#ersmus

[gaty89]

#ESNSalerno #ersmus #agm2016 #AGM #FLAGPARADE #ESN #whynot #esnsalernosiamonoi #ESNSalerno #ESNItalia #thisisesn #romaschool (at Warsaw, Poland)

[mylifeingeneva]

3rd day in Geneva

So today was my third day in Geneva and I finally got my internet sorted. We had an introduction session at the University today where we got our logon details so I could sort out internet in my accommodation and also whenever I am around uni. It feels so good to finally be able to use things like skype again to call home or friends.

Geneva is absolutely amazing. The city is beautiful with the lake and the mountains. I also have a really nice view from my room. The prizes, yes, are INSANE, but apart from that I love it. Everything is so expensive!! I found a lidl in Geneva where I bought some food and it was (for Geneva) quite reasonable but I am also thinking of heading over to France tomorrow, which is about 20 minutes away from here, to buy some more (and hopefully) cheaper food. Meat here is really expensive but I managed to buy 2kg of pasta for less than 2 francs which I thought was quite good.

When I arrived here I realised that I had forgotten to bring plates but luckily for me there was this flea market close to the university yesterday where people were seeling all sorts of things from plates, clothes, dvds to riding saddles and anchors! I will definitely post some photos of this later. I managed to get 2 plates for 2 francs which made me very happy!

There are so many nationalities in Geneva. I keep hearing people speak English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German and a bunch of other languages I don’t recognise. Someone told me that about 90 different nationalities live in Geneva. I find that really great!

Yesterday I met up with some German girls who are all studying at the same faculty as me and we went around Geneva to get to know the place better. Everything here is so close and most things are actually in walking distance. I could probably walk to my faculty in about 20 minutes but the public transport is also really good and get me there in half the time. It’s so easy and quick to get from one side of the city to the other and if you get lost people seem really friendly and willing to help you so I have definitely had a good impression so far. Speaking in french doesn’t seem as scary now that I am here. I guess everyone being so firendly reallyy helps encourage me to try and speak more.

Today after the induction we had, a friend and I decided to try to open a bank account. Some banks here ask you for a minimum of 2million francs before you can open anything! Yes, I definitely have 2 million lying around in my drawer. But the uni told us about a bank that is happy to open accounts for erasmus students so we decided to go there and ask. We managed to set up an appointment with a really nice lady for Monday afternoon, so hopefully the bank problem will be sorted soon and it will make paying my rent so much easier. We then went looking around for a sim card. Calling and texting is quite expensive over here. We finally settled for orange as even with a prepaid card it is free to call other people who are on orange and that’s definitely good!! So all in all today seems to have been a success. I managed to get an appointment in a bank and get a sim card and swiss number. And most of this was done in French. I am feeling quite proud of myself.

In the evening we went to a restaurant for dinner and for someone’s birthday which was really lovely.

There is also some sort of Erasmus group in Geneva and they organise trips, events and weekly pub nights. Tomorrow for example they organised something for the early evening. They are also organising a fondue night and a city tour on Sunday.

I’m still not really sure when classes actually start but hopefully I’ll find out on Modnay during the faculty meeting. There are some really interesting classes that I would love to take. Who knows, maybe I’ll learn some Russian?

So tomorrow, just like today and yesterday, will be another busy day. I have to try get some erasmus forms signed in the morning and then I am going  to try and find my way to France with some other people. In the evening there seem to be a couple of events planned which I might go to as well. I haven’t been on a night out yet but I’ve been so tired anyway that I haven’t really missed it yet. Maybe tomorrow…