sundries, in which I am really cool

[rm]

Guess who just earned out her advance?

Yes, that I had that conversation means other conversations are now in play.

My traveling life 2009/2010 (SO FAR):

- Oct 17 - 18: New Haven (w/ Patty)
- Nov 17 - 21: Switzerland (desk job)
- Jan 3 - 14: Caribbean (w/ Patty)
- Feb 25 - Mar 1: Los Angeles (Gallifrey One)
- Mar ??? - Washington DC (LoC reading, hopefully w/ Patty)
- Mar 19 - 21: Rye Brook (Lunacon w/ Patty)
- Apr 12ish - 16ish: London, Cardiff and maybe Ireland (Patty has a conference, I'm tagging along)
- Jul 8 - 9: Bristol, hopefully (academic conference, not sure if Patty will be on a dig then)
- Jul 15 - 18: Florida, maybe (Infinitius, looking more likely by the second)
- September 2 - 6: Atlanta (Dragon*Con w/ Patty)

This doesn't take into account the possibility of a brief jaunt to Ohio in December or the fact that we'd really like to take a weekend in Cold Spring sometimes between November and March or that we might go to a Holiday Ball in December. HOLY CRAP HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE? I AM NOT THAT COOL TO BE ON THE ROAD THIS MUCH.

Speaking of Switzerland, what can I expect the language situation to be like? I have _no_ German and my French will probably come back online after a couple of days. I'm curious not just what level of English people have and how useful my French will be, but what level of language effort on my part decorum demands -- should I learn a few phrases of German?

My birthday is coming up soon, but I am feeling aggressively ambivalent about it.

Man, most of my front-burner writing projects just reached the really cranky stage where I have awesome structure and awesome content, and I'm going to have to sacrifice pieces of each to each other and that makes me sad. Sometimes, in fact, I wish I was worse at structure so that I could leave in more random awesome.

Comments

[kurometarikku.livejournal.com]

Do you need a hotel reservation for New Haven?

[newsbean.livejournal.com]

Guess who just earned out her advance?

Mazel Tov!

[paragraphs.livejournal.com]

Congrats on that first dot!

YAY for travel (I have travel envy looking at this)--where are you staying in Cardiff? Ty Rosa I hope! If so, hug Stuart for me. He is adorable. And Max the dog! We hope to get back later in April, possibly early May. So much to explore still...planning to go North somewhere also.

Birthdays don't matter to me anymore. My 47th was in May, and I am healthier, thinner, and happier than I've been in years, so I was fine with it, just fine.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm not bothered by the age, it just seems like an effort to celebrate, and I'm a little people-d out after the summer.

The Cardiff plans are extremely unsolid right now. We have to wait until Patty books for her academic conference, then I will figure out what dates I'm tagging along, and then will find her busiest day or two to probably head up to Cardiff alone.

[justpat.livejournal.com]

Serious, serious congratulations on earning out your advance!

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Yay you!

... oh my, that will be a well-traveled you by the end of things. Glad Patty will be there for most of it!

Um on the Switzerland thing. Were you staying in Geneva, I'd definitely say French would be fine: maybe having a few German phrases would be a good idea if you're going to be out of the way of the main towns?

[tod-hollykim.livejournal.com]

For Switzerland, your English should be fine actually.

My stepmom had to go there a number of years ago for work- she was working for an international air line tariff organization at the time- and she has no other languages.

[cruentum.livejournal.com]

In that part of Switzerland, it's definitely German, BUT you are much much safer with English because it's not like they speak German-German casually, Swiss-German is very much its own language with partly own vocabulary and syntax and grammar rules. It's closely enough related to German that it takes me as a native German speaker whose sister has now lived there for almost 10 years only a day or two to get back into understanding it somewhat but it's to a non-native speaker most likely nothing like german. They would understand your German, and a few phrases of Hallo etc are probably useful but chances are even if they tried to straighten out their German to high German for you (which they can do, passably) you'd be lost because the accent would still be heavy enough for a non-native not to get what they are saying.

So really, just go with English and have a few courtesy phrases hanging around, but don't bother with much more.

THAT SAID, in that part of Switzerland they WOULD also understand your French, more than likely. In Switzerland, in school, the first second language you are taught is one of the other official languages of the country even before you are taught English, and I know that the majority of the people in the German-speaking part of Switzerland learn French as their second official language, so you'd probably, if you speak more French than German, be actually safer with French in making yourself understood. Chances are fairly good that in the places you are staying in they would understand that, since they are proud enough of the quadruple-linguality of their country

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

*nods* My aunt did her second language as French, but it's German in that part of the country - and they tittered at my High German I learned in school, but it's perfectly acceptable to get by on.

Attempt as much as you feel comfortable with - what I learned, I learned full-immersion style in 1991 when I had to live there for a year. Anyplace you go that doesn't speak your language? Will always appreciate an attempt in theirs.

Still envious as HECK. Get inside a MIGROS at least once. Buy as much chocolate as you can stuff in a suitcase. At those dates, you'll have access to the BEST Christmas stuff you ever saw. Promise.

[lawsontl.livejournal.com]

My mother-in-law speaks Swiss-German, German, French and English. But when I wasn't with her in Zurich, my bad French and the Zuri's bad English got us through sufficiently, even to the point of me being able to describe a head cold and get good cold medicine for the problem.

And, OH, TOTALLY snag some bottles of Rivella. Blau (blue) is the best, IMHO, but the Green/Grun I swear tastes like a Pimm's Cup without the alcohol :) Blau is lo cal, Grun is fuller cal but still not as bad as a traditional soda. Both are lovely and herbal, quite refreshing.

And don't forget Kinder Eggs. The toys inside are endlessly fun to assemble, the chocolate is just a bonus.

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Rivella is only slightly better than Irn Bru ;)

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

Carry a little pad of paper with you (or just your travel diary). If your French and English aren't enough for a situation, drawing a little picture does wonders. It would have helped me a lot the time I inadvertantly asked that poor French grocer for twelve pineapples, and he quite rightly thought I was having him on.

[newsbean.livejournal.com]

I got along just fine with English and a smattering of French. I was in Bern and Zurich as well as doing some hiking in the Alps. I really never had a problem.

[mellacita.livejournal.com]

1. I think you are cool, but no one has ever accused me of being cool myself, so take that ringing endorsement for what it is worth.

2. Despite not being cool, I had a year and a half in which I traveled (mostly for work but also for fun) to 17 states as well as Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, China, Germany, India, the UK, and Canada.

3. Your travel looks awesome. Enjoy it as a well-earned part of your hard work!

[lyorn.livejournal.com]

should I learn a few phrases of German?

Where in Switzerland? If it's the German part -- a few phrases (greetings, numbers, "Tut mir leid, ich spreche kein Deutsch") will never hurt, but unless you are in a city, the dialect is so "out there" that I have a hard time understanding it, and I'm German.

Learning to read a few sentences you are likely to encounter might be useful. I had some of the most stupid situations when I was incapable of finding out if the bus in some foreign country went "only" on weekends, or "not" on weekends.

[alba17.livejournal.com]

I was in (German-speaking) Switzerland several years ago and had no problem getting along in English. I don't speak any German at all, although I had a phrase book.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

For Switzerland, not panicking, French, and some emergency phrases in German and Italian*, concentrating on logistical, medical and dietary needs. They are about as used to dealing with foreigners as a people can be.
Dude, they have to deal with each other!

*Even most Swiss don't speak Romansch.

[gina-r-snape.livejournal.com]

I didn't even know Romanisch existed until an old German flatmate of mine had a friend visiting from Switzerland. She said only about 500,000 people still speak it.

Rach - you should be fine with English and French. But let me know if you'd like a few courtesy phrases. I'm guessing the first might be:

Ich kann keinen Weizen essen. (I can't eat wheat).
or - ohne Weizen (without wheat)

I'm getting anxious just LOOKING at your flight schedule, btw.

[gina-r-snape.livejournal.com]

*100,000 speakers, not 500,000

[feyandstrange.livejournal.com]

OMG yay advance earn-out!

From what I recall of Zurich, you'll be fine with English and some phrasebook knowledge of either French or German or even Italian. The Swiss are proud of their multi-linguality and sometimes frustratingly so.

Trying to learn a few phrases of German may actually make things worse; Zurich may still largely use Swiss-German, which is practically its own dialect and nigh incomprehensible to German speakers. (Switzerduech? I can't remember how to spell it.) Zurich is more on the German side than the French but can often still manage in French as well, and very often English.

Politeness: As long as you are polite, they don't much care what language it's in. Anyone in a service or tourist-facing industry will speak a little bit of English or French, if not a great deal more than that, and will be cheerful and helpful even if they don't.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Mazal Tov on your advance.

I'm jealous that you're going to be in so many different places I don't envy the getting to those places.
That's always harsh.

Have fun in Switzerland!

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Where in Switzerland will you be? I lived in Zurich for most of last year -- the language is Swiss German, but you can get by with no German at all.

In Geneva, it's French, but English will be fine almost everywhere you go.

[marzipan-pig.livejournal.com]

The Matterhorn!

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Ja :) It was taken during a weekend trip where I took the Glacier Express to Zermatt and hiked down Gornergrat :)

Lovely, lovely area.

[marzipan-pig.livejournal.com]

I don't know what the chocolate/gluten situation is or if you even like that kind of chocolate (it's creamy and has a lot of hazelnut?) but it is unlike anything else and better than the same thing imported (better than Nutella, which is what it's closest to in my mind).

Any of my German is really little-kid Switzerdeutch - if I think of any remotely useful phrases (I know maybe 5 or 10?) I'll think about how to sound them out.

Also - weird random 'unusual name' note - my (fairly common) name has an uncommon Swiss spelling and Switzerland is the only place it is consistently spelled right and is represented on commercially-produced items such as keychains, which I'm sure you realize how dorkily exciting that may be :)

[browneyedgirl65.livejournal.com]

You'll find that most of the people (esp anywhere near tourist industry) speak English just fine. If you've got French, you will almost certainly be able to communicate with most anyone you like.

I've just found out I'm going to Switzerland next year myself :). I'm curious about any sign language I might run across; not that I expect any more ppl to be fluent in the local sign than they are here, but...

That travel itinerary is all kinds of awesome. *is jealous*

And woot! on the advance/convo's/etc...

[shipchan.livejournal.com]

'- Jul 15 - 18: Florida, maybe (Infinitius, looking more likely by the second)'

I am submitting a paper. If it's a bad con I think it might break the wizard rock fans. If it's awesome, it will be good. You're attendance would be nice either way.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Have they put up a CFP yet?

[shipchan.livejournal.com]

Nope. Nothing is up except for the dates and ticket sales. Don't even have submission guidelines up yet.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

At least you get time at home between trips. My spouse's travel schedule this fall has been something like:

US August 22-Sept 1 (DC, North Carolina, DC, Philadelphia, DC, 6 hotels in a week and a half)

Netherlands Sept 9-Oct 2

Australia Oct 7-23 (Sydney for the World Masters Games, Tasmania

I'm on the first and third of those trips, but at least I get time to breath between. (He's had a few other trips to the Netherlands this year, and we've also been to Sweden and Malaysia together.)

[nobodyreally.livejournal.com]

Sweet! Earning out an advance makes you a member of a relatively small club. Welcome. The travel schedule looks like you'll be busy running around being fabulous. Tough job but somebody has to do it.

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Just as an aside, awareness of celiac disease is much more common in Europe than it is here (according to dict.leo.org, the German phrase is "Ich habe Zöliakie")

Guess who just earned out her advance?

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

I don't know how I missed this earlier.(Well, yes, actually, I kinda do. Too much busy.)

Congratulations!