Day Three In Switzerland - the 29th
It's Saturday, my first off day. Very interesting concept for one who has never had a job before. I woke up to my alarm blasting some obnoxious electronic tune and bounced to life.
Today we were going to French.
But not yet.
I hung out with the kids for a while and we decided to go for a bike ride around town. We ended up at the school, a short distance. I was glad because I wasn't sure how far the young Alex could go. He had to walk his bike down hills and he didn't do too well going up hills. He expected me to push him up the hills - but I had my own bike to deal with. I helped walk the the bike down, sometimes, because I saw it was quite the struggle for someone his size. We landed in the playground and ran around. We swung. We played tag. We climbed. We is refering to the children. I sometimes joined in, sometimes took pictures. I was still a bit jet lagged and didn't know how many rounds of le loupe I could handle.
Gillone and the grandmother came to say good bye, as the grandmother was going home. By then, the kids and I were hanging out at the skate park - running up and down the ramps and throwing Oleann's toy, Lanky, around.
Time for the journey home. Many hills, all going up. I wasn't exactly looking forward to this. I helped Alex a bit but finally had him ride on his own. Problem is, when we came to the hill, he didn't want to dismount. He wanted to keep riding. But he would ride down. I said, "Walk, walk," in French but he ignored and started crying out for "Mamma." Luckily, at that moment Florian and her friend came. Florian is the girl from across the street. They both pushed him along most of the way. Up all the hills. They slowed him down at the down hills. I was one greatful au pair.
Lunch time at home, we had leftover spaghetti.
When Gillone came home, Daniel left for Geneva and the rest of us went to France for some grocery shoppping.
It was just a short drive to the border and I was surprised I didn't feel any different when we crossed. We went to France because it is much cheaper than the ever so expensive Switzerland.
My host mom's policy was, "You need, you take." If I needed something, I was to retreave it. So I got my shampoo, toothpaste, agenda, notepad, and two plastic boxes for storage. When we got to the food portion of the sotre, she asked what I like for different things. Luckily, I like what she likes. I got to pick out tea, jam, San Peligrino, and fruit. I agreed with her on Balisto and Haribo licorice.
By the end of the journey, our cart was packed full of drinks, bread, everything. I learned that was the food for just one week.
We took the ride home.
I retreated to my bedroom to rest for a bit when I heard a voice from outside my door. The kids were playing outside with Alice and Florian. Remember them both? I joined for some neighborhood street play including police and travel. It was nice to have someone to explain a few phrases to me that I heard over and over but didn't undertsand.
Dinner was at 7:30.
8:00 I returned to Alice's and had a chat with her host family. Then she, Florian, and I all set out for a walk. We walked the village and had a charming time. Lots of laughter. I think a year here will be nice. The American. The English. The Swiss.
We got home, went to their house, had ice cream, hung out. I said good night. Contacted the world. Slept.
And so life falls into a routine.
It's Saturday, my first off day. Very interesting concept for one who has never had a job before. I woke up to my alarm blasting some obnoxious electronic tune and bounced to life.
Today we were going to French.
But not yet.
I hung out with the kids for a while and we decided to go for a bike ride around town. We ended up at the school, a short distance. I was glad because I wasn't sure how far the young Alex could go. He had to walk his bike down hills and he didn't do too well going up hills. He expected me to push him up the hills - but I had my own bike to deal with. I helped walk the the bike down, sometimes, because I saw it was quite the struggle for someone his size. We landed in the playground and ran around. We swung. We played tag. We climbed. We is refering to the children. I sometimes joined in, sometimes took pictures. I was still a bit jet lagged and didn't know how many rounds of le loupe I could handle.
Gillone and the grandmother came to say good bye, as the grandmother was going home. By then, the kids and I were hanging out at the skate park - running up and down the ramps and throwing Oleann's toy, Lanky, around.
Time for the journey home. Many hills, all going up. I wasn't exactly looking forward to this. I helped Alex a bit but finally had him ride on his own. Problem is, when we came to the hill, he didn't want to dismount. He wanted to keep riding. But he would ride down. I said, "Walk, walk," in French but he ignored and started crying out for "Mamma." Luckily, at that moment Florian and her friend came. Florian is the girl from across the street. They both pushed him along most of the way. Up all the hills. They slowed him down at the down hills. I was one greatful au pair.
Lunch time at home, we had leftover spaghetti.
When Gillone came home, Daniel left for Geneva and the rest of us went to France for some grocery shoppping.
It was just a short drive to the border and I was surprised I didn't feel any different when we crossed. We went to France because it is much cheaper than the ever so expensive Switzerland.
My host mom's policy was, "You need, you take." If I needed something, I was to retreave it. So I got my shampoo, toothpaste, agenda, notepad, and two plastic boxes for storage. When we got to the food portion of the sotre, she asked what I like for different things. Luckily, I like what she likes. I got to pick out tea, jam, San Peligrino, and fruit. I agreed with her on Balisto and Haribo licorice.
By the end of the journey, our cart was packed full of drinks, bread, everything. I learned that was the food for just one week.
We took the ride home.
I retreated to my bedroom to rest for a bit when I heard a voice from outside my door. The kids were playing outside with Alice and Florian. Remember them both? I joined for some neighborhood street play including police and travel. It was nice to have someone to explain a few phrases to me that I heard over and over but didn't undertsand.
Dinner was at 7:30.
8:00 I returned to Alice's and had a chat with her host family. Then she, Florian, and I all set out for a walk. We walked the village and had a charming time. Lots of laughter. I think a year here will be nice. The American. The English. The Swiss.
We got home, went to their house, had ice cream, hung out. I said good night. Contacted the world. Slept.
And so life falls into a routine.
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