Observations on Me/France/Geneva, part 1

It's the last weekend of August. For the French, this time marks the end of summer vacations and the return of the school year. For me, it marks 3.5 months of living in France/Switzerland. Along the way, I've been taking notes on what I've observed and learned and share it with you here:

I've always wanted to live abroad and learn a new language. I knew that moving abroad to a new country without knowing the language (and not knowing anyone but R) would be a challenge. The past few months have been great and exciting but they've also been difficult as I've had to adjust to everything I knew and took for granted in the U.S. All the same, I would not trade it for anything, as I've learned and experienced so much since moving here. For people who have moved and lived abroad, you probably understand from personal experience!

Some observations on myself:
-Without a job, I can find many ways to occupy myself but am looking forward to finding a job
-I don't know how to look for a job in Geneva; it's much harder to find a job here and I need to be more diligent and learn how to network because most jobs are not even advertised
-Besides myself and my Japanese friend, the only other Asians I've seen in town are the ones who own the Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant in the town square as well as the ones who sell nems (fried spring rolls) at the Thursday farmer's market
-For food, I'm eating WAY more bread, cheese, pate here! I'm doing more gardening and cooking. I'm doing more gathering for my food (gathering wild blackberries, mushrooms, oregano) and picking vegetables and fruit from my garden. We rarely eat out in France and Geneva compared to Boston and NYC. For instance, since arriving I've learned to make pad thai, Chinese roasted red pork, bim bim bap, zucchini lasagna, French fruit tart, this disastrous apricot/honey/olive dish, and many other things
-I've spent way less time with friends and talking to friends in Boston. And I've learned that it's important for me to have a large/wide support system
-I've had lots of more time with R and learned more about what it means to live together and compromise
-I've spent a lot of time alone as well, and with my thoughts
-I've sweated less (??) it's less muggy here compared to Boston
-I survived a summer without AC in the car and in the house (and sometimes at school); to be honest, it hasn't been the typical summer here because of all the rain but R says it's not really necessary even though it would have been nice for a few days when it was very hot
-I've helped out with more home improvement projects with R
-I watch more TV here than in France and am online less compared to when I was working
-I am way less dependent on mobile; I only use it for emergencies now. Also because we live so close to the Swiss border, and we'd need the phone more when we are working in GVA and need to call each other, we decided to get Swiss mobile service. Therefore, using the mobiles in FR means we would be roaming.

-Good habits I've formed:
-I'm less impulsive about purchase decisions; I only buy what I need or what I absolutely love. So far, that means buying whatever I want regarding food, but spending $0 on clothes, knick-knacks, movies, coffee at Starbucks, dining out. And for me, dining out is a huge pleasure. But here, I've replaced it with other things that also make me happy, like learning to cook something well
-For entertainment, I've been exploring the area and the culture; we go to the different fetes in the surrounding towns and celebrate the local traditions
-For exercise, I am living closer to nature and spending more time in nature. I've walked about the same, but I've done more hiking here than in Boston
-I'm more aware of the weather and the seasons; in the spring, we hiked and picked daffodils. In the summer, we hiked and picked berries. This month, we're picking mushrooms in our backyard and on walks, we are searching for mushrooms and take pictures of them. In the fall, there'll be more mushroom hunting, gathering wild chestnuts in the forests nearby, harvesting at the vineyards, the first taste of beaujolais and so on and so forth
-I commuted to class using public transport rather than driving; I still don't have my French license or know the French driving rules yet, so the only driving I've done is around parking lots or mostly empty business parks
-For learning, I've learned for my own pleasure - for example, learning French; learning more about mushrooms. Also, years spent learning French and Latin are not for nil. Both languages have helped me learn French!