A walk through Glion in the rain.

It snowed!

The clouds finally cleared and we woke up to blue skies. We did not get snow locally but it snowed up on the high peaks.

A view from the school:

A Swiss Dinner!

We had a Swiss Day complete with raclette (cheese is heated up and scraped off into plates to eat with potatoes and vegetables...similar to fondue).

L'Etivax Cheese Factory

One hour drive by motorcoach through the beautiful Swiss Alps.

The town is located at 1300 meters. This cheese is only certified by the Swiss government as an original Swiss product if the cows are located between 1000-2000 meters and the cows eat natural grass and Alpen flowers. Thus the cheese is organic.



We got to see the aging process of the cheese. The actual cheese making process occurs up in chateaus on the mountainside where nearly fifty families tend the cows and process the cheese. The cheese is then transported down to the factory where it is put into salt baths then stored for at least ten months before being eaten. The humidity is kept at 95% and the cheeses give off ammonia and an intense smell.

Montreux

We took a trip into Montreux this afternoon after classes. Life is amazing here. This is a hospitality school so all of our meals are amazing. We had a four course formal Swiss dinner tonight, complete with wine and veal. (Pictures to come.) Classes are really good, especially my international relations class.

Montreux's famous Casino (Listen to Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water, it's about this place when it burnt to the ground during the Jazz Festival.):

Glion

The little down of Glion:





Glion Institute on the cliff (I live in the building furthest down the hill on the -8th floor. Our bathroom, rooms, and showers have views of Lake Geneva.) (This is from Montreux during a thunderstorm as you can see from the raindrop.)



View of Lausanne and Montreux from the Institute:



View of Lake Geneva from the Institute:



View of Montreux from the Institute:



On the other side of the mountain is France and Evian (where the water comes from). The storm is blowing in.

Switzerland.

14 hours on airplanes, 1 hour on a train, and 15 minutes in a van got us to Glion Institute, where we will be staying for the next month.

As I was snaping breathtaking photos of the Swiss Riviera I realized I forgot the wire to import pictures onto my computer from my camera. Until I can get my wire in the mail I will be stealing Ben's photos. :)

It is absolutely beautiful here. Here are the views from the main building, the school's terrace, and our rooms:







MUCH more to come!

[[Edit: I have since been able to upload my pictures onto my computer! See newer blogs for pictures!]]

Alarm at 4:30 a.m.

Gone in the morning!

And I still haven't started packing. I guess I'll get on that. A horrifying picture:

Two Days and Counting...

As of 7 a.m. Saturday we will be gone for nearly 40 days.

As you can tell by the looks on our faces, we haven't started packing yet.

HAHAHA...

Hegel.

"One more word about giving instruction as to what the world ought to be. Philosophy in any case always comes on the scene too late to give it... When philosophy paints its gray in gray, then has a shape of life grown old. By philosophy's gray in gray it cannot be rejuvenated but only understood. The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk."

-- Hegel, Philosophy of Right (1820), "Preface"

Finals. I need all the luck I can get!

It was sarong, but it felt so right.

Kelly's 20th Birthday- Suprise BBQ!

Amazing planning and deceit trumped Kelly's effort to foil our surprise plans. Gwen, Allison, Dianne and I coordinated a suprise bonfire for Kelly's birthday. The unfortunate news that there were no more available fire rings on the beach threw a wrench in our plans. With a bit of brainstorming we came up with a charcol BBQ on the La Jolla Shores grass area. The BBQ was a HUGE success and proved to be the best night of our entire second year here at UCSD.

Ben, Daniel and I assembling the BBQ:





Celebration commences while I butter the corn!



Ben and Daniel are amazing chefs:



An appropriate awkward photo:



Allison and I with Kelly and Matt in the background!



He sweeps me off my feet:



Dan, Allison, and I excited about s'mores:



Worn out after lots of hard work:



Dan and Christina :)



With the Birthday Girl!



Enjoying the hot dogs...



Ben with the 1 lb. brick of butter:



Birthday Girl with the Eddie Cake or Death: