Thursday, June 17, 2010

European Goals

Top 10 goals for my time in Switzerland

1) Acquiesce to becoming European – Try as I may, I struggle to wait patiently on the corner with everybody else until the walk sign flashes on even though there is nary a car as far as the eye can see.  In Boston you’d freeze to the sidewalk during that time.

2) Unearth a favorite Belgium beer, Swiss chocolate, French pastry, German schnitzel, fondue recipe, local watering hole, etc.  The pictures below show the guys and I attempting to find the perfect Belgium waffle in Brussels over the weekend.  More on Brussels to follow in a later post.



3)  Increase my German proficiency from a 10 month year old to about as well as your average 2 year old.  My department finds my attempts hilarious and has taken to teaching me a new word every day.

4)  Make European friends.  Yesterday at work I practically chased down some girl in the hall for a new lunchmate. 

5) Go Rhineschwimmen – an annual festival in Basel where everybody dives into the Rhine and floats down

6)  Ski the Swiss Alps without injury  – 2 teeth and 20 stitches is enough for one lifetime

7)  Oktoberfest - We're already practicing



8)  Exploit last minute Easyjet and train ticket deals to explore hidden jewels off the beaten path.

9) Embark on a grand Swiss adventure complete with backpacking through the Alps, riding gondolas, befriending goat herders, sampling freshly made cheese, sleeping in huts on beds of straw, & staying up to all hours of the night around a campfire with locals.  Clarke – I’m saving this for you; get pumped! 

And last but certainly not least
10) Discover something brilliant, help the company, write a thesis, and get several eminent MIT professors to sign off on it enabling me to graduate in June 2011.

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