jason 1st generation author

i've been living in switzerland for a little over a year. you might think of switzerland as just another central or western european country, but the reality is quite different.

switzerland is unlike any european country in terms of its lifestyle, opportunities, and structure. it's no surprise that they're not in the european union. throughout this country, the market is reserved for local and national products. you can even see a "swiss made" label on toilet cleaner liquid. priority is always given to domestic products. that's why there's a 150 chf limit on importing goods from abroad. if your mail exceeds this limit, you pay additional tax. there's no such thing as amazon here. you can order from other countries' amazon sites, but the same customs rules still apply.

it has such an unobtrusive yet surprising quality that when you go somewhere else and when you return, you'll find yourself saying "what the heck i have experienced, what am i experiencing?" before coming to this country, i lived surrounded by concrete in various cities for 30-something years. it was perhaps here that i was properly exposed to nature for the first time.

those who compare their village's rain to switzerland's have never left their village. this applies to every village. there are trekking routes at every corner, paths for these routes, bridges, trails, benches for resting; everything considering human well-being. every kind of facility has been thought of just so people can get out into nature, run, and jump. if you happen to come here and want to do some trekking or trail running, i recommend using the komoot, alltrails, and switzerlandmobility apps.

also, switzerland is a country where life and people's profiles change as you go up the mountains. unlike other countries, the cost of living in switzerland's national park slopes and mountains is high. as a result, as you move away from the city, not only does the panorama become more beautiful, but the profile of people you encounter also levels up. since the cost of living in villages is higher than in cities, you never worry about civilization and security.

for those coming to this country for a limited time, i recommend making plans focused on nature and train travel rather than city visits that are common in europe. in my opinion, switzerland is too beautiful a country to spend time in its cities.

this happened ages ago, i'd made plans to go to the tribeca film festival with a friend i met online. we exchanged phone numbers on msn and set a date for the film.

the next day, an hour before the meeting, i called to check our status. the phone was busy. i figured he must be working. while heading towards the cinema, i called again, still busy. i tried three or four more times, always busy.

after about five or six failed attempts, i was convinced i'd been ditched. my inner monologue went into overdrive, drafting the righteous lecture i'd deliver on messenger the next day. i started with responsibility, moved on to basic respect for others, and the more i thought about it, the angrier i got. my imagined speech got harsher with each step toward the cinema.

i'm walking to the cinema, fuming, when an unknown number calls. "hey, what's up? i'm at the cinema." i was completely stunned. my entire dramatic narrative just fell apart. then i checked the number i'd been calling. turns out, the number i saved from msn was my own number. yup, i'd been angrily calling myself the whole time.

sometimes i pull such epic stupidity and then get mad about it. sorry not sorry :/

here i am, writing this entry with teary eyes in the early morning because of this game. i was already loaded with unnecessary emotions tonight. i figured i'd log into the game, do some random quest or whatever, just to distract my mind.

i was rescuing this guy from the dungeons during a mission. after saving him, i noticed there were other prisoners in the same dungeon. since i had rescued him in some random castle in the middle of nowhere, i thought i might as well save the others too. so i killed everyone in the castle, thinking "who's gonna feed these guys anyway?" then i unlocked all the cells, and they scattered everywhere.

i turned around and saw this nord guy - looked kinda scruffy but decent. i'd thrown some useless clothes from my inventory on the ground. suddenly, this dude jumps in front of me and says something like, "bro, sorry. if those clothes aren't important, could i take them? my stuff is a mess."

the screen gave me two dialogue options: "don't you dare touch my stuff" and "sure, bro. no problem." i let him take the clothes, and i swear his eyes just lit up. he immediately bent down, picked up all those crappy clothes i'd thrown away, put them on, and looked totally happy.

i saved the game and quit immediately. damn poverty, man.

there's such a prayer in it that i practically blue-screened.

"protect me from knowing what i don't need to know. protect me from even knowing that there are things to know that i don't know. protect me from knowing that i decided not to know about the things that i decided not to know about. amen.

lord, lord, lord. protect me from the consequences of the above prayer."