the swiss miss adventures: Feeling good

Salut!

I've decided to try and post on Sunday each week to keep it consistent and not overdo it...but week 1 has ended and I have been well trained! It was a crazy week with a ton of information...You take this bus to get to here and this train there, and oh you always need to do ___, but never do ____...From swimming lessons, play dates, paddle boating, and a large amount of sunscreen, we made it through the week.

E (previous au pair) left for London yesterday to work for the Olympics (yay), I am not sure I'm going to know what to do with myself while I'm off, I became so used to having her here, but she will be back soon and we are planning to travel with some other friends to Spain! I'm excited to see another new place. I have made 2 more new friends this week through E and plan to travel with them and have them over with their kiddos for play dates! Fun stuff this au pair thing.

I saw a lot of the "city" this week, and I like it a lot. There is the "Old Town" which is absolutely amazing, the buildings are incredible, I will be making several trips up there to wander, maybe stop by a corner cafe' for an afternoon snack and then there's the shopping oh man the shopping! Louis Vuitton, Versace, Chanel and anything else you can think of...they have it. I should probably let them keep it, that is if I want to see anything outside of Geneva. I also paid a visit to the "American Store" this week, I'm sure this place will come in handy for random items needed for recipes and if I need a little taste of home. I bought two things while I was in there this week... a box of Kraft mac-n-cheese and a can of mountain dew, and both were thoroughly enjoyed! I have tried so many new foods, different meats, cheeses of course, and random things. My host mom is incredible in the kitchen, and I will try anything. No complaints so far. We had fondue on Friday and man it was delish! I can't eat very much of it, but wowza it was great!

I apologize for the randomness and unorganized-ness, but I'm just letting my fingers do the work before it all leaves my little brain...

The weather is absolutely amazing, cool in the morning and then a perfect 75 around 11am, sometimes a nice breeze. Today it was pretty windy, which put a damper in our plans to play tennis, but of course is supposed to be beautiful all week (Shocker)! The sunsets are unreal! I'll snap some shots and put them on here! This afternoon we played outside by the pool, the boys and I played a little football(soccer) in the garden, I lost terribly of course, followed by an accidental 4 hour nap in my cave. My room is absolutely incredible, very homey with 2 sofas, a desk, tv & dvd, dressers, and christmas lights which make me very happy. I recently made a trip to IKEA with some friends and stumbled upon some bookends that are black metal "B's"...I'm not sure why I bought bookends, because I don't have very many books, nor do I like to read, but they were on sale for 4CHF which is practically free here! I also added a personal touch to my room with my clothesline and clothespin with pictures of friends and family.

FRENCH....oh boy, I am a little overwhelmed with the French. I knew what I was getting into and this is the absolute best way to learn a new language, but I just feel so silly. I feel like a goober when I try a word, but they keep reassuring me that I'm the only one that thinks that...so I am using E's French Immersion discs until she returns. It's actually pretty fun, I just have to put it to use with the boys at least.....My actual french classes don't start until September, so I'm hoping to get a head start on my classmates :)

Well, I should probably head to bed. My first week by myself begins tomorrow morning!

lots of love,
your swiss miss