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.

Art Basel

From the organizing website, "The world's premier international art show for Modern and contemporary works, Art Basel features nearly 300 leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. More than 2,500 artists, ranging from the great masters of Modern art to the latest generation of emerging stars, are represented in the show's multiple sections. The exhibition includes the highest-quality paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations, photographs, video and editioned works."

Though I'm not usually a big art person, my friend Julia and I went to check out the show and were dutifully impressed. I loved the variety of the sculptures.  

Best European Work Week Ever

As the title suggests, I recently had my Best Work Week Ever!  Not only did I have the opportunity to go on a company financed trip to Austria to see my classmate Bayan (see previous post) but I also had a breakthrough with my co-workers. 

In my old life, I baked personalized birthday cupcakes for my department, threw baby showers, and had a few lunch time running & happy hour groups.  Middle-aged co-workers invited me to their kids’ birthday parties, tried to set me up with their nephews, and occasionally cried on my shoulder.  After two and a half months of trying to befriend my new co-workers and majorly striking out, I’d grown accustomed to the cordial but distant Swiss work environment.  I’d acquiesced to the fact that my workplace was just that - all work & no play.

Then out of the blue after a brief and sterile discussion on cost accounting:
French co-worker Christine: “Are you going to the futbol game tonight?”
Me: “What futbol game?” (Wondering does she need a ticket, does she think I have extras?)
So I accompanied Christine to the game that evening and had a blast cheering on Novartis.  A few nights later, we went to the spa together.

The next day after a brief and sterile discussion on forecasting:
Swiss co-worker Sasha: “My wife’s birthday is this weekend”.
Me: “Oh that’s nice.  What are you doing to celebrate?” (Hmmm that’s strange, Sasha barely says good morning most days.)
Sasha: “Do you like children?”
Me: “Um yes.” (Wondering, is he going to ask me to babysit? Wow he must be desperate since I didn’t even know he had children even though we’ve sat beside each other for 2.5 months.)
Sasha: “We’re going to have a BBQ, let me give you details”.
So I went to Sasha’s wife’s birthday party BBQ and had a great time eating bratwursts, playing futbol with the kids and charming guests with my appalling command of the German language.   

A few days later:
German co-worker Gayog: “Emily, come look at this.” pointing to his computer screen
Me: “Sure.” (Oh no, there must have been an error in the file I sent Gayog since he normally doesn’t speak to me unless he needs me to do something.)
Gayog: chuckling “Look at this cool car.”
Me: Wow I’ve never seen this guy crack a smile let alone chuckle.  He normally stares at me blankly when I make jokes.

It’s continued this way ever since.  Though the Europeans may be a bit slower to warm up than Americans, when they do warm up its genuine and I’m enjoying reaping the much improved workplace benefits.   

Where's the Factory?

Ah the smell of cow dung & ammonia – last week on a business trip to Kundl, Austria I learned that rural manufacturing is strikingly similar across industries and continents.  Need to locate a rural factory?  Just follow that prognostic smell. 

Another comforting similarity was the friendliness of the locals and their eagerness to make sure all your needs were attended too.  I found the Austrians warm, inviting, amazingly accommodating, and zealous to share their country.  They wanted to walk me to and from the train station, watch my delight at sinking my teeth into the first bite of Mozart chocolate, tell me the best places to try Wiener Schnitzel, and teach me about the traditional style of dress.  

Bayan with Kufstein fortress

I also had the pleasure of getting to catch up with my friend Bayan who lives nearby in Kufstein.  Bayan came to my rescue Sunday night when the only hotel in the village was closed and the factory guard couldn’t find the key that was supposed to have been left for me although that may have been partially due to my limited German and minimal charades ability.  I was beginning to have visions of sleeping in a hay bale or barn.  Thanks Bayan!

Innsbruck

Innsbruck is an hour and a half from the factory by train.  Bayan generously took an afternoon off and we walked all around the old city, visited the town’s cathedral, ate lunch at an outdoor café, and people watched in the main square.

Innsbruck square

One of my favorite events of the day was watching an oversized game of chess in the park.  The two men playing attracted quite a crowd and it was a lively atmosphere.

Chess in the park - the farther gentleman emerged victorious

American business trips will never quite feel the same.