Here is a story that happened a few weeks ago, but I want to tell. There is a restaurant on my way home that is just full of Giacomettis, probably 20 or 30 of them. I always look into the windows of this restaurant as I walk, because they are just beautiful, and I am still astonished that they aren't locked up in a museum somewhere; no, they are in a corner pizza place, and everyone can enjoy them. So one day I walked by the first window, and a busboy was walking with a carrier of glasses, and we saw each other. Then brick. Walked by the next window, and the boy was there again, and turned his head, and we looked at each other again. Brick. Walked by the next window, and the boy and I were just laughing and laughing. Brick. Walked by the next window, and I was alone. I stopped, looked for the boy, at the Giacomettis, and then he popped from around the corner, having changed pace on purpose. So so simple. So so amazing.
Thursday I took a visit to the pharmacy on Spalenberg. Literally, this was a step back in time; the wall were covered in wooden drawers with small labels on brass fixtures, and rows and rows of bottles with blackletter script, that for all I know said "Witches' Toes." I went up to to counter, wanting to get some aspirin, and the woman looked at me like I was nuts. "Have you ever taken aspirin before?" she said with a concerned face. I said yes, that it wasn't a problem, but she insisted on telling me to only take one every six hours, because they were so strong. I should have told her that I am from America, and that I can handle pretty much everything she had behind that counter, none of which was maximum strength or anything beyond herbs with a little chemicals mixed in. When I got the aspirin, it was packaged totally Swiss-like, beautiful type and solid color fields. Beautiful packaging, totally ineffective medication.
Came home that evening, exhausted, and getting sicker by the hour with a bad sore throat. Woke up in the morning on a bed with no sheets (fell asleep mid-laundry), and some herbal medications by my door from my neighbor and roommate: cough lozenges from Zürich that are black and chewy; a cough syrup that is literally caramel, and puts Dimetapp or Robitussin tastes to shame; throat medicine that tastes like Fisherman's Friends; cough and bronchial herbal tea; and Vicks. The room was spinning, my body couldn't decide whether it was hot or cold, and I knew that I needed to call in sick, and with my barely-there voice and nonsense thought patterns, my boss was completely sympathetic. The morning was absolutely stunning, bright and sunny, and I was stuck in and out of sleep inside. I tried to be somewhat productive, but I just couldn't concentrate, and resorted to Seinfeld instead. Watched Ocean's 12 that evening, and had no problems falling asleep yet again that night.
On Saturday, I got up early, took a quick trip to the flea market with Bruno, a photographer friend of Melody's staying at the apartment. It was cool to speak with him. We talked about a lot of things, but it was especially interesting to discuss the "first date" concept, and how that really doesn't exist in Switzerland/Europe. He thinks that there are less mind games here, but I am not convinced of that. We then went back home because I was scheduled to be a portrait subject for my roommate's photography class; her 8 students photographed me in my bedroom, trying to tell my story via photo. It was a lot of fun, but also very tiring. Each of them had 40 minutes to do what they wanted with me. I really enjoyed getting inside their minds, and seeing their approach to a subject they had never met, but still had to depict in truth. It was cool when they would let me get involved, and throw in my own ideas, or be encouraging, because it was really intimidating. It was helpful to be on the other side of the camera, because now I have a better understanding of how to direct my own subjects. I haven't received all of the photos yet, and in all honesty, I think I would be really creepy to post them, so if you are interested (and I like them, haha), I will show them to you sometime. Here was an impromptu from a photographer of my roommate and I at the shoot:
My friend Sam arrived from München, and after the shoot, we went on a long walk along the river and around the city. Melody prepared dinner for all of us, and it was great bonding time, with no cameras involved. Afterwards, Sam, my neighbor, and I watched "Wetter Das..." a show that apparently has a huge following. It is a sort of betting show, where contestant guests with a certain talent need to complete a task, and celebrities bet against them. After the guests do the bet, the loser has to do some sort of weird or embarrassing act. One of the bets I saw were horn players that had to play Jenga, removing the blocks by blowing them out. These guys were amazing! And they successfully built 10 extra stories in something like 10 minutes. So the celebrities lost and had to do some gymnastics. I don't think I would've watched it if I was flipping channels in the States.
Afterwards, went to a party with Bruno and Sam that was near to the apartment. Spoke with an architect and her husband. She happens to work for H+dM, and she claims there are no stalker emails going around about me, so that is good. Met a woman names Arian, and had some interesting discussions about Swiss culture. She said that she could not live in the States, and her reason was because of the death penalty being legal. I found that as an intriguing answer to the question.
Totally exhausted. Will write about Fasnacht and other current festivities in the near future. Here are a few pictures that I will explain later. Until then, good night.
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