Maybe I didn’t come completely prepared for my first weekend in
Switzerland. Since the front desk wasn’t open during the weekend, I
couldn’t get access to the internet. I had no map of the city, street
names or even directions for getting anywhere. Plus, I’ve been ranked in
the top 10 individuals in the world who have the most horrible sense of
direction. (For example, I had to pick up my keys upon my arrival in a
hotel that was located about 2 blocks away. On the way home, I turned
the wrong way onto my street and got lost for a few minutes.) Place me
in a paper bag? I can’t get out.
While I would like to say that I spent the first day or two exploring
the beautiful city of Geneva, I can’t say that I did. Instead I slept
18 hours since I super tired from finishing up exams, going out to
celebrate exams, spending the next day packing and then not being able
to sleep on my flight here. I also spent a significant amount of time
trying to figure out how to pull up the blinds and turn on the lights. I
spent my first hour in Geneva in the dark (literally and figuratively).
Apparently you have to insert your room key into a little box in order
to turn on the lights. And, you have to fold up the blinds cord in order
to turn it to open the blinds. Who knew (Ok, so my roommate just told
me that apparently it’s common to have to insert your key in order to
turn on the lights at hotels in the US- so you probably knew that along
with millions of other people. Meh.) I also spent some time figuring out
how to make instant macaroni and cheese without a bowl or a microwave.
Not having internet this weekend would have been a huge problem.
Considering that without it, I didn’t know how to get to work (seems
important). Thankfully, I ran into a person in our program who let me
use her internet, who walked me to the grocery store, showed me how to
get to work, and who let me borrow a map of the city. Armed with my new
tools for survival and my new ability to turn on the lights, I
officially am no longer a completely lost sheep.
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