Mar. 14 - Settling in to the Quiet-Town Life
Mar. 14 –
I haven’t written anything lately, because I’ve just been enjoying everyday life in St. Gallen. Going for walks, shopping in the old town, reading, having tea, grocery shopping, and cooking. It’s all so simple and pleasing. The weather has just been gorgeous – warm and bluebird skies.
Yesterday, it was so nice outside that Martina and I just went for a walk and took some pics of her favourite tree. I must admit, it is a real nice tree. I have to go back and visit it every once in a while so that I can tell her if it blossoms or not in the springtime.
At night I met up with Till to go to this bar, which I guess we wouldn’t really consider a bar because it was really nicely decorated in this Arabic theme and nicely lit and everything. There was the most gorgeous fountain I have ever seen in the entranceway. It was 2 tiers and each one was scalloped. At each “scallop,” they had placed different coloured roses and the pools of water had rose petals scattered in them. The fountain dripped slowly and it was just so beautiful. I had a fresh cinnamon tea, meaning that they used real cinnamon to make the tea instead of a cinnamon-flavoured tea bag. It was interesting and strong, but not bad and not good. Good experience though. It was served in this leathery-feeling cup with a metal straw contraption. My tea completely suited the mood of the bar.
Martina says that she can tell that I’m from North America because I buy the big jars of yogourt instead of the individual little ones hahah. We did some shopping today. She’s going to New York on Sunday to participate in the mock United Nations forum, so we spent most of the day looking for a suit.
I found out that there’s no such thing as taking home a “doggie bag” what you can’t finish at dinner. Good thing I found out before I actually tried to. Also, it’s rude to not say “gesundheit” when someone sneezes. I’m ok with that. Sometimes I don’t say “Bless you,” because it just sounds odd to me and there are too many religious strings attached. On the other hand, sometimes I say it just to be polite, but I don’t think that people should consider it impolite if someone doesn’t say “Bless you.” “Gesundheit,” on the other hand, actually means “health,” so to say that to someone after they sneeze is to wish them good health, which makes much more sense to me. It’s customary to reply with, “Danke, ihnen auch,” which is, “Thanks, you too.”
Another difference is that the prices here include all tax and tip. It’s customary to round up to the nearest franc, which I do. But, I’m still getting used to this, because I feel like a horrible person after leaving “no tip” and I always feel the need to rush out of the café ASAP and without being seen by my waiter/waitress.
Oh, and about the hot pink cargo pants: I’m keeping them, because I went to H&M and exchanged them for one size bigger. Somehow, that seems like a commitment, so I guess they’re staying with me.
I haven’t written anything lately, because I’ve just been enjoying everyday life in St. Gallen. Going for walks, shopping in the old town, reading, having tea, grocery shopping, and cooking. It’s all so simple and pleasing. The weather has just been gorgeous – warm and bluebird skies.
Yesterday, it was so nice outside that Martina and I just went for a walk and took some pics of her favourite tree. I must admit, it is a real nice tree. I have to go back and visit it every once in a while so that I can tell her if it blossoms or not in the springtime.
At night I met up with Till to go to this bar, which I guess we wouldn’t really consider a bar because it was really nicely decorated in this Arabic theme and nicely lit and everything. There was the most gorgeous fountain I have ever seen in the entranceway. It was 2 tiers and each one was scalloped. At each “scallop,” they had placed different coloured roses and the pools of water had rose petals scattered in them. The fountain dripped slowly and it was just so beautiful. I had a fresh cinnamon tea, meaning that they used real cinnamon to make the tea instead of a cinnamon-flavoured tea bag. It was interesting and strong, but not bad and not good. Good experience though. It was served in this leathery-feeling cup with a metal straw contraption. My tea completely suited the mood of the bar.
Martina says that she can tell that I’m from North America because I buy the big jars of yogourt instead of the individual little ones hahah. We did some shopping today. She’s going to New York on Sunday to participate in the mock United Nations forum, so we spent most of the day looking for a suit.
I found out that there’s no such thing as taking home a “doggie bag” what you can’t finish at dinner. Good thing I found out before I actually tried to. Also, it’s rude to not say “gesundheit” when someone sneezes. I’m ok with that. Sometimes I don’t say “Bless you,” because it just sounds odd to me and there are too many religious strings attached. On the other hand, sometimes I say it just to be polite, but I don’t think that people should consider it impolite if someone doesn’t say “Bless you.” “Gesundheit,” on the other hand, actually means “health,” so to say that to someone after they sneeze is to wish them good health, which makes much more sense to me. It’s customary to reply with, “Danke, ihnen auch,” which is, “Thanks, you too.”
Another difference is that the prices here include all tax and tip. It’s customary to round up to the nearest franc, which I do. But, I’m still getting used to this, because I feel like a horrible person after leaving “no tip” and I always feel the need to rush out of the café ASAP and without being seen by my waiter/waitress.
Oh, and about the hot pink cargo pants: I’m keeping them, because I went to H&M and exchanged them for one size bigger. Somehow, that seems like a commitment, so I guess they’re staying with me.
posted by lilswtamy at 10:36 p.m.
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