T̶w̶o̶ One p̶e̶r̶p̶e̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶a̶t̶s̶ immigrant settling into home country number five.
Zurich is not exactly a diner’s paradise. Like everything else in this city, most restaurants are overpriced. Seeing the prices on a menu, I often get my hopes up about the quality of the food, only to have them dashed by the overly salty and starchy disappointment of a meal that I am later served. … Read more
My new addiction is Negro Kisses Big Dark Kissses, otherwise know as Moors’ heads Choco Heads. I blame Kesha. Her recent post about French delicacies with questionable names had gotten me thinking about Negerkussen, chocolate-covered marshmallow-crème-filled thingies that I remember from the cafeteria at the university in Germany. At the time they were undergoing a … Read more
Today this cat appeared outside my window. At first glance it seemed like a completely normal, adorable little ball of fur. I soon realized, however, that something was amiss. Although its head, tail and legs were all fluffy and normal, its back looked more fitting of a cow than a kitty. I thought this was … Read more
Yesterday Ali and I visited the exhibit ‘Gay Chic’ at the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich. The show highlighted how gay has become mainstream in music, film, fashion, and television in European and American culture. This thesis was backed up with pictures of RuPaul, Wham album covers, video installations of Absolutely Fabulous, movie posters for … Read more
For a little change of pace, my friend Ali and I took off to Bern this morning. From the moment we stepped off the train I was in love. Bern has an adorable Altstadt (old town), full of porticoed sidewalks and statue-topped fountains, and an ambiance that lured me in from the start. After wandering … Read more
No, no actual riots occurred (until the following day, at the May Day presentations). Turns out it was a Tokio Hotel concert. Tokio Hotel is something like the German version of N’Sync or Take That, except there’s more instrument playing and yelling, and less synchronized dancing. Same number of shrieking pre-teen fans. I think they … Read more
‘Schwiizerchrüzli’ is a good one, too. I’m starting to love Swiss German.
Last night we went to the opening of “After the Curfew”, an exhibit of the work of three Iraqi artists (Wathiq Al-Ameri, Wamidh Al-Ameri, and Ali Al-Fatlawi) who fled their home country during the regime of Saddam Hussein. After a long and difficult journey through Jordan, Sudan, and Libya, they eventually came to Switzerland and … Read more
Ah, the age of globalization. It means you can get peanut butter in Berlin, Dunkin Donuts in Prague, and fresh mozzarella in Chattanooga, Tennessee. So you’d think it wouldn’t be asking too much to expect to be able to enjoy a decent margarita in the extremely international city of Zurich. I know there are Mexicans … Read more
Before the burning of the Sechseläuten Böögg yesterday afternoon, Zurich’s 26 guilds put on an elaborate parade which wound its way around downtown for hours and hours. The parade primarily consisted of older men dressed up in period dress marching, riding horses, or being carried on various horse-drawn carriages. Women aren’t allowed to be members … Read more