Evian, the Kids, the Fete, recent pics, etc.

Here are some recent pictures of what I've been up to:

Sharron and I went to Evian last weekend--yes, the actual place where they bottle Evian water. It's about 45 minutes from my house. It's a cute little town, but there wasn't really much going on. The bottling plant was closed, so we didn't really get to see it. We had some great Morrocan food, walked around the lake a bit. This picture is from when we saw some guys randomly sleeping beside the lake, and we thought it would be hilarious for me to lay down next to them and take a picture. We giggled about it for about 10 minutes. I'm also still laughing over the idea that people (myself included) pay so much money for Evian water when it's pretty much what comes out of the taps at my house.

This is a car that I saw on fire. I had Wednesday afternoon off, so I went into Geneva to wander around a bit. I happened to wander into the Red Light district--I knew that's where I was when I saw several poorly kept women in really really cheap, incredibly revealing clothes standing on the street at 3 in the afternoon. Prostitution is legal here, but it's heavily regulated and kept in this one area near the center of Geneva, so it's easy to wander into. I'm told that it's a perfectly safe area, and that there are even some trendy restaurants around there. When I realized that I was looking at aging hookers, I just kind of laughed to myself and turned around. That's when I happened to see this car on fire--just another odd twist to that section of the afternoon. The fire department came and I assume all was taken care of and the ladies got back to work :)

This is just a picture I took out of my bedroom window. It stormed a bit last week, and I've seen some great rainbows. 

That's Henry, my older one, on the left, and on the right is Louie, the boy Sharron takes care of. Aren't they adorable?! We took them to the baby beach for an afternoon. The weather has been really great, for the most part, lately, so we try to take full advantage and occupy the kids outside. It has the added benefit of wearing them out so they nap/go to bed really easily. I never thought I'd so look forward to nap-time every day--no matter what has happened in the morning, sanity can be restored if they just nap well and give me a couple of hours to regain sanity before it all starts again.

Alessio, my younger boy, is just about the cutest kid I've ever seen. He really thinks he's older and bigger than he is, though, so he tends to try to jump in water or climb ladders or go down slides all by himself--he has no fear. We have to keep a very close eye on him or he would hurt himself several times a day. 

Other than all of that stuff, things have been pretty low-key. The Fete de Geneve is in town--basically there is a carnival set up along the shores of the lake, including rides, stages for music, and bars. I have noticed that the Swiss do festival food really well. At an American festival, you're pretty much going to only be able to get hot dogs and hamburgers, or other variations of fried or barbequed food. Here, I guess because Switzerland is so international, there are booths with every type of food imaginable--Thai, Chinese, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Brazilian, Mexican, Morrocan, Russian, Polish, Czechoslovakian, and the list goes on. It's amazing. There was even a Tex Mex booth!--I had just eaten, so I didn't try it, but I was very impressed that it was there. Summertime is notoriously great here weather-wise, so they take full advantage and there always seems to be a festival going on. Another odd thing resulting from the good weather is that there are tons of Arab people here--it's too hot in the Middle East in the summer, and Switzerland is a very neutral, welcoming country, plus Geneva is an expensive city with all of the finer things that these rich Arabs expect, so they bring their entire families for the whole summer. It is interesting to see all of the women in their various forms of dress--some just have to cover their hair (some get to use bright scarves while others seem to only be allowed to use black cotton), some cover hair and face, I've seen a lot of them in full burkhas with only their eyes showing. I wish that I could ask each of them where they are from so I could learn which country each dress-type comes from.  

I'm really hoping to take some trips very soon. Time has seemed to fly by, and suddenly I've been here over 2 months and haven't really travelled yet. I may take the train to Paris next weekend, and some friends and I are considering a trip to Portugal in September. I leave for Hong Kong on October 2nd, so time is quickly running out. I'm hoping to travel a bit in Asia as well, though, so it's not as if I won't see anything interesting come October. I'm still really excited about Hong Kong, but it's a bit surreal. Who ever thought I'd move to Hong Kong?! It just seems like such an odd thing, but it is my current reality. 

I've been a bit homesick, but nothing too bad. I really enjoy being here, and I don't at all regret coming, but still there are times when I'm homesick. I've realized that homesickness, for me, comes mostly from a want to be in my comfort zone--to be where I know the city so well that I can always figure out what I want to do and where to do, and to know my best friends and family are always there for entertainment or support or whatever. Being in a foreign place, with a foreign language, and none of those comfortable people around can be very uncomfortable.  But, I've also realized that this discomfort is a major part of why I'm doing this--I think there is growth in discomfort. I think I'll be a better person for having faced it. And, of course, a little discomfort is nothing compared to the opportunity I have right now to see the world. If only I could just get a little bit of proper mexican food...