Wearing a Suit, Blowing Smoke Rings, and Eating Fondue
Ahh Switzerland, thou bastion of neutrality that costeth so much for poor young students like myself. Where a man can speak three different languages, with accents unrecognizable, and English in to boot. Yea who refuse to join the EU, have your own brightly colored currency, and house oh so many shady business deals. Thou art a fickle country, so beautiful yet thou speakest French that dreaded language of the America haters (yeah I had to throw that in there). Ahh Switzerland, I love thee, yet I hate thee.
Well if you hadn’t gathered I spent the last couple days in Switzerland, Geneva to be more precise, and spent way too much money for what I received. I bought a freaking 14 CHF (~12$) Whopper meal! It was really good but still. We left early Thursday morning in the middle of a blizzard, drove around 5 hours in a bus in business formal wear, and arrived just in time for our first lecture at the UN building in Geneva. After 2 interminable lectures and one interesting one we left and went to the hotel. I then was privilaged enough to enjoy my first traditional Swiss fondue with a white wine included. Very, very good. I love swiss cheese, I love bread, I love wine (not so much this one but oh well). Now melt the cheese (throw a little Grappa in there for good measure) give me an extremely large fork and a small glass of wine, and I will dive into that meal. Apparently it is also necessary to scrape off the baked cheese after the majority is gone and eat that as well. Though I felt my arteries clogging, I could not help but enjoy the whole experience.
After a long night we once agains were fortunate enough to listen to lectures by UN personnel. Then we were set loose in Geneva for 2 hours. Now in those two short hours I was able to have a door opened for me by a man in a top hat, and enjoy the best “meal” of my life. It consisted of a glass of scotch and a 20$ cuban cigar. Well worth the cost. There is really nothing that makes you feel more like a man than smoking a good cigar and drinking scotch, in a suit. I also surprised myself by blowing smoke rings. I am quite amazing I know. That experiece (along with a few others that I have had at school) are really making me want to be in a position of power. Screw the money, I want to be able to smoke cigars and drink fine liquour in a suit with some powerful people in an exotic place.
Well now I tired, and I say to Switzerland adieu, auf wiedersehen, and ciao. Guten Nacht.