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When I moved to Switzerland I was worried about my medium American accent when speaking French sounding a little too “yee-haw” or having perhaps unfortunate connotations due to the US’s image in the world lately. My Swiss French accent’s gotten a lot better, but I still stumble a bit sometimes.

But one thing I did not expect to learn was a pattern I noticed in many French speakers finding the American accent when speaking French (if the person is actually making an effort to pronounce things right) charming in the same way that many English speakers find the French accent when speaking English charming!

#Swiss #geneve #accent #fr accents #realization #charming #funny #French

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The Carlsbad, California sunset (first four) vs the Genève, Switzerland sunset (next six)

#sunset #beautiful #geneva #carlsbad

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Escalade in Vieille Ville de Genève

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Escalade in Vieille Ville de Genève

#escalade #geneve

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A few days ago we had the first ducting of snow of the season and I attended a service and banquet at the building in which I live, the theme was about connecting people from all over the world and there was a little talent show of sorts during the service featuring other residents who did traditional dances and songs from their country of origin. The love and international interconnectedness was beautiful and unlike any other Christmas service I’d attended in the U.S., I actually enjoyed it. The message was, at its core, to be thankful for one another.

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Marché de Noël à Montreux; make a wish!

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I went to the Marché de Noël in Montreux with two family members; big multi-floored bars and restaurants built only for the market/season disappear after the event (kind of like Spirit Halloween), and small sturdy wooden stands boasting everything from handmade crafts to cultural foods create the market. Those little pine trees are covered in wishes people wrote down and tied to them. Some were funny, some were heartfelt, some were heartbreaking. In any case, they came from all ages. Happy Holidays!

#montreux #christmas

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Some pics from a little autumn walk around the neighborhood

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The path to the mermaid, lit by a setting sun battling the rain

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Went on a beautiful walk the other day to “the mermaid”, a statue on the lake off a hidden alcove (pics to follow). I walked with a friend through the extraordinary lighting cast by the sun breaking through simultaneously stormy weather

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Finally approaching Genève, on the way down the mountain stopped at a Coop for lunch with a stunning lake/mountain view. Two very Swiss things: Chocolate Swiss Army knives, and single-use mini Merlots

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The descent from Verbier, Part 2. We wound through the mountains, going from winter to autumn

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Verbier Part 5: finally, we begin our descent

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Verbier Part 4: and included here is the violently Swiss raclette vending machine, complete with potatoes, milk, bread, eggs, and cheese wheels by the kilo

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Verbier Part 3: my friend and I went on a little walk around town, the mountains in the background were extraordinary and we could see tiny skiers the size of fruit flies making their way down the slopes. The ducks were swimming around, since I myself was wearing 6 layers on top, two on bottom, two pairs of socks, a long ski coat + hat/gloves (what can I say, I run cold), I just wanted to put little sweaters and socks on them

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Verbier Part 2