It’s about 4 p.m. in…

It's about 4 p.m. in Zurich, and I'm sitting in Kevin's office, where he's cleverly figured out how to hook up my computer with an ethernet cable, yay! It's just like being at home -- except that all the signs are in a language I can't read (although German is disturbingly similar to English, so that if I pause and think for a moment, I can often figure out what they're saying), and I needed to use an adaptor to plug in my computer, and the 4th floor here is what would be the 5th floor back home, and instead of buses there are trams criss-crossing the city, and on average, people are much slimmer and healthier-looking here, and we're living in a tiny furnished studio (with a kitchen tucked in a closet) that is smaller than our bedroom at home.

And of course, it's my birthday today, which only adds to the disconcertingness. No presents to open (this trip was my present from Kevin :-), and my phone isn't ringing off the hook as usual (my family feels strongly about birthday calls), though Karina did call Kevin's cell phone this morning with birthday wishes, which was an awfully nice way to start the day. Well, that and waking up with Kevin next to me. Next to me on the floor, because he gave up his narrower-than-a-single bed to me last night; we did try sleeping together, but one side of the bed is attached to the wall, and we're used to sprawling. I collapsed not long after arrival (after ingesting a little veggie mostly-Indian food and walking a bit through the city) and woke up to light streaming in the single window.

This morning, I made tea and read some of David Lodge's very funny new novel (he does academic satire, most amusing, and this one's about a novelist and a cognitive scientist) while waiting for Kevin to wake up. And then there was Karina's call, and then we got dressed and walked down to the grocery store, where there were strange tiny red berries that tasted like sour tomatoes, and many things labelled in German. Kevin had figured out most of the important ones, and we guessed on the rest. I wanted ketchup to make curry with (I brought my spices so I could cook for Kirsten in England), and I picked up a red bottle with a picture of french fries on it, thinking it might be ketchup, but no, it was oil for frying french fries. Kevin's better at figuring this stuff out than I am.

And now the net, and catching up on journals, and drinking more tea, and then we're going out for fondue tonight. The city is pleasantly cool in the evenings, so we'll walk through the streets and act like we know where we're going. He's been here a month, so he mostly actually does. :-) And tomorrow I'll be a tourist, and pull out my camera and go see churches, but for today, it's rather lovely , just behaving as I would if I lived in Zurich. Reading and drinking tea and buying groceries and working and going out for dinner on a special occasion. With Kevin. Yay!