'Tis the Season to Spend

Following a doubt filled holiday during which I asked myself repeatedly why I thought it was such a good idea to move to a country I'd never been to and work at a school I'd never seen, I am back to school and back to loving my life in Switzerland. Oddly enough, living abroad does offer the strange fringe benefit of appreciating and loving home like never before. Most recently, the thing I value the most about the wonderful US of A is the strategic placement of Thanksgiving between Halloween and Christmas. This patriotic and historically sentimental national holiday wards off the hell that is the Christmas Season from rearing its nasty head in every storefront and TV commercial before that most significant biggest shopping day of the year otherwise known as the fourth Friday in November. I thought an entire month of that heinous frippery was quite enough to drive any sane person into a straight jacket. Well, try two months, my friend. Halloween is virtually nonexistent in most of continental Europe, and of course, they do not celebrate Thanksgiving. The result: Christmas displays, commercials, ornaments, chocolates (oh yes, plenty of those) and songs start infiltrating everyone's lives by the middle of October. America may be the consumer capital of the world, but fear not, my fellow yanks; our European counterparts are doing their best to catch up and they've got a head start.

Perfection

Sometimes, things just work out the way they're supposed to. All I wanted was to be home at the end of my trip to Ireland and France last week. So much that I bought another train ticket, prepared to forfeit the ticket I had for the following morning and spend the extra cash. But then my plan was foiled and I couldn't cancel my hostel reservation. By the time I added the hostel, the new ticket and the existing to be forfeited morning ticket, I really couldn't justify the price of going home early. So, I put on some music on my mp3 player and headed off to make the most of it. That's when things started to feel really synchronous. Just as I was coming out of the Metro, one of my favorite songs by St. Germaine came on the random shuffle on my mp3 player. I thought to myself, "hmm, this must be a good sign." I checked into the hostel, randomly made a new friend, went to the Eiffel Tower and watched the sunset and then the city go from daylight to twinkling light. On the elevator ride down, the entire tower was sparkling all around me marking the hour with 5 minutes of dazzling display. I met interesting people from all over the world, admired the beauty of Paris and felt peaceful and renewed. I guess that's what taking a vacation is all about. I thought my plans had been foiled, but in the end it was just perfect. Paris, je t'aime.

Breathe

This is what I see every morning when I get off the bus at Avenue des Alpes on the way to work. The view is always different in varying shades of pink, grey, blue and purple and more recently, dramatic burning oranges and reds as the sun rises later and later each day. I stop everyday and take a few deep breaths at this spot. The air is always cool and sometimes wind comes off of the lake and whips up over the town to the part of the hill where I am standing. After a few deep breaths, I turn and walk further up the hill for ten minutes until I finally get to the school, hot and breathless from the brisk uphill walk. I walk into school, turn on the lights in my classroom and prepare for the day. Everyday I have so much to do I can't think where to begin and I think of a million things in my personal life, pesky to-do list life and life at school that I forget to breathe. Those last moments at the Avenue des Alpes before the work day begins are the only peaceful moments I've had in the last few months. And even though I have the next two weeks off, I'm still consumed by all there is to do as a teacher. Everyone said the first year would be rough. It sure is.

Being Sick Makes Me Homesick

It's impossible to find Chicken Soup as we Americans know it in Switzerland. This makes being sick a rough deal. What's worse is that it leads one think, as they lie idly, sick, with foreign TV, of other things lacking and missing and therefore being missed. Becuase, quite honestly, things that are missing are not necessarily worth being missed, and yet, I miss them. I miss them all good and bad. I miss Eugene and the rain. I miss 13th and Espresso Roma. I miss my shitty apartment behind the Glenwood. I miss Joel's apartment on 13th. I miss playing pool at the Indigo District and The Horse Head. I miss Portland and the rain there, too. I miss the Brazen Bean, The Horse Brass and my old room on 2nd Avenue. I miss Market of Choice on Terwilliger, the cemeteries, Stumptown Coffee, playing pool at River City Saloon. I miss Lint in the Pearl and Mable's on Division. I miss the library. I miss OPB radio. I miss Spokane and the way the sunlight filters through the trees. I miss my apartment on 11th. I miss my kitchen and Fiesta Ware, my spices and cookbooks. I miss the Elk and Far West. I miss my family. I miss meeting people and being able to communicate comfortably and naturally in native English. I miss being and feeling understood. I'm homesick. I'm really, really, horribly, terribly homesick. I've been here exactly one month. It's about time I feel homesick. In another two weeks I will absolutely hate Switzerland and everything about it. Then, once the culture shock has passed, I will be able to start really living here and settle in. And then it won't be so bad. Then I'll start to love it and someday when I no longer live here, that will be the Switzerland I'll miss. But today I want home. And even that is unattainable. It's a confused medley of Eugene, Portland and Spokane and I miss them all at once.

The Joy of Fresh Laundry

My usual routine of doing laundry on Sunday has been disturbed by Swiss law. It is strictly forbidden to work on Sundays and to this end, the laundry room is locked all day on Sunday.

This is my favorite washing machine. Its instruction screen is available in 5 languages: German, French, Romansch, Italian and ENGLISH. That makes it 45% incomprehensible as opposed to 100%. The first time I attempted the insanity that is the laundry room I swore with frustration, screamed for fear I had just lost all my points and jumped with my fist in the air shouting "YES!" when the thing finally worked.

Laundry cards cost 20 chf for 43,000 points. Washing is 8,100 points and drying is 3,100. Then, when it's through it gives you some points back depending on the cycle, temperature, etc you've chosen. Much to my surprise, washing and drying comes out to only 2 or 3 chf for me.

That's not to say that doing laundry in Switzerland is altogether cheap. The detergent I like to use is a little steep. ECOVER detergent is 12.90 chf, the fabric softener 6.50 chf and the oxygen bleach 4.80 chf. Once you do the currency conversion, it's about the same price as it is at Huckleberry's, the most expensive grocery store in Spokane.

The dryer has a genius lint trap - it's the ring around the opening. If you don't clean it off, the lint gets stuck to your clothes as you pull them out. I have yet to figure out which cycle is best. At the end it makes the clothes cold again so you have to iron them -- what's the frickin' point? So far, my solution has been to hit the on/off switch and force the door open with ten minutes to go. Mmmm, nice hot clothes, just the way they should be.

It's a Swiss Thing

Before coming to Switzerland, I did my best not to have a lot of expectations of how it would be. When I went to France, the movie Amélie had just come out, so it was pretty tough not to expect it to be just like that. The thing is, in France I was a long-term visitor, and for the first weekend in Paris, a bonafide tourist. So, for me, it was like Amélie. Studying abroad was magical in a way no other trip to another country could be. Life was like the movies.

I can't recall a movie set in Switzerland, but I'm sure it would paint a picture of ultra clean and tidy streets, organization and punctuality, chocolate for everyone and content cows in alpine meadows. HA! What a joke! Switzerland, as least the Switzerland I am living in, is none of the above. Last night my bus was 12 minutes late, last week, my insurance man was more than 20 minutes late. I see grafitti, trash and dog poop in the streets everyday. Getting my phone hooked up took no less than 8 phone calls to the same 2 offices and as many return calls (let's keep in mind I was in a phonebooth) just to get an appointment with an electrician, who in the end, I was told, would show up between 8 and 5! No, no, no my friends. That is not organization. That is not punctuality! That is not ultra clean and tidy and I have yet to see a cow or alpine meadow. No, Switzerland is none of those things. None, except the chocolate thing.

Swiss people eat more chocolate per capita than any country on earth with the average person eating nearly 25 pounds a year. In the grocery store, there is a separate chocolate section all on its own and always crowded. A couple days ago, I went in to pick out a few bars of chocolate. I noticed that Coop has some really cheap varieties (pictured at the right). Lindt is 3 CHF a bar at least. It's good, but so is cheap Swiss chocolate, so I thought it best to stick toward that end of the chocolate store. Just then, a sneaky little man ducked and dove at the cheap chocolate. It's really cheap -- we're talking .45 CHF a bar. He deftly counted them as he stacked them up his arm and took all of them! He walked away with 16 chocolate bars! They're 100 grams each. That right there is a hefty chunk of the yearly quota and based on his skill getting them off the shelf, I don't think he's stocked for months.

It's true, the Swiss love their chocolate. The other stuff is not holding up, not at all. But that's not to say I don't love it here. I do. Especially the chocolate.

The Voyage and Arrival in Pictures

Waiting at the LA airport.
Quite possibly the strangest outfit I've ever seen.
Note that one leg is shaved and the other is not.

LAX. Full of trash.

Travel Kettle. Tea on the go.

Subtlety is overrated.

Postcard, Brit style.

Goodbye England.

Hello France.

As the little picture instructs, just spray on to toilet paper
and wipe the seat clean. Geneva Airport. Clean as can be.

Look what my whacky couch can do!

City officials buzz around in these.

Organic eggs raised in the open air, complete with expiration date stamp.
I like the variety of colors. From my favorite grocery store, Coop.

The Past Three Weeks...

A few days ago, looking at my last post would have made me cry -- again. Jetlag and arriving in a new place has been a far more emotional and difficult experience than I would have assumed. Luckily I didn't have internet until now, and I'm feeling much more settled and adjusted, so no tears today, except maybe a few tears of joy that I now have a phone and a DSL connection!!

Really, there is a lot to bring all of you up to speed on, so here's a quick recap.

Rudy took a bath! On a 95 degree day in Seattle, he looked like he was languid and listless from the heat. My cousin John informed me that all animals can swim and he was right! Little Rudykin seemed to enjoy the cool water and relief from the heat. I think the rabbit paddle is about the cutest thing I've ever seen. Joel helped him out by getting water up onto his back. Rudy is just the sweetest rabbit on earth.


Following the unbearable heat was a week in Spokane. Joel and I had lots of fun housesitting for a family with a really cool dog named Zoey. It was a busy week, full of preparation and the stress made it hard to enjoy the time as it flew by. We did manage to steal one day to go to Tubb's Hill. I didn't swim that day. For some reason I just didn't feel like it. Now I wish I had. It was beautiful and we had a little secluded beach all to ourselves. The kind of place to go to when you close your eyes and want to be somewhere else.

Momentary Relief

Behold the beauty of Elliott Bay. This is the spectacular sunset Joel and I witnessed from the upper deck of the Elliott Bay Water Taxi from Pier 55 downtown to Seacrest Park in West Seattle. This picture, taken with my ancient camera phone, doesn't even begin to convey the delight of that moment. That is because the ride was not only beautiful, but cool. The air off of the water felt absolutely amazing after the scorching hot day we had just endured, providing 15 minutes of blissful, however momentary relief. Only on alighting did I notice the freezer case full of Häagen-Dazs. Mmm. Next time.

If it's yellow, let it mellow...

In the last couple weeks before I leave for Switzerland, I am staying at my sister Amy's house with her, her husband Tod and her stepson Henry. I am having a great time here. We eat dinner and then we play cards and watch some Buffy together. They have a nice family unit and it feels cozy and safe. If it's yellow, they let it mellow. I've gotten used to this.

I'm in a real lame duck period here. I haven't left yet, but I feel strangely transient, strangely rooted. I've been painting at my sister Juliet's house. When it comes to painting, it's probably better to pay a professional than leave it to me, but I'm getting better. Today I got a large amount of paint in my hair. Given that I tire of taping and painting after 2 hours, I would make a pitiful laborer. Not that she doesn't like some really great music, but Juliet likes some really bad music. On track 11 of Sarah Douger's latest my mom finally screamed out, "Juliet, who is this horrible girl?" and being in agreement with my mom's opinion, though not her tactics, I took the liberty of pressing stop. The silence was beautiful.

On an exciting note, my visa arrived from the Consulate on Friday. It's very pretty and takes up a whole page in my passport just like my French student visa did. However, this one is much prettier. As it turns out, the beautiful thing is just my entry visa and I will get my permanent visa the day after I arrive.

That day is drawing near and I'm incredibly anxious. Incredibly so.

Good Music & Reunions

I continue to be enamored with Worlds Apart by Trail of Dead. I swear to God, every time I listen to it, it gets better. The lyrics are emerging from the music like never before and this is probably my favorite part about any piece of music, how it hits you in layers. Mmmm, good.

MySpace is something I have only taken seriously recently. Today I got a "friend request" from a girl in highschool whom I have not been in touch with or even really thought about in years. It's the weirdest thing to see someone's face smiling out at you from their picture and remember them. It's neat, actually. For the first time I am actually looking forward to the highschool reunion I swore I would never attend.

So that's that. We all need good music and reunions. They keeps things in perspective.

Summer of Thunder

A storm is going outside. The raindrops started lightly and now they're pounding erratically on the garden. Lightning illuminates the room, thunder claps loudly and the raindrops soften. A break. This has been the summer of thunder tumbling through the clouds, the summer of the smell of fresh rain. Of rapid, sky separating lightning. And the raindrops pick up again and the thunder claps once more. It's all happening in succession. It's release yet it fuels more of the same.

Thank God for ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

I have had this album for what, a year now? And only recently, in the last few weeks, have I become completely addicted to it? It's so weird the way that can happen, but it has. I feel like a teenager again with this album. In these days of iPods and iTunes, a person rarely buys a cd and proceeds to listen to it in order from beginning to end, but despite the fact that this album is on my iTunes, I do just that. Trail of Dead has music for every feeling, every occassion and it's almost all present on this single album. The only thing that's missing is a song for when you really need to rage and you're so pissed off all you want to do is scream along with something aggressive. The only song for that is "A Perfect Teenhood" from Trail of Dead's album Madonna. Last year Joel saw Trail of Dead in Köln where they put on what sounds like a stellar performance they finished off by breaking all of their stuff to the aforementioned song. He sent me the song right away claiming Trail of Dead was the most amazing band ever, or something to that degree. I listened, but it was way way way too heavy for me at first. The sort of thing that really puts you on edge and makes you want to grind your teeth before bed at night. But then it grew on me in a major way and when I got World's Apart, I got ready for more grinding and edginess only to be surprised by the most diverse, quality album I've heard in a long time. My favorite songs are Caterwaul and Let it Dive and I almost got a speeding ticket last week listening to them while driving.

I have my fingers crossed that they will play a show in Europe while I'm there. Sadly, they'll be in Austria, Germany and Belgium this weekend. They're two weeks early!! I don't leave for Switzerland until August 1st. But, with a new album due out in October, they'll be back on the continent again, for sure. Check out their fansite blog at www.trailofdead.org. It's some of the more hilarious writing I've encountered and I'm pretty sure it's all penned by Conrad Keely, Trail of Dead's own frontman.

I'm Mobile and Moving

Hurrah for the rental car. This is my very own (until Saturday) Hyundai Accent. Lame enough, but oh so essential for traversing Maryland and more specifically the Baltimore, Ellicott City, Columbia landscape everyday. It has a cd player and I've burnt many a cd since acquiring this little vehicle. Nothing like freedom to go places, see things and meet up with people.

We have a huge party planned for tomorrow night and the wonderful Dr. Snow of ED600, Educational Research has said he plans to come. He is by far the coolest professor on earth - continues to surpass his coolness with each day. Our last class we did wine tasting and let me tell you that 8 bottles of wine is more than enough for 15 people to have a taste. Yum.

Freedom is Ringing all Around

Last night I went with Sarah, Joy's roommate, and her friends Katie and Megan to see the fireworks display at Catonsville Highschool. Catonsville is a few towns down Frederick Road (the road that goes all the way to "the west") from Ellicott City. I was impressed with their fireworks display. It was mostly impressive because we were right underneath them and they made my whole body rumble as they exploded overhead. We got there early, laid out a few blankets and played cards until the fireworks started. I really suck at cards. Maybe that is a skill I will have to refine in my repertoire. Cards can be fantastic fun and the perfect social activity.

Katie has a little white Cabrio like my beloved Cabriolet only newer and still operative. We drove around with the top down and when the traffic was so heavy we were barely moving, Sarah and I sat up on top of the back seat like we were on an Independence Day Float in a parade and waved to lookers on as Katie blasted an Ace of Base remix from the stereo. That was definitely the highlight of the evening.

One thing I'll really miss about the east coast is being able to wear a tanktop and skirt after dark and not get cold. Not even going fast in a convertible. Awesome.

The Slightest Pang of Regret

For the past few days, I've been hung up on this daytrip Joel and I took with my niece and nephew last summer to Tubb's Hill in Coeur d'Alene. I remember going to Tubb's Hill (we called it Tubb's Mountain) as a little child to hike and swim so it made me happy to take these two there and share that experience. As a child, it feels much bigger than it really is and it was exciting to see it through their eyes. We had a fantastic time and on the way home, while Joel and I talked in the front seat, I could see them asleep, worn out from all the fun in the rearview mirror.

4th of July marks the height of the summer, the point when it gets really hot and the beginning of the school year feels so far away even though it's inching nearer. This year, I have not yet had any summer. I was working, now I'm in school. When I get back to the west coast, I need to work more. It makes me mad, upset, disappointed that this year summer will likely go by and I won't be able to spend any days like this with Joel and these two kids. This is turning out to be the hardest part of going to Switzerland. Knowing full well that I will miss out on two years of these children's lives. This afternoon, looking at this picture, I felt the slightest pang of regret. I'm sure going to miss them.

More Chick Lit

I have been in Maryland three weeks now, and in that time, I have finished three chick lit books. That is why I love these books. They're quick reads, they're mindless, they're about nothing of importance, they completely distract me while burning fat on the reclined stationary bike at the gym. They're also in high demand because women go through them like chiclets. Really, no pun intended, and in all seriousness, I've decided to write one. But first let's discuss the work of one Lauren Weisberger.

The Devil Wears Prada is an entertaining read but there were two things that bugged me about this book. One was that it started out midstory, went back in time to bring the reader up to date, and yet never revisited the day the novel started out on. The whole time I was thinking there must have been something of real significance in that first scene that would be revisited and revealed and everything would come full circle. But then it was November and the book had started in Summer. Darn. Bugger number two was that in the last 50 pages the narrative stopped, pretty much all dialogue stopped and it was just a quick summing up of the many plot and subplot lines. Lame. The story was cute, the situational comedy funny, but those two things ticked me off enough that I'm still thinking about them.

The two buggers in Devil didn't tick me off enough, however, to not read Weisberger's next book, Everyone Worth Knowing and I picked it up right after I finished Devil. I enjoyed this book much more than Devil. The story was really romantic and the idea was creative. Perhaps the reason I liked it more was that the character was my age, so it was easier to relate. All of Anna Maxted's characters were my age and somehow, that matters even if it's only a few years' difference. I found the cast of characters full, from the anorexic, shallow Elisa, to the soulful, yet gorgeous Sammy. By the end, the characters exhibited real growth and discovery making it not only entertaining, but satisfying as well. Most importantly, Weisberger tied in all of the little things to make the plot, subplots and storyline a cohesive whole. Two thumbs up on that one.

Raging Storm

This is how the stream at Joy's house looks on a normal day. It's very mellow, all the rocks are exposed and the water trickles along very peacefully.

Then we had the most insane storm last night and it sent everything topsy turvy in the entire town. The first sign that it was more than a normal thunderstorm was when water overflowed in a windowsill and flooded the bathroom. The lightning just would not quit. Lightning struck every ten seconds and the thunder shook the whole house. By that point, the rain was so loud, it was impossible to have a conversation with the window open. All this, and it was still so damn hot!!

Pretty soon Joy came home from work early because Cacao Lane had closed due to flooding! The entire historic center was flooded and all the businesses had closed. Joy, her roommate Sarah and I went for a wet walk and saw the town overrun with water and of course got very wet.

Kevin, Joy's other roommate, shone his headlights on the "stream" so this picture could be taken. It was very dark, and it still didn't turn out that well, but you get the idea. On a normal day, the water is about 8 feet down, last night it was less than two. The force of the water and the speed was terrifying. I was afraid to be near it alone. This wasn't the only stream running over either. A little stream or river of sorts runs right through the center of town. There the water is usually ten feet down and there are buildings built right over it. It's very quaint because it gives the town little bridges and spaces for benches and enjoying a coffee it wouldn't have otherwise. During the storm the water was actually hitting the buildings and that was the cause of the flood.

By the time I got home from school this afternoon at 4:30 pm the stream was still this high. The news said that the storm is supposed to continue tonight and the telltale heat lightning that comes before the storm is already in full swing out front. This is seriously the most exciting weather I've ever experienced. I could really do without the humidity though. Thank goodness for those dehumidifiers.

Hot, Humid and Sticky

This is the famed hammock in Joy's yard. It provides relief from the heat with its gentle swaying and green leaves overhead. The other night, after doing laundry, we got mini-six packs at the beer and wine store, I like to call them "baby beers," and had a few on the hammock. It's big enough for two people, but I can only handle all the bugs and sticky, thick air for so long - baby beer or no baby beer. It's beautiful here, but too hot, even with the hammock.

In two weeks I'll be back in Spokane. What a relief that will be. Currently it is 91 degrees in Ellicott City ("feels like 93") and 41% humidity. In Spokane, it's 76 degrees ("feels like 76") and 27% humidity. Where would you rather be?

Unveiled: The Camping Stove

And here it is. This is the set up in the kitchen I will soon occupy. What a relief. It's nothing like the vile and disgusting image I had in my head. My overactive imagination (I am somewhat like Olivia Joules) conjured up images of 1970s Coleman camping gear covered with an impenetrable layer of dirt and grime, standing on rickety metal legs and attached to a hazardous propane tank ready to blow at any minute, hissing and releasing nasty fumes into the house as I fumble with a box of so-called strike anywhere matches and singe the hairs on my arms and my eyebrows getting it lit. No, this tidy set up is nothing of the sort and should work out just fine for my needs. I actually like the idea that the oven is smaller and energy saving. Besides, I rarely used more than two burners at a time in my kitchen in Spokane, and my refrigerator, stove and oven were all smaller than in normal American households because the kitchen was so small. In Switzerland, I will actually have a bigger kitchen. Now, the question is why it was ever referred to as a camping stove in the first place. It's electric!

A couple photos of the apartment:














The living room and balcony.
The kitchen -- yes, my kitchen in Spokane was actually smaller!