the oh-so successful ski season!

So hello everyone! We are in the middle of March, and honestly, spring cannot come soon enough. The weather is slightly starting to improve, and we are itching for the sunshine and warmer temperatures. that being said, it wouldn't be right if i didn't dedicate some time to the "oh-so successful skiing season!" ok, i am using the term skiing very, very lightly....its more like rolling down a mountain, which is a new winter sport that i have absolutely mastered! I have been fortunate to go skiing a couple of times this season. that isnt really much skiing time, but no matter how bad I am, I am really liking this thing people call skiing. I definitely feel like a fish out of the pacific ocean, and have gotten to new depths of self-humiliation, but i still love it. That's saying something because the first time i went skiing was last year when I moved here. So let's begin with the tales of my "skiing".

I was lucky to book two skiing weekends in a row. So the first weekend, we were all trying to get to Ishgyll in Austria. Supposed to be great skiing and great apres-skiing. So a few weeks ago, Andrea and I were looking up hotel availability in Ishgyll. Couldn't find anything, so we changed our search to St. Anton. We used this internet hotel booking site that told us that there was a hotel only 30km from St. Anton. We decided to book it right away because we didnt think we could find anything closer. So Andrea, me, Alex, and Vicki decided to spend this great weekend skiing in St. Anton. Well, funny thing is that we were not even close to St. Anton. It didnt hit any of us until 2 days before we were heading off, when one of us decided to finally look at a map....hahaha we booked ourselves in a hotel that was more like 100km from St. Anton. OOOOPS!! well we decided to go anyway, and ended up in the very small mountain town of Lechtal. Imagine driving at night along curvy mountain roads, with snow that was higher than my car! it was probably a good thing we couldnt see where we were going. well we finally get to the hotel. it reminded me a lot of the hotel we stayed at in maria alms back in the summer. so checked in and headed to the bar, where we were 1 of 5 other patrons. the next day our ski adventure began. andrea went cross-country skiing and vicki was putting skis on for the first time. so alex and i decided we would take the lift up to the first blue slope. yes, we stayed on the mini lift. that was perfectly fine for me. alex and i are about the same level...and we had a blast. we rolled down the mountain a couple of times, but it was actually pretty good. and we enjoyed what was apres-ski, although it definitely something to be desired. we finally made our way back to the hotel, and had dinner at the only other restaurant in town, which was part of the hotel across the street. i think lights out was around 10pm or something. anyway it was a good, relaxing ski weekend. alex and i got the chance to ski some and i came back to zurich feeling good and feeling pumped that i could make it down the mountain without any problems...OH MAN, was i so wrong?!?! more about that later....anyway here are some pictures from the skiing weekend in Lechtal, Austria

so now we come to the legendary "ski" weekend in st. moritz. we all decided we were going to go down to st. moritz to celebrate eddy's birthday. so in theory, this was a brillant idea. what better way to spend a wintry weekend that on the slopes and enjoying the company of your closest friends?! Ok we make our way down Friday morning, all of us motivated to get right on the slopes. So we dressed in our ski clothes and drove directly to the slopes. We all take the gondola up and the boys convince me that i should follow them to the top. No mind that it was a red slope. There were 5 of them convincing me that i could handle this slope. And of course, like an idiot, i believed them. So i get to the top of this red slope, started off ok, and then all broke down. I had a crazy fall, and then the panic attack began to settle in! OH man, it took me 2.5 hours to get down the slope!!! there was a moment where i told the boys to go ahead and i literally just sat there for 30 min because i was so scared. then i spent most of the time on my backside or face down just to get down the slope!!! to be fair, the boys were really great and took turns to help me down. ive realized that skiing is 50% mental, and once i had freaked myself out, that was it. HAHAHA just thinking about it makes me laugh hysterically. i wasnt laughing at the time, but i can only imagine what all these swiss skiers were thinking as they passed me on the slope. i looked like bambi on ice...THANK GOD none of the boys took videos or photos...although i wouldnt blame them if they did! So by the time i got down the slope once, i was done for the day. I was so shaken that i really couldnt get back on the slopes. So Andrea and i decided to chill out at the cafe down the hill, and we would meet the boys back at the parking lot. We take the last gondola down...and you won't believe this, WE GOT STUCK IN THE GONDOLA!!!! oh man, my nerves had hit the limit. I cant believe we were stuck in there for 30 minutes or so! Seriously the last thing i needed. But Friday night was a lot of fun. We had fondue at a youth hostel next to our hotel and then went out on the town in St. Moritz. Went to a couple of places and ended up at Vivai - a very swanky club in St. Moritz.

So saturday was another day on the slopes. So you would think that the events of the day before would keep me as far as possible from the slopes...but it didnt! In that sense, i was so proud of myself. I think I might be a bit mad that I wanted to get back on the skis! Well nevertheless i decided that it was definitely worth me taking a private lesson to get back to basics. So i enrolled into ski school. This was a whole other sight to see....as i was waiting for my ski instructor, i realized that the all of the students around me could not be older than 5!!! hahahaha here i was taking lessons with 5 year olds....and most of them skied better than me!!! well the lesson actually went really well. Maybe it was the comfort that i had an expert skier with me. I managed to get down some more blues. So moral of the skiing story - i just got to practice some more. Let's see how long i can keep this up. Here are some pics of the crazy weekend in St. Moritz

Saturday night was another crazy night in St. Moritz. This time Eddy treated all of us to a great dinner at Cascade, and then we headed to Kings Club - another swanky establishment in St. Moritz. The next day I left in the morning and went straight to the airport for a course we were running in Hamburg! CRAZY! But all in all both of my ski weekends were fun. Looking back, they were actually hilarious. Definitely entertaining for those who watched me try to ski! It's ok, I can admit that there are things in life that i am not good at....!!

But other than that, I have been traveling quite a bit for work. a lot going on! But I have to say that I am really loving the new training job. It is really giving me exposure to so many new things...love it! so work continues, and we are trying to enjoy the winter weekends here in CH. no complaints on my side. working hard and playing hard, just like life should be.

hope everyone is doing well. until next time! ciao!

a strong start to 2012

Ok, I should start off my apologizing that I haven't written in about 3 months. i have been meaning to update, and just haven't gotten around to it. i think this going to be a rather long post, so apologies in advance for the long chapter.

so i think the first half of this post really needs to be a reflective piece of the last year. to be honest, i don't even know where to begin. this past year has been incredible for me. there have been so many changes, so many memories. looking back at it, i wouldn't change it for anything in the world. i really do feel like that 2011 was one of the craziest years in all sorts of ways. i mean i uprooted my life in boston, moved to zurich, made completely new friends, had 2 bosses, and even changed jobs and joined a new team. both professionally and personally this year has been a crazy ride. there were times that this year really reminded me of my first year in boston when i moved out for university. i mean there are a lot of similarities - new city, new friends, new experiences. but this year had so much more. first off, im not 18 any more. a decade older, so the perspective is so different. when i first moved to boston, i was an eager 18 year old who was pretty naive about the world but just wanted to take it all in. when i moved to zurich, i was 27 and looked at the world completely differently. my 20s were marked by so many different experiences, good and bad...long story short, sheena was growing up! ok, i think a part of me is still pretty naive of the world, but i knew the move this time would be something to date i have not experienced. i had a feeling when i moved to zurich that this move would be permanent.....and its looking like things are heading in that direction! for the first time i am living in a country where the prospect is a long-term one and its the first time that there is no looking back! i have tried to take it all in with an open mind and enjoy the ride along the way, and i think i have been pretty successful. there are so many things i remember about 2011....not sure we need to recap all of them right now (just go through and read all of the older posts...that will give you an idea of some of the memories that i made along the way).

since the last post from my one-year anniversary, ive been all over the place. finished the year strong and was so ready for holiday. cali was soo needed and so worth it. i was home in cali for 2 weeks - 2 great weeks. it was exactly what i needed to reboot, refresh, and come back strong. to be honest, we didnt do much when i was home, but that was the best part of being home. i just hung out with mom, dad, and shilen. had plenty of spicy ethnic foods that i cant really get here in zurich. had a couple of firsts - went on a boat ride in long beach harbor with good friends, good food, and of course good wine! saw satya in laguna beach......what a lucky year to see her in both of my homes. ive known her for 10 years and this is the first time i saw her in cali which was pretty amazing. i helped shilen prepare for his Mitek interview, which i am SOOO happy to report that he is now a Mitek rep in southern california - in the IE!!!! what an awesome feeling that my little bro is representing the same company as i am. one thing is for sure, i owe a lot to J&J/DePuy - not only for the opportunities i have been given, but now the chance they gave my brother to shine!!

anyway i was back here in zurich for new years eve, to spend it with my friends. Eddy had all of us over at his place for a house party. we all brought food and wine and had a great night! it was nice not dealing with the crowds of zurich and just doing our own thing. i made guacamole...which i think has become a big hit! had an awesome night with awesome friends.

so 2012 started out great, and professionally was a great start as well since i was now 100% on the new job of sales training manager for EMEA for Spine. if you had told me that i would have a new job when i moved, then i would call you crazy. but here i am with a new job, getting used to the change, but loving every minute of it. its a new chapter for sure and i am excited to see what is in store. since new years, i have been enjoying work, enjoying my friends, and simply enjoying life. its really as simple and as pleasant as that. today i scheduled some great holidays - weekend trips and longer trips, and honestly life is good. upcoming travels include:  st. anton, budapest, st. moritz, madeira!!!!!! so looking forward to all of these upcoming trips. expanding my world, and loving every minute of it!

so as we come into february, looking forward to what the year has in store. i have a feeling this is going to be another crazy year with a whole load of new experiences and changes. i will definitely report along the way of the things going on! thanks for your continued support of reading the blog! ill keep you updated on the trials and tribulations of sheena s patel! until next time!! =)

One year later and the Zuri lovefest continues strong....

So it has officially been one year since I moved to CH. I seriously cannot believe that one year has passed. But the lovefest continues strong. With each passing day, my love for zurich grows stronger and stronger. I remember how I felt one year ago when I was boarding the plane for the first time on my way to zurich. I remember the anxiety I felt for moving to a new place where I didnt know anyone. And one year later,  I am sitting in my apartment so grateful for the people who i have met who have become like extended family to me. now i cant imagine my life without them. So this weekend I celebrated my one-year anniversary with a party at my place. Yeah, i know i am a bit cheesy. who actually celebrates the passing of one year of moving to a new place?!?! let's be honest - it was just an excuse to throw a party. its my second party since moving here, and i just have to say that i am so glad it was a success. the night went perfectly and i coudnt have asked for a better night with better friends to help me celebrate. A warm shoutout to the following people who came and made my night: Oli, Andrea, Andreas, Ed, Damien, Daniel, Patrik, Susie, Barbara, Ioana, Thomas, Danielle, Angie, Lassila. I had the time of my life....and i never felt this way before........hahaha, man, I am such a cheeseball, but I just could not resist.

As i sit here and reflect on my time back here in zurich, there are so many experiences that come to mind. it really amazes me that one year can change everything. there are so many nights i remember (some i do not!), so many people that have come in and out, so many flights, for both work and pleasure, so many hotel rooms, and even a change at work. if you had told me one year ago that i would have all of these experiences, i think i would have laughed in your face. i am not sure i can truly articulate why i love it here so much. i think part of it is the people for sure. every person here has become my extended family so quickly. even the few that have left zurich since i have been here - they all hold a special place in my heart. maybe it was the fact that the expat community has been so extremely welcoming . maybe its the few swiss that I have met that have truly opened up to me - even though it is so difficult to find the ones who will let you in so quickly. and all of this considering I do not even speak the language - swiss german or german.  i know its pretty awful that i have been here one year and havent started my german lessons. it is quite arrogant of me. and trust me i really want to start. i finally got a hold of the rosetta stone for german - i just have to start my personal lessons. i am sometimes a bit ashamed that i do not speak the language - its not very "integrated" of me. but i will start soon. and through all the hilarity that has been my moving experience (oh things like not having lights for 3 months, or taking 6 months to set up my furniture, or not understanding any of my mail, etc), i can still say that i absolutely love it here. i really do try to think why i havent had a pang of homesickness in the year i have been here. i definitely miss everyone back home and wish i could export everyone over here. but there is such a similarity of how i feel now and when i felt like when i first moved to Boston. Maybe it is the simple fact that I know I am living here and need to make the most of my time here. no point in being upset about it! Someone once told me that your life experiences follow some pattern, that usually there is a repetition in major life events. thats how this feels. two major moves far away from home and it has made me really happy.

so i will leave this post just so grateful for everything i have, the people i have met, and my life here in zurich. happy one-year anniversary to me! stay tuned for the next post soon!

Jet Setter 2.0

so the last month has been pretty awesome, if i say so myself. i have been doing a lot of traveling - but this time for pleasure! the work travel has still been there, but i have been on vacation with my parents and a couple of weekends away with my friends, and it has been absolutely awesome! can i just say that i love my friends and love the trips we have made! i have a feeling that there will be more trips in the future. 

So let's start with the family vacation. This time mom and dad came over and we spent 10 days exploring the alps/mountainside of Austria. AMAZING!! So different than anything we have ever experienced before. I mean its no secret that my family and i are more city folk, but being one with nature for 10 days was a really cool experience. We really enjoyed disconnecting from the city. Actually we had a bit of both - city and countryside, and it was so much fun. Mom and dad started out by flying into zurich and we spent the day walking around the city. had dinner at this amazing restuarant in seefeld - latino (thanks oli for the suggestion!). No matter where we go, i am always so glad to be able to share more and more of zurich with mom and dad. i think it is so important for them to see where i live, the places i go, just get to know the city i live in. i think it gives them so much more of a peace of mind to see the city where i am living. it becomes less foreign and eases any apprehension they may have of their daughter living thousands of miles away. and lets be real, i love when mom and dad are here because i get proper home-cooked meals and help with cleaning my apartment!! 

so after our day in zurich, we headed off to vienna. We decided to drive - wasnt too bad. Took us about 8-9 hours to get to vienna. I love Vienna. It is such a cool city. I had an opportunity to get to know Vienna last September, when I made my first trip to Europe before the official move (see blog number 1!!). Again, just like our vacation to Spain, I was considered the local "expert" and advised on the sights to see. Vienna is a really cool city. We also visited the famous Weinerschnitzel place - Figlmuehler. SOO good! So if you are ever in Vienna and fancy a proper schnitzel this is the place to go! After Vienna, we drove to our countryside abode in maria alm. This place was breathtaking! It was a small village in the middle of the Austrian alps. The town was literally one street long by one street wide, and we definitely stuck out like sore thumbs...not surprising though. You could definitely tell that we were out-of-towners! So the first day we were there we hiked all the way up one of the mountain tops. it was a bit rainy and cloudy, but the hike was amazing! i am really proud of us. we were becoming one with the mountains and all of the nature around us. now our tour guide was incredible - basically takes different visitors for 2-3 hikes a day. i mean that is commitment to the cause! She was all prepared with all of her proper gear and backpack and everything, and i think she had to stifle a laugh when she saw us waiting for the hike. so maybe we dont fit the exact profile, but oh man we are troopers!! We actually had a great time. I really do like hiking, and as we found out in Ticino almost a month later, I am freakishly fast up the mountain.....hahaha.....after a few glasses of wine of course......hahahaha more about that later. So during the week we made different day trips around Austria. We spent a day in Salzburg and Innsbruck, and even spent an afternoon in the Swarovski factory store. Yeah, my dad was not too happy about that. My mom and i were like kids in a candy store...!! so besides the city tours we made, we visited two amazing sites in the mountains. One was Grossglockener - the highest point in Austria. We made the trip all the way to the top. Dad and i then hiked all the way down to the glacier's tongue. Wow. that was incredible. The whole glacier thing in the middle of summer was pretty amazing. What is actually funny is that this trip but to the highest point in Austria actually reminded me of my first trip to Europe, where we visited Interlaken in Switzerland and went up Jungfrau.....strange how things come back full circle! One of the other days we visited the largest natural ice caves in Europe. That was AWESOME!! All natural ice caves that we hiked all the way through. We had to use old school gas lamps to light the way. It was just amazing to see. I wish I could share pictures, but we couldnt take pictures inside the cave. Just use your imaginations...or just make the trip to Austria!!  All in all the trip was really good. We had such a great time, and honestly being with my parents, even if just for 10 days, was exactly what i needed. And every time I see them, i cant wait to see them the next time. This time mom and dad also had the chance to meet one of my co-workers and a couple of my friends. I guess this is the theme of the last month, where my worlds are mashing together, and i love it!! Here are just a few pics of the trip to Austria: 

OK now fast forward 3 weeks....i had the DISTINCT pleasure of having Satya Patel here!!!! Oh my gosh, I cannot tell you much it meant to me to have her here. Finally a piece of my life from back home was with me here....and I was able to mash my two worlds again. And it just so happened that my friends and I scheduled a couple of weekends away - a weekend wine tasting in Ticino and then a weekend in the beautiful Cote d'Azur....Satya could not have come at a perfect time. On top of that I was going to be in Barcelona (surprise, surprise) for work, so i was able to organize the perfect European vacation for Satya!! Haha modest much?! No in all honesty I think it was the perfect trip for her. And i could not have been happier to have her here and introduce her to my world. So we started the Jet Setter lifestyle in Barcelona. I was there for work, but Satya got the chance to see the city. And trust me, she saw all of the sites. We came back from Barcelona and drove straight to Novaggio in Ticino where we were meeting Ed, Ben, and Andrea. OK this weekend was awesome!!! So the basis of the trip was hiking and wine tasting. We stayed at this really cute bed and breakfast type of place. Andrea and I had found this cute hiking/wine tasting tour on the internet. We couldnt figure out how to make a booking in advance so we decided just to go there and make our own tour. Well, the term "wine tasting" is being used loosely. We definitely tasted a lot of local wines, but not quite at the vineyards we were expected. We basically just ended up making our way, hiking, and stopping at restaurants along the way ordering bottles of local wines! The hiking was very, very real.....we went up and down mountaintops and went around the town of Novaggio. And so this is where the super hiker in me came out! haha I dont know where it came from, but I was on fire that day! Oh the mountain had nothing on me. It was a great feeling. So we finally made our way back to the hotel and then got ready for dinner. We ate at Novaggio and then made our way to this awesome village party down the hill. Proper village party where there was a tent and a dj...it was pretty surreal. It was definitely good times. The next day we spent the day in Lugano. Rented a motoscafo (motor boat!!) to go around the lake, swam in the lake, hung out....honestly, it was a great day. It was so good to spend the time with my friends enjoying everything that Switzerland has to offer. Makes me so happy to be living here. The whole weekend was pretty awesome...another good discovery that all of us who traveled together actually could travel together. It was awesome!! Here are a few of the good shots from the aweesoooooommmme ticino weekend!!!

So after an amazing weekend in Ticino, Satya spent the week here in Zurich. That was a lot of fun. It was so nice to show her my city, the places i go, the restaurants I go. I didnt get the chance to take her out here in Zurich....well, maybe next time! So after a good week in Zurich, we headed to Nice the following weekend. I know, what a tough life, right?! Andrea and I had planned to go to Nice and it just worked out perfectly! Satya invited her three cousins along which was really cool. We spent Saturday in Cannes, which was pretty cool. And then we decided (or at least half of us decided!) to go back to Cannes to try out the party scene there. It was definitely different - what an experience though! A different lifestyle for sure, but it was fun to be a part of it for one night. The next day we headed to Monaco and again got a taste for life on Cote d' Azur. Man the luxury that is Monaco....pretty amazing. We spent the next day in the old town of Nice, shopping and enjoying the city. Again, another pretty amazing weekend - and i made some new friends in London - all in all, very successful weekend getaway! 

So in the end, i absolutely loved having Satya here. Her visit seriously made my month, or year even. And the fact that she was able to meet a lot of my friends here. Again its the feeling of having the opportunity of both of my worlds to collide. It makes everything here real. I have lived abroad before but this is actually the first time that one of my friends from back home made the trip to come see me. It really is an amazing feeling. I think Satya got a good idea of my life here, and I think she understands now why I love it here and why I do not think I will be back to the US anytime soon. I love living here in Europe, and loved sharing that with one of my dearest friends. 

So this jet setter 2.0 is so happy to have shared this couple of weeks with Satya here. And honestly, the proximity of everything and being able to travel to so many different places is really an amazing thing. i do feel so blessed to be able to have the ability to see the world in a whole new way. It is probably really cheesy to talk this way, but it is very true. This past month has really been awesome. 

Life is good at the moment. Looking forward to see what the next few weeks have in store. Until next time and hopefully more tales to add to the jet setter log book...!

summer lovin'

WOW. 2 months since the last post. pretty crazy. can you believe that is already august??! sorry for being so delinquent in my posts. i have been enjoying the summer here - working hard, and playing hard. the weather has been all over the place which is a little bit of a bummer, and sometimes its hard to take advantage of the awesome things you can do around the city, but all in all good fun.

One of the highlights of the summer was the weekend in thessaloniki, greece with my girl Andrea! Honestly we had an amazing time. It was such a random thing. Andrea had booked a ticket awhile back and asked if i wanted to join - i didn't have to think hard about that one. So for one of the long weekends in June, Andrea and I made our way to Thessaloniki to enjoy some fun in the sun. we arrived late on a friday and stayed at this really cute boutique hotel. we had a lot of fun - we spent a day at the beach, saw some of the sites around thessaloniki. for the record, there isnt much to see during the day in thessaloniki. Poor Andrea was so motivated every day to go sight-seeing. I would get up relatively early just to give her accompany. That is how much my friendship with Andrea means to me!! haha. ok so the sights around thessaloniki were just mediocre. BUT the nightlife was pretty amazing. they say that thessaloniki is the nightlife capital of greece, so we had some great food and great nights. so proud of my girl for letting loose and enjoying the nightlife properly! We seriously had a great time. We also figured out that we are perfect travel companions, which is important. sometimes you can be good friends with someone but the minute you travel it can all unravel so fast. people's habits become so clear when they travel - but we were successful in that journey! Here are some photos of the awesome trip:

since then, i have been traveling for work, but not as much as usual, which is a nice change. i went to Hamburg twice for a couple of trainings, which were not bad at all. I had to spend one week in Luzern (yes I know tough life) for a couple of surgeon meetings. Work has been crazy as usual, but it has been a nice chance to actually be in town during the week. This allowed me to meet up with my friends during the week and experience the Zurich Afterwork summer scene. There are quite a few places with outdoor patios and things by the lake/river and make some great places to go. Another reason why I love Zurich.

In the last couple of months, I have also had the opportunity to meet some more friends - some of them Swiss actually. it has been a lot of fun - random, but fun. So we have just been enjoying the weekends, hanging out with my friends - new and old.

So I think I have been here 8-9 months now, which is incredible. I have to say that my impressions of Zurich have not changed in the slightest. I still am in the honeymoon phase I think, but i think that is a good thing. I remember at 2-3 months into my time living in Madrid during college was different - i wanted to come home. But not here. So i was out last night celebrating my friend's 30th, and i had to meet a bunch of her friends who had flown in from the UK, and i was telling them about my time here. And reliving everything i have experienced since i got here made me realize even more that i was meant to be here. I know, i know. its so philosophical and maybe even a little cheesy. but i definitely think part of it is the people i have met. i think that makes the whole difference in the world. i am enjoying life to the fullest here and am in a content stage. i am just happy - inside and out. i dont have any complaints. i know it may seem weird that all my blog posts are extremely positive. haha one of the girls i met yesterday said i should do PR for the Zurich tourism board - hahaha i think she might be right. but im being very genuine in my emotions and my excitement for living here. i think this is where i was meant to be...

HAHA ok enough of the psychoanalysis. time to sign off and get ready for another short week. SO excited for mom and dad to come back over this thursday. We are going to be taking another holiday - this time to Austria. I am so looking forward to seeing mom and dad again and exploring Austria with them. Our objective to see Europe while i am here is shaping up nicely! So my next post will definitely be once i am back and will have more tales to share about our time in Austria!

Hasta pronto amigos!

one year older, but maybe not one year wiser!

so i know it has been awhile since my last post. may was a busy month, but a good one! since the last post, the highlight has really been Shilen's trip out to Zurich and the vacation to Spain with the family...and of course celebrating the Big 2-8 Zurich style!!

So the first two weeks of May were really dedicated to getting everything done before the big vacation. I think the first week of May was the first full week that I was here and not traveling. It is amazing how much work you can get done when you are in the office! But the biggest thing on my mind was getting all my furniture built so that i could properly welcome my family to zurich. well it definitely was a dash until the 11th hour, but FINALLY everything is set up!! no more boxes, all my furniture built, and everything finally unpacked and put where it belongs. honestly it feels so good to be settled. yeah, yeah. just took me 7 months. but it was well worth the wait. as promised, here are some photos of the apartment and the neighborhood. life is definitely good.

again, thanks to all that helped with putting everything together (multiple times). i even put Shilen to work when he got here! haha! and of course, a BIG thanks to mama patel, who helped me reorganize everything and make it perfect - like all moms do! so finally feel settled here. I'm in it for the long haul, and theres no turning back! good thing i love it here!

I was so excited to welcome Shilen to Zurich for the first time. he got here a week before mom and dad came, and i was glad to have the time to show him around and introduce him to my friends here. he got a good glimpse of my life here in zurich, and i was happy to share that with him. i was also glad that shilen was here over the weekend, so i could show him how i play hard....!! thanks to all those that met us out the weekend he was here. he had a great time and enjoyed meeting all of you guys. Finally a few days later, mom and dad came into zurich. it was awesome to show them around. there is something so special to show my parents and my brother my life here, and show them around. i think they felt much better to see everything first hand, rather than hearing about through our weekly skype calls. and for me, it was a surreal feeling to have my family here. i have studied abroad multiple times, but mom and dad never had a chance to make it out to any of those places. but im living here in zurich, and was so excited to share this with them.

so after a couple of days here in zurich, we made our way to spain for our family vacation. we really went all over, and it was an amazing time. what is seriously crazy is that ive been to spain multiple times for work since starting this job, but havent had a chance to see the sights. even crazier is that the last time that i was sightseeing in spain was 7 years ago when i was studying abroad in madrid. i couldnt believe how much i remembered!! 7 years ago, and i think i was the best tour guide my parents could have asked for! hahaha. i remembered everything like it was yesterday. and so glad to share that with my parents as well. they didnt have a chance to come out when i studied there. they always said that they wanted to visit; they thought they would visit on their own since shilen and i have already been, but it was good to show them around! we started the trip in barcelona. we definitely saw some of my favorite places - casa batllo, las ramblas, la sagrada familia, parque guell, la pedrera, plaza catalunya....etc. loved every minute of it. we then rented a car and made our way down to andalucia. we stoped in valencia on the way. beautiful coastal town. we could have definitely spent more time down there. we then finally made it to our destination - marbella. i had been to marbella before with the senora i lived with while in spain. beautiful weather, nice beaches, beautiful little town. we made day trips to rhonda, sevilla, granada. spent time in marbella and puerto banus. one of the highlights was to be able to spend my 28th birthday with the family. funny enough i had a desperate craving for some good indian food. i know what you are thinking....good indian food in spain?!?!?! well youre right - its not the run of the mill restaurant request in spain. but we got so lucky. the restaurant we found was owned by a south indian, and he was so great to us. he made our meal specially for us - special recipes and everything. the chef came out as well - grew up in gujurat, so the patel connection once again had its benefits hahaha! honestly, it was the perfect way to spend my bday...i was SO lucky that i could spend the birthday with my family and my friends. more on the big 2-8 celebration a bit later. so the vacation ended in madrid. now that was seriously a trip to have my parents in the city that i lived for 7 months. we spent 2 great days seeing the sites of madrid. it was awesome! all in all a great vacation! i realized that i love spain to vacation in. not sure if i would live there again, but i love visiting. and made it even better to spend the vaca with the fam. i posted all our pics on FB - check them out!

so the hardest part of the vacation obviously was saying good-bye to mom, dad, and shilen. what made it even harder was the fact that i was on the road the whole week after my trip. so i didnt get back into zurich until this past friday night. the week after my trip, i spent a day in madrid, amsterdam, and then salamanca.....what an exhausting week! the highlight?? getting to see my friend janeth again! i havent seen here since september. i cant believe we have been friends for 7 years - from when i was living and working in madrid. some of the best things in life are re-connecting with people. had a chance to catch up with my good friend vera after 10 years!!!! she was passing through zurich, and i was able to meet up with her for a coffee....so awesome!! i love that...and this is one of the best things about facebook. you always know where people are, so you can reconnect like this, and the world becomes smaller and smaller every day!

ok so yesterday, i had the chance to celebrate my 28th bday with my friends here in zurich. thanks to all those that came out and celebrated!! i had a great time! made me miss all my friends back home, and i have been remembering the past birthday escapades like the quarter century at rev rock, the rooftop party at cactus club, dancing the night away at saint.....all good times! i wish i could transport all my friends back home to zurich, and i wish i could have everyone in one place at one time. but nevertheless, i enjoyed the party so much! i was finally able to invite everyone over since my furniture has been all set up - it was kinda like a house-warming/bday celebration. and all you would be so proud.....i actually made sangria and guacamole! big hits of the evening. we then headed out to rimini - an outdoor bar, and then plaza for some good ol' dancing! had an awesome time and glad that i found a good group of friends here to celebrate it with. it really makes me feel so at home here.

all in all, may was an amazing month. from being able to see my family and celebrate my 28th with my friends here. its the perfect combination.

anyway, the summer is starting off with a bang! i am going to thessaloniki next weekend, so I will be sure to update once i get back! wait, did you just read that...im going to thessaloniki next weekend!!!!!! so excited. this is what living in europe is all about!

ok until next time! cheers!

A very mild April so far...

Happy Easter to all! Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday, and the long weekend, if you get one! So it's been a few weeks since my last post, but this post will probably be short as this has been a very mild April so far...surprisingly enough, not a lot to report. But I think this is a good sign. Sometimes its nice to know that life isn't always crazy and that I can have some normalcy to living in CH. I think April to date was marked by a very crazy work schedule with a lot of travel and a lot of meetings/reviews/etc - that it seems crazy how fast April has flown by.

Since my last post, I made a trip to Bordeaux, France for a very important Spine congress. It was important for us to put our best foot forward, as France is a strategic market for us. Glad to report that the meeting was a success. The city of Bordeaux itself is quite beautiful. I wish I had more time to go wine-tasting there. I did get the chance to try a proper Bordeaux Superior, which was excellent. The town itself is very clean and just impressive. Definitely a place I want to go back to.

What's nice now about Zurich is now that its warm, spending time around the lake is something I love doing. I will try and get out there at least once a weekend just to take advantage of the beautiful weather. Common theme to a lot of my weekends. I don't think I need to describe yet again why I love it - I think its pretty obvious by now. The temperature hovers around 65-70 all day, and I am looking forward to when it gets kicked up a few more degrees - then it will be absolutely perfect!

After Bordeaux, we actually had a very interesting session with our team regarding our DISC profiles. DISC is basically a personality-work type test, similar to MBTI or Insights. Very interesting to see what my profile came out to, and how that compared to the rest of the team. This profile was SPOT-ON! Sometimes it is scary how accurate these tests can be.....the profile had me pegged perfectly!

After that, I jumped on a plane to Barcelona for a User Group meeting and a course. great meetings - glad that they were both over because there was a lot of prep that went into those meetings. But my schedule has been non-stop. I got back from Barcelona on Saturday night, and got on a plane on Sunday to head up to Leeds (thats in the UK for those that don't know!!) I was exhausted to be going from place to place, but had the chance to have a proper curry in Leeds at this place called Mumtaz! Didn't realize how much I miss spicy Indian food!! There are Indian restaurants here in CH, but nothing that would actually be spicy enough for me. So I guess there are a couple of things I miss from home......

This week was another crazy week in the office, although short! We had the chance to meet our new WW president, which was very cool. And then this brings us to the present weekend! 4-day weekend here in CH! AWESOME!!! So enjoying the time off! I spent Friday at home, and actually had the chance to go grocery shopping for the first time in a few months! Oh, I swear its the little things in life! I finally had milk in the house so I could make a proper cup of chai. LOVED IT! Just missing some Indian snacks that would make my chai perfect....

I did discover a shopping haven only 45 minutes from Zurich - Konstanz, Germany. Its just over the border, but SO much cheaper. Made the trip out yesterday, which was good fun. It sits right on a lake as well, and there is definitely good shopping! Thanks to Jen for an amazing day in Konstanz!

So as I am enjoying my long weekend..i am so excited that I am home for the next couple of weeks. Cannot wait to welcome Shilen to Zurich in two weeks and see my parents in three weeks....my next trip is my holiday to Spain with the fam.....SO EXCITED AND SO READY for vacation!!! Glad I can be home....finally have the time to properly unpack and welcome my family to Zurich!!

Well, that's all folks! I will check in after my holiday to Spain - I will have more to write about at that point! Hope everyone is doing well. Cheers from CH!