For today's closing ceremony, we went into the mountains in Moléson, one of the highest peaks in the region at 2002 m (6,568 ft.). There we hiked to a "base station" after which we took the téléférique (cable car) to the summit. It was very cloudy on top of the mountain, but the wind was fast, and the clouds cleared periodically. We came back to the "base station" to have fondue for dinner, combined with the students from the IBIC summer program here. It was absolutely wonderful.
After returning to the dorms, we watched some fireworks set off locally, and then headed out to a bar and a disco club for our last night with the locals.
Tomorrow will be a last day for some sight-seeing, and for buying souvenirs; we have to arrange a taxi for our early-morning departure, and plan other fine details of our return trip. It has been great!
vendredi, 1 août 2008
jeudi, 31 juillet 2008
Fin!
Classes are officially over! Tomorrow we head to the mountains in Moléson where we will take a 3-hour hike to a vista point and have fondue before returning. Should be pretty awesome, considering we should be able to see the partial lunar eclipse at around 13h!
Yesterday Barry and I hosted the two girls we met in Genève for dinner here in Lausanne; it was a bit rough meeting them at the train station, but after that we all had a great time, sharing experiences, learning about each others' cultures. I made a simple dinner of fried salmon over rice with a nice salad, followed by, of course, Swiss chocolate.
Anxiously awaiting departure, though I wish I could stay longer...
Yesterday Barry and I hosted the two girls we met in Genève for dinner here in Lausanne; it was a bit rough meeting them at the train station, but after that we all had a great time, sharing experiences, learning about each others' cultures. I made a simple dinner of fried salmon over rice with a nice salad, followed by, of course, Swiss chocolate.
Anxiously awaiting departure, though I wish I could stay longer...
dimanche, 27 juillet 2008
à Milano!
This Saturday and Sunday a few of us went to Milan, Italy. The train ride was about 4 hours, plus a bit of waiting at the Italian border to be checked on the way in.
While there, the biggest thing we saw was the Duomo cathedral, which was absolutely magnificent. We even got to walk up the marble stairs to walk around the roof and see the (marble) adornments up close. The Mass was nice there as well.
There were many other old and historical attractions, including many statues and ornately-constructed buildings, and a fairly large castle.
I am just glad to be back in Switzerland, though; Italy was significantly more nerve-racking than Switzerland. The return was made all the more dramatic by the two facts that: (1) I was awake; and (2) that the train crosses the international border inside of a tunnel inside of a mountain, so we emerged in another country.
Now it's study-time - quiz tomorrow, and still more fun to come!
While there, the biggest thing we saw was the Duomo cathedral, which was absolutely magnificent. We even got to walk up the marble stairs to walk around the roof and see the (marble) adornments up close. The Mass was nice there as well.
There were many other old and historical attractions, including many statues and ornately-constructed buildings, and a fairly large castle.
I am just glad to be back in Switzerland, though; Italy was significantly more nerve-racking than Switzerland. The return was made all the more dramatic by the two facts that: (1) I was awake; and (2) that the train crosses the international border inside of a tunnel inside of a mountain, so we emerged in another country.
Now it's study-time - quiz tomorrow, and still more fun to come!
vendredi, 25 juillet 2008
Paléo
Today we went to the Paléo Festival in Nyon... it was talked up as a great event with tons of people and music all night long for a whole week. They got us tickets to get in, and though there were thousands of people there, it was not all they had cracked it up to be. Nonetheless we enjoyed ourselves very much!
Last night we had a picnic/barbeque by Lake Geneva, a 15-minute walk from the dorms. That was a very nice evening, held in conjunction with the students from the International Business and Intercultural Communication (IBIC) Summer School held by the same university.
I am really getting used to the life here... it would be very nice to live, work, and enjoy the outdoors here in Switzerland!
Last night we had a picnic/barbeque by Lake Geneva, a 15-minute walk from the dorms. That was a very nice evening, held in conjunction with the students from the International Business and Intercultural Communication (IBIC) Summer School held by the same university.
I am really getting used to the life here... it would be very nice to live, work, and enjoy the outdoors here in Switzerland!
mardi, 22 juillet 2008
Un jour plus ordinaire
Yesterday was more normal than the days preceding; regular class, a more quiet evening, and I finally got to write some code for class! It was to practice using RSA to encrypt and decrypt a single random number, and then a string of text. It took a while to get the standard language to work with the RSA test libraries we were given, but in the end it was a fun experience.
Today I had a test in the Search Engine Technology (Information Retrieval and Google) class, which was pretty much what I had expected it to be - mostly theoretical, but still looking to test our complete knowledge of a topic by asking short extensions of the subject matter.
Plans for the weekend are taking shape - likely Italy!
Today I had a test in the Search Engine Technology (Information Retrieval and Google) class, which was pretty much what I had expected it to be - mostly theoretical, but still looking to test our complete knowledge of a topic by asking short extensions of the subject matter.
Plans for the weekend are taking shape - likely Italy!
dimanche, 20 juillet 2008
Chillon, Montreux et Genève
Friday we had classes late and came back to the Lausanne area as soon as we could; the locals showed us a little piece of Swiss night life.
Yesterday we took a boat across Lake Geneva to the Château de Chillon, which is outside of Montreux. That place is very old, on an island created by glacier flow a very long time ago. We then headed to Montreux, which was celebrating the renowned Montreux Jazz Festival, closing night. We had some authentic sandwiches and dishes served on the lake.
Today I went with one of the other students to Mass in Geneva, at the Cathedral de Notre Dame there. After the Mass we were checking out a Protestant Cathedral (de Saint-Pierre) when a couple girls asked us for directions; we hadn't seen the street they were looking for, but after we walked up a bit we saw it, so we went back to get them. It turned out that they were looking for a restaurant that a friend had recommended them; we were looking for a place to eat as well, and they invited us to join them. They are studying and working in Geneva for a short term, and we had a very nice lunch before heading back under ominous clouds...
Now it's back to work!
Yesterday we took a boat across Lake Geneva to the Château de Chillon, which is outside of Montreux. That place is very old, on an island created by glacier flow a very long time ago. We then headed to Montreux, which was celebrating the renowned Montreux Jazz Festival, closing night. We had some authentic sandwiches and dishes served on the lake.
Today I went with one of the other students to Mass in Geneva, at the Cathedral de Notre Dame there. After the Mass we were checking out a Protestant Cathedral (de Saint-Pierre) when a couple girls asked us for directions; we hadn't seen the street they were looking for, but after we walked up a bit we saw it, so we went back to get them. It turned out that they were looking for a restaurant that a friend had recommended them; we were looking for a place to eat as well, and they invited us to join them. They are studying and working in Geneva for a short term, and we had a very nice lunch before heading back under ominous clouds...
Now it's back to work!
jeudi, 17 juillet 2008
Meu d'amusement
After a morning of class, we had some Gelato in Yverdon-les-Bains and then took a bus down to the Cisco campus in Rolle. There they had various executives describe the function of the company. A director of Engineering and Innovation spoke on those topics, specifically on innovation and how ideas and inventions must have economic impact, be delivered to consumers to become innovations. An Account Manager spoke about interacting with the customer and selling things that may not yet exist, whilst consulting the engineers and business units who are in charge of emerging technologies to maintain a clear vision of what may become possible soon. A director in Global Supply Chain Management spoke on how Cisco integrates the resources of its own and external manufacturing plants to achieve truly global, non-stop development, production, delivery, and support of its products.
After that, we headed to the EPFL campus, the second-ranked university in Europe in the areas of technology and computers. They were 18 in the world by the same study. There we heard two presentations from professors who are pursuing some very fascinating projects. One was in processing genetic and other data to build the "tree of life" mapping the history of biological evolution of species known to man. He is primarily working in the field of computational biology, but his endeavors take him deep into both fields (computation and biology). The other was in systems that seamlessly and appropriately make use of multiple input modes to allow the user the most productive workflow possible. Some studies they have conducted to help with the applications and software solutions developed in this project showed in what proportions users chose to speak, point with the mouse or stylus, or type on the keyboard. They also showed in what primary computing tasks each of these input methods was favored most of all. Quite fascinating stuff! As good hosts, they then put out a light dinner of dried meats, cheese, and red and white wine.
Other than that, this evening has been a nice one; finally able to catch up on some schoolwork and personal life. And now it's Friday!
After that, we headed to the EPFL campus, the second-ranked university in Europe in the areas of technology and computers. They were 18 in the world by the same study. There we heard two presentations from professors who are pursuing some very fascinating projects. One was in processing genetic and other data to build the "tree of life" mapping the history of biological evolution of species known to man. He is primarily working in the field of computational biology, but his endeavors take him deep into both fields (computation and biology). The other was in systems that seamlessly and appropriately make use of multiple input modes to allow the user the most productive workflow possible. Some studies they have conducted to help with the applications and software solutions developed in this project showed in what proportions users chose to speak, point with the mouse or stylus, or type on the keyboard. They also showed in what primary computing tasks each of these input methods was favored most of all. Quite fascinating stuff! As good hosts, they then put out a light dinner of dried meats, cheese, and red and white wine.
Other than that, this evening has been a nice one; finally able to catch up on some schoolwork and personal life. And now it's Friday!
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