Bonjour! Day One in Geneva

When I first moved to Chicago at 21, I moved into an apartment roughly the size of my thumb. I looked at it as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Yet here I am, not quite 10 years later (close, but not quite) living in temporary housing in Geneva roughly the size of a postage stamp. But, did I mention that it's Geneva? I'd love to tell you how adventurous I've been in the six hours since I've landed, and I have been, only my adventures have included 1) Getting 136 lbs of luggage to my temporary housing 2) Pulling myself out of my 30-minute power nap after two hours. 3) Buying groceries.

Buying groceries has been my favorite adventure so far and is closely linked to my second adventure of pulling myself out of my power nap. I got to my hotel around 2:45 and decided a quick 30 minute nap would allow me to refresh after which I could hop in the shower and be to the grocery store before it closes at six. This is key because once the store closes at six, there will be no more grocery shopping until Monday morning. That's the way they do things here. I set my alarm, laid back...and woke up...when?....at 5pm. Doh! The worst part is in that half-state of awake I seriously considered choosing sleep over food, laid there for about 10 minutes considering the idea, and grudgingly pulled myself out of bed. Fortunately, I made it to the store prior to closing. Unfortunately, I still haven't showered.

I've always loved going into foreign grocery stores to see what is available and wonder at the interesting foods and choices. But I've never had to actually figure out how to subside on these foods. My list was pretty simple, milk, eggs, oj, oil, salt. The basics to get me started. Geneva is an eat-at-home culture due to the expense of dining out, so if I'm going to do this I need to stock the pantry. I felt like I walked through the looking glass. Milk comes in a box, mayonaise comes in a tube (like toothpaste), eggs sit on a shelf (refrigeration optional), cereal is $7 a box (ugh!) and did I mention everything is in French? I didn't realize how much I loved marketing until today. I need pictures, direction, claims, point-of-sale so that I know what to purchase. Did you know how to say iodized salt in French before today? Neither did I...nor did I know that non-iodized is still an option. I stared at the butter for probably 10 minutes trying to decide between the "bio-buerre" or the "buerre de cusine." I decided on the latter...I'll let you know how that works out later when I scramble some non-chilled eggs. 76 Swiss Francs later, I've got enough food to get me through the week.

The next adventure? Hiding 136lbs of stuff in my postage stamp apartment so that I can see the floor.