Au Revoir!

Tomorrow morning I begin my travel back to the United States. I've been looking forward to doing so for the past few days. Don't get me wrong, France is a beautiful country. The food has been superb, the people very friendly, and the scenery picturesque. However, it is not home and being here has thrown my schedule for a loop. I'm looking forward to eating my healthy, bland fare, going for morning runs on flat ground, being able to use my cell phone and not having to borrow Sadanand's international power adapter, and being able to see Eleanor in person. All that stands between me and a life more normal is an unhealthy dose of jet lag. :)

Church in Geneva

This past Sunday I attended church in Geneva. I had discovered that there was an English speak ward there that I could attend but first I had to get there. I purchased a ticket online expecting to be able to print out the official tickets at a kiosk at the train station. However, when I arrived at the platform to catch the train I found that there was no kiosk. Fortunately, I was able to meet a French backpacker who spoke english named Patrick. He was traveling to the Pyrenees and assured me that I could still board the train without an official ticket. On all 4 trains that I took that day, I played the clueless American card (an accurate representation in this case) and the ticket masters were all very understanding.

It was a one hour walk to the chapel from the Geneve Eaux Vives train station. The walk took me by the beautiful lake front. Here's a picture of a paddle boat that was just getting underway from the Pon du Mont Blanc.


As I walked I felt like I was in Chile all over again: wearing a suit and not speaking the language. I arrived very early to the chapel. I studied and people watched as members of the French and Spanish wards attended services. The English ward felt just like the ward anywhere else in the world. The members were all very friendly and remarkable.

The walk back to the train station seemed longer than normal. I had only an apple, an orange, and a banana the entire day and that is not enough to sustain one walking 10 miles. The warm weather didn't help either; thankfully I was wearing my light grey suit. I arrived back at the Ecole at 9:22 PM, having left at 6:24 AM that morning. It was a remarkable trip and I am grateful that it usually does not take me 15 hours and $63 to attend church most Sundays.

One more picture: sunburned feet after Mont Blanc shennanigans...

More Mont Blanc

I've a great sunburn and a load of pictures after hiking up to one of the glaciers on Mont Blanc. Here are a few good ones.

A french bovine with resonant device for audible location.



Yours truly standing in glacial melt at the terminus of the Glacier de Boinnassay.





The rest of my hiking group from left to right: Peter from the Czech Republic, Sadanand from India, and Anwar from Pakistan.




I'll soon upload a couple photographs from my trip to Geneva yesterday to attend church.

Mont Blanc I

Today being Saturday, we have the afternoon open to go exploring. My colleagues and I plan to ride the local gondola up to one of the ridges above Les Houches. I'm not keen on this form of visiting the mountains as it robs one of any feeling of accomplishment. Anyone can pay a few euros to be carried up to an alpine ridge. Thus, I decided to run to the ridge myself so that I could have the satisfaction of running to the top under my own power. This is the video that I recorded at the top.

The room where I have been sleeping is a quaint, cozy accomoadation. The decor consists of a small nightstand, a wooden desk, and this photo of Aiguille Verte, one of the nearby mountains:



I'll readily admit that I enjoy the natural decor. Yesterday I found myself in 5 hours of classes. Most of the classes were quite valuable, treating polymer physics and molecular dynamics. The last lecture of the day, one on phase fields, left me struggling to see how it was relevant to the systems I study. maybe it was just that it was the last class of the day but I was struggling to stay awake.

The days are starting to fly by. There seems to never be enough time to do all that i would like to do. I think that that is due to the long (1:45) classes, stimulating practical work, and the fact that each meal takes 1 hour to complete. Don't get me wrong when I say this (I still see the social value of meals) but spending this much time eating or waiting to be served the next course seems like a poor use of time. Especially in the face of so much to do.

I end with a photo that I took when I brought my camera along for the morning run...

Bon Apetit!

Classes officially started yesterday. 60 of us gathered to be instructed by professors from various institutions throughout France. Just outside the window were lush green conifer forests with sea-green moss hanging from their boughs. The lecturers are quite good; their english is very comprehensible, as it is for most of the attendees. I don't feel near as bad not speaking French. When I went for my morning jog I said "Bonjour" to those peatones that I passed and did my best to pretend to actually speak French. Of course, I don't really but I realize that what I lack in foreign languages I can make up by being a friendly, charismatic American. So far, so good.

Thus far, I've been very impressed with the French cuisine. In fact, I think it may supplant Italian food as my preferred nationality when it comes to food. The food seems to be quite healthy and it is always served as a 3 or 4 course meal. First we have bread and a soup or salad. Then we are brought the main dish. This is followed by a dessert. The food seems to be quite healthy, a refreshing contrast to the fried dishes that seem to dominate American restaurants.

The croissants that I had this morning were just spectacular; they seemed to just melt in your mouth. They also had some homemade granola that puts mine to shame. It probably is not quite as healthy but definitely worthy of emulation. I'll have to smuggle some back to the states for further analysis by others with more discerning palates than I.

I've met many mother of my colleagues today, primarily while eating in the cafeteria. It's been fun, though not quite as time efficient as my normal "fueling up. All of these "social culinary experiences" may convince me of the value of not seeing my food as fuel and fuel only. Could this be one of the most valuable lessons that I can take from this experience? We will see.

Since this is affiliated with the Universite Joseph Fourier, it is only appropriate that we have art in the form of sine waves out front.

Les Houches Day 1

Good morning! I just spent my first night in a rustic lodge in the slopes above the village Les Houches, home of the Ecole de Physique. The effects of the 7 hour time lag are surprisingly minimal. Here I will be attending the first Les Houches School of Computational Physics. The attendees range from all over the world, with the bulk being from Europe. Last night at dinner in the cafeteria, I sat at a table with scientists from the Czech Republic, Poland, Turkey and Serbia. I definitely feel like an American, speaking only English. O to know French or German!

The view from the main building where we have lecture is incredible. Mont Blanc is literally at the door step. Look: