Geneeeeeeeeeeeeva!

Whoa! My mom's name is in that word! Didn't notice that before.

Anyhow... I guess I'll do this in multiple entries, instead of one big one. So:

Friday
We arrived in Geneva around 7:30, and I headed straight for the hostel. Not much is open at 7:30, and I knew the hostel would have internet, toilet, free maps, ideas for tourism, luggage storage, and a complimentary public transport card for me. Very excellent. Especially the public transport card. That's unusual and cool.

I brushed my teeth, locked up my backpack, and blogged. Then I set off in no direction in particular. First I found the train station, so I would know where to meet Shannon later. The train and bus stations are very close to each other, and about a 10 minute walk from the hostel. After I located the station, I spotted a huge post office with a tourist info office in it. Another place to get free maps and ideas! I picked up another map, and overheard an American tourist (they're very easy to overhear) asking for info about the Red Cross museum. It sounded like a good idea to me, so I got the info dude to circle the museum on my new map.

Then I spent an hour or two walking along Lake Geneva. Holy crap that lake is beautiful! The Alps in the background reminded me of the volcanoes around Lago Atitlan in Guatemala a bit, although clearly the lakes are very different. The weather was beautiful all weekend! It was amazing and summery and perfect for walking along amazing lakes.

I crossed the lake and walked a bit until I found bus 8, which took me to the Musee International De La Croix-Rouge. The museum was up on a hill. It was very pretty.

The layout of the museum was beautiful and intense. The exhibit was a bit reading-heavy though. I learned A LOT, but it kind of felt like I read a book about the history of the Red Cross. It was kind of cool though, in that I didn't know anything about the history of the Red Cross.

There was a temporary exhibit at the museum called "Humanity in War: Frontline Photography since 1860." That was very interesting, and even more intense than the permanent collection. The photography was in chronological order, and showed very graphic images of war up to the present day. It was depressing, but thought provoking, and the photography itself was beautiful.

Here are some things I discovered about Switzerland on my first day:

1. They really do sell watches, knives, and chocolate EVERYWHERE. Especially watches. You can not walk one block in Geneva without encountering a fancy watch store.

2. Everyone rides scooters. No, not Italian vespas. Razor scooters. Like the ones we got for Hanukkah when I was, like, 10. Kids ride them, but so do middle-aged business women and thug gangsters. It's very bizarre.

3. Geneva does live up to its reputation of being fantastically expensive. It's mostly food. A cheap meal in Geneva is about 10 CHF. The exchange rate does help if you're used to the euro. Coming from America, it wouldn't be that exciting, as the Swiss franc and the dollar are very close.

4. The whole language thing is just like being in France, except the city is more international, so people seem more multilingual and friendlier towards non-French-speakers. More than once someone came up to me and asked something in rapid French. When I stared at them blankly they went through a whole string of, "Parlez-vous français?" "No." "Italiano?" "Umm..." "Deutsch?" "Uhh..." "English?" "Yes!" "Do you know what time is it?"
So I went back to the hostel around 1:30. I figured I'd check my e-mail, maybe purchase a snack from the vending machine, and check into my room at 2. Instead I passed out on a bench and was awoken by the reception guy a little before 3. Then I groggily checked in and went back to sleep for a bit in my own bed. When I woke up, I talked with one of my roommates, who was also just waking up from an afternoon snooze. She seemed really cool.

I decided to go to the train station to watch the Switzerland vs. Honduras game, because then I would already be there at 10 when Shannon's train arrived. I found a bar, ordered some fruit salad and wine, and found myself a comfy seat in front of the TV. The game was full of awesome goalkeeping, but no scoring. It was a bit frustrating to watch, but the goalies were really awesome.

Shannon's train ended up being really, really late, but it was totally fine. I made friends with an English-speaking info/security dude who gave me updates, and I sat and read a bunch of my book. I'm loving this book so much. I'll write more about that some other time.