Recruiting: A Grad Student's Worst Nightmare

An unfortunate part of our looming graduation date is securing employment.  I headed back to Boston for just that one week in November.  Though my days were filled with preparing, interviewing, company receptions, and running between the two events, it was good to be back.  Plus I’m now in the fortunate position to be on the other side of the table and interview the companies to see which offer is the best fit.  Come June 3^rd (well if I get this thesis signed off on), we will need to swap the lectures, tour of the world, and themed parties for responsibility and a paycheck.

However June isn’t here yet and I still managed to have a good time despite the ten hour interviews. My LGO team took one evening off of all things recruiting and had a reunion dinner at our favorite sushi joint.  Teammate Steve and his wife had a baby over the summer and this was my first time seeing the little guy. 

 

Newsteam

I was fortunate to fly in Halloween day and got to participate in the MIT Halloween parties.  What a grand opportunity to break out a German dirndl.  My co-workers told me that only small children participate in Halloween in Switzerland and found my description of American Halloween hilarious. 

 

LGO's celebrate Halloween

I also was in town for a fabled MIT tradition - Fall Ball which is a cross between prom and a high-end wedding.  Since all my stuff was in a suburban storage locker, I dressed up in a pal’s finest and danced the night away at the Fairmont Copley downtown.

Ladies at Fall Ball

Bone Church

A classmate and avid traveler, Todd, tipped us off to make a half day trip out of Prague to the small town of Kunta Hora to the “bone church”.  While we were skeptical, Todd was so insistent on the excursion that we trekked out to Kunta Hora.  Wow he wasn’t kidding.  The Sedlec Ossuary aka the bone church is an ossuary that is estimated to house the skeletons of 40,000 – 70,000 people.  The ossuary had been a popular burial site in Bohemia and was overrun with bodies during the plague in the 14^th century and Hussite Wars in the 15^th century.  A new family purchased the chapel in the 1800’s and hired a local woodcarver to arrange the bones.  The result is both morbid and fascinating.  See for yourself in the pictures below.   

Chris & I underneath the chandelier

Chandelier had every bone in the human body

A crown of skeletons to commemorate the king

We returned to Prague to accidentally encounter the taping of Mission Impossible 4 which was quite a departure from starring at 40,000 skeletons.  

Foray into Eastern Europe

Little did I know all those years singing Christmas carols, the Good King Wenceslas was a real prince who ruled over Bohemia.  At present day, King Wenceslas’ land is the Czech Republic solidified in 1993 by the Velvet Revolution and subsequent Velvet Divorce.  I learned all these fascinating facts (and many more) on a private walking tour we ended up on by happenstance shortly after arriving in Prague.  We flew in at the crack of dawn to maximize sight-seeing time and conveniently stayed right off the main square pictured below. 

Main square of Prague

Our local tour guide spun tales of love, revolution, and history as we wandered from sight to sight.  We began in the main square to watch the changing of the hour from the astronomical clock.  It was fairly amusing to watch throngs of people gathered to see a small parade of apostle and a bell-ringing skeleton.   

Astronomical clock

The biggest tourist site of Prague is the elegantly formidable castle on the hill that overlooks the city.  We trucked up the hill with our guide to view the grounds and take in the soldiers who guard the gate similar to those in front of Buckingham palace.  Other fascinating tidbits from the tour included seeing the Prague Castle window where two Habsburg councilors were thrown in the early 1600’s.

Prague Castle

After the tour we walked across the famed Charles Bridge.  It spans the river from the Castle to the main city center of Prague and was built in the 1300s.  Another official was thrown from the bridge for disobedience and it is considered good luck to rub his foot on the statue the marks his last spot. 

Good luck here I come!

One morning while the rest of the group went shopping, I went to check out Josefov – Prague’s former Jewish Quarter.  The Jewish Museum is consortium of former synagogues and a cemetery.  I found the graveyard interesting.  The disheveled appearance came from a practice of burying one generation of people on top of the next.

Jewish graveyard

We of course sampled much of the local food and beer.  Everybody always raves about Czech beer and it didn’t disappoint.  Given the cold weather and how much time we spent walking around outside, I loved the gluwein (hot wine). Though I enjoyed the litany of dumplings, my favorite Prague gastronomic treat however was beef goulash. 

Friendship Across Continents

Two of the things I’ve always loved best about my friend and college roommate, Kelly, are her adventurous streak and spontaneity.  In the previous posts, I told you guys about our paragliding escapade and Oktoberfest exploits.  In addition to paragliding during the Interlaken trek, we also went hiking and canyoning.

       

Kelly, Susanna, & I pre-hike

According to Wikipedia my favorite source of online knowledge, canyoning is “traveling in canyons using a variety of techniques that may include other outdoor activities such as walking, scrambling, climbing, jumping, abseiling, and/or swimming.”  We went with my paragliding instructor, Luki, in a canyon right outside Interlaken.  Wow what a crazy sport.  Within five minutes of entering the canyon, Luki, Susanna, & I were accidentally swept down a chute of raging white water after Luki tried to jump across a gorge with me on his back, missed the landing, and Susanna tried to heroically grab us.  Don’t worry mom, I was wearing a helmet.  Not more than ten minutes afterwards, we all had to jump 30 – 40 feet through a narrow rock chute into a small pool.  Clearly the Swiss aren’t concerned with pesky American traditions of liability.

What a sport

Besides crazy sports, Interlaken is also a beautiful region of Switzerland to go hiking in.  Jungfraujoch is the hallmark mountain in the region and the scene of a James Bond movie.  The boys tell me that it was the scene of a revolving restaurant.  Like with most hikes in Switzerland, we spent most of the hike in awe of the natural beauty and slightly ashamed as seventy year olds with walking sticks overtook us with ease.

With Jungfrau

Over the past nine years, Kelly and I have gotten together in three continents. Friend anniversary year ten is coming up next fall.  How do you feel about Antarctica Kel?    

Bring those muscles to Antarctica Kelly!

Paragliding

I’ve always been a bit of a daredevil.  When I was younger this took the form of trying to fly by jumping off our tree house into the sandbox.  In later years, this has encompassed cliff diving into the Susquehanna near Bucknell, sky diving and bungy jumping in Australia, and hang gliding and shot over jetting in New Zealand.  While we were in Interlaken, Kelly, Susanna, and I resolved to seize the day and go paragliding.

Gliders in action

After spending the morning cannyoning with Luki, we decided to spend the afternoon with him flying.  The three of us suited up in our flying gear, got in the van, and headed up the mountain with our flying partners.  Our guides laid out the parachutes, strapped us to them, and we were ready.  In paragliding, you run but a few paces down the hill until the wind picks up the chute and you are lifted up.

Luki setting up our chute

Luki was a fantastic partner.  We glided amongst the clouds, dipped behind the mountains, skirted shockingly close to trees, flitted amongst the leaves, and only came close to colliding with a few birds.  When we were solidly over the center of Interlaken, Luki amped up the paragliding experience by maneuvering our glider like a roller coaster with flips and turns.  Sadly before I knew it the flight was over and we were skimming across the grass.

Me in my flying chute post flight

Birthday Abroad

Growing up birthdays meant a special dinner out with the family at your favorite restaurant, blowing out the candles on an ice cream cake from Baskins Robbins, and Dad serenading you with his wonderful and off-key rendition of Happy Birthday.  As the boys and I moved off to pursue our educations and more recently careers, birthday celebrations have evolved.

Birthday crew

This year I spent my birthday in Basel at a wines of the world fair held at a posh restaurant Ferraris parked on the street outside that I’d never otherwise visit having not drawn a paycheck for a year and a half now.  For a nominal fee, you got to try as many of the 315 wines as you wanted from tuxedo-clad waiters.  We flitted between the white, red, and desert wine rooms and took a virtual tour of the world through our palates.  The gang surprised me with a box of my favorite wines in the parking lot after we closed down the restaurant. 

Checking out my new loot

After we took the tram back, it seemed like a good idea after four solid hours of free wine tasting to crowd clown car style in the lift in our apartment.  Imagine our surprise when the elevator sank instead of taking us up to the fourth floor for cake.  Apparently the Swiss are serious about their weight requirements and six people in an elevator built for two caused us to be stuck between the ground floor and the basement.  I’ve never been trapped in an elevator before but it was pretty hilarious.  Karla was convinced we were going to suffocate and worriedly kept pushing the emergency button, Asvin thought we were going to overheat and insisted on taking off half his clothes, and Kevin opened a bottle of wine to quench his thirst.  The superintendent rescued us after about thirty minutes and pulled us out between floors.  We celebrated our brush with death birthday cake and more wine. 

We really should be in a sitcom or maybe a reality tv show

In a nod to my proximity to France “Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose” or “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”  Though it may not have transpired in Greensboro, NC, I still spent the evening out at a special event with my Swiss family, partook in candles and cake, and was serenaded by Dad through the technological marvel that is Skype.  

Oktoberfest

Celebrating Oktoberfest in Munich has always been a bucket list item akin to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Halloween in Salem, or New Year’s in Time Square.  Check another item off the list!  The Switzerland crew and I headed to Munich the other weekend for the last two days of the bicentennial Oktoberfest (way to up the bucket list ante huh).  A group of MITers made the trek across the ocean to meet us for a long weekend of debauchery, lederhosen, oopmha bands, and general shenanigans.  Here a few of them are in their lederhosen and dirndls.        

All decked out in their German finest

Although the inaugural Oktoberfest was to honor the marriage of King Ludwig I and Therese of Bavaria, these days its devolved into a celebration of German beer.  The festival grounds house 14 tents each staffed by a Bavarian brewery serving their own brew in addition to an enormous carnival of rides, games, and food stalls.  I was expecting the Mardi Gras like atmosphere to permeate the event and was surprised by the number of families at the Oktoberfest grounds.  However the grounds were packed and unless you’re going in the morning during the middle of the week, I would not recommend taking small children.     

Oktoberfest grounds

We woke up, took the train, and were at the festival grounds by 8:30AM to be in line for when the tent doors opened at 9:30AM.  Wow how grossly we underestimated the throngs of lederhosen-cladden people.  Our lot hoped to spend the day at the Hofbräu-Festzelt tent, waited in line in a crush of people for about two hours, and then were saved from near claustrophobia when Karla paid off the doorman and got us all in.  Thanks Karla!  After our unwelcomed two hour interlude in line, we were eager to join our classmates who had gotten up at 5AM, arrived way earlier, and managed to hold us seats at tables inside the tent.  Each tent holds 3K – 7K people so seats can be tough to come by.

Allen & I enjoying our beers

Oktoberfest is a highly entertaining event.  At least two thirds of the people in the tent were dressed in traditional attire.  Waitresses scurry between drunken hordes miraculously carrying ten liters of beer.  Waiters hoist half chickens, pretzels, dumplings, and wurst through the air at hungry patrons.  The band takes the stage in the middle of the tent playing lively oophma music.  The Hofbräuhaus in Munich actually inspired what seems to have become the Oktoberfest theme song "oans, zwoa, g'suffa" (Bavarian dialect for: "one, two, drink").  Every twenty minutes or so, the band breaks into the above song and the cheering crowds jump to their feet on benches or sometimes tables, hoist their beers, and scream.

Hofbrauhaus Band

A few liters of beer, half a chicken, a pretzel, and many rounds of singing later, the tent was closing for the evening.  Somehow we managed to spend fourteen hours at the Hofbräuhaus tent and went back the following day to try out a few more tents and further soak up the Oktoberfest culture.  I have no idea when, where, or how I acquired the hat below.

Decked out in our new hats

Cool as a Cucumber

Between traveling and working, it’s easy to get behind on other responsibilities so on Sunday I skipped out on a day trip to France and headed to the local Starbucks to be a good friend and write somebody’s grad school recommendations.  Yes Starbucks is a stereotypical American hangout but on a Sunday in Switzerland one’s choices are limited to Starbucks, the train station, or a handful of gas stations.  Four months in and I still have no idea what everybody does on Sunday. 

I met my friend Said at Starbucks; we got oversized lattes and settled into work.  A sudden commotion broke me from my productive trance.  Two guys of north African descent were yelling at each other in French.  Not that unusual in NYC or even parts of Boston but in Switzerland I feel like I’m yelling when I speak in my normal voice.  Then one of the guys pulled a hammer from his satchel, lunged at the second guy, and began chasing him around Starbucks.  They ran out and Said who is Lebanese and speaks French explained to me that they were having an argument over a girl.

The most baffling component of the whole incident was not the fight or the fact that some guy was carrying around a hammer on a Sunday afternoon at Starbucks.  Rather it was that none of the Swiss customers seemed perturbed.  Most of them didn’t bat an eye, put down their cappuccinos, or even look up from their German edition Wall Street journals as two crazy, hammer wielding men chased each other around Starbucks.          

The phrase “cool as a cucumber” doesn’t even begin to adequately describe the Swiss.         

When in Switzerland ...

Ah Switzerland – the land of chocolate, Heidi, the Alps, and army knives.  The national museum in Zurich currently has an exhibit on the latter so a few of us went to check it out.   In addition to the exhibit, you were able to assemble your very own Swiss army knife.   You’d think three MIT engineers would have an easier time machining a Swiss army knife but wow are there way more parts than I was expecting.  Luckily we had Swiss army knife personnel on hand to guide us at every step … in German … but hey pantomiming translates across national tongues. 

Two MIT engineers hard at work - well Asvin's supervising the work on his knife

I learned that I had better continue working towards a thesis as I do not have a future career in assembling Swiss army knives.  

Sweet Success!

They may not be as famous as Niagara Falls, but the Rheinfall waterfalls about thirty minutes outside of Zurich are the biggest waterfalls in Europe.  After knife building, we struck out to see how they compared to Niagara.  What we discovered is that “biggest” is a bit of a misnomer as the falls have the largest volume of water passing over them and are not very high.

Rheinfall

Regardless, the falls are in a beautiful setting with the Laufen Castle resting on a cliff overlooking the falls.  We had a grand time taking a Niagara-style boat out to the falls where we felt the full force of the “biggest” distinction and got rather wet.  

Gang with the Rheinfalls

Lugano

A few weekends ago, I set off for a girls weekend to Lugano, the “Monte Carlo of Switzerland”.  Switzerland is an enchanting and often baffling amalgamation of fairly autonomous cantons.  Lugano is the largest town in Ticino, the Italian speaking part of Switzerland, and boasts an expansive, crystal blue lake, a Mediterranean-style town square, and gastronomic wonders.

Christie & I overlooking Lake Lugano

We took a funicular up to the top of Monte San Salvatore for breathtaking views and a meandering trail along the lake, through well-preserved villages to Vivo Morcote. We celebrated our triumphant arrival to Vivo Morcote lounging by the lake, our feet dangling into the water, feasting on champagne and cheese.

Tanja & Christie in a quaint Ticino village

That evening we explored Lugano, ambling around aimlessly, turning down cobblestone-strewn paths, and following the sound of street performers.  Eventually we settled on an outdoor café for dinner where Tanja and I shared a mascarpone pizza.  It was a slice or six of heaven.  All pizzerias should include options with mascarpone.  The next morning we hiked away from Lugano towards the village of Tesserete passing a beautiful abby hidden away in the hills. 

Tanja with the abbey

 On the way back to Basel, we made a quick detour to Bellizona to check out its five castles.  Another wonderful weekend exploring stunning Switzerland. 

Mediterranean beauty

Things that baffle Europeans about Americans

• Colloquial expressions & idioms
• I’ve had a heck of a time explaining the relevance of “fell by the wayside”, “drop of a hat”, “more than one way to skin a cat”, etc
•  They also don’t understand why we use soda, coke, & pop to represent the same product
• Our sense of humor
• Nobody seems to find “that’s what she said” amusing
• Everybody wonders why Americans haven’t embraced Arrested Development and enjoy Family Guy
• Our love of big cars & our reluctance to use either our feet or public transportation
• Why we talk so much about so little
• Our perpetual air of informality
• To a European, “hey what’s up” is not an appropriate greeting
• Similarly every email should have a formal salutation & personal closing such as best regards, sincerely, etc
• Our insistence on showering and wearing fresh clothing everyday
• My boss wears the same shirt Monday - Wednesday.  Seriously
• The coffee - they hate our coffee

Back to Boston

I just returned from a week in Boston from the mid-way point of the internship.  It was fantastic being back in Boston even though every day was scheduled from 8AM to 10PM with lectures, presentations, meetings, and company smoozing.  I flew in just in time to celebrate the birthdays of two of my favorite MITers.  I may have nearly fallen asleep on their floor from jet lag but managed to stay up to sing happy birthday and partake in cake.  The picture below shows our fantastic group of gals in warmer weather.

My favorite Sloan gals in Rockport

I fit in my other of my favorite Boston people and activities even though the encounters were often too brief and at odd hours.  These included running along the Charles with Karla & Dannielle, walks with Avi & Catherine, shopping with Tara, dinner in Beacon Hill with Emily & Nimisha, drinks with Derek, the Miracle of Science with the Getaway Gals, Border Café with Shaun, pancakes with Julia, coffee with Kelly, and running & brunch with Jeff, Joan, & Brian.  Thanks for your flexibility guys!  I was also able to go on a school camping trip Friday night before flying back to Basel on Saturday which was a great time. 

A small smattering of LGO campers

Another good point of the trip was discovering that I’m on track to graduate this spring.  Not that I was  worried but it was still nice to hear.  Wow I can’t believe my expat days are rapidly drawing to a close … or are they?  Our trip to MIT also marked the beginning of recruiting season.  I’m in the exploratory phase however I’ve really enjoyed living in Boston and will definitely be including overseas opportunities in my search.  Don’t worry Mom, my top two target cities are Boston & DC (Clarke – start mounting your campaign now).

Family Dinner Night

Monday in Switzerland is family dinner night.  Family dinner was an institution growing up and something the boys and I always enjoy getting back into when we’re in Greensboro.  A few weeks into our internships, I decided we could all use a little stability and touch of home in our expat lives and implemented a weekly dinner with a rotating chef.  Although the boys resisted the cooking component initially (though definitely not the home-cooked meals!), they’ve since acquiesced and have been trying to one up each other.  Asvin made stir fry, Donovan delighted us with rosti one of the national dishes of Switzerland, and Kevin brought a touch of home with bleu-cheese stuff hamburgers and roasted potatoes. 

Asvin hard at work

My classmate Christie who lives across the border in France tried a French dish and topped it off with chocolate fondue.  My most recent rotation fell near Kevin’s birthday so I made chicken parmesan with pan-fried chicken like a good southern.    

Gang enjoying a meal at my place

Like any good Americans, we celebrated Kevin’s actual birthday the next night at the classiest joint we knew – McDonald’s.  We did take some assorted European friends and drink out of real glasses (who knew McDonald’s was so upscale here) so it counts as a cultural experience.  

Only the best for you Kev

Cow Patty Whacking

Since moving to Switzerland, the Basel group has hosted nine classmates, six family members, and several other assorted friends.  We’re a lucky group!  Last weekend, our classmates Rob & Kuldip visited during a break from their respective internships at Amazon.  Team Switzerland decided that we needed to make this a special trip for our pals and concocted the ultimate Swiss weekend. 

We set off towards an undiscovered (for us anyway) part of Switzerland.  After a picturesque drive, we embarked on our hike to our lodgings for the evening – a mountain hut.   I don’t think the entire group appreciated the hike with gear up to their communal bunk beds and no showers but I thoroughly enjoyed it.   

Asvin, Karla, & I with the mountain hut in the background

The grizzled proprietor, Hubert, and his wife whipped us up a multi-course feast.  After a day of hiking, the homemade soup was heavenly.  Hubert even brought us his ten year-old cheese.  Call me uncultured but I preferred the softer, less moldy one year old cheese.  Nevertheless, the aged cheese was interesting to try.  Hubert and his wife looked to both be well over 70 and brought all necessary supplies in by front supplemented with biannual air drops.  Wow! 

A well deserved hot meal atop the mountain

The next morning we woke before dawn, ate breakfast with Hubert, and set off towards Aetesch Glacier.  A few of us hiked up the mountain to get different perspective.  The climb was intense and we celebrated the summit with piping hot coffees and hot chocolates at another mountain hut.  I went glacier climbing once in New Zealand but hiking along a mountain ridge looking down at the glacier was a new and cool experience. 

The glacier

We hiked through the Alps overlooking the glacier for awhile to a mountain-top lake. 

Stunning beauty around every bend

A few more hours of hiking brought us to the hamlet of Riederalp.  Riederalp was hosting their annual cow patty whacking festival.  Yes you read that correctly.  We trudged up to the event, ate the regional specialty of fried cheese, drank milk fresh from the cow, and outfitted ourselves with golf clubs for the whacking. 

Fore!

What a unique experience hitting dried up cow dung off a mountainside is.  If only traditional golf was so interesting …  

Swiss Work Life

10) The crazy company-wide vacation policies

Every employee is required to take at least one continuous two-week vacation annually.  Three vacation days are gifted simply for moving apartments.  Although I only started in June, I get 13 days of vacation – 3 more than I got for the whole year in my old life. 

Team Basel standing in front of the $300M Frank Gehry building

9) The fake bird nests that house the fake bird noises

Yes it took us about a month to realize that the birds’ nests dotting campus were fake.

8) The genuine approach to work/life balance

Nobody calls or emails you on the weekend.  Campus closes at 8PM - I’ve been kicked out of the building multiple times by the security guard. 

7) The reading and reflection spots

At a minimum, most buildings have an atrium.  Then there’s the bamboo garden, Japanese reflecting pool with rare fish, North American forest, hidden away libraries, rooftop reading nooks, etc. 

Imported Japanese fish

6) The company wine

What company doesn’t own several of their own vineyards?  And yes, their wine is delicious.

5) The suited guards who greet you in the morning

Some mornings I wonder if I’m going to my office or the White House.

4) The lunching/coffee culture with a smorgasbord of international dining options

Should you take your morning cappuccino at the French café or would you rather sip Turkish coffee while sitting on Moroccan rugs?  Lunch brings new decisions – Indian?  Thai?  Tapas?  Sushi?  Italian?  Four different ice cream carts magically appear during lunch.

Clarke has a Moroccan coffee

3) The other ridiculous amenities

Let’s see besides the previously mentioned wine, ice cream carts, & culinary tour of the world, main campus has a dry cleaners, several libraries, grocery store, several physicians, fully stocked pharmacy, and post office.  Did I mention the archeological dig site?  What about the five saunas at the gym?    

One of the reflection spots with an imported bonsai tree

2) The altruistic arm

Novartis continues to do great work eradicating diseases such as malaria

And the #1 reason I love working in Switzerland is …

1)  Novartis Day

I think I may be spoiled for life.

Fête des Ménétríers

Two American, two Indians, & a German went to a Renaissance festival in a little village in France.  Though it sounds like the beginning of a joke, a few Sunday’s ago we rented a car and wound up as probably the only tourists at a local Renaissance festival in Ribeauville, France.  Luckily my lovely German friend Tanja translated everything for the language impaired amongst us.    

Me & Tanja overlooking the parade

The Fête des Ménétríers seemed to involve the entire town.  Men in tunics chased corseted young maidens around cobblestone streets.  The royal sound of trumpets filled the air as the king and queen made their entrance.  Jesters and fire breathers took turns exciting the crowds.   

How does one realize they're a talented fire breather?

Wood carvers peddled their wares.  Women stirred cauldrons of stew over open flames.  A pig was roasted upon a spit.

Just like a southern pig pickin

Later in the day, an endless parade of competing, costumed marching bands commenced.  The bands were interspersed with the villagers and elaborately constructed floats. 

Medieval marching band

We enjoyed the music, food, regional wine, and general ridiculousness of the festival.