The (Gallo-Roman) city of Lausanne in ruins
ONE. I have landed at Lausanne on Tuesday last week. I have been feeling zonked and nervous by the long plane ride and the swarthy, menacing disposition of the locals (as compared to that of the Finns, which was merely apathetic). At the train station someone tried to speak to me. He was a beggar who had journeyed many miles from faraway Italy in order to ask two francs from unsuspecting people at the Lausanne Gare. However, I did not have change, and ran away as quickly as I could dragging my luggage.
For my first week, I stayed in the hostel, the one between the Roman ruins of Lousonna and the museum exhibit concerning the ruins. Toilet was in bad shape but breakfasts and public transport were all free, so that was okay.
The heart of activity in this commune is the Riponne. At Riponne there is a square where flea markets selling cheese, vegetables, old books, old hats, etc. sprout Wednesdays and Saturdays. There is a so-called palace built for the public from the money of a Russian prince, housing several museums and a public library. The Basilica is on the other side of the square, undergoing renovations and thereby repelling all but the most hard-headed of tourists (and Catholics).
Branching south of the Riponne in a spidery network are pedestrian streets, along which luxury boutiques, factory outlets, bookstores and Asian supermarkets are implausibly juxtaposed.
Lausanne overlooks the lake Léman. The port is unfortunately named Ouchy, by an accident of orthography. Also overlooking the lake are several sh-tloads of mountain ranges. Yes, we don't just see France from here every day - it looms over us.
TWO. Contact Singapore, the agency under the wing of the ambassador in Geneva, has organised for us two free meals. Their stated mission is to try to get Singaporeans back to work in Singapore... ... ... In any case, free food has always been welcome, and even more vehemently so in these parts.
THREE. Lessons in EPFL. Because I don't know how to enjoy myself, I am now taking a 27 ECTS semester. This includes a project (8 credits) trailblazing in the field of Microscopic Data Analysis. I will be doing something similar in concept to facial recognition, so wish me luck.
FOUR. I am living in Crissier, three communes away from Lausanne. The place sells itself by its peaceful location and peaceful it truly is. It is thankfully 3 km from school but unfortunately 3 billion km from Lausanne. Next to my place is a socio-cultural centre which never seems to be open. There is a view to the north, where there are large expanses of flatland.
FIVE. Snow. I have been doing a survey on snow. I have concluded that snow behaves like a low-temperature ceramic, and all the physical processes in ceramic component manufacturing can be demonstrated with snow. For example, snowballs are best made with fresh snow, which are fine-grained. The making of snowballs is sintering in elevated temperatures and pressures (applied by hand). Late snow exhibits evidence of coarsening and Ostwald ripening. Now the snow are almost all melted, but I still enjoy crunching them around under my boots. I am an immature person. I'm sorry.
