Observing Leslie
Thinking Wandering Migrating Journal
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Month-in-Review Highlights: November 2023
Month-in-Review Highlights: November 2023

Checking progress on my current-year goals at the end of November, even though the year still has one more month to go, always feels like looking into the wayback machine.

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JournalLeslie FarnsworthDecember 6, 2023goals, postmortemComment
The Danger of Making Things Too Easy: The Value of Friction
The Danger of Making Things Too Easy: The Value of Friction

While people and organizations have aimed to reduce life friction as much as possible, we might just want to add back in some of it for our own health and wellbeing.

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ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthNovember 29, 2023business, Culture Comments
When Seasons Change, Humans Change: A Reframing
When Seasons Change, Humans Change: A Reframing

SAD or just the season? it seems unreasonable to assume that seasons don’t affect humans when they affect everything else. We live in the atmosphere, after all. Even when we sometimes wish we did not.

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ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthNovember 22, 2023cultureComment
No Feasting, but Fasting: The Swiss Federal Fasting Day
No Feasting, but Fasting: The Swiss Federal Fasting Day

Switzerland doesn’t have a feast of thanksgiving, but it does have the opposite: A day of fasting. Say what? Here’s the full story of the Swiss federal fasting day, including its history and how it’s celebrated.

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WanderingLeslie FarnsworthNovember 15, 2023Switzerland, history, cultureComment
What You Miss if You Never Eat Alone
What You Miss if You Never Eat Alone

Attentively warding off any tendencies toward creeping bad eating habits and keeping an eye out for “alone” turning into “lonely” mean, in my thinking, that eating alone has far greater benefits than it does risks.

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ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthNovember 8, 2023food, culture Comments
Month-in-Review Highlights: October 2023
Month-in-Review Highlights: October 2023

Much accomplished on several fronts—and just in time, as my hibernation season indeed set in toward the end of the month, when autumn settled in Lausanne.

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JournalLeslie FarnsworthNovember 1, 2023goals, postmortemComment
Day Trips from Strasbourg: France, Germany, and Switzerland
Day Trips from Strasbourg: France, Germany, and Switzerland

You’ll have more than plenty to see in Strasbourg—and if you have enough time, I’d recommend you visit other cities and sites in the region as well!

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WanderingLeslie FarnsworthOctober 25, 2023travel, culture, France, Switzerland Comments
Scary Creatures from France and Switzerland: A Monster Mash
Scary Creatures from France and Switzerland: A Monster Mash

Seeking French and Swiss monsters? I went on a creature quest and uncovered one good mythical monster story from France and one from Switzerland. And I’m on the hunt for more!

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ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthOctober 18, 2023France, Switzerland Comments
Books I've Read: Q3 2023
Books I've Read: Q3 2023

The full rundown of the books I finished in the third quarter of 2023, with my particular favorites from the three-month period in bold.

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JournalLeslie FarnsworthOctober 11, 2023books, literature, readingComment
Month-in-Review Highlights: September 2023
Month-in-Review Highlights: September 2023

So much exploring outside the comfort zone in September 2023—and some family time as well. (Along with writing work, of course, always that!)

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JournalLeslie FarnsworthOctober 4, 2023postmortem, goals, writingComment
My Recommendations for a Strasbourg Vacation
My Recommendations for a Strasbourg Vacation

With a few days in Strasbourg—one of the can’t-miss cities in France—you can see the must-see sites I’ve listed plus at least one or two of the mix-and-match options I’ve shared as well.

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WanderingLeslie FarnsworthSeptember 27, 2023France, travel, culture Comments
Life in Lausanne, Switzerland: My Experience
Life in Lausanne, Switzerland: My Experience

Whether moving to Lausanne makes sense for you will depend on your time horizon, your needs, and your overall situation—so I can’t make recommendations. But I can share my experience!

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MigratingLeslie FarnsworthSeptember 20, 2023Switzerland, expat Comments
La Brisolée in Switzerland: The Story of the Swiss Chestnut Feast
La Brisolée in Switzerland: The Story of the Swiss Chestnut Feast

Traditional to the Valais region of Switzerland, it’s a meal featuring buckets of fire-roasted chestnuts as a main course.

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WanderingLeslie FarnsworthSeptember 13, 2023food, culture, SwitzerlandComment
Month-in-Review Highlights: August 2023
Month-in-Review Highlights: August 2023

Jam-packed months often seem to zoom by, but August felt incredibly long to me this year. Hard to believe it all happened in the same thirty-one days!

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JournalLeslie FarnsworthSeptember 6, 2023goals, postmortemComment
Why to Wonder if Someone Reads Fiction
Why to Wonder if Someone Reads Fiction

As the years pass, I’ve grown increasingly wary of people who tell me they never read fiction. And studies back me up as to the reasons why.

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ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthAugust 30, 2023reading, culture, literature, books Comments
How to Push Past Fluent to Fluency in a Language
How to Push Past Fluent to Fluency in a Language

Even if all the tests tell you that you’ve arrived when it comes to fluency, you can still improve. Here are a few tips for continuing to increase your fluency in your target language.

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MigratingLeslie FarnsworthAugust 23, 2023language learning, culture, French, expatComment
Great Restaurants, Snacks, and Treats in Strasbourg
Great Restaurants, Snacks, and Treats in Strasbourg

Wondering where to eat in Strasbourg, France? Here’s my guide of where and what to eat for all your food needs while in this gorgeous city in Alsace.

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WanderingLeslie FarnsworthAugust 16, 2023travel, food, france Comments
Why and How France, Switzerland, and the United States Celebrate National Holidays
Why and How France, Switzerland, and the United States Celebrate National Holidays

I’ve noticed an interesting confluence of holidays celebrating their nation’s founding over the three countries where I focus most of my energy these days: France, Switzerland, and the United States.

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ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthAugust 9, 2023Culture, France Comments
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