JE SUIS ARRIVÉ!

Life in Lausanne has so far turned out to be pretty sweet.

First off - for those of you who don't know - Lausanne is a small city on the shore of Lake Geneva and is the capital of the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is in the French speaking sector (Romandy) and is round about the 4th largest city in the country. I am attending the University of Lausanne's HEC business school.

Lausanne is built on a CLIFF! It has 2 metro lines, one running laterally across the city connecting the central district with the western suburbs and the universities, and the other cuts up across the city vertically connecting the port at Ouchy on Lake Geneva with the upper districts above the city at the top of the hill. i have no idea what the people did before the second line (commonly called the 'Métro' as opposed to the 'TSOL') was built as the city is one large hill with confusing underground warrens and multi-level exits to most large shops and centres.

The University is pretty decent, not much to look at (not much change from Strathclyde then) but is well kitted out inside. It has not one but TWO of its own metro stops on the m1 TSOL line. It is divided into 'quartiers', each of which is roughly the size of Strathclyde campus, and there is about 8 of them in total if you include the neighbouring EPFL technical school. Its pretty rural though, not urban like Strathclyde (2-3 main buildings per quartier, and lots of trees and sheep... and a donkey).

Since arriving I went to the exchange students welcome day, where I assaulted a few people ("HI I'M ANDY!" *terrified expressions on peoples' faces*) and was shown around the uni. Went out for a few drinks and an exploration on Thursday and Friday nights (One nightclub has a giant pink condom on the side of it...!). Saturday I went to a party in student halls and met another Scot!

Sunday we caught a boat across to France ("I'm on a boat motherfucker!") where we went on a wander around the town of Evian (where the water comes from) and found some Smurf ice cream and a rather good toilet. After returning from the Union (I forgot to take Euro...) I went back home and slept off the rest of my hangover. Now I am about to head into uni and find out what I am taking this year.

Got a flat viewing tomorrow and I am absolutely desperate to get it. Wish meh luck!

Andy

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