I think I'll just stay in and read the Bible tonight. . .

Well, it is the beginning of my sixth week here in Lausanne. So far I have had a great time with a lot of highs and pretty much no lows at all. I am forming new friendships, I have traveled a bit, my studies are going well, my French is improving, and I am having a good time overall. In all honesty, there is very little to complain about (Our problems with internet connection being at the top of that list. . .but it is getting better, so I guess we can bump that down some places. . .). We are living in Switzerland, whoever complains should be publicly stoned by the rest of the group (By “stoned” I mean have small or medium sized rocks thrown at. . .Big stones make it too fast and less fun. . .).
Last week we went to Corsica for our “Educational Field Trip.” Due to a group project for Communications 301 I have a lot of video of my group and myself talking about Corsica and whatever we were doing at the time of the video. That allows for very little room to undergo any communication theory that would make me believe that I had a better or worse time than what I actually experienced. That being said, I had a good time. True, some of the things that we did were not that interesting. For example the museum in the city of Corte (which is in the middle of nowhere) was not good at all. It was a pretty big museum with nice architecture and a good setup inside, however, it lacked content. It provided little information about Corsica. The “Napoleon and Corsica” exhibition was slightly better. We also had a tour of the house where Napoleon was born. That was a little more interesting (We were told that Napoleon was born on the second floor of the house, which was owned by his mother. We were also told that the house had no stairways. The only way to get to the second floor was through a ladder outside the window and when Napoleon mother started to go into labor she was outside the house. This means she had to climb the stairs while little Napoleon was practically coming out). Napoleon was born on the second floor b but it lacked some historical substance. Granted that the man lied a lot and was the cause of a lot of deaths- he changed the course of history. Even after he had a major battle loss and was exiled, at the return of his exile he was able to round up another pretty big army. You would think they would mention a little more about the things Napoleon did regardless of whether they were good or bad. I have an interest in Napoleon because he was a small man from a little island. Yet somehow he got to be “Emperor of Europe.” I believe a lot of this is due to his communication and persuasion skills. Call Napoleon Bonaparte what you want, but in a way the man was a bit of a genius. I might encourage the study of Napoleon Bonaparte be mandatory beginning from kindergarten. Overall the trip was pleasant. I ate some good food, swam in the Mediterranean, and had some good evenings with my friends. . .
Besides the obvious issue of a language barrier between us and the locals there were other communication issues, thus making the trip more interesting. From the beginning of the trip we were divided into two groups, something that, seeing as we are 70 students and 4 staff members, makes sense. It is true that I was separated from some of the people that I wanted to spend time with, but I did get to better know some of the people in my group. This was something that was good because it expanded my circle of friends and came with all the benefits that making new friends brings. Also we had plenty of free time so meeting up some where with the people from the other group was completely possible. It is true that the hotels were fairly far away from each other and that the lack of cell phones or means of communication (i.e. internet, telegram, smoke signals, ESP, etc.) complicated things. However, it is not that hard to say, “hey, lets meet here at 7,” or something of the like.
This brings me to a point I would like to make. Since I got to Lausanne I have been without a cellphone-- both a gift and curse. It is a gift in the sense that it allows me to relax. Back home my cellphone is always a reach away from me or at the other side of the room, at most. I am constantly looking at it because of the constant text messaging our generation does. Here it’s completely different. The fact that we do not have cellphones makes it so the interaction with my friends is oral, something that makes friendships better. I mean, yes, text messaging does allow for immediate communication, but at the same time it has several cons like the inability of texts to express sarcasm, emotions, or true intentions. This is something that is very easily done in oral communication. For the moment, I am happy without my cellphone, even though it would make some things easier... I will say though, that I am excited to go back home and see how cellphones affect some of the friendships that were created without them.
For the Corsica field trip I decided to not take my laptop. Needless to say, when I got home I ran to my laptop. I felt so detached from the “real world” without it. It is through my computer that I get my news, stay in touch with my family, stimulate my brain and feed my short attention span. During the trip I felt fine without it, however, on the plane and bus ride back home I started to get a little anxious about my lack of connection to the rest of the world. I guess it is possible to compare me to a crackhead wanting crack, an alcoholic needing his booze, a smoker needing his fix, a fat kid wanting his cake, etc etc. It is slightly scary, yet at the same time understandable. I know I am not the only one that feels this way. My entire generation and future generations are and will feel like that too. I know was not the only one racing to my laptop when I entered La Croisee. . .
Well, I have pretty much gone all over the place with this blog. Needless to say I am trying to write the blog as true to as to the way I think. Based on how all over the place it is, I would call this one a success.