Baby, when the lights go out...

So, when we moved to Lausanne apart from the many adjustments we had to make, power outage was one of them. And its quite possible you might face them too. Many of us were rather surprised by the fuse burning out so frequently in the beginning and had no idea what to do because explaining the emergency to your immigrant concierge/ watchman/ landlord who speaks minimal French can be quite a task.

So if you don't have a Georgie or an Alison in your group and are unable to get hold of Marcella (which never usually happens but still) in such a situation, here is what you can do. 

First, make sure its only your apartment and not the entire building. Unlike some people (clears throat, smiles sheepishly) before you panic yourself into changing fuse after fuse and end up confusing the faulty ones with the ones that work only to realize that your entire building is suffering from a power outage and its not just your apartment, open the door and take a look outside. If the entire floor is nicely lit up and no one's pounding the elevator, here's what you can do in a building like Avenue d'Ouchy 58... 

If the fuse box in your apartment looks like this (keep looking for the fuse/switch box, you'll find it; check behind doors, just above the entrance; perhaps even outside the apartment) :

all you need is something like this:

Unscrew that round eye-shaped thing in the middle of the fuse box and you'll see a fuse in the center. Just need to replace that and life will be beautiful again.

This is easily available in Migros or Coop. It would be wise to stock up on them before hand. Remember to read the label on the fuse; replace with the same power voltage. 

Also, keep some spare bulbs in stock always. We've had ours go 'poof!' a couple of times. 

Another tip: Try not to give your electrical circuit a heart attack. If you're using the hoover (vacuum cleaner) try not to use something as power hungry- such as the washing machine- simultaneously.

When we came back from our summer vacation, the stove wasn't working. I thought the fuse burned out again, but everything else was working just fine. Turns out, the stove (even the refrigerator) has its own fuse box. So all we really needed was to switch the dead one with a healthy one in this case too. 

Sometimes, you may need to change the main fuse (main fuse box of your floor or building) corresponding to your appliance/ apartment. But hopefully, the landlord/ concierge should be able to indicate that.

In other news, most of us are getting increasingly horrified with how the bank accounts are drying up with no jobs in the horizon (the assessments are on-going). Apparently this is normal. Also, our lovely Amelie gave birth to an adorable little Lou. I think the temperature touched 3 degrees today. So cold after so long; I am definitely going to miss the warm sunny days. 

Until then, Au revoir... 

Grocery shopping in Lausanne

It's been a while since I last dropped by. Lausanne is cold again- somewhat reminiscent of the start of the year which seems both so far away now and yet not far at all.

 We've almost come to the end of our MBA journey. So much has happened in these few months it is impossible to compile it in a blog. Many partners are on their way to motherhood, some for the first time.

We are now in the toughest phase of the MBA: The emotionally daunting 'job search'. I knew it was doing to be rather stressful but I was naive to declare the first and more studious bit of the year "tough".  

Anyway, I thought I might share some handy tips before we make our imminent exodus from this time warp we are in, to reality. I drafted a document a while back on grocery shopping in Lausanne and availability of Halaal food. I'm copy-pasting it here; hopefully the future partners will benefit from this.

I am not joking; with the right attitude, grocery shopping can be a true sport! ;)

- Names you should familiarize yourself with: Migros, Coop, Denner

These are the more popular supermarket chains and have outlets all over Lausanne.

- There is also ALDI known for its cheaper variety of products but the store is at a distance; so rent out a car or hitch a ride with someone who has a car or you'll have to swap two metros with lots of shopping bags which can be rather cumbersome.

- Denner is also quite friendly on the budget but often lacks in quality. You may purchase a pack of cheap onions and have half of them rotting already. So be careful.

- Watch out for “ACTION” marked on various items; these indicate discounted products.

- Often on Saturday afternoons, meat is sold at half price at local grocery stores.

TIMINGS:

- When you arrive in Dec/Jan up until Mar/Apr all stores close at around 5-6 in the evening.

- During the summer, shops are opened for longer; The Migros on Ouchy staying opened till 9:45 pm.

- A “quick-store” like the Coop Pronto might be open until 10 but those are very few- and to my knowledge- only one on Avenue D’Ouchy. Also, they compensate for their "accessibility" by charging higher rates on just about every product.

- Apart from some exceptions, stores are closed on Sundays (Dimanche)

ASIAN FOOD

There is a nice, cosy Asian shop located on Avenue des Jordil for almost all kinds of Chinese/ Thai/ Japanese and Indian ingredients.

Another Asian store is Tan Tan, opposite to the Gare station.

Indian themed Asian stores are also located at Rue du Simplon and Avenue du France.

Timings of Asian stores vary; some opening after 11am. They put up notices on the main door and you may have to jot them down somewhere.

HALAAL FOOD

Halaal meat stores can be found in Lausanne Flon, Lausanne Gare & Rue du Simplon.

The nearest one is located just beside the Gare station opposite to Tan Tan  i.e. where Rue du Simplon meets Avenue William Fraisse.

Halaal stores usually open around 10am.

More variety of halaal meat is available at Grand Atlas just across Lausanne Gare on Avenue Louis-Ruchonnet 3. 

You can find halaal frozen burgers and pizza’s at Asian stores on Avenue de France close to Maharaja restaurant.

Note: The variety of foodstuff (and more) is also dependent on the size of the outlet. You might want to visit Coop City and Migros Triple M in case you’re looking for more specific items.

All Asian stores sell almost all kinds of Asian products (Chinese/ Indian/ Japanese/ Thai). Sea food is definitely cheaper here.

Also, Annecy (France) is only an hour's drive by car; the big Carrefour store there is absolute bliss!