Month: May 2016

One of the things that has created some of the warmest memories during my semester is definitely the UNIL campus. Although fairly large, it is a walkable campus if you have classes in both the Arts and Biology buildings. Tracing the steps back from one building to the other, you would cross a small stream on a wooden bridge, following the stairs up to the UNIL Banane (main library) on the way to the Genopode (where I had my Biology classes). Most of the campus is covered in lush greenery – big trees, long stretches of grassy fields and flower patches. And on the way you can make some furry friends on walking through these grassy fields:

This is why UNIL doesn’t need to use lawnmowers

The UNIL campus sits near the lakeside. This is where you can find the main Sports center, with a track, gym, soccer fields, tennis courts, a free bouldering wall and a climbing wall. And also the UNIL Centre Nautique with paddle boats, kayaks, and sailboats. Looking over all of this is the Banane, home to the library and cafeteria. Some of the best afternoons spent at the university for me were during those days when the sun was out, sitting outside in the warmth, sometimes even enjoying views of the lake glistening in the sun towered over by snow peaked mountains, munching (probably on pasta as usual), chatting away about this or that with new friends made during the semester.

à bientôt:-)
Yuliya

May 12, 2016

Yup, title says it all:

Isabel and I have class together on Thursdays. We finish around 5pm and luckily most grocery stores are still open, we decided to stop by to get groceries for this weekend. We are planning to make a pancake brekkie with our roommates, yum!

Overall it was just one of those days. You know, when you realize the endlessness of your to-do list for school, and yet you are probably still working on getting out of bed before finding out the yogurt you put in the fridge the night before was missing. It’s been raining here for the past few days too, from what our local friends were saying, it’s pretty odd for May weather.

So Isabel and I went to the grocery store after our class. I know we had lunch not a long time before that, but it was still a trip where we had to stop in every section and admire the selection because we were so hungry. We also went to the grocery store that has the best sales on chocolate… mm mm.. I think eventually we were able to convince each other that maybe the 26CHF box of chocolate branches (the Cailler branches mm) was not a good idea at the time..

We got the ingredients finally.

And I got some strawberries too for pancakes which did not seem to want to sit up straight in their box on the bus back. Nevertheless, we made it to our stop with food in both hands. Or so we thought, because neither of us had realized that we had forgotten to push the button for the stop. And sooooo we didn’t get to our stop, but eventually we got off the bus, wobbly bags in hands, the rain giving us a preview of what seemed to be a shower. But still we were happy to be in Lausanne, and happy reminiscing on our exchange so far, and also too couldn’t stop laughing and giggling as we walked back to our residence.

à bientôt:-)
Yuliya

Oh my goodness this weekend was so so beautiful. Between clear blue waters, tropical tree-covered mountain peaks, and walks through endless Italian-inspired Swiss sidewalks, this weekend was a time to laugh, loads, to meet new awesome friends, to hold your jaw from dropping to the floor when you gaze at the scenery around you. The memories made this weekend were bright, colorful, and warm by the Ticino sun.

For me this trip was kinda a last minute decision. I hadn’t really been able to prepare to buy my tickets on the day they went on sale since my head was buried under assignment details for class. But I decided to sign up for the waitlist and got a spot for the trip (yay!).

We explored the cities of Bellinzona, and Locarno, and we stayed in Lugano. Here we stayed in a “hostel”, which by Swiss standards is like a luxe room, but with just more people in it. We hiked through the forests of Monte San Salvatore and sat on the shores of the bright blue waters surrounded by a tropical Italian-Switzerland.

So I think this would be where my story begins…. near the water…. with my phone in my pocket…

Haha do you see where this is going?

Okay well, so, we finished our hike. And we were waiting for the bus to take us back to Lugano. And hey, this beautiful blue water was calling to us, and hey well, dipping your feet in on the dock and under the sun sounded pretty inviting to me. But hey, little did I think about how odd of a position my phone was in while in my shirt pocket around my waist. And there was this one hole on the dock. Not sure what for, but just one, it was right there just by where I was sitting. And I was sitting on the dock and then thought maybe it was a good idea to sit back down in the shade (flashback two days, my face+sun+not enough sunscreen=lobster sunburn thing going on). And so anyways I got up to go sit in the shade and .. *whoooooooooosssshhhh* .. that’s the sound of my phone gliding right into this hole with high precision and accuracy, almost like it was made to perform this sort of thing. And well, me, I was kinda confused and startled. It kinda plopped and sank afterwards, real fast, it’s not exactly feather material. Anyways, this dock was a some 3-4 meters from shore and enough for the bottom to be out of sight, and the phone, well, that was that.

And then I guess slowly it kinda hits you that you shouldn’t have brought it on the dock on the first place and that you should have backed up all your exchange photos on iCloud or any other form of accessible technology. And that you really can’t afford a new phone right now you know, it kinda just sucks.

So this was all really sucky. But you know, then Isabel, and two of the girls that we became friends with during the trip, they were there, and they were really supportive and there with me through this. And when I was there trying to calm myself in the shade which I finally got to, they were still right with me. And they helped to talk me through all the post-phoneless logistics. Which aren’t super fun when you rely on your phone for probably too many things like me, and are also smart enough to not back it up often.

And yeah, stuff like this can spoil your trip, it’s hard not to let it affect you.

But can you believe I’m in Switzerland right now. And my friends are giggling over sillies while hiking down, where you look down and see greenery, look to the side and see lush forests and endless lake waters. It’s. So. Cool. Yup.

Well now I think somehow I’ll be able to get my hands on my old phone for the rest of my semester. And maybe some epic photos are down under lake waters, but but my memories will still be here. :’)

And mmmmm did I mention about the gelato we had on this trip? Mmmmm pistachio…

à bientôt:-)
Yuliya

… make new friends!

In the midst of classes, essays and presentations, when you know it’s the last month and deadlines start to creep up on you…

Well at least for me it sometimes feels like a whirlwind of thoughts going through my head. Today especially, maybe because I also realized I have a presentation and essay due at a date which before seemed liked months away but now somehow is next week… !! Erm what?

But hey, as the semester is coming to a close, it also means end of semester celebrations! Next week there is a music festival held at the sister university of UNIL, EPFL, that I’m really looking forward to going to. And last week was an event called Unilive with some local bands! Which I really liked since coming here I noticed a way way smaller number of concerts, and music gigs held in the city. Coming from Vancouver where local music is in the air and can be found around the city most nights of the week, this was very exciting!

But I guess initially the story I was trying to say, and finally am now getting to the point of, is about something that happened today. Since during the Unilive event that was held last week we found an ID that we guessed someone had lost amidst the crowd, I decided to send a message to return the ID.

After some coordination we finally found the time and today I returned the ID to its owner, Iolanda. Handing it back to her, I was mid-thinking about the homework deadlines, trying to figure out how to organize my schedule, and mid-thinking about other to-do list type things for my last month here, when I spotted Iolanda where we had arranged to meet in the afternoon. After receiving her ID she was very thankful; she thanked me some five times and offered to grab a coffee together. After introducing ourselves she explained what she was studying here and how it turns out that half of her family (all from her father’s side) is totally Ukrainian!! Which is super cool. You know, it’s like this instant bond forms when you find out someone is from Ukraine, or has family in Ukraine. And then we talked about her family and mine, and how my family is mostly russian speaking in Ukraine, and about being able to learn Ukrainian when you are growing up outside of Ukraine. And about some beautiful parts of Switzerland, there were some places she had suggested I visit in my last month here.

Speeding over to my next class I couldn’t help to think back on this experience as one of those moments where someone just comes in and completely unexpectedly turns your day around with their openness and kindness. When I think back on my exchange to Lausanne this is one of those experiences that I will remember.

À bientôt les amis,
Yuliya:-)