Up and away.

I'm moving to China. It started out as a random thought, I jokingly mentioned it to my boss, then to my family and friends but it is really happening now. I have my ticket and visa so I am definitely going now. I am not sure whether I am excited or scared... but I am definitely nervous, it is all the same no? Fear and excitement... anticipation and restlessness. I don't know what to expect.

So far I've studied about China from the outside, It is definitely a different thing to actually live there, work there, make friends there and experience life there. I am going to have language courses too because I haven't written or read Chinese in almost two years. I don't have many contacts there too... panicking!

Everything is happening so quick. I have two more weeks to be here in Geneva. There is so much paper work to be done before I can go in peace. Geneva has been the good and the bad, definitely drained me of all my money but I made wonderful friends here. Most of them have moved away so I wont be missing too many people when I leave. I'm definitely looking forward to cheaper food and cheaper living in China, a welcome change from this overpriced city.



Since I started actually pursuing this China plan, I've been having this weird feeling at the pit of my stomach, some people are scaring me with their woeful tales of China, while others are enticing me with the rich experiences they had there. Who is lying? heheh...What kind of experience am I going to make there? I hope it is going to be a good one because I do love learning about Chinese language, culture and history.

Adieu Europe... or should I say Au revoir or A bientôt?

Wanderlust.

I am thinking of leaving Geneva. Well, at least for now... I'm not sure where I am going to go this time if I leave. Geneva is great but it seems to be the place to be when you are older and further in your career, when you are some kind of big-shot. I'm just beginning so I always feel out of place and a bit isolated at my work. It is a great place to live when you are earning tons of money so that you can buy a chalet in the mountains and eat a thousand year old cheese for breakfast every morning (yuck). Okay, I exaggerate just a bit.



I think this is the perfect time to move to another place. Most of my friends have been transferred somewhere else. We all came to Geneva at the same time but they all left to do more interesting work elsewhere. It is a bit hard to go making new friends after two years of being around the same people. Also, I have no family here, neither am I in a relationship at the moment. It can get a bit lonely. booohooo. (ha!)

I am also almost done with my dissertation (ahem* ahem* not quite...hehehe)



Actually, I am drowning in an ocean of laziness and procrastination, yes, I have only done the first three chapters and the deadline is on the 15th of next month. I thrive on panic and I fart in the face of danger!!!

I will get it done! (chanting to self)

But seriously, when my dissertation is done by next month (by a great and mighty miracle), I feel like I should move. I need to figure out my next step because my permit expires in October. I love my job but I feel so isolated in the office (I am the only one in my 20s, everyone else is at least 45 years old). I can't take it anymore. I don't feel like renewing my permit or staying in Geneva. (Well, I would reconsider if there was a mysterious massive increase in my earnings hehehehe)

I usually have things planned a couple of months ahead but this time, I am feeling quite lost. It's only been two years but I really want to leave all of a sudden!!! It would be easier if I had tons of job offers, you know, people dying to hire me and pay me tons of cash. :P

Summer is finally over...

(Photo by Leszek Kobusinski)

I worked like a donkey all summer. Only got a paltry week off and I didn't even travel anywhere special. Blah!!! All my dreams of sipping coconut juice under a palm tree by the ocean are a distant dream now. Oh well. I guess I'll have to make something of fall and winter. I have been very busy lately. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Sessions have been going on at Palais Wilson this month. I have been attending them. All the sessions seem the same to me: Governments going blah, blah, blah from 9am to 6pm about how they cannot fulfill their obligations because of one thing or the other... yadda yadda yadda. Pardon my sarcasm, I'm just tired, need some sleep and some time off.

On a happier note, I just found a place named Mikado in Geneva. It is Sushi Heaven (well, mini sushi heaven, at least to me). I bought tons of sushi, edamame and gyoza!!! OMG. My fridge is bursting with stuff from that place. They even had the Ocha that I love...and Udon!!! Udon!!! and Sake... And it was all cheap. Before, I was buying stuff at the stupendously expensive "international Aisle" in Manor and the other big stores. I had to stop because of the prices.

I had missed eating edamame so much!!! And I used to dream of my best friends Nigiri, Maki and Gari... hehehehe. Mikado has the cutest little restaurant which is always full of all sorts of people. Everyone is always looks so into their food! :)
So despite the fatigue and the annoyance that was the summer, there is something to smile about and look forward to :)

If you ever visit Geneva, stop by Mikado!!! Okay, I'm starting to sound like a Mikado Spokeswoman or something... they better pay me... hehehe.

Summer is over. So what???? Geez. Summer is waaaaaaaaaaay overrated anyway, right? Summer is for suckers!!! Yeah.

Summer reading...

When I am not sitting on my ass at work (what else can one sit on hehehehe), I try to catch up on novel reading at night. It feels so good to read something that is not related to work or school at all... aahhhhh... My summer reading has been on Chinese classics. I am currently reading:



Hong Lou Meng by Cao Xueqin... I am currently on chapter 3. Its been very interesting so far but I can't stand the fact that by only chapter 3, there have already been over 500 characters with names like Quest of Spring (Jia Tan Chun), Timely Old Sister (Jia Qiaojie), Precious Jade (Jia Baoyu) and Precious Virtue (Xue Baochai) hehehehe...so far, I love the taoist poetry within the text, the endless use of the homophones and the symbolism. (I stole the photo of the book from some website... I apologize hehehe). My favorite line so far is:

"When the unreal is taken from the real, then the real becomes unreal; where non-existence is taken from existence, then existence becomes non-existence."

The book does flow from the real to the unreal, to the extent that everything seems real and unreal at the same time (what the hell does that mean??? hehehehe I have to stop rambling)

The classics I've read this summer are: Lun Yu (Kong Fuzi analects), Xi You Ji or Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en and Liaozhai Zhiyi by Pu Songling (which I have read many times already). I recommend all of them... Lun Yu is all philosophy so it might be a bit dry but I loved it none the less. I have learned so much about Chinese history and culture just by reading these books!!! I would say what each book is about shouldn't you find out for yourself? hehehe...

Vive L’été and books!!!!!

Its been a while... Happy Summer!!!

Aaaaah... my little blog is growing cold :(
My life has been trapped in work and research, I think I'm slowly losing it!!! I hate books and school and reading and proposals and papers and articles and conventions and conferences and drafts and briefings and whatever else it is that people in academia do!!!!!!! I wish I could just travel all year round, read a book by the ocean and sip some coconut juice... hehehe...
I did do something fun in all the craziness:





A picture I took with my friends at the Annual Chocolate Festival in Versoix.

I ate soooooo much chocolate that day O_O
so goood but sooooo bad. It was an art exhibition, different wonderful presentations of tasty chocolate! Lets just say I wont be eating chocolate anytime soon (I lie and I kid ahahahahaha). That was a few months ago and I have since overcome my chocolate exhaustion...

Summer has been cold and depressing so far. I need some adventure!!! I am getting one week off and I am already making travel plans... I want somewhere exhilarating and fun... Istanbul??? Monte Carlo??? hehehehe... I love the sound of Monte Carlo... so mysterious, dangerous and sexy hehehehe... I have to stop dreaming, my one week break is not until August so I will be working my ass off until then. If I don't finish my project, no break for me!!!

So here's to a fulfilled summer AFTER I've done my work.
Cheers,
Lapen.