Here I am.

Lots of people have been bugging me to update my blog. I didn't realise THAT many people read my blog. I'm sort of flattered. Actually, I find it sort of amusing how low you guys have stooped to procrastinate. I've been procrastinating too much too. And not just with updating. With homework....BAD way to start a school year, especially in a new school.
So yeah, I'm here in Switzerland.
I feel like giving the full details. you can skim if you want :-)
So... my journey begins at DIA. I checked my bags. Went through security. Got on the plane. Got off in Newark. That's where my journey REALLY begins--getting on the plane in Newark (which is a terrible airport, if you ask my opinion, or even if you don't ask it) So here I was, getting on the plane with my backpack and my DI duffel and my hot pink pillow, walking down the aisle of the plane towards my seat. I was looking for my row when I spotted this guy who appeared to be about my age, putting his stuff in the overhead bin above my seat, and then he sat down in the seat next to mine. And then I sat down, and he asked where I was going. "Ummm, Switzerland, duh. This plane is sort of going to Geneva, not Kansas..." Actually, I gave a one word response. "School." "Where?" "Leysin" "me too" and that was how I met Nick. Only seen him twice since I got here.
If you've never flown trans-Atlantic overnight, I pity you. If you fly it frequently, I pity you. It's something everyone should do at least once or twice or more in their lifetimes. It is really extraordinary to watch the sun set and then the sunrise in the same flight, in the span of about 8 hours. And if you can eliminate glare out your windows, the stars over the Atlantic are amazing. Trans-Atlantic flights tend to have better food for breakfast. They also have individual TVs that now have hand-held remotes and even have games, instead of just movies. They also plot your airplanes course, so you know exactly what you are flying over. It just so happened that I was flying over the English Channel and listening to Spirit when the sun came up. Here I am!!
Flying in to Geneva over the Lake reminded me how much I love this country. It is AMAZING!
Anyway, we got in to the airport, and it took me forever to find my ski bag because it didn't come off with everything else, and then one of Nick's bags got lost and he made me stay with him while he filed a report.
Speaking of baggage... I was so worried before I left that I would have way too many bags and wouldn't be able to get them through the airport in Geneva. That was with a ski bag, two rolling duffels, a day pack and a mini duffle. There were some people who showed up with their whole families in tow with at least twice as much stuff as I had. Now I'm here and I feel like I didn't bring anything with me.
Back to how much I love this country... Something about the mountains here just isn't the same about the mountains back home. They come up higher on the horizon, partly because the valleys are deeper, and partly because the mountains are steeper and closer together. They just feel a lot bigger. Yeah, there are no 14ers here, and I'm living at 4,500 feet (1500m) as opposed to 8,000 ft, but I feel like I'm in the mountains more than I do back home. For me, there is a sense of comfort of having mountains wall me in. There is something completely RIGHT about looking out across the valley and seeing snow-capped peaks in August. There is something homely about hearing cowbells when you stick your head out the window in the late evening. There is something truly amazing here that I've never had before, and that is loving where I am. If I had to move somewhere and had to live there for the rest of my life, I would pick Switzerland. Maybe not Leysin, necessarily, but perhaps Wengen. I just got back from a bike trip to Lausanne and we rode through Vevey, which I loved too. I think I'm just in love with the country, the scenery... Vinyards nestled into the hillsides, overlooking Lake Geneva, with snow-capped peaks looming in the background....It makes me feel alive, the way only certain things can. Maybe it is just love that makes me feel alive, whether for a person or place or thing. Oops, that got dangerously close to being borderline TOK. And now I am really, really tired so I think I will get some sleep, sleep in tomorrow morning (no classes, WOOT) and then maybe, with any luck, I won't be tired anymore. But that's just wishful thinking.
For now, that's all I have to say.
Love, Sarah