"All On, Strange!"

Yesterday afternoon, Luke and I went to the grocery store for the third time this week.  Going multiple times a week isn't only normal, its a necessity.  Reasons:  1.  Everything we purchase, we carry home.  So small/light loads - which hardly happens, are better.  2.  Our refrigerator/freezer is the size of one you would typically find in a dorm room.  3.  Oh! And back to the smaller loads being helpful, we carry our groceries up 68 steps before entering our flat.  Grocery shopping should count as a workout.

As I was saying earlier, Luke and I went to the store yesterday.  While waiting for our bus home, we ran into our neighbor from across the hall.  As we are struggling through a conversation with her limited English and my limited Swiss-German, we didn't realize our bus never showed until the second bus didn't come.  Our neighbor promptly asked another bus driver and then rushed back to us, grabbed my arm, and said "Come!"  I later learned our scheduled bus had been in a minor accident and we were running to another location to catch a different bus.  By the time we make it home its 5:30 and dark.  As we are walking towards the apartment building, my neighbor notices my lights are on.  We both find this strange, because I'm pretty sure (and hoping) I turned them off and we both knew that Bill was in Japan.  My neighbor looked through the peep hole and said, "All on, strange!"  As she held onto Luke, I opened the door and called into the apartment. Bill answered from the shower- he was home early.  My neighbor was relieved and I was grateful that I wasn't crazy- I did turn the lights off.

Reminder to self- make sure I always turn the lights off when I leave.  Switzerland for the most part is safe, I never considered that someone was in our flat.  If someone had been this would have been a real concern for us and our neighbors.  I don't think it ever crossed my neighbor's mind that I could have possibly left the lights on - people turn out the lights when they leave.  I was grateful Bill was home - I think my neighbor was ready to call the police, I'm not sure she would have believed that I may have left the lights on.

Summer is over!

It's hard to believe that summer is over, yet I'm reminded each time I step outside- its already cold!  So, I guess I should catch everyone up.... we spent our warm summer days walking trails and visiting the zoo.  In July, we traded our warm 70 degree days for Texas' 100+ degree days and air-conditioning.  We spent several weeks visiting our parents, eating out, and shopping.  I was amazed at how noisy it was - and then I would realize I could understand others' conversations.  Here in Switzerland, I'm guilty of blocking out conversations- simply because I don't understand.  However, my understanding is getting better with time.  Won't be long and Luke will be translating for me.

In August, we returned to Switzerland.  Jet-lag was difficult to overcome coming back.  Luke didn't sleep through the night for several days, until his Ghinny promised to buy him a toy.  Amazing how bribery works!  Once we got settled back into our routine, we took a trip to Luzern.  While in Luzern we rode a boat around the lake and road the Pilatus-Bahn (train) up the mountain.  The views were breath-taking.

Luke also started Swiss Kindergarten in August.  Oops!  I should be saying "Lukas" started Kindergarten - Lukas insists on going by his German name now!  Anyway, Kindergarten is a two year process here and kids can start as early as four if their 4th birthday is before mid April.  Luke is a July baby, so we waited until he was 5.  Luke has 15 other students in his class.  All of the students go to school Monday-Friday in the morning and return to their homes for lunch.  Then 3 days a week the 2nd year students return in the afternoon and the 1st year students (Luke's group) return 1 afternoon a week.  Luke loves his school and teacher!  I love that its a neighborhood school and we often see his classmates at the playground, on the bus, at the store, etc.  We have even seen a couple of his friends when we have gone into Zürich.

Click link below to see August photos...
http://gallery.me.com/jcs1274/100088/August%202011-Display

New Life

Today, I decided to take Luke to der Park im Grüene in Rüschlikon.  The park has a playground, sandboxes (Luke’s favorite), a water feature, donkeys, room to run, and its only a 25 minute walk from the house.  However, our walk took longer today due to a semi-pleasant surprise.  As we walked down the trail, we noticed a small gathering of people.  When we approached the group, we saw the farmer on the other side of the fence with a cow.  The cow was giving birth to a calf.  Luke and I had a pretty good view - the cow delivered just feet from the road.  The experience was amazing to watch.  As we left, Luke and I were discussing the calf’s cuteness when he asked, “How did he get in there?”  Immediately my mind thought about how the cow got pregnant and how could I dance around this question.  As I started to explain the calf was in the cow’s belly - Luke stopped me and said, “No, how did the farmer get in there.”  You see, the fields are surrounded by electric fences and Luke wanted to know how the farmer got into the field without getting shocked.  Whew!  I was comfortable answering that question - “He went through a gate.”   

Farmer's store

Today we enjoyed a stroll down the street to the local farm.  Luke was able to feed the goats, watch the calves run in the field, and keep a close eye on the rabbits.  Each Friday the farm has a little store where we can buy veggies, eggs, milk, yogurt, apples, strawberries, and fresh bread.  We have tried a little of everything - minus the bread.  However, I am tempted the bread smells wonderful - wonder if the farmer’s wife could make a gluten free bread.  We also have the opportunity to order beef, but I don’t fully understand the signs - I would hate to sign up and end up purchasing a whole cow!  We are lucky in that we have a freezer, but it only holds a few containers of ice cream - which is way more important!  I guess we will continue to buy beef in small amounts at the grocery store.

Welcome Letter

We received Luke’s paperwork/welcome letter yesterday for Kindergarten.  However, Luke won’t be going to the Kindergarten across the street from us - like we thought.  Instead he will go up the street and around the corner (pictured above).  Kids are expected to independently walk to school, therefore they place them at schools where they won’t have to cross a street.  Luke took the news of the change very well.    In fact, today we walked to his new school and he had a chance to play on the playground.  Luke thinks his new school has a much better playground and we agree - after all that’s whats important!  Luke is really looking forward to school starting - in August.  He has informed me that he is going to walk himself to school - not sure Mom is ready for this.  I may need to invest in camouflage or something so I can secretly watch him as he goes.  Oh! And I’m definitely going to need a box of tissue - can’t believe he is starting Swiss Kindergarten in a couple of months.  

Learning the ins & outs of the language

The past couple of months have been spent filling my brain with German sounds, vocabulary, and grammar.  And even though I probably know several hundred words, I feel like I’m back at square one when someone talks to me.  However, several weeks ago I just heard several sounds stringed together; at least now I recognize words.  “Genau” (exactly) seems to be a Swiss favorite.  Learning/memorizing each nouns’ genders has been a challenge, but applying that knowledge to the verbs has been mind boggling.  Through this interesting, difficult, and definitely humorous task I was amazed to learned this following fact:  not everyone calls countries by the same name!  For example, the Swiss call Germany - “Deutschland.”  Americans would say I live in Switzerland - not the Swiss - I actually live in “Schweiz.”  Who knew?  Anyway, the learning German continues.... I look forward to the day when I can have a German conversation with a clerk or just a random person on the train.  

Live internet broadcast

http://www.mahler-2011.de/en/mahler-in-the-media

Bill has a concert tonight that will be posted live on the internet.  Follow the link above to watch - 1pm Central time for those back in the States.