Geneva Notes

Nandita is almost as tall as I am. I suspect in another year she will pass me. When she does we need to do some kind of celebration. Even at seven she was lovely to talk to and mature at a level where I often forgot she was a child. However the older she gets the better she gets. What a pleasure it is to know bright kids. She goes to the new International School, a glassy bright building. As nice as it is, I kinda liked it when sheep grazed in the field. There is still a farm across the street where horses munch grass under shady trees. Considering there are so many alphabet organizations within a few minutes walk, the juxtaposition (one of Nandita’s vocabulary words) is amazing. Some of them are the UN, HCR, ITU, ILO, IEC, ISO, WHO, WIPO, OMO and lots of others.

Had a lunch with the people who live in my old flat at his workplace WHO. He signed us in. His mother was visiting from Arlington, MA. His wife was leaving that night for the Philippines. Sadly her father had died. One of the hardest things about being an ex-pat is not being there for this type of thing and having to wait for flights.

I noticed in the Auer Café that they offer the kind of soap in the toilet that many older restaurants do. A spike is above the sink and goes through the soap. This lets it dry without it getting all mushy on the sink.

Once all the buses were orange. When the new ones arrived they have been painted aqua orange and white in a modern and graphic pattern. Some now carry advertising so it is possible to write a Coca-Cola bus. Happily I now qualify for the 45 and not the 70 CHF monthly bus pass. Since a day pass is 6 CHF with the railroad abonnement and 12 CHF without it pays for itself even faster. There are advantages to aging.

My Danish/Swiss dental hygienist turned in his green card.

The American Library was closed this week because everyone was training on the new computer. I am looking forward to their booksale.

I found memories of my daughter living with me heavy on my mind. It was so nice when I could say to her ‘Do you want to try this restaurant’ or ‘meet you at the Café du Soleil.’

The dirt on some of the farm land near the house has been turned over leaving big black clumps. The soil is rocky, much like New England soil.