One year ago, I remember my very good Christmas dinner in a French-Japanese restaurant with Chistophe and Martin in Cairns.
My first Christmas day with more than 40 degrees, funny clothes for people who live in the northern hemisphere and great nightlife…I really miss it !
Anyway, I wish you a merry christmas !
After two months (sorry for that), I finished yesterday to upload all my pictures about my Japan trip. You can find my 11 galleries and my 390 pictures 
Enjoy it !
Yesterday evening, I visited the Airport Security Service of Geneva airport (Service de Sécurité de l’Aéroport – SSA in French) with my firefighters team. It was very interesting, Their needs are very different than ours, so their fire equipment is also very different. The most impressive is their fire trucks :
I was lucky, because I could see a demonstration of this fire truck. So you can find a small movie and few pictures here.
Before I’m starting to describe my Japanese trip, I would like to say sorry. I made a mistake with my blog password’s, so I could not update during three weeks. Really sorry for that !
During this week, I will write my japanese trip story, with many pictures. It will take me time, so please be patient 
I hope have finished for the end of this week.
My trip in Japan was BEAUTIFUL. These three weeks were a great life experience, different than Australia and New Zealand.
I wrote many emails, spent many hours on Internet, but the result was very good. The trip was, maybe, not perfect, but when you travel far away, in a country who do not speak your language, it is normal !
The trip would not have been a beautiful trip without my friends, who were with me in Australia or New Zealand. I would never have thought before this trip in Japan that I was going to see again so many friends. I spent several weeks, months with some friends, only few days with others in Australia or New Zealand.
But ALL were so nice, a kindness that I rarely saw, sometimes never saw in my life.
When these friends :
I could find many different examples. After that, how do you want to thank these people ?
Personally, to say to them simply thank you is not enough for me. Therefore I hope to be able to offer same hospitality in Switzerland to my friends.
So for these reasons, I really would like to invite them to come to Switzerland ! I would be so glad to welcome them as they did it for me in Japan !
I REALLY would like to thank them for this BEAUTIFUL trip :
In Tokyo :
In Nagoya :
In Osaka :
In Kyoto and Kobe :
In Sapporo :
See you soon in Switzerland ! And maybe once again in Japan !
In French now (for my friends who do not speak english
Mon voyage au Japon a été magnifique, comme l’a été mon dernier voyage en Australie et Nouvelle-Zélande. Trois semaines que je n’oublirais jamais, une nouvelle experience de vie formidable.
La préparation de ce voyage a été longue, mais cela en valait la peine. Beaucoup d’emails, de recherche sur internet et des appels pour en arriver à un voyage, qui n’a peut-être pas été parfait, mais cela fait partit des aventures à l’autre boût du monde.
Ce voyage n’aurait jamais été ce qu’il a été sans tous mes amis, qui ont fait le quotidien de ma vie en Australie et Nouvelle-Zélande. Avant de partir, je n’aurais jamais pensé en revoir autant. Pour certains, j’ai passé plusieurs semaines, mois avec eux, pour d’autres, seulement quelques jours. Mais tous, sans exception, ont été d’une gentillesse que j’ai rarement, voir jamais connue avant ce voyage.
Quand vous connaissez le nombre d’heure qu’un Japonais travaille, ses nombres de jours de vacances par année, et que ces gens :
Je pourrais vous citer des dizaines exemples, tellement il y en a. Après tout cela, comment voulez-vous remercier ses gens ?
Personnellement, de leur dire simplement MERCI n’est pas suffisant pour moi. C’est pour cela que j’espère pouvoir leur offrir la même hospitalité en Suisse.
Ne sachant pas comment leur dire merci pour tout ce qu’ils ont fait pour moi par écris, je voudrais les inviter tous à venir en Suisse ! Je serais tellement content de les acceuilir comme ils l’ont pour moi au Japon !
Je voudrais donc les remercier beaucoup pour ce voyage inoubliable.
A tout bientôt Suisse ! Et peut-être à nouveau au Japon !
After three weeks, I finished my fireman or firefighter (more common) school ! It was very interesting, I learnt many differents things about fire, rescue, life-saving, flood, chainsaw, …
I passed my theoretical exam last Wednesday, and today my practical exam. The most intensive practice was the House of fire, more than 1200 degrees inside the house, heaps of smoke. The heat was very hot, but with a fire jacket, it was ok. The worst thing was the smoke, I could not see anyting and the smoke gets into my eyes. I stayed around 10 minutes inside the house.
I took some souvenirs for you, so you can find few pictures and movies on my new gallery.
Yesterday was the beginning of my fireman school. 30 people are following this school, with 5 girls. Every person come from different communes[1] of the Canton of Geneva.
During three weeks, I will do different exercices with the most popular : House of fire. You can find few pictures here
Sometimes it is funny, because some people (from rich communes like Vandœuvres or Cologny) are the last fire equipment (new boots, new fire jacket, …). I do not come from a rich commune, so I have not the last equipment, but it does not matter, it is a very good equipment !
[1] Municipalities are more commun in English
After my security training in last June, I decided to take the GSEC certification.
The exam for this certification is splited in two exams, the first one and the second one To pass this certification, you have to pass the first one, and after the second one. If you fail the first exam, you can not take the second one.
Each exam take three hours, with 100 questions. You need 70 % or more to pass the certification. This certification is not so difficult but it is a good base to take some others certifications. I really would like to thank Jérôme for his help and availbility !
You can find my name on the GIAC website for the people who do not believe me
My next certification…it is a good question, but I do not know exactly because I will follow a fireman school during three weeks (every Monday and Wednesday evening, and every Saturday during the day). I’m beginning this school today evening !
But at this moment my main activity is to organize my Japan trip…many emails and calls, it is very interesting !
After my holiday, I think I will try to take the LPI certification. LPIC-101 and LPIC-102 will not be difficult, but LPIC-201 and LPIC-202 will be a good challenge for me !
I have been in Beligum for 5 days (Tuesday to Sunday), my first trip in Belgium !
I worked during two and half days for Brussels Expo, in Brussels Brussels Expo is the biggest exhibition centre in Belgium, only 15 minutes from the center. I saw one impressive thing and one funny thing there :
Like all good tourists, I had to try one special and famous meal : Mussels with french fries. So with my colleagues, we went to the center of Brussels on Thursday night.
Brussels is a very nice city, with many many European tourists, but not only them, also few Asian tourists, especially the Chinese as well
All good European people have to go one day on a pilgrimage in Brussels, like all good Christian have to go in Rome or Lourdes
On Friday afternoon, I was on weekend. I met again my best friend in Australia : Chris ! He invited me in Belgium. It was a great weekend, we visited many cities (Brussels as well, but also Bruges, Knokke and Antwerp). We spent two good nights and drunk many beers in Huy, a small town near Chris house.
I really liked Antwerp. We were only few hours by night, but the ambiance was great. So I hope I will be able to visit again this city !
You can find four new galleries about Belgium here. Few pictures are out of focus, by night it’s quite difficult with digital cameras …sorry for that !
I especially would like to thank Chris ! I spent great time with him. He drove many kilometres around Belgium. Very interesting to speak again him, to drink again many beers and to visit many cities. I also want to thank her sister for her cooking.
Chris : don’t forget to come soon in Switzerland, you’re welcome when you want ! Try to book few days this winter, I would like to show Swiss mountains
Swiss National Day [1] celebrates the time when the three cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden formed the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1291 against the Habsburg, who had revoked their independent status of reichsfreiheit and instated government with reeves in 1273.
It was first instated in 1891 when the city of Bern wanted to celebrate its 700 year anniversary. It is celebrated each year on August 1st with town-wide paper lantern parades, bonfires, hanging strings of swiss flags and fireworks [2].
I worked with the firefighters of my village (few pictures). After the bonfire, some firefighters had a little problem with fire, but without incident [3].
[1] Nationalfeiertag in German, Fête nationale Suisse in French, Festa nazionale Svizzera in Italian, Fiasta naziunala Svizra in Romanish
[2] This year, with drought and high temperatures, almost every canton prohibited fireworks.
[3] Not as another village, Bernex, who more than 1150 straw bales burnt.
After several weeks, I finally booked my Japan travel ticket ! I’m going to Japan on the next October
I’m really happy to visit this country, and I really hope I can meet again some Japanese friends that I met during my trip in Australia and New Zealand !
Two friends are going to Japan with me during the two first weeks :
My friends could not take three weeks of holidays, so they will come back one week earlier than me. I’ll travel one week alone in Japan, so if you have any good idea for me, send me an email or leave a comment
See you soon in Japan !
P.S. I finished to update my new gallery about Lake Parade, more than 60 pictures and movies !
