So here it is: I've reached the beginning of my sixth week here in Switzerland. Does it feel that long? It's odd because it feels like I've been here forever but not really long at all. Shame I hadn't been here forever because then I could talk like a native...but I guess that comes with time!
My first six weeks have been interesting, and I won't pretend they haven't been hard. Uprooting yourself once to go half way across the country is difficult enough, but doing it again and moving to an entirely different country where they speak rapid foreign words, use shiny silver currency that all looks the same and have public transport that actually runs on time can be a little bit traumatising. Although, not all of it's hard to accept.
But yes, life has been difficult at times. For starters, there's getting used to the language and the people. Not only am I trying to learn French, but also trying to navigate the millions of other languages and nationalities present in my accommodation block. German and Spanish seem to be the prevailing languages; maybe I should have listened a little bit more in my German classes.
Also, there are my 18 hours of lectures per week to contend with, including an eight hour Thursday (six hours of which are taught in French). Going from my relaxing five hours per week at York (which, I will admit, are for most English students reduced to two due mainly to the stupid nature of our lectures which are frequently entirely irrelevant to the topic) to this is a bit of a culture shock. But the classes are interesting and I'm sure the French ones will be doing wonders for my knowledge of the language so it's really nothing to complain about. Also, it demands a lot of time to be spent in the library and with a spectacular view down to the lake and off across to the snow-capped mountains, it's enough to make someone actually want to spend some time in that building! No one can argue that the library at York has any similar effect on the students....
However, there are loads of positive things that certainly outweigh the difficulties I may have experienced since being here. The country is beautiful. It has snowed here several times since I arrived. I have an ensuite. And I still can't get over how amazingly regular and reliable the buses are! I've also had several people over to visit me thus far which has helped retain a sense of my own country while I've been over here (even if I have attempted to introduce them to Swiss ways).
I've got a few cultural photographs to upload on here from trips to Les Diablerets, Berne and Neuchatel, and hopefully will have some more soon from trips over the next week. I'm hoping to visit Zurich to see the art gallery (despite it being a couple of paintings short) and hopefully other places such as Basel (it's a point in Switzerland where France, Switzerland and Germany meet), Lucerne and hopefully some others if I can scrape together the cash.
Mais en ce moment, Joyeuses Pacques pour tout le monde et bonsoir! xx
Berne - The Capital City of Switzerland
Beautiful clock (left)
View from the top of the clock (Right) 
Elspeth and The Last Judgement (Saved, Left of Picture, Damned, Right)
Close up of The Last Judgement
Rosti! Local delicacy of grated potato with cheese and in this variation, a fried egg on top. Yummy!
Berne means "Bears" in German so it is tradition to have bears in a pit at the edge of the city centre. Rather cruel.
Neuchâtel - Forty minutes from Lausanne by train
Like Lausanne, Neuchâtel sits on the edge of a lake (Lac de Neuchâtel, funnily enough). This is a view across the harbour
Admittedly slightly scary looking mechanical figurines in La Musée d'Art et d'Histoire. Created by watchmaker Jaquet-Droz in the 1770s, each figurine move in a certain way. The one on the left is the Draughtsman who sketches a little picture, the one in the middle is the Musician (who actually plays the piano with her fingers rather than the piano moving independently) and finally the Writer on the right who can write anything up to forty characters long. Unfortunately we didn't get to see them in action because they're only showcased once a month but the entire concept and the workmanship is rather impressing.
Beautiful fresco painted in the entrance hall of La Musée d'Art et d'Histoire.
Collégiale Church
Les Diablerets - Snow shoeing. What an odd concept.
Les Raquettes! (You attach them to your shoes and apparently they make it easier to walk on snow... not sure I agree with that)
Beautiful sleepy little Swiss town in the mountains. There's a chalet there with my name on it...