it was a beautiful fall day

It really has been the nicest fall day. I had the day off, but instead of sleeping in, I diligently went to my French lesson in Nyon. I'm very glad I'm taking a French course, but nothing compares to being absolutely immersed in French. I'm kind of catching a bug for learning languages... Dan wants me to learn Latin, which would be good, but one of my friends here speaks Finnish, and I think I'd really like to learn a little. But I have heard it is extremely difficult to learn, so only if I'm up for a challenge. Which I am. So I'll let you know if I learn anything at all.

After my French class, my friend Kornelia and I went to Migros to do some shopping, and then went to McDonald's for lunch (I know, I know, all the places to eat here, but we ate it at the castle, so does that count for classy points? And when you want a big mac, you want a big mac).

Shopping at Migros leads me to my next point: I have given up my make-up snobbery. Officially over. Ok, not really, but as far as mascara goes, it's certainly over. For years I've been using MAC mascara. Fibre Riche initially stole my heart, and then I had a brief fling with Mascara X. Plush Lash came and took the prize for a long time. Then, I abruptly switched to Chanel Inimitable, which is the BEST mascara I have ever tried. Unfortunately, it is 39,90 CHF. That's roughly $39. !!!!! I just couldn't justify buying it (the Chanel mascara I really want to try is 47 CHF!). In the States, it's about $27... which is still ridiculous. So today, I bought drug-store mascara. I told Kornelia it was a big deal, but I think only the people who know me well will comprehend what a major day this is for Cam. I bought Cover-Girl Lash Blast. I like more than I thought I would. It's not as nice as the Chanel stuff, but it does the job. Don't worry, I haven't changed completely, it's still MAC, Nars, and Clinique for everything else.

Anyway, I had a great time with Kornelia, she's awesome and perfectly bilingual in Swedish and English, and doing very well at French, so she constantly inspires me to work hard. We also bought some food for the outreach in Geneva I mentioned a few posts ago. Tonight I'm going into the red light district with some friends, and we are going to pass out sandwiches and just try to make friends with people. We are going to find out what people might need - groceries, sleeping bags, warm clothes, etc., and then we are going to return with those items. While Switzerland is a rich country, there certainly are a lot of people who need help, so we are going to do something about it. Or, at least try. We're also looking up organizations we can partner with and further extend a helping hand. If you're the praying kind, we welcome your prayers! A lot of my friends here are "transitioning" in Switzerland, aka not living here permanently, so we want to make a positive impact on this country during our respective stays.

I really need to go catch my train, so I will post more later!

Au revoir!