Polyball 2011

last year at the Polyball in Zurich.

Polyball is an event/ball organized in Zurich, everyone is welcome (well, if a ticket is bought). and some info from the de.wiki - the exact date of the first Polyball is unknown. It is believed that it has been held since the 1880s. Until 1927, the ball was known under the title Academy and had a charitable cause. Since the 1950s, every edition has a motto and the rooms are decorated accordingly. For example, last year it was - In search of El D

orado. And it is welcomed if people dress to fit the theme. I thought my rust colour dress would do :))

Over time, the ball has often changed its location, from Zurich Tonhalle to the Dolder Grand Hotel, Zurich’s Fairgrounds and the main building of ETH (Technical University). The latter is the venue for over 30 years and will probably remain so in the future.

I went there with a group of girl friends. And it was nice to check it out… but anyway it is mosly meant for couples/pairs - couple dance.

There were many concerts taking place at the same time… from classical to jazz to swing to latin to electronic etc. checked them all and at some point got stuck in the electronic room.

forever student part 4

my studies… 1991-2003 - school in Moldova (2 of them, one - primary (4 years), second - stayed there for 8 years… well, 7, because I did an exchange year in the USA, 2001-2002… 10 years ago, OMG). 2003-2007 bachelor’s in Moldova. 2007-2009 master’s in Italy. 2011-2012 (now) pre-doctoral research in switzerland.

of all, studying-wise, I think I prefer the school… or maybe it was so long ago that i don’t remember the bad parts of it… anyway, i am sure that i am more of a various fields learner than let’s specialize. i enjoyed having 1-2 hours of math, then ‘intro to technical drawing’, then history, on the next day - something else… well, the most frequent ones (almost every day) were math and Romanian language and literature and i was ok with that. in the USA, where i could choose the subjects, i took from math, physics and computer science to painting and ‘oral communication’ and psychology.

i really feel limited by the university… yeah, sure, one can have hobbies, but it’s not the same….cause a good part of one’s time is dedicated to the ‘specialization’. then school had the “you have to” :)) …i enjoyed those subjects, but i’m not totally passionate/fascinated in order to continue learning basically everything :)

now, with this ‘research’ positon, i again have more freedom to choose… i’m glad i attend German language courses, last semester i attended a behavioral economics course and i really enjoyed it (my general field is economics, but haven’t had behavioral ec before). oh, and my ‘research field’ is economics of music industry - haha :) i’ll somehow write a separate post on this. and what is fun about this ‘research’, is that i’m not obliged to take exams :) and it is so much nicer to go to classes having this in mind :) for this spring semester, i have selected… around 7-8 courses. the idea is - to go to the first 2 lectures of every course and then decide which ones to continue.

Living Costs in Zurich… forever student part 3

The estimated (by the Graduate School of Business at University of Zurich) living costs…

// Living Costs

While tuition is low living costs are rather high in Zurich. You should expect:

  • Rent 690,- CHF
  • Health care/insurance* 100,-
  • Food 450,-
  • Transport 95,-
  • Study materials 120,-
  • Fees and contributions 50,-
  • Clothes, Hygiene 100,-
  • Social insurance 40,-
  • Leisure 150,-
  • Other costs (Phone, Internet, Billag) 140,-
  • Total 2’000,-

Source //

For now, my situation is a bit different… the rent is 470, but it isn’t something normal, cause I live in a house provided by the Housing Office of the two Unis, thus it is a bit subsidised and only available for shorts periods (1 year) and for exchange students/researchers.

I do not pay the health insurance and the social one… I have no land line phone, no TV, not paying for Internet… just the mobile phone costs. No fees and contributions…

but… where are all my money going? o_O

forever student part 2

forever student part 1

forever student… part 2

this post is a continuation of forever student… part 1

there is also another thing that I find very useful about the friendship between the two universities… the student (and also stuff) IDs from one uni can be used within the other uni. Here comes the example of the canteens… if one is enrolled as a student of the Institute of Technology (ETH), he or she can go for lunch (or anything) to a University of Zurich (UZH) canteen and receive the same discount as the latter’s students do…and vice versa. And the discount is pretty considerable, 50% (compared to the price a non-uni affiliated persons pays)… at UZH the lunch is usually 5,4 francs (around 4,5 euros), which is very cheap for Switzerland. Again, as a comparison, a wurst (with bread and mustard) at a fast food–like stall in the city will be around 7-8 francs, while at the uni a lunch could be as a wurst, French fries, bread, and salad (or cooked vegetables). The canteens have different menus… sometimes I would be wandering around looking for the most appealing offer :) sadly, sometimes I do not find anything appealing :) there are some canteens which are considered to have tastier food…and correspondingly are more expensive.

I never had lunch at a canteen of Moldova State University (where I did my bachelor studies) and I don’t know how crowded they get… but both in Bologna and Zurich, during the rush hour (12-1pm), there is queuing and then difficulty to find a free table (or free places at a table). Thus I prefer (and others like me…without a very tight schedule) to go before 12 (if I happen to wake up early… rarely; or at around 2 pm). And there is one canteen that is open for dinner :) 

The discount also applies for the coffee products. And at ETH the coffee is better and… more expensive, but the good thing is that me, as a UZH student, can easily go and have a coffee at ETH, because it is so close and I am offered the same discount as a ETH student is.

Also, ETH has a very nice terrace and a students’ bar… tired of studying? Go and have a beer (at a better price than downtown) at the bar, which is part of the ETH main building :)


Next, I really like that there are many studying areas… or areas where students can meet, work on their common project, discuss some problems, have a coffee etc.

This is the big common area in the UZH main building… sometimes some of the table are taken out and job fairs are held or other events.


Unfortunately I am very bad at studying in libraries and common areas… always get distracted… I cannot ignore the movements of other people. I prefer studying alone…with music  :))

oh, and this bed is also in the big common area… a group nap? maybe :)