Geneva

I'm in love with Geneva I have been here for just a week and honestly I don't want to leave. It's different enough for me to know that I'm in another country, but similar enough to home so that I don't feel homesick. It's been cold here and despite what the weather channel says it has been mostly cloudy. I am yet to see the alps yet due to the clouds but there is a mountain range outside my window that inspired one of the scene's from Frankenstein. Apparently it was snowing really bad and it inspired Mary Shelly!

Anyway I have been speaking French and slowly but surely becoming more comfortable with it. I realized that most of my lack of confidence comes from writing and reading and since that's all I do in college I didn't realize how much I could speak and understand French. I took a written placement test and got A1 on everything, but when I had an interview with the people they moved me to the advanced class. It kind of gave me the confidence boost that I needed. Moreover, my professor is so nice to me that it makes me feel okay asking him to slow down and to ask questions

Anyway we have had a walking and bus tour which helped me understand the city and the history a little bit more. But I understand a lot of the city just by walking the first day I got here I walked and got lost for like 2 hours. It was nice to be unplugged and discover a new place! Once I made it to my destination I was able to talk to the program directors and even though I'm very shy and awkward when I meet people they were so nice and inviting (they made me coffee and snacks) that I couldn't help, but open up to them. One of the directors, Elsie Chantre, has pretty much taken me under her wing. She always talks to me and helps me whenever I need it. I told her how I got lost for 2 hours, and she decided to give me a mini tour of the city. She tried to help me get my phone unlocked and did a little shopping with me! I love her so much. I have also eaten double the amount of cheese and chocolate. I mean I don't hate either of them, but I also just don't seek it out, you know. Like here they take it very seriously. I don't know I mean it's good, but nothing I would really bring back home '\( "/)/'

Aside from that I'm getting close to people. I don't think I'm anyways bestie tbh, but I can talk to anyone here and not feel uncomfortable. I do think that me and this girl Bev, I think y'all should know her, are getting close though. We talk a lot and I realized that we have a lot in common, it's almost freaky. We both have dyslexia (and struggling to do the French worksheets T_T), we have a similar family, and we are both just chill. It's nice. We went food shopping the other day and we talked a bunch. Unfortunately, we are in different classes at the Smith Center and so we haven't talked to each other too much since classes started, but hopefully the weekend we could hang out.

I can't say it enough but I'm in love with Geneva and I'm excited to see what the rest of Switzerland has to offer!

A Bientot! (I'm not looking up the accents so deal with it lol)