Iceland’s “Ring Road”: a highway that running around the entire island.

Here’s us, hiking stupidly through a blizzard…look at those smiles.

On three days we were treated to a nice soak in Iceland’s natural baths. In addition to the well-known Blue Lagoon, this one here’s called Jarðböðin við Mývatn. Definitely my favorite part of the trip.

And then we hiked some more…

I took my first “long exposure” shot.

Boundless untouched, natural beauty stretching as far as the eye can see.

Until next time…

Just something short, simple, and sweet to wrap up a rather bleak day. (One word: bureaucracy. Jag orkar inte mer.)

Some big news I might not have mentioned before: if everything goes according to plan, I will be spending two weeks in China this winter! (The plane tickets have already been bought, now all that’s missing is the VISA. It’s strange that I have to apply for a VISA to visit a country I was born in and lived the first part of my life in.) I think the last time I went back to China was 2005, so it’s really been a while. I am looking forward to seeing my grandparents, enjoying my aunt’s cooking, playing mahjong, eating sugar popsicles, playing badminton, and experiencing winter in China for the first time since 1995! There might also be a trip to Harbin to see the winter lights in the works. As well as a possible trip to Henan to visit my friend Yanzi, who I met in Norway.

While we’re on that subject, my mom showed me this song a while back: it is sung partly in Mandarin, partly in Manchu, the former language of my people, the Manchus. Due to a long process of sinicization, today there is only a handful of elderly folks who still speak the language, and everybody speaks Mandarin. Personally, I feel a real sadness that this is a language which will probably die out within a couple of decades. In another reality, I might have spoken it fluently. I don’t understand a thing, but at the same time, it evokes a certain nostalgia within me: it’s one of the few things that I have to connect with a culture and a heritage which is now all but lost. I also think it’s a very pretty language. (Manchu’s got rolling r’s, which is pretty awesome.)

I think I’ll stop here and let you enjoy the music. This past weekend I was at the Matterhorn with my friend Emma; we took a lot of photos so expect those soon. Natta!

But nowadays I feel like I’ve been letting too many important feelings and thoughts slip by without the slightest effort to analyze or remember them…so much to the point that I feel like I’ve been somehow demeaned somewhere along the way. It’s as if somehow the lack of really looking at myself, my thoughts, and my desires have dulled my being. Life is sweet, but it doesn’t taste as good as it used to; I can’t feel as strongly as I used to. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not depressed, and I’m not sad. Far from it; I consider myself an incredibly lucky guy. But I guess I’m merely too used to living my life now without questioning it. (Lazy in all possible ways, hehe.) So I will recommence, for as long as I feel compelled. Perhaps these short analyses, these short blabbers will reveal something magnificent. Perhaps they’ll reveal some new, undiscovered flavors of life. Perhaps.

Before, it was my goal to live in Europe. It was my dream, and when I fulfilled it, it was wonderful. It changed me for the better. I felt safer, I felt more confident, I was really free from all the constraints had been placed upon me. I owe how I am today to this place, but now that I am here…I don’t really have a strong idea of what is next. The current plan is to stay in Switzerland, to find a job, to get settled. But at the same time, I can’t be sure if that’s what I really want.

A part of me is saying “Pack up your things and go.” Part of me wants to leave for a new foreign land, abandon my life here for new adventures abroad. Now that Switzerland has become less adventure and more quotidien, part of me is already on the search for something new. And I have been searching! Or perhaps the more appropriate word is: I have been dreaming. I dream of moving to Spain for a while…and walk the El Camino de Santiago. I dream of moving to Copenhagen and buying a bike there. I have even dreamed of leaving this Old Continent altogether to start anew in Montréal. I could do all these things…but I am not going to do any of them because at the same time…the everyday holds me back. This everyday makes it hard to let go. I easily let go of my everyday in the US because I was miserable. I cannot do the same because here, I am not.

Maybe this is what every college senior gets, this uneasy feeling of uncertainty and confusion. This desire to break free and roam. Perhaps it’s our unconscious effort to rebel against what we know is inevitable: the real world, the work force, a schedule, regularity?

I am on a train without intermediate stops, only a final destination. Outside the window I see people playing, and I want to join them. But I can only look longingly at them through the window as the train speeds past.

I was inspired to write an article about travel marketing for my Integrated Marketing Communications course after visiting some of my AFS friends’ hometowns after our exchange year in Norway. During these trips, I realized,
1. What different worlds and lives we come from (and yet we all came together and got along for a year), and
2. They lived in beautiful places!

It was truly an incredible experience to see their original lives–who they hang out with, where they go, what they do for fun. I can call myself privileged to have seen so much with a local (and more importantly–a friend) by my side. I saw these cities in ways normal tourists could never see.

I guess perhaps my favorite thing about these visits was getting to see their “home life.” For some reason it makes me really excited, like when I realized that Jessica used gas burners in her house which she had to ignite with a match…or learning all the different names of Italian crackers and biscuits from Francesco’s mother. (I’ve forgotten all of them, unfortunately…) Or getting to meet Xenia’s dog (which I am convinced is a toddler trapped in a dog’s body). Or even something as simple as going to get morning bread with Balázs in Hungary. Isn’t it strange how these little insignificant moments are often the ones you remember the most?

So I guess I’m starting to realize the sense behind the saying, “once an exchange student, always an exchange student.” Odd to think that my decision to study abroad a one year would still be relevant to my life two years later. None of this wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been an exchange student. I wonder what kind of an article I would’ve written then…

Part of me wants to make it so big and show the world just what I am capable of.

That’s my thought du jour.

This weekend I will be heading to Lauterbrunnen with some friends and we will spend Friday hiking the Bernese Oberland. I’ve been looking forward to this trip for well over a year now, as I will finally be able to say that I’ve been to Interlaken. (You know, one of those places where everyone has been to except you–like living in northern California and never having gone to Tahoe.) Hopefully the weather will be kind that day; I’ve been borderline heat-stroking it this past weekend here in Lugano so the signs are good!

My mom is coming to visit in a couple of weeks. The original plan was to take her to Bretagne–after listening to Nolwenn Leroy’s Bretonne, I’m really itching to see it for myself. However, she really wants to go see the Louvre, so I think we will be spending two days in Paris instead: one day for the museum, one day for the landmarks. In addition, I also really want to see this year’s “Opera on the Lake” at the Bregenz Festival in Austria. (If my memory serves, the Tosca scene during Quantum of Solace was filmed in the Bregenz.)

Well, that’s a lot of plans–but then again, that’s me. Alla prossima!

But I would just like to mention one thing: cows have now become one of my favorite animals. They’re just so darn cute, not to mention curious and peaceful! One of the best moments of being up there in the mountains was hearing the hundreds of ringing, clanking trichels (cowbells). It truly is a sound from heaven.

Seriously, they’re just awesome!

After about 45 minutes of walking from Wasserauen I finally reached Seealpsee. (Beautiful place with a seemingly redundant name…it translates to Lake-alp-lake if I’m not mistaken.)

Møøøøøøøøøøøøøø…….Hello, ladies!

Leaving the scenic valleys of Seealpsee–I was feeling ambitious that day and decided hike up the mountain to Ebenalp.

I have to come back to discover this valley…it undoubtedly holds some hidden treasures. There was an advertisement for a molke-bath that was quite tempting.

There were some amazing flowers to be found in the forest…

…including this one! I have never seen a flower like this before in my life…anybody knows what it’s called?

Coming out of the forest, one arrives at Altenalp, halfway between Seealpsee and my destination–Ebenalp. Good thing too, I was running out of water! To give you an idea: this was the only building/sign of civilization for about 30 minutes’ of hiking distance in both directions. A bit reminiscent of a space station on the moon (if they had one).

There was a farmer working hard outside. I asked if I could have something to drink, and he invited me inside and showed me the menu. And that was when I discovered the greatness of molke (also known as whey).

I wonder how he got all this stuff up here…I also wonder if he was born/grew up on this farm. I had a bit of trouble communicating in Swiss German, but it was fun. In the end, I bought some homemade Alp cheese off of him.

And he had a goatpen! This has been a farm animal field day for me.

And speaking of fields: at long last, after three and a half hours of hiking, I reached the top of Ebenalp! I really love this country from the bottom of my heart.

I had written out an entire blog entry last week before we left for vacation, but unfortunately it got deleted, and this has been the first opportunity I’ve had where I could really sit down, focus, and write. (Well, not entirely true…more like the first time I’ve been in the blogging mood.)

As mentioned, R and I are on vacation in Norway. We had just come down from four days in the Lofoten archipelago, to the north of Norway. But of course, I’ll let my pictures do most of the talking:

We stayed in a renovated fisherman’s cottage (rorbu) at Valen, on the edge of the town of Reine and near the island Sakrisøya.

Here’s a view of our rorbu from the side: it’s the one to the right.

Being next to the water, we had a great view from our window and patio/deck.

There was a lot of fish (tørrfisk) hanging near our cabin.

But where were the heads?

A little further down the road, well…we found them.

Shark heads too!

We walked to Sakrisøya to the east…

…and Reine to the west.

And no matter where we went, it was beautiful.

After a long stroll, it was nice to come home and relax a bit.

And each night, we were treated to a beautiful sunset out on the deck. (The sun set at around 10 PM here!)

Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves immensely!

So now we are down in Horten, with my Norwegian family. It’s been a lot of fun showing René my life here. It’s also the first time that I’ve shown anybody from outside the AFS network Horten, and Norway for that matter. In addition, we’ve spent the last two evenings in Pappa’s home brewery sampling his various batches of beer. (My favorite is hveteøl, or wheat beer.) Fun and tasty!

We still have two days here, and while tomorrow’s plans are uncertain, we will definitely be having the usual Pizza Night on Friday, as well as celebrating Mamma’s birthday. And now, I should get some sleep so I have enough energy for tomorrow. G’nite!

…even though I just came back from one. But I would hardly call it a “vacation.” My itinerary looked something like this:

Friday: 6 hour train ride from Lugano to Lausanne
Saturday: 3 hour train ride from Lausanne to Lyon via Geneva
Sunday: 6 hour train ride from Lyon to Wil via Geneva
Monday: 4 hour train ride from Wil to Lugano

It was fun, but as you can see, there was no relaxing. Nevertheless, I don’t regret making the trip: Lyon is a beautiful place and my pictures don’t do it justice. The streets in Vieux-Lyon were especially charming. I don’t think it will be the last time I visit this place. In fact, I could picture myself living in the city for a while, and that says a lot.

Of course, I didn’t leave without taking some souvenirs along: I bought a Gorillaz album and some Lyonnaise honey for René. And for myself, an assortment of vegetable oil soap (it’s apparently my thing), the newest opus from Christophe Maé, and Nolwenn Leroy’s Bretonne. Speaking of which, I think my taste in music has really aged in the past year or so. I remember listening to this album the first time and thinking it was…well, crap. But after listening to some of the tracks again a couple of weeks ago, I now love it. (Bretonne, by the way, is a CD featuring music of the French region of Brittany and surrounding Celtic lands. Some of the songs are traditional, while some of the songs are more contemporary and composed solely for the album. A couple of them are also sung in the Breton language.) I especially love the track Je ne serais jamais ta Parisienne. It’s sung from the perspective of a woman from Brittany who is currently in Paris. She sings to her love interest that she can never be his Parisian because she craves the ocean and the landscape of Brittany. I’ve heard this song first about a year ago, when it first came out, but only this time around did it strike a chord. Don’t be too surprised, I guess, if you don’t like it on the first go. But it’s really a treasure.

The Thursday before I left for vacation, I spent an amazing day with Leah: we spent some time snapping some shots in her room, before going out to “chill” in the meadows by Lago di Muzzano. In the evening, we ate at Zelal’s, the restaurant located on the first floor of our studentbolig. It was warm enough to sit on the terrace, and we had some fun people-watching: you never realize how many people walk up and down Via Sorengo everyday! We must’ve seen at least 15 familiar faces in the two-hours we sat there.