flat...I am sooo excited for my things to get here Wed. Friday night was another housewarming/birthday party and Saturday I made my first trip to Ikea.. you have to go to Ikea!!! Today I went on another short hike and have been packing my things (boo). It's so exciting to move but I am also tired of moving. Less than a year ago I moved into my townhouse and had a housewarming party and now I am in the planning stages of one here....Halloween/Housewarming??? We'll see...

Goodnight and until next time...

Weekly Update

Just a quick post to catch up...

Weekend was incredible, mountain biking is awesome, tiring, rewarding... We had a great cookout... pictures to come soon.

I have a bunch of work to do so I'll catch this up this week...