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Hi_NaMeS_rAfFy
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Name: Raffy Piamonte
Country: Hungary
Birthday: 11/21/1986
Gender: Male
Interests: God, family, friends, music, dancing, and late night talks on the phone. Jamie from "The Real World: San Diego" is cute too =).
Expertise: singing out of tune and dancing in the shower without falling =]
Occupation: Legal
Industry: Entertainment
Message: message me
AIM:  THEonEnonlyRAffy
Member Since:
4/7/2003
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| White HairsWhen I was little my dad used to have my sister and I pick the white hairs out of his hair. Back then, when he was only in his 40s, he only had a few, but for every white hair we picked out, my sister and I would each get a quarter. Mind you, I was 9 and my sister was 14, so this was a fun game for us, not to mention a great bonus to add onto our weekly allowance. We'd probably find maybe 10 or 15 at the most, but the time spent with my dad on the bed laying down as we picked out all his hairs and my mom watching...probably something I won't really ever forget.
I was helping my dad this past weekend with the master bathroom he's remodeling upstairs. He took me outside and asked me to cut a few boards for him. And as he was teaching me how to cut, I couldn't help but notice the numerous white hairs on the left side of his head alone.
I'm not 9 anymore. Even if I wanted to, I don't think I could pick the white hairs out of my dad's head anymore. I guess it was that moment that I realized...I'm older now. A lot of things are different: my lifestyle, my responsibilities, my relationships with people, and not to mention my appearance. But that's all a part of life. What I guess I realized at that moment is...despite the change in my dad's appearance, he's still here, teaching me things, and being there for me. Cheesy, I know. But forreal, my dad is still a dad, even when he doesn't have to be. And my mom is no exception. I guess it just made me happy to know that I still have two healthy, intelligent parents who are still living up to their occupation.
Despite life and its constant yearning for change, some things will never change. Thank God.
| | |
| Fin.And so comes the end to the longest 4 weeks of my life.
But I was not able to update since my trip to Milan, Italy, so I shall do a "quick synopsis" on both these trips. But I won't leave out any important details.
Let's first start off with Barcelona, Spain:
The staff at Glion usually has events planned out for us, to maximize our 4 weeks here in Switzerland, and Europe in general. However, they did not plan anything for the 3rd weekend, so many of the usual people I hang out with, along with a few others, decided to hit up what is known as "the party capitol of Europe", aka Barcelona.
The trip started out rough. A few of us stayed the night in the Geneva International Airport. Long story made short, we really had no choice. Again, another experience on this trip, by far. I'm really proud of my makeshift bed, which consisted of a UCI sweater and my backpack. Too bad I didn't even sleep a wink.
We finally get to Barcelona by 2 in the afternoon, and once I got of the plane, I got into spanish 3-4 mode. I would say spanish 1-2 mode, but I was actually speaking decently, rather than horribly. Actually, maybe my spanish was really bad, but whatever, it got us by decently.
We took a taxi to the hotel, which ended up being farther from La Rambla than we anticipated. For those who don't know, La Rambla is the street of Barcelona, with numerous places to eat, dance, drink and act a fool. It definitely shares its similarities with 3rd street promenade.
Anyway, we got to the hotel, and checked into our rooms. We had NO idea the rooms would be this nice though. The location was far, no lie, but the quality of the rooms were top-notch and big enough to fit 7 guys. Holler back.
Oh almost forgot to mention. Before we got into the hotel, I was walking outside to try and find another entrance into the hotel, and at the corner of my eye, I see this asian dude walk out of the taxi. Sure enough, it was Cornelius, one of my homies from Irvine, and although we had planned to meet up since he's staying in Germany for the summer, it was still a shock to see such a familiar face, and not just any face, but a true homie from home. That was pretty tight.
So we decide to go to the local shopping center to eat. Grabbed some sandwiches, drank some beer, shopped a little bit at Zara, then headed back to the hotel to get ready for night one. We had read that Tiesto was going to be in town. But unfortunately, the club he was performing at was too far and ticket availability was uncertain, so we just ended up raging in the heart of Barcelona. We headed over to the metro and bought 2-day passes, which was only 10 euros. The metro was a lifesaver. Definitely an extremely convenient way of getting around Barcelona for so cheap.
The night consisted of bar hopping, walking and galavanting around the city. I actually randomly ran into my other friend from Irvine, Corinna, who is staying here for the summer. That was a HUGE surprise, considering I saw her in a burger king. CRAZY.
The following day was nothing crazy, but was for sure memorable. Our group split up, and a couple people actually got lost (Christina and Cornelius). But the day was filled with sightseeing, including La Sagrada Familia, other buildings from Anton Gaudi, and eating paella. Paella in Spain is ridiculous, and complimented with Sangria? Perfecto.
That night we went barhopping again, and yet once again we hit up the famous "Chupitos", known for their 2 dollar shots, which are presented with style. For example, one of their most popular shots is called the "dirty boy scout." As far as the alcohol involved, theres gin, vodka and some other stuff, but they give you a marshmellow on a stick, then light the bar on fire. Then you roast your marshmellow, dip it in the shot, take the shot, then eat the marshmellow. I must say, it was really good. It definitely beats a scooby snack at D&Bs, any day of the week.
And so came the rest of the week, which wasn't filled with much. The Jazz Festival took up most of my money and time that week, which occured every night that week. On monday, my jazz class attended the Quincy Jones' 75ht birthday celebration, which featured artists such as Patti Austin, Al Jarreu, Herbie Hancock, and Naturally 7. It was an amazing concert musically, I have never been to such an amazing concert, but the standing ticket was definitely not worth 160 francs. Standing for a concert can be a pain, but nonetheless, it was an honor to be in the presence of greatness.
The other nights consisted of hanging out and attending the free clubs/concerts the jazz festival had to offer. We basically pre-gamed beforehand since alcohol was extremely expensive down at the festival. We had a LOT of fun though, the Jazz Festival never failed to give a good time.
Then came the end of the week. Finals were good, both were easy, and I ended up getting an A+ in jazz. Holler back. Then the last night. Quite the night, although I knocked out early, and woke up to people leaving. Saying goodbye was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I mean...I only knew these people for 4 weeks. But its felt way longer than 4 weeks. Granted, I didn't get close to a lot of them, but the ones I kicked it with for the majority of the program, they're the ones I'll miss for sure. They really made this trip worth it, and really gave me a home away from home. Most I was able to say bye to, and to those who I wasn't able to see off, I wish them safe travels and the best of luck. I really hope to see a lot of them back in irvine, and I would really love to kick it with these cats once I get back. It's a must.
So now I'm in a two star hotel at the border of France and Switzerland, hanging out with Crystal until my sister arrives today at 10:45 at night. As much as I'm excited to see my sister and hang out with her, I'm probably more excited for her than I am for myself. I guess since I've been here for some time, I'm not over it (far from it), I just think the excitement has definitely gone down a couple notches, maybe its because I'm already starting to miss Glion and the PAs and everyone from the program, but I think once we get the ball rolling, things will change. I'm still in Switzerland right now, so its nothing new to me haha. But I'm still willing to travel and see everything, cause once I get back to reality, that's it. I have to start working, make back the money I spent, which is going to take forever. I have to start studying for my FE exam. Not to mention welcome week stuff for CADC. But I'm excited for most of it. Definitely dreading some of it, only because traveling is so relaxing, although at times it can be extremely tiring. I mean, all I have to worry about is "where am i going to eat?" and "what am i going to do to make this experience more epic than it already is?" Compared to the school year, I am stress free, cruising through life right now. Going back home is definitely going to take a lot of that away. But it has to end sometime. And I can't lie, I really do miss a lot of things from home, family and friends just to name a few.
I just want to thank God for the past 4 weeks and for the weeks to come. Rarely do I get to thank Him nowadays, especially with huge and momentous occasions like this. I know that quite recently, my relationship with the man upstairs has definitely had its rough patches. But this trip has definitely helped me discover a lot of things about myself, just by observing His creation alone. Seeing mother nature at her finest has really made me think a lot, why thats true is beyond my knowledge, but I've really had a lot of time to think.
Thank you God. I will say it more often, or at least, I shall try.
Not to say that this trip has made me a better person. Well...I hope it has. But this has been an expereince, with some good times, some bad times, but overall, good. And from all of it, I've taken so much, a lot that I don't think I could get anywhere else. And being here with different people...people that I've never met, people that I may not have gotten to know if it weren't for this trip, has helped me realize new things; its even rekindled certain ideas that I used to hold dear but were extinguished for quite some time for reasons unknown. Vague and undetailed, I know, but that's for me to know and possibly for you to find out. But I will continue to push my limitations and live up to the potential I have as a good person. For too long, I've been aiming to be perfect. I am just going to be me, cause that is really all I can do. I will mess up, screw up, but I will also live it up. And I will man up for the things I do and fail to do. You can bet on it.
With all that said, there are three things I have realized and that I would love to say at this moment:
- Patience + persitence = reward beyond measure. If you wait long enough and work hard enough to find the good in something, the outcome has potential to be amazing.
- "It isn't about your friends having your back. It's about having your friends' back." - from the movie Green Street Hooligans. It's so damn true. I have found true happiness in making others happy. I just never understood why I never lived by this as much before. I have the power to be great, to do great. Time to live it out.
- You can never say "thank you" and "i love you" enough. So with THAT said, thank you again, God, thank you Glion for this experience, and thank you family and friends. I love you all.
Till next time. Au Revoir. God bless.
| | |
| Week 3It is my 3rd week here. Only 10 more days till the program ends, and
then my sister meets up with me for the remainder of the escapade.
I feel like I'm starting to get into the groove of
things, for lack of better words. The program staff is turing into a group of friends, and the friends I've made thus far are becoming close
homies that I would definitely keep in touch with afterward and kick
it with. "Fa sho."
So to continue on with my stories and journey here thus far. My
midterms were last week, or my midterm. I only had one because my
professor for international relations decided not to give one. So
while everyone was stressing over having two exams, I had the luxury of
studying for one, easy subject: the history of jazz. I loved it. I
wouldn't even consider it studying. I felt like I was playing "name
that tune" with myself. Haha but no stress at all. The day of the
exams, I, among many others, breezed through it in about 20 minutes.
NICE!
That following night, we all went clubbing at Black Pearl to celebrate
our freedom from the turmoils of exams. Not that poppin, but I met a Filipino dude named Roan, and he didn't know any tagalog and barely
english. Quite the interesting fellow I might add...couldn't stop
going off about how my friends, Steph and Steph, were asian and how he
never sees asians, haha.
The next day started off bright and early, as most of the days do. We
woke up to prepare ourselves for our trip to Milan, Italy. After a
five hour busride filled with sleeping, eating, and more sleeping, we
arrived at Milan, Italy at 1:30 in the afternoon, or 13:30.
We stayed the Hotel Canada, a nice and cozy 3 star superior hotel
located 10 minutes from the Duomo Cathedral in Milan, Italy. After
checking in and resting for a little, the whole program went on a tour
of the city, in which we were able to see Castello Sforzesco,
Michaelangelo's last sculpture, a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, and
the Duomo Cathedral.
We made it back to the hotel and cleaned up to get ready for the dinner
and nightlife. However, we had no idea that Milan was going to be
like...LA. The city is quite large in comparison to Chamonix.
Chamonix was such a small town, and Milan was...not. Haha. Everything was so
far, and although most of this trip has involved walking thus far, I don't think
I've walked so much in my life.
So the usuals I kick it with got ready
for dinner. We headed back near the Duomo to eat, and boy was that
expensive. I ordered a sphagetti, expecting crazyness, and I received
a poor quality pasta. What a debbie downer, considering I payed the
equivalent of 37 bucks on this dinner. BUST. Nonetheless, it was an
experience, as I like to call all the bad things on this trip. I'm
usually not a pessimist, so I try to avoid the negative vibes by
keeping the "half-full" perspective. Haha.
After dinner, we met up with the rest of the group. Daniel, one of the program assistants, told us that he would show us an area filled with bars and lounges. But since the nightlife doesn't get poppin until 1:00 am anyway, and we still had some time to kill, some of us decided to start a party of our own. We heard music from a distance, and there was dancing on the streets going on. Needless to say, we joined in. Probably the highlight of the night. There's nothing like doing limbo in the heart of Milano.
CAL bumper sticker in Italy? Hahahahahaha.
On to the "experience" of the night. After waiting for some time, Daniel finally took us to the club area of Milan. The only problem was that it was about a 30 minute walk away from the Duomo, which meant a 45 minute walk from the hotel. Apparently, that's no big deal to Europeans, but to the big bad American who uses their car for even a 2 mile drive, this was far.
So we got there, and it was...rambunctious to say the least, and even that might have been an understatement. Lots of drunken PDA mixed with shouting and running, so in that sense, the area was crackin', I just had no idea what to do with myself. So for quite some time, most of everyone had no idea what to do. Everyone thought there was going to be a club with music playing, but there were only bars and lounges, which disappointed many people. I got a bit frustrated with the negative vibes, so I decided to leave by myself. However, I walked a good block and thought "Maybe I shouldn't walk by myself" so I headed back. Luckily I found my friend Steph, but we kept trying to find our usual crew, and they were no where to be found. We ended up walking for God knows how long, I want to say a good hour and a half. I was out of cash at the time due to dinner, so we just decided to walk all the way back instead of taking the taxi. Like I said before, it was an experience filled with complaining, laughing, "sightseeing Milan" and looking for a club that didn't exist. Yeah. Experience for sure. It's quite the story though.
The next day was better by a longshot. The day started off with taking a taxi to an area of massive shopping stores, such as H&M and Zara. This wasn't any ordinary day of shopping either. Apparently, Milano is fashion crazy, and the weekend we happened to go was a huge weekend in shopping. Stores like H&M had crazy sales. I won't lie...I enjoy shopping, but I love shopping when there are sales, especially GOOD SALES. I mean come on, who doesn't want to buy cheap, quality stuff? H&M probably had the best sales of the day, and I didn't have to worry because most of the shit I was gonna buy...people might not have back in the states. I bought three jackets and a long sleeve from H&M for 25 euros, the equivalent of 38 buckaroos. Not bad at all. And at Zara, I purchased some quality jeans for half off, around 30 euros, the equivalent to 45 bucks. And no tax in Europe. Holla back. Overall, a great day in shopping.
So I decided to give Milan another chance, and went out to dinner to a pizzeria, which was cheaper and not as fancy as the other place. MUCH BETTER. I spent 15 euros and haven't felt so satisfied after a meal. I ordered a calzone filled with cheese, tomato sauce and ham. Man, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Complimented with Heineken on tap...twas the best meal I've had on this trip thus far.
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and waited on some of the girls to get ready...again. Haha. We heard of another place, which is river side (not Riverside, but along the side of a river) and apparently, its hella crackin this time. I don't even remember the name of the area, which was sad, but we got there and it was INSANE. So many people just walking around and bar hopping. THIS was what we were looking for. There was so much going on, and it wasn't even just chaos, it was culture, and young Italian nightlife at its finest. After we all met up, we decided to find a bar, and we ran into this bar called "Paradice." Why they spelled it with a C is beyond my knowledge. But I felt VIP status. We waited outside, and told the server we had a party of 16. He made it his goal to find 16 seats anywhere possible. He even asked a couple already situated in the area to move so they could make room for us. They must have hated Americans even more after that, haha. But we were seated and started to order drink after drinks. The drinks weren't too bad, 7 euros. But they were good.
Here is where it gets interesting. Right beside us were a group of Italians, 3 guys and a whole bunch of girls to be exact. The situation started with them getting on top of a table and dancing while taking off their shirts. Of course, all of us around him started getting crazy, yelling obscenities...basically we were hella loud. Haha then they made it their goal to come to our table and meet every single one of us. They started to ask us for euros, saying that they would take off their shirt if we gave them 1 euro, and that they would jump in the river if we gave them 1000 euros. That was definitely not an option, and since they knew very little english, it was much harder to communicate to them that we just didn't want to see them naked. Haha but this whole time, we're laughing and having a good time. Then, one of the young chaps decided to call me out, asked me what my name was. I jokingly said "Brad Pitt" and everyone laughed. He asked me how Angelina was. Haha. We had quite the conversation in front of everyone, at this point all eyes are on me and this dude. Quick tangent, but for those who don't know, European fellows like to get touchy touchy at times, but its just their way of being friendly, not necessarily gay. But this guy grabs my face and kisses me on both cheeks, telling me he's so glad to meet me. This probably happened a total of 5 times. Haha.
By this time, a lot of us are at a good buzz and having a good time, laughing all around. The Italian people even taught us a song, which I can't sing, but roughly translated it means "we dance, you bring the drinks." Haha it was a funny song we kept singing every time the bartenders came out to serve us.
Suddenly, we heard a fight had broke out somewhere near the restaurant, so we all decided to jet hella quick. We all walked away and found it in our best interest to just head back to the hotel since we had to wake up early. Halfway walking to the meeting point, we realized one huge thing: we didn't pay the tab, which was well around 150 euros, over 200 dollars at least. Haha. So it was a bit late by this point, so we just ran and all found taxis to take back to the hotel. Thankfully, we made it to the hotel safe without any confrontation. Haha I thought the Mafia was going to hunt us down or something. But that was definitely a highlight I'd say. Probably one of the most memorable nights of the trip so far. And the drinks were free. Hahaha.
The next day was nothing special. Mostly spent on the bus sleeping. It was raining pretty hard, too. But we actually made a quick stop to this island in Italy. I forgot the name of it, but on the island was a castle. That was pretty epic. I'll just post pictures to give a better explanation.
In comparison to Milan this past weekend, everything else after has been pretty...relaxed. We visited the famous Chateau Chillon Castle in Switzerland a couple days ago, and took a tour to a chocolate factory this past weekend. Those were okay, nothing too crazy, but nonetheless, they were activities to do. Beats taking a nap all day and not doing anything.
Recently, the Montreux Jazz Festival came into town, and will be here until the 19th of this month. For those really into jazz or just into music in general, this is a huge event that comes to Montreux once a year. Big names like Eryka Badu, NERD, Alicia Keys are all performing, not to mention the concert I will be attending next week has huge bignames in jazz coming as well to celebrate the 75th birthday of Quincy Jones. I went down to the festival last night, and it was a whole lot of fun. Montreux has quite the nightlife now. NICE.
Even though I've done a whole lot so far, I still have a good amount to look forward to. This weekend, I'm going with the usual crew to Barcelona. That should be fun, considering it is a trip on our own and there aren't any call times or "restrictions." It's a big group, so we should all be safe.
My sister is coming in a couple weeks. I'm real excited for that, probably more excited for her than I am for the both of us. I think she's going to have a really good time (she's probably going to end up reading this). But it will be a good break from all the monotony that happens back at home, if only I could have the whole family come out here. One day hopefully...that would be really fun.
Being here for three weeks has done a lot for me already. Since we have so many trips which require long drives and a lot of downtime, I've had a lot of time to think. I like to think, so I was never bored. I have a lot of things coming up for the next year.
When I went canyoning in the alps, the group and I had to follow the
instructor to the top of the canyon in order to start. I looked up
from the bottom and found myself wanting to be at the top. But no lie,
it was hard to get up there. But once I got there, once I worked
my ass off to climb a canyon in scorching weather in a full wetsuit, it
was worth it. All the sweat, all the walking and climbing, it was
worth it. Then I realized, from the bottom, the top looks amazing, but
at the same time I was scared. What if I fell? That's a huge
fall. Then I thought. Everyone wants to get to the top, but very few do the work to
get there. It's easy to ask for it, to want it, to dream about it.
But to put in the work is what defines good from great. And once you
reach the top, you easily get scared. The higher you are, the harder
you fall. And its so true. Being at "the top", its scary. I'm on
thin lines, I could mess up and it would be over. But the view is
amazing. I can see things from a different perspective and analyze
situations in ways others might not be able to. And in some areas of
my life, I'm still at the bottom. I need to climb harder and stronger
to make it to the top. I can't give up halfway. I know what I can do
and how I want to get there, I just need to suck up the pain and
sacrifice that comes with the work and just DO IT.
For those who I haven't told or don't know yet, I was recently appointed as one of the three coordinators of CADC for the 2008-2009 season. Everytime I think about it, it all still seems so surreal to me. Three years ago, I was the newbie that came to UCI wanting to dance. And now I'm the coordinator? I'm really scared, but also extremely excited for this. I feel like I've learned a lot this past year, not just about the team, but about myself and how I approach this team. I just hope that I can continue to grow in that sense and become the best coordinator I can be. If not...better. It's going to be different, but I'm up for the challenge. I've had a lot of time to think in Europe about how I'm going to approach it all, especially with school, jobs, my bro Arvin and his project, possible internships/research, and graduation on top of that, not to mention I have to take the FE exam for aspiring civil engineers. But I'm looking forward to facing it head on.
I've come to the conclusion that when it comes to assessing and approaching situations, I am horrible if I don't commit. I need to work more on time management and really put my all into all that I do. It is going to take sacrifice, and I can't just let things happen. I have to work hard...DO WORK SON. In my opinion, I never really knew how to work hard until I got to college, and even now, I tend to just settle. But this is my last chance to prove to myself and others that I can go above and beyond. So hopefully in that sense, I can just push myself to get things done. Focus on what's important, forget all the trivial stuff. And this is the perfect year to do just that.
On this trip, I've also come to find a better appreciation for my job as an activities lead for University Extension. I never knew how much of an impact I had on international students until I came on this trip. I've really enjoyed this experience, mainly because the staff is so nice and is so willing to help out in almost every aspect. They work extremely hard, and even though it is their job (and possible future career) to be hospitable, it makes me want to change that aspect of my life back at home. I owe it to the students who come to UCI to study abroad to show them a good time. Being on the other side really helps to understand the whole situation.
Probably the one huge thing I've come to terms with is my instability as a person. As much as I wanted to commit before and be "that boyfriend" to a girl, I can't do that right now. With so much going on right now and so much ahead of me, I can't afford to put someone in that situation. I guess for better wording, I just need to find that person that will make me want to put in the time and effort, but for now, I'm not even looking into it. I really just want to make it my mission to commit to my other priorities, especially the ones I've been kind of putting on hold for quite some time. But I guess if I find that right someone...why not.
I have other thoughts, but I can't seem to completely process them just
yet. But I just hope that I can stick to my guns and REALLY try to do
this, not just for myself, but for those who are close to me. I need
to stabilize myself first and continue to work harder and harder by the
day. It is going to be a crazy 4th year for me, my last year at UCI.
Welcome week is but a breath away, CADC 2008-2009 is creeping up, and
graduation is close to becoming a reality. Before I know it, I'll be
working and making the money (hopefully). Time is precious, and I'm starting to realize that I don't have much left. Cause after all is said and done, it's the beginning of "the rest of my life."
Hope all of you back home are doing well, both family and friends. I am excited to see you all back at home and to share stories. Au revoir!
| | |
| "But Derice....we are not SWISS. We are Jamaican!"I still have yet to see the Swiss bobsled team.
Whatever. I owe it to myself and the few who read this to give a good detailed entry. I've been here for 2 weeks and I have 2 mediocre entries and 500 pictures on facebook to show for it. Okay I suppose, but the raw stories are much better, especially while they're fresh in my mind.
Glion Institute of Higher Education. It's quite the campus. It's main focus is hospitality: hotel management, service, and other things that serve people. It's small, but intimate. There are less than 10 class rooms, two sections for dorms, a ballroom, letter room, cafeteria, club and gym. It's nice and cozy and sits in the small town of Glion, Switzerland, which oversees Lake Geneva and the city of Montreux.
Now, I'm not exactly taking hospitality classes here. This is summer session abroad, courtesy of UCI. So my courses are "Approaches to International Relations" and "History of Jazz." Two random classes. One class, I don't even need. But they are both interesting. The professor for the IR class actually has a Bachelors in engineering, surprisingly, and this guy has been everywhere in the world. But he's a smart guy who keeps up with his daily dose of politics, and for those who know me, I'm not a very politically involved person. So this class is definitely a good way to involve myself with current issues in today's world. The other professor teaches jazz. He's a principal tromobonist and knows his jazz fairly well. But this class is kind of an intro to jazz, and although I've been in jazz bands before and have had that exposure, its still cool to learn new things and the different genres that have been influenced or fall under jazz. Not to mention, the infamous Montreux Jazz Festival is coming soon. Apparently its the Woodstock of Jazz, with crazy artists coming to this small town in Switzerland to perform. Our class bought tickets for the Quincy Jones 75th birthday celebration. That should be real exciting. There are some big names coming to perform some quality jazz music, so that should be good. Quincy Jones. Legendary.
Enough about school. The days here are long. Literally. Due to summer solstice, days usually begin with the sunrise at 5:45am and end with the sunset at 10:00pm. Or for better terms, 22:00. Everything is in military time here, no am or pm. Yet another downfall to the American ways. I'm still trying to get used to reading reading temperature in celsius and measurements in kilometers and kilograms.
Everyday the staff has an activity for us, to keep us entertained so we don't get too bored while we're here. The first night, we played a music quiz. "Name that song" was the game, and by luck, our team won. Pretty intense for the first activity, but our prize was a classy, laptop bag for all school needs. My new backpack, for the price of free. NICE.
The following day the staff took us down to Montreux and showed us the town in a nutshell. A nice quiet and cozy town, with two main streets and many places to eat, drink and shop. It sits right along Lake Geneva, so it's quite scenic and people are always out and about.
That same week, the staff also organized a sports day. That was fun, but extremely tiring. I am out of shape. AND OH YEAH. We went cheese tasting at this random cheese place. I like cheese now. Especially with wine and bread. Stay classy.
Not only are there activities put on by the staff, but there are also littler workshops to attend, to get acquainted with the country and culture. They held an ettiquite course, but I decided to skip that one and travel down to the city instead. But recently, they held a wine tasting workshop. That was fun. Drank some wine and analyzed the taste, scent, and texture. I am now an expert in wine. Sort of. Not really. But more so than before.
Okay. Now to the cool shit. Last week was filled with lots of drinking, clubbing, and randomness. For reference, the people I usually kick it with here are Mikey, Wilson, Mario, my roommate Chris, Kristen, Steph, Steph Yun, Anna, Christine, Victoria, and Joseph.
Some of the randomness includes, but is not limited to, motorboating on lake geneva. That was the shit. It was so epic, but so simple. Definitely good times.
    
Pretty much the girls and I plus Joseph and Wilson and Glion student
staff decided to go clubbing last Wednesday at this club called "Black
Pearl." Apparently its a hella shady club, but we were still on the
high of being in Europe, so we were "club crazy" and decided to go. I
didn't drink too much, the drinks were overpriced and ridiculously
weak, kind of like Vegas priced drinks. Not good. Minus
points, Switzerland. But we danced away and the music wasn't half
bad. They played a lot of house and trance, with a hint of hip hop
every now and then. Then the DJ played red hot chili peppers.
Definitely not club music. OH. Just a quick tangent. If girls ever
think America is bad with creepers in clubs, try Europe. The guys are
ridiculous here, not to mention incredibly persistent. Just an fyi.
So we left after a good 3 hours or so. The next night, we decided to
go to Imperial, another nightclub in Montreux, which was 10 times
better. I think its because almost all of the UCI group decided to go,
so we basically made the party. But the drinks there were better, not
to mention the DJ and the atmosphere was a little better. Clubbing in
Europe is pretty fun, I won't lie. I heard some crazy house jams. I
need to hit up on those songs real quick.
Last weekend was probably the most fun I've had on the trip thus far.
The whole trip has been an experience, but last weekend, we went to
Chamonix, France, and it was...majestic. I could go off about the
trip, but I won't dip too much into detail cause that's just way too
much material that I, myself, could get lost in. But basically, right
when we arrived there, we were greeted with this picture:
So that first day we just spent walking around and getting to know the city.
  
We had some dinner at this place called "L'Impossible". I think it
meant that it was impossible for them to make good food. 30 euros for
shit, the equivalent to 45 dollars. Haha. But it was "the experience" I suppose. This was better
by far:
And yes, that is a value meal in France. Fish Filet, fries and a beer. For 5.80 Euros, or $7.50.
The next morning, me and a few others woke up at 6am to visit the famous Mont Blanc, the highest point in Europe. So early, but so worth it. It was a great, clear view with blue skies and snowy mountains. As Outkast would say, "ICE COLD." But nice.
  
  
The rest of the day was spent Canyoning, which is probably the most epic thing I've done so far. SO AMAZING. What an experience, jumping down waterfalls and sliding down rocks in rivers....its like nature created its own water park. It's hard to explain so I'll just google some pictures and show you what its about. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take pictures due to the nature of the sport. Should have gotten a waterproof camera :[
   
Dinner was better that night. We had some chicken with a really good salad, equipped with wine and a lovely desert at the end. Afterwards, we got ready for bar hopping and clubbing with the staff members and program people. Again. no pictures of this one. But again, European creepers. The club was mainly us, but it was still fun. Lots of dancing. Kind of funny because once we arrived to the club around 1:00am, the dj started playing American Music. I was looking forward to the house, but at least he was thoughtful?
Basically, nothing much has happened since. We had a formal dinner, as we do every Monday, so that's kind of cool. The staff dresses up GQ status and they serve us wine and quality food and all that business. I feel way spoiled. All the food is pretty damn good, I feel like I'm getting my money's worth.
Speaking of dinner, we're having a 4th of july dinner....right now. Haha I'll update later. I'll go more in depth about other things, as this trip involves more than drinking wine and jumping off waterfalls. There's definitely a whole lot that I've come to peace with, in terms of myself and the issues I've been dealing with for quite some time, and there are definitely changes I've made that hopefully will stick with me when I get back to the states. I'm really learning a lot here, just experiencing this on my own without my close family and friends, and as much as I miss them dearly and love them like crazy, it's good to be here by myself. Lots of self reflection and evaluation. I'll dip into that basket later. I still have to eat and study for my midterm tomorrow. If you want to see more pictures, visit my facebook, I have about 5 albums worth thus far!
Till next time. Au revoir!
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| In Xanga I trust. I have no idea what just happened, but as I was about to write into my daily journal for Europe, I opened the file, only to find 7 pages of raw material GONE. I should have just blogged all my stuff on xanga while I had the chance, considering after 5 years, I still have yet to lose an entry on xanga. But I suppose I'm still lucky I have all my pictures. Can't go wrong there?
So a quick synopsis of what's been happening this past week. I arrived safely in Geneva on Saturday the 20th with a few people from the program, including Kulsum, Brittany, Jessica and Amber. We galavanted around Europe for the night, hoping to find some sort of life. We tapped the surface of European nightlife, but due to the jetlag, we were too tired and decided to rest up and energize ourselves for orientation at Glion.
We woke up the next morning and walked to the train station. From there, we met other people from the program: Chris, Victoria, Steph Cheong, Steph Yu, Kristen, and others. We took the train ride to Montreux and found ourselves lost in conversation, talking about our plans while we were here. Although, because the train ride was so scenic and epic, we always had to stop mid conversation to take pictures and capture all the photo ops that we could.
Hmm. Ok this is getting long. Haha if I really could detail all of this again, I would, but I have class early tomorrow morning. But to summarize this past week:
The food here is delicious. Three meals a day, among munching on snacks. Not to mention every meal is accompanied with some form of alcohol, whether it be beer or wine.
The people here are ridiculous. I have met some really chill people in my program, and also some homies that I could see myself kicking with afterwards just as friends. The staff here is friendly and very helpful, they remind me a lot of my job with Extension back at Irvine. I am inspired to be just as friendly and hopefully be just as helpful when I return.
The activities we have done thus far have been abundant and endless, from roaming around Montreux, to canyoning in the Alps to motorboating in Lake Geneva to clubbing to bar hopping to cheese tasting to many many many many more. I can't believe it has only been a week, I feel like I've been here for months at least. I can't wait to see how well these next few weeks span. I am really learning a lot about myself and about the world, and I can only imagine how much more I will experience and gain from all of this.
So I know this was very brief. I hope to add in all the details later. But there's so much to say, and I have no energy to say it all right now. But all I can really say is that I am happy that I'm here. As much as I miss home and sometimes "complain" about not having a 24-hour mexican restaurant down the road, this experience has helped me find different outlets for different scenarios and problems. Things that I could never do back at home I can do here, and things that I could never learn back at home I have learned here. And that's something no one could ever regret. Especially myself.
Ok time for bed. I promise, not to you, but to myself...I WILL UPDATE THIS LATER. It is vital that I do.
Au revoir. Bon jour.
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