フォイヤー・ツァンゲン・ボウレ

正直最初上司が「フォイヤー・ツァンゲン・ボウレ」とやら催しに招待していただいたときはそれがなんなのかさっぱりわからず、単にお酒が飲めてご飯がおいしいという周りの口コミのみでした　笑。

これはドイツのクリスマスシーズンに飲まれる季節的な飲み物で、名前を直訳すると「火＋挟み器（トング）＋フルーツ酒」だそう。なんでも同じ名前の映画があるようでクリスマスシーズンになると必ずテレビで放映され、ドイツ人は誰もが知っているそう。


上司宅に着くともう既に準備が着々とされていました！特別なフォンデュ鍋を改造したような器具で、下の鍋には赤ワインとスパイスが暖められています。いわゆるホットワインですよね。上の部分にはコーン型になったラム酒漬けされた砂糖の塊が挟まれて宙ぶらりんの状態。ラム酒といっても普通のではなく、かなーり強めのもの。なのでこの砂糖の塊に火をつけるとなんとも綺麗な青い炎に包まれます。その炎の中で少しずづ砂糖が溶け、下のワインに混ざり完成！ワイン＋ラム酒なのでかなり強いお酒。でもスパイスとお砂糖も入っているので甘いし、体が暖まってかなり危険　笑。個人的にはホットワインよりも味がまろやかな感じで大好きな味です。

もちろんドイツ家庭料理もたくさん出てきて大感激。南ドイツ郷土料理のオバツダ（チーズバター）、手作りドイツパン、チキン焼き、ミートボール、サワークラウト、ポテトサラダなどなど☆　今年もまたしてやサンクスギビングに実家に帰れなかったのでこういう感じでみんなで食卓を囲んで食べるのもいいですよね～本当にありがとうございました！

オバツダです。パンとよく合う！

同僚たちが作ったデザートの数々

DIY Lotions

Things in Switzerland are expensive and cosmetics are no option. This is always a problem during winter when my humidity loving skin basically dries up from the extremely dry European winters. I really need a potent skin nourishing cream but on top of being very expensive, not all of them are compatible with my Asian skin. So, I started venturing out for some nice non-chemical, hydrating creams by making them myself.

I buy most of my ingredients in the US. It's much cheaper and it's very vertile to use for many things so it's well worth it. For this body butter lotion recipe, I only need 6 ingredients and 6 tools.

Ingredients: 
Coconut oil
Shea butter
Apricot oil (also can use other oils such as almond, jojoba, etc)
Olive oil
Beeswax
Essential Oil 

Tools:
Jar (I used an empty jam jar)
Grater (** note I later found out it's VERY difficult to wash after grating beeswax. Better to use a knife!)
Cutting board
Measusing Spoon
Measuring cup
Pot 

Grate the beeswax **

Put all ingredients in the jar

Double broil it over heat

Leave it to cool

Divide into different jars for convenient use

Refrigerate for a few hours

It's a very "heavy" recipe. So if you have acne prone or oily skin, it'll be too much. It's basically like jabbing on butter on your face. But if you have VERY dry skin (like me) whose skin is cracking and getting itchy, this is perfect. I mix it with my other moisturizing lotions to give it an extra moisture soft finish. It also works great to put on your skin right when you get out of the shower before you towel dry yourself. And finally, it's also great for chapped lips. Enjoy :)

Grocery Shopping in France

I think it's obvious by now that living in Switzerland is way too expensive. To give you an idea. 10 eggs (not even a dozen) cost about $6. A bag of big chips is about $5. 100g of beef costs about $4. And this is at the normal supermarkets...wait till you go to the Whole Foods equivalent. Actually, only been there once and got scared and ran away so I have no idea. Of course there are some slightly cheaper options but the selection is quite limited. So if I really want to do some real (American style) shopping I go to France, which is about a 20-30 min tram ride and then a 10min walk away. It's not your typical neighborhood grocery shopping but I love shopping in France.

Maybe R has brainwashed me in the superiority of French cuisine, but I've really come to appreciate French supermarkets.

But with that said, don't get me wrong Swiss supermarket are probably the most cleanest, organized, and gourmet supermarkets in all of Europe. An average supermarket is close to fresh, fair-trade, organic Whole Foods quality food. If I had the money I would love to buy most of my products in Switzerland because I can trust their quality and their standards. Of course, that is for another day when I get a Swiss salary...

I carry back two huge shopping bags every time I go to France. As there's the Schengen deal there are virtually no controls between the borders so technically you can buy however much you want without getting worried about duty taxes. Although, to be precise there are restrictions on how much meat and alcohol you can carry back into Switzerland. I don't buy meat except maybe some ham sometimes and I only usually buy a bottle of wine each time so I'm all set.

By bus and tram, it takes me about 20 minutes from my dorm to get to the very edge of Switzerland. I then cross over the border by foot and then I walk for about 10 minutes to get to my supermarket and an Asian supermarket just across the street.  Here's a bit of a glimpse..

 

Obviously you can tell I went to the Asian groceries with my bags full of Mammy noodles and tofu! Here is what I bought from the French supermarket. All of this cost me about 25 euros. In Switzerland, I assure you this will cost anywhere from 60-70 CHF. The difference is just astonishing

The cheapest are the dairy. I buy 16 eggs in France for about $1.80. In Switzerland, it will cost me a whooping $8. Yes, you heard me right. Making omelets in Switzerland is luxury.

This is also the same in Switzerland and France, but in many supermarkets unless they are individually marked and have a sticker price on it already, you have to weigh the vegetable and fruits yourself and print out the sticker and place it on your item or plastic bag.

Lately I've been more careful about creating waste (I am a sustainable development student afterall!), I started carrying around mesh bags to put my vegggies and fruits in, instead of using those thin plastic bags.

国を超えてのお買い物

多分何度も何 度も繰り返しているのでもう読みたくないかもしれませんが・・・スイスは物価が高い！卵10個で600円はするし、お肉は大体100gで400-500円 はザラでポテトチップスなどのお菓子は一袋500円ですよ？！最初はスーパーに入ってホントにびっくりしました。その後リサーチとか人に聞いたりして安い チェーンスーパーを見つけたり、特売品を見つけたりそれなりに工夫はするけどそれでもやはり学生としては痛い。

なん でスイスは高いのかというと賃金が高いから。最低賃金はバイトでも最低2500円。ジュネーブでは月収35万円以下の収入だと「貧乏」とみなされるのだと か。あと品質とか国産にとてもこだわるので（こだわらんでもいいのに！）それも値段を押し上げるんですよね。隣のおフランスまでは電車で20分程度。そこ から歩いて国境を渡って（パスポートチェックはないです）歩いて10分も行くとスーパーがあるので月に数回フランスに買出しに行く涙ぐましい結果、食費が 2-3割減りました♪

Rがフランススーパー大好きっ子なのでその影響を受けたのかもしれませんが、フランスのスー パーってやっぱりいい！アメリカはやはり品質とかが気になってお肉は怖くて買えないのだけど、フランスはEUの厳しい検問を受けているので何かと安心（ち なみにスイスではEUではないのだけど自国の品質チェックは更に厳しいとか？）。農業国だけあって野菜とか果物も良質な価格でおいしい。そしてなんといっ ても乳製品が安い！卵は16個入りで200円。牛乳は１パック８０円。１００円以下で牛乳が買えるなんて。しかも殺菌テトラパックに入っているので冷蔵保 存しなくてもいいので買い置きできるのも嬉しい。ヨーグルトに至っては１kgで２５０円。なのでフランスに入国するとかなりテンションが上がります　笑

で もだからといってスイスのスーパーも嫌いではないです。しいて言えばマダムの行きそうな高級スーパーがスイスの普通のスーパーと考えましょう。オーガニッ ク製品も大多数を占めるし、品質も使い心地もスイスだとやはり安心感はあります。スイスでちゃんとしたお給料が貰えたときに思う存分にお買い物したいと思 います。


フランスに買出しに行くもう一つの理由はいつも行くスーパーに向かい側に小さなアジ アスーパーがあるので、そこで日本風のお豆腐や出前一丁、調味料など低価格で購入ができるのです。ここ１０年近くははアジア圏に住んでいたのでアジア食品 には困らなかったのですが欧米に行くとそれがネックですね　；＾＾

ちなみにこれはスイスでもフランスでも当たり前なのですが、果物や野菜は好きな分をプラスチック袋に入れそれを測り機に乗せてその品物のボタンを押すとその重さと値段の書いてあるラベルがプリントされ、それを袋に貼ってレジに行きます。

アメリカだとレジでそれを全部やってくれるのですが、こちらではその一手間がかかるので注意です！

ヨーロッパのプチプラコスメブランド

最近ヨーロッパで大人気のプチプラコスメがイタリア・ミラノ発のKIKO。ちょっと日本っぽい名前なのか結構奇抜な名前も人気なのかな？フランスに住んでいたときホストマザーが夏のバーゲンでお店を発見したのがきっかけ。ホストマザーが買ってきたネイルの発色がすごーく綺麗だったので思わずモールに行って探してきたらティーンからOLやら層が広い人気店。お店は高級そうなのだけど、大体の商品が２００円～１５００円ぐらいとかなりお得。そのお店がジュネーブの国境沿いの街にもあると知ったので早速いってきました！

店の外見はこんな感じ。ブティックコスメ店っぽい感じがします♪

発祥地のイタリアではもちろんお隣のフランスやヨーロッパ各地でも店舗が出始め、かなりの人気。最近ではニューヨークとロスにも進出したそうで早く地元のサンフランシスコにも出てくれないかな・・・

今回は奮発して８点買っちゃいました。当初は７点だったんだけど、ある一定の価格以上購入するとプレゼントでもう１点ボーナスしていただきました♪　それでも４０ユーロ、１点につき大体５ユーロとこの品質では激安・大満足です。

リップステイン・グロスは一番のお気に入り。色も長持ちするし、発色もいいのですごーく重宝しています。KIKOが人気であるもう一つの理由は広告のモデルがアジア人やアフリカ人が多く使われているというのもあるのではないかと思います。ヨーロッパだとどうしても白人がメインの客層なので他の人種にとって合う商品がなかなかないんですよね。KIKOだと種類とか色が豊富なのでどんな肌の色でも合う感じでなじみやすく・使いやすいんです。そういう意味でもアジア進出近いと私は個人的に思ってるのですが・・・

Volume Attraction Mascara - かなりボリュームが出るマスカラで気に入ってます

Eyebrow fibers -眉ジェル、しかもファイバー入り！色も自分の眉にぴったりだし、長持ちするので毎日のメークにはマストアイテムとなりました☆

Daring look eye liner - 目が小さいのでアイラインはかなり太め。これは太い筆なので書きやすいです

ネイルはボーナスも入れて３色も買ってしまいました　汗。右はマット仕上がりで、左２つは艶やかな仕上がりなので使い分けてます

これからヨーロッパに来る方、お土産にもってこいですよ～

KIKO

** Just a warning that this will be a bit of a girly post so skip if you're not into cosmetics.Although if you're planning a trip to Europe, it may be worth to note the places to buy gifts for your mom, gf, sisters, etc. 

I discovered Kiko through my host mom in France. She's a genius looking for good quality good deal products and she came across them when they were doing a massive summer sale. They have great low-priced great quality things, much better than American cheap brands anyway. They're a cosmetic brand that emerged from Milan and they're quickly spreading around France and rest of Europe and I saw that there's a few stores in LA and NY area. So I was very excited to  find out they have it in the border city across from Geneva as well.

Bought all this, plus since I bought over a certain amount, I was even able to get a bonus product (+1 nail polish) my total bill of 8 products came out to be around 40 Euros, or about 5 Euros per product! It's a great deal and the quality is just as great. I've been loving ALL the products that I bought

My far favorite is the lip stain/gloss in one. It really stays on for hours and I love the texture of the gloss. Lots of nice color selections to choose from, espcially with my Asian skin it's usually very difficult to find a shade that fits me. But KIKO ads use a lot of Asian as well as African models as well so I can see how they're popularity is growing globally. I don't think there are any stores in Asia yet but I can see one coming very soon... considering they're very popular online

Volume Attraction Mascara - I love the thickness after I put it on my extremely microthin lashes!

Eyebrow fibers - They're mascara gel for my eyebrows, it stays on for hours and makes my brows look thick it's on my must-have for my everyday make up now.

Daring look eye liner - I have very small eyes so these thick liners make my eyes stand out nicely

Kiko nail polishes are the best. They're about 2-5 Euros but the qualities are almost that of department stores. Plus they come out with so many different colors and varieties, you don't feel guilty buying a lot..or should I be?

Hopefully they will open stores soon in Northern California as well, they're quality and prices are top-notch. But for now, look forward to it on your next trip to Europe... ;) (hint hint)

UN Bazaar

If there is one thing UN workers look forward to, it's the bazaar that's held in the end of November. It's a huge ordeal with long lines outside of Pregny Gate, loads of food and music coming into the quarters, and heaps of guards nervously watching us over...

It's a big event for sure, think of it as a global Xmas market. 70+ countries put out food stands, mini shops, and performances to start off the holiday season. Veteran UN workers know which stands they need to head to, and it's always a chaotic scene. I wasn't able to see everything and frankly everything was quite expensive but I was able to enjoy a few things midst the crowds.

Turkish sweets..yum!

Also Turkish coffee

My favorite...dolmas!

Argentinian empanadas