Suisse Encore [Swiss Life 2009]

Remember?

2010-05-27T22:05:00.000+02:00

Here's an excerpt from my current blog.

Many days, I miss my little Olean. Mon petit poisson.

After I graduated, instead of going off to college, I went to Switzerland to become the nanny for this little girl and her brother, Alex.

Hours were spent together and I really did love that little girl.

I had to leave suddenly. I told her I would stay for a year. I told her we would celebrate her birthday together.

How do you explain visas and being illegal to a six year old? How could I explain to her that the reason I had to leave was because the government of Switzerland didn't want me there and if I stayed more than three months, there could be some serious consequences?

I wonder what she remembers of me? Does she think back far enough to afternoons in the grass, throwing a ball around. Does she remember skipping down the road together singing "Jingle Bells" in French or listening to "Bad Day" when she came home seeming a bit blue?

Does she understand how much it would hurt me to see her in pain, some days, when I couldn't make her feel better because of the language barrier? I would just want to make it all better but I couldn't. All I could ask was, "Ça va?" like a blimmin' idiot.

Does she remember races to the door? Chocolat chaud? Grilled cheese sandwhiches?

What I wouldn't give to go lay in the grass with her for an afternoon, hunting for rainbows or playing with bugs.

[thanksgiving adventures]

2009-11-27T02:53:00.005+01:00

Flying was smooth.

I got up at 6:00 AM to leave the house by 6:30 for Geneva.

Left Geneva for Frankfurt.

Then Frankfurt to Vancouver - that flight was 10 hours long. My poor energetic body wanted to move.

Anyways, it was Vancouver that gave me grief.

Dear Canada,

I do not wish to get my checked baggage, drage it around the airport, and then check it in a second time.

No love for Canada from me,

Maggie

Anyways, I had to wait some 30 minutes for my checked baggage to arrive so I could transfer flights. After getting it, I was ready to get on my final flight home. I knew I would be home in less than two hours.

That's when the lady informed me that it was too late for that flight.

I was frustrated, I had gone as fast as possible.

You also need to see that I was quite sleep deprived at that moment. I had been traveling for 15 hours or so by then and was ready for my turkey dinner. I was ready to see my family. It was Thanksgiving.

Well, here I am right now, when I should be eating that meal, or at least pumpkin pie. I should be. But, alas, I am in Vancouver on a laptop.

I just drank my Thanksgiving meal - Odwalla. That delicious, thick green goo. How I love it.

After the lady told me I would have to wait 3-4 hours, I felt very emotional. I was so ready to be home at that moment and not ready to just chill in an airport again when it wasn't my fault.

I took a lot of deep breaths, controlled breathing is my friend! I got it together and told her I was sorry I wasn't smiling. I thanked her for getting me a new boarding pass. I moved on through security.

The next step was checking in my baggage with the three guys who stood their ground. They were amusing and asked me where my parents were.

In fact, I got that question a lot. Where are my parents? My parents? Ummm.... not here.

They asked how old I was.

I said 19.

They said they had thought I was 15.]

I chuckled.

In security, they had to wipe down my laptop with a cloth on a stick. They then put the cloth in a machine. The only word I could read on the little screen was "explosive." I explained to the man that my laptop was very friendly and not my mothers. He then tightened the screws on one part that has been loose for the past month.

I am glad my laptop is not a bomb.

While waiting, I got to talk to my dad for around 52 minutes and I applied for three jobs - including one as the wait staff in the galley of a boat for 60 days. That would be cool if that one worked out.

[numb]

2009-11-25T14:36:00.002+01:00

I think I'm getting good at this.

Good byes. I hate them, I really do. But I've had a lot of practice.

Just like I couldn't ride my bike well the first time I got on, I couldn't say good bye well my first time either.

These aren't the, "I'll see you later" good byes that I'm talking about. These are the "I don't know when exactly I'll see you again" good byes.

The ones that make you ache all over.
The ones that fill you with longing for just 24 more hours.
The ones that never really hit you till it's over.
Where you just can't believe that it's the end.

Anyways, I've had experience with them now. I think I'm getting a bit better, but I bet I just look like an unemotional, cold au pair.

Oleann. Alex. I honestly do love you guys. Maybe not like your parents, but I absolutely adore you both. I'm going to miss you.

[natation synchronisée]

2009-11-24T13:55:00.004+01:00

I was swimming on my back when heard this strange voice speaking to me from under the water. It was calm and relaxing, like one of those voices on the therapeutic tapes.

"Raise your leg, and twirl, and under."

It was creepy and soothing.

Then the music started. I couldn't help but dance along with as I floated along on my back.

Last night, I discovered one of the most amazing experiences. Swimming at the same time as the synchronized swimmers. They are pretty fantastic kids, all spinning upside-down under the water together.

Me? I just learned to swim this summer with Monica and Caitie. I am glad that as an 18 year old, I can now sort of kind of swim. I like being in the water.

I couldn't help but laugh and singing along when the song Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head started playing. That has been one of my favourite songs, if not the favourite of songs, since I was 11 or so, I think. I was floating along. Laughing. Dancing. Swimming.

The music was so much clearer and better under the water. It felt surreal.

I like swimming at the same time as the synchro people... I just have to be sure I get in the showers before they do.

[turkey]

2009-11-23T21:53:00.003+01:00

So the last post was a review on emtions on leaving Switzerland.

Now, how about coming home?

This will be my first time in Kenmore in which I will not be attending public school. Last time I came back, I came back to the exact same life as I had had before. I went back to high school and tried to learn to slip back into the rhythms that had been laid out before me.

Anyways. Another question I get a lot is, "Margaret, what are you going to do when you get back?" I do get that question, although no one here calls me Margaret. No one in this entire tiny country calls me by my real name.

What am I going to do? I don't really know. I have a list of plans. A list of potentials.

And now it's a new day, I never finished this blog and might not ever. Probably not. I'm jumping on that airplane in just 8 hours or so. Pretty crazy, that's what I think it is.

Can't wait to see everyone, if anyone is left. December shall be my experimenting month, see what I like in life. Do I want to work, study, study, or work, or volunteer?

See you soon Seattle.

I hear a turkey calling my name.

[maison]

2009-11-23T11:45:00.003+01:00

People have been asking me about how I feel about leaving and how I feel about leaving Switzerland a second time.

For those of you who didn't know me around July 2008, when I had come back from Switzerland, I was quite the messed up child. Coming back from Switzerland the first time was very difficult for me. I started having panic attacks and it would get so bad that sometimes I would have to go to the nurse during school. Anyways, that was then.

This time in coming home I am a lot more emotionally prepared than last time. Last time when I came back, I didn't do much to equip myself for coming back. I also was a lot more rooted into that Swiss life. My entire life, every aspect of it, had been rooted into the Swiss soil, every area. Leaving was like being uprooted.

In this blog I want to address leaving Switzerland, entering America will come in another blog.

First, I want to emphasize how much I loved it here. The family I lived with, the Coddron family, was fantastic. They were welcoming and accomidating. They treated me with respect and I have no complains. They gave me privacy, space, and told me exactly what they expected from me.

Working, or playing, with Oleann brought me so much joy. She is such a loving and giving child. She would always be giving me surprises or floweres she picked on the way home. We would skip down the street together, hand in hand, singing whatever song we could, even if it was Jingle Bells. We developed a lot of jokes together that I knew could make her smile from, "Bing bang," to our secret handshake, to porcupines, to Maggie's Boulangerie, to Puissance 4, to hot chocolate. She knew what I expected of her and in turn, I tried to make our times together enjoyable.

Alex was also awesome, although I did not spend as much time with him. He was always up for playing, always. I hope that part of him never leaves him. He also had one keen sense of humour and I wish I could have understood more.

Sometimes, I wish I had just two more months in Switzerland. I spend my weekends traveling the country and my weekdays taking care of Oleann, going to French course, playing badminton, going to youth group, and wandering when life calls for it.

I am going to miss the peace I have here. I have no worries in my life when I'm over here. I know what to expect each day and life is very routine. I have mornings to myself where I can wake up slowly and try and accomplish things.... or watch a movie.

I have to do just a hour or two of college work each day which keeps my brain moving and firm and toned.

A lovely hike is just outside my door. Nature is just a hop, skip, and a jump away.

Life here is simplicity. I don't even have to worry about finances. Room and board is taken care of and almost everything I invest in is optional. I have a job, but it is so doable and enjoyable.

So yes, I am sad to leave. I am going to miss it here.

But I am glad I came here. See, coming here gave me the closure I didn't get last time. In coming back, I am able to see what my old life was, live it a bit, and finally move on. You hear that? I can move on. I hope that this will release me more in America and give me more peace. Before my mind was stuck in Switzerland and I couldn't really get past the fact that I had left it.

Anyways, I can now leave Switzerland in peace.
The only thing I have to brace myself for is a stress filled, corrupted, money tight, overcrowded country.

Welcome to America!

[avant et en arrière]

2009-11-22T11:36:00.003+01:00

Things I Will Miss

My fantastic host family
Daily walks with Oleann to and from school
French class
Chillin' in the German part
Lovely au pairs
My huge bedroom
Beautiful train rides
Shopping in France
Rhubarb yogurt and beets
Living above the clouds
Badminton and swimming
Legal alcohol consumption
Abundance of cheese
Those exchange student people
Wandering and hiking

Things to Look Forward To

Seeing my family again
Seeing friends again
Making music
Going back to church
Square dancing
The 522
PNTSDF
Clogging
The Burke Gillman and Gas Works
Curling, if it is possible
Baking and cooking for the Christmas season
Lovely walks
Seattle
Ethnic foods
King County Library System
Volunteering
Cheap prices on many a things
All sorts of new opportunities and adventures

[tu peux]

2009-11-19T15:50:00.004+01:00

What determines a good au pair?

Is it better to keep the kid happy at you all the time, or more so be firm and work on creating a independent, capable child.

Lately, a phrase I find myself saying often is, "tu peux" or "tu peux faire."

It literally means: You can.

The kiddo has been asking me to help her with many tasks lately. It's not that I'm not willing to help her, I enjoy helping out. It's not to make my life easier. In fact, it would often be so much easier and quicker if I did do it for her. But, I want her to do it herself. So she'll ask me to do something for her and I'll say, "No, you can do it," if she glares at me I'll tell her, "you're 7."

Here are a few instances in which my help has been requested. This is not speaking of her character or capabilities, she's a great kid and very capable, she just asks for help a lot and glares at me when I say no.

Can I tie her shoe?
Can I zip up her jacket? (I tend to help with this one)
Can I buckle her helmet? (again, it can be difficult)
Can I spread the soft cheese on her bread?

Today we went to English with the bikes. As we went to park them she handed me the lock to the bike so I could lock it. I looked at her and told her I knew she could do it. She said that, no, she couldn't do it. I said she could and I would help her through it. Sure enough, she was able to do it. She wasn't very happy with me, though. I could see it was a bit frustrating at times, for her, as she tried to figure the lock out, but she got it. A lot of things aren't easy without practice, it all comes in time. But if I don't have her start the practice now, she'll never reach the point where it's an easy task that comes naturally.

If anyone knows a better way to say, "You can do it," in French, I'd love to learn.

I think this may have partially come from my upbringing. My parents raised me pretty independently, I think. I wasn't all that old before they started telling me that if I wanted something I could walk, bike, or bus to get it. I wanted eggs to bake with that moment? Well, the store was just 20 minutes away. That's what they would tell me. At the age of 16 they allowed me to go off and explore Switzerland for a year on my own. They used to give me a budget so that, while I still had their financial support, I could learn to manage my money. So now, as I help to raise and take care of a kid, I find myself wanting to encourage them to do things themselves.

Am I simply being cruel?

[coming home]

2009-11-18T19:55:00.003+01:00

"Maggie, I heard you're heading back to America early..."

What? You did? Sigh, get's it's time for me to tell the world.

It is true, the end of my second Swiss adventure is coming to a sorrowful end after a short three months here.

When am I coming home? I will be arriving on Thanksgiving day at around 3:00 PM. Just in time for the pumpkin pie, or maybe even turkey if my family is gracious enough. I maybe exhausted, though, after 18 hours of traveling.

That's just about a week till I come home.

That's just about a week till I have to leave home.

Why am I coming home?

It all comes down to small legalities... and the fact I would be an illegal alien if I stayed more than three months here.

The host family knew this, but I was naive or unaware that I would not be able to get a visa to work here. They are wonderful and gracious, but also encouraged me to stay without a visa. I, however, am not comfortable with this. The Swiss government has been getting more active with their border patrol and I don't want to mess with it. Getting caught could me affecting me coming back to Europe and at such a young age, I don't want to close ay doors.

After a lot of research, prayer, and conversations, I decided I would rather go home early, to be legal, than stay. I told the family about a month ago. I feel so blessed as they have been so gracious and accomidating to me. They don't treat me any differently, even though I am leaving them, which is a new stress in their life.

I will write on my feelings about returning to America tomorrow.

So yes, I am coming home after 3 months, not a year. Yes, it is just because of legal issues.

Guess I'll see you in just a bit, then...

[marche]

2009-11-18T15:32:00.004+01:00

I find it interesting, odd, and refreshing how people just walk in and out of our lives.

Take the people in this picture, for example. I have spent 4 hours a week since September with them on the ever so wearisome journey of learning French.

We laughed together, developed something of a friendship.

And now, for me at least, it's over.

I know I won't see the majority, if any of them, again.

You go to a bar at night and you can find someone, become acquaintances for the evening, but after then, nothing. You could chat for an hour and that is their existance in your life. Nothing more is needed or meant to be. Simply people walking in and out of each others lives.

I like that.

One of the things I find frustrating is that Facebook defies this. People are supposed to leave your life. After high school, sometimes, loosing contact with someone is ok and healthy, yet through Facebook we maintain contact and shallow forms of relationships. It is ok to say good bye after meeting for one afternoon, you don't need to forever know what the other is doing.

Anyways, just found that a good thought to think about.
People stroll in and our of our lives.
They give us a memory to go by, and that is more than enough.

[presque]

2009-11-12T11:50:00.002+01:00

"Elle est presque morte."

Those were the words I heard from Alex today as we walked to pick up Oleann.

It is polite to greet people and during our stroll, we came upon an elderly woman checking her mail. Alex and I exchanged multiple greetings with her from "salut" to "bonjour" to "hallo".

We had only walked a few steps away from her when he told me, "Maggie, elle est presque morte," which literally means, "She's almost dead."

Oh goodness...

[shoot]

2009-11-10T09:18:00.006+01:00

"Shoot!"
"But I wanna pass!"
"Shoot!"

These were words I never heard in America, well, the word "shoot" directed towards me.

Last night I perhaps had one of my favourite nights in Switzerland.

I've grown accustomed to joining groups in which I know no one. In this case, I knew one member of the badminton club, but I couldn't count on him to show up. I was off playing for 2 months due to my ankle but after it was healed, I jumped back in. All I have to do is show up and ask to play, I don't care who with.

I ended up playing with three guys for most of the time. There weren't any girls this evening, which I found odd. Just 7 guys and I. No no no, that's not why I enjoyed the evening so much. I do admit it was really refreshing to finally be in the company of people my own age. As an au pair, it's harder to get mixed in with the Swiss. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights are my chance to do that.

Anyways, this is something I wish we had in America. A place in the evening where you can just go and play a sport, nothing official. It's just pure fun.

"Aller!"

Ok, ok, I'm going.

I'm glad I'm not horrible at badminton. Am I good? Not the best. But can I hit it back and sometimes make the other guy miss? Yep.

After a while they asked if I wanted to play "basket."
Basketball? Sure... even if I haven't played it for some 3 months.
It's ok if I'm horrible, let's play.

And so, the game of 2 on 2 began. I was on Tobia's team and surprised the first time he passed to me. Dang. I must have looked so surprised, or horribly unathletic... I think it was a mixture of both.

Here's the thing. In America, I never got the ball. There were so many kids in PE class. It is horrible but at an early age in life, I was taught by my bigger, more athletic peers that if I ever, ever got the ball, I should pass it to one of them immediately.

So, here I am in Switzerland and I am being passed the ball.
Goodness, that is something new.
And my instinct is to simply pass it back.

A bit later, two more guys joined us.
Three on three.

A favourite phrase of the night was, "Shoot!"
It was some sort of cruel humour, but when we started out, Tobias would pass me the ball immediately, since I was open, and tell me to just shoot.

So I would shoot. Sometimes I would miss it but sometimes I made it! And that made me quite the happy girl. For once, I was given the chance to play. I was incorporated into the team.

They would sometimes give me a hard time for missing, but not in a cruel way. Just a way that made me feel like I wasn't just being treated like a guest. I know I'm the out one here. I'm American. I'm a girl. But I got to play and that made my day.

We simply played basketball, and I liked that.

Monday nights are good nights.

[holland]

2009-11-09T11:08:00.004+01:00

Two questions I get often:

Kommst du aus Holland?
Do you like boys?

I am going to be focusing on question number one today.

Komme ich aus Holland?
"Do you come from Holland?"

I get asked that whenever I speak German with someone who doesn't know me.

Last night on the train, once again, surrounded by the military. After a while, Mossdorf asks me, in German, "Where do you come from?" I responded, asking, "Where do you think?"

"Why," he said, "you come from Holland, right?"

No. No I don't.

I am actually quite pleased everyone thinks that. See, I do have an accent when I speak my German, it's almost inevitable. But, my accent is not from America. I rarely have people guess that I come from the USA. I have a Dutch accent when I speak German.

I have a Dutch accent when I speak German.

Since I originally, back in 2006, only wanted to go the the Netherlands, this suits me even more.

I guess I would rather they thought I was from there than the United States. I am glad they can't pin down where I'm from because I speak the language with a strong accent.

Here are some other encounters I remember when people asked if I was from Holland:

the guy who helped set me up for the shooting contest in Obwalden
the man who served me pizza
the random drunken kids at the Sarnen train station
my friend's friend at that one meeting I was at
multiple military encounters
my friend's host parents

And the list goes on.

I am Margaret and I am from the United States of America.

[jamie]

2009-11-07T17:17:00.003+01:00

In Switzerland there is a major city called Zürich.

20 minutes from the main station is a small station called Schörlistrasse.

3 minutes from Schörlistrasse is a small appartment complex.

On the second floor of the complex is a near empty appartment.

In that appartment is a well lit kitchen with onions on the wall.

In that kitchen is a delightful, joyful, dancing girl.

In the hands of that delightful, joyful, dancing girl is a brand new Jamie Cullum album.

I've been waiting for quite some time for Jamie to put out something new and finally it is here.

I rarely purchase actual CD's, but in this case, I felt the desire to (plus, it wasn't on iTunes yet). It came out today in Switzerland, or perhaps yesterday. It comes out March 2, 2010 in the United States.

I went to Ex Libris and immediately found the new album.

No dissapointment in this purchase.

54 minutes.

[rien à faire]

2009-11-05T16:11:00.003+01:00

Not having to do anything is such a blessing. I think it is something we take for granted.

I think many people would be so happy if they could actually afford to be "bored." There lives are go-go-go from the time they wake up till late in the night. There is not time for them to simply relax and do nothing.

I like my lifestyle right now. I do work, I do move, I do have things I need to do, but in the middle of it all I find quiet times and times for rest.

Between watching 13 toddlers scream, doing a college course, making lunch, learning French, vacuuming the house, keeping my room tidy, and playing with the kids, I still have time where I can curl up in my bed with a book and read it.

I think, however, that being bored is lame in itself. Not just the fact that you are bored is lame. You are lame for being bored. Being bored means you have time that you should be using to do something awesome. You have time to use how you wish, and having time to use as you wish means time to explore or pursue some sort of project or skill. Bored is something of a dangerous mind set.

I love that I can find peace in the midst of the checklists and to-do lists that fill my life.

[malades préparations]

2009-10-29T18:47:00.002+01:00

Sick preparations, what a sad thing to do. I like to think of it more as creating a cosy atmosphere to be miserable in.

Oh, how I hope I don't get sick. The young Oleann has been ever so sick lately. I feel quite bad for her as she looks like she's in such discomfort.

I've been trying to avoid getting sick. I'm such a cruel au pair, the number of times I have her wash her hands after she coughs into them. But, often it would happen in my room and I really didn't want to get sick. I've been washing my hands for the past week in addition to cleaning the doorknobs and light switches. I've been drinking water so often that I feel like I spend most of my time in my dear, yellow bathroom.

Did it do any good?

We'll see.

I've been having something of an acheing throat, sore if you will. I'm hoping it won't grow into what she had, that would be awful. Since I got that feeling, I've dranken even more (7 cups of tea + 3 glasses of mineral water + 1 hot chocolate) and napped and rested three times throughout the day.

In anticipation of getting sick, I did a thorough cleaning of my room. I made my bed all cozy. Cleared off the desk. Made it very nice. Being sick in a messy room is no fun, but cleanliness encourages rest and peace. So, if I do get sick, I shall be quite content in my large, comfy bed with a book, some tea, and toast with butter and jam.

[vomissement]

2009-10-28T01:29:00.002+01:00

I hope people speak French and can understand the title of this post. I think it is a wonderful word. With knowing. Beautiful language, French is.

Here is a language update from your ever so favourite not-French-speaking-Seattlite residing in Arzier:

Everyone: Parles tu Francais?
*doh - of course I understand that question and can answer it, regardless of if I speak French or not*
Me: Oui! Oui! Un petit peu.
Everyone: *a bunch of crazy fluent French*
Me: Oui! Oui! Je veux boire de chocolat chaud.

Dear world, can I be honest with you?
I don't speak French. It's just a huge joke. I can talk about hot chocoalte, tell kids to set the table and stop and brush their teeth, and declare to the world that I do not shave. Er. What?

I think my French capabilities will never compare to my dear German. When I learned German, I was oh so surrounded by that lovely language. School. Host family. Friends.

Now, my second time in Switzerland? Why am I not learning as much? During the day, I'm alone at home, not at school speaking the language. With the host family, well, they speak English with me. I could put up a fuss and say French, but the thing is, most of what they tell me is crucial that I understand for my job. Hence, there is no room for misunderstandings. Friends? Au pairs and exchange students speak English with each other. As for Swiss friends, my youth group is the best place for me to learn. There, I feel my self improve in just the two hours of being surrounded by the language. That's a good thing.

My comprehension is improving and I can express much of my thoughts. It's mainly the pronunciation that is absolutely murdering me. I can't even study well alone because I haven't the faintest idea how to pronounce words such as "affûtage." Ok, that word, I think I could manage. But they have so many ways to say any letter and sometimes, random letters just like to be *interjection* silent.

I do so like the language and will continue to try and pursue learning it.

So, when I get home, feel free to ask me, in French, if I speak French. I'll tell you yes, but then, you can almost guarantee that I will inform you that I want a hot chocolate as well.

[l'automne]

2009-10-26T23:09:00.002+01:00

Today was a simple day where simply being outside was enough to make me smile.

I brought Oleann’s English work to her after school and we walked to the skate park together. In the refreshing, autumn air, we sat on a ramp and went over terms such as basket, chair, and eraser.

We meandered to the swings.
Climbed through the grass.
Rocked the see-saw.

Today, I sang. That made me happy. I sang Edelweiss and I Could Have Danced All Night and other classics. It was fun.

[merci]

2009-10-26T21:12:00.002+01:00

The nicest, loveliest thing happened. Perhaps that is the wrong way to introduce what I am going to say. Was it the nicest thing ever? No. Loveliest? No. Surprising? Yes. Especially considering the country I am in.

The Swiss are great people, love them, but when it comes to helping someone with their own business and problems, the Swiss tend to keep to themselves.

I had just met up with Okan and we were going to catch the tram back to his place so I could drop off my belongings. Dragging around a suitcase all day is not much fun.

So it came time to pay but I had no coins, all I had was a 20 Frank note and a 200 Frank note. I also wasn’t sure how to use the machine that I needed to get my ticket. It wasn’t like the normal automats that you use to get a ticket. This machine gave tickets specifically for the city of Geneva and the surrounding region. Okan had a GA, a travel pass, so he had never needed to use the machine.

The tram was coming soon and I wasn’t sure what to do. The machine gave no change. I didn’t know what I needed. Then, an older woman next to it pushed a few buttons, put in her cash card, printed out a ticket and handed it to me. She then proceeded to take my 20 Frank note and counted change back into my hand in Italian.

She was quite the blessing to me right there and then at that moment.

[pain]

2009-10-18T18:53:00.002+02:00

This morning I woke up in a bomb shelter underneath ground.

For breakfast I had bread with butter and jelly.

This afternoon I wandered around Graubunden near some huge crevice cliffs, surrounded by mountains, trees, and life.

For lunch I had bread with meat, butter, and a pickle.

This evening I found rest in my friend's apartment in the busy city of Zürich.

For dinner I had bread with butter.

I'm glad at least one thing in life can remain constant.
I am thankful for good bread.

[bouillon]

2009-10-11T13:24:00.002+02:00

With sick days come sick foods and with this comes my rediscovery of bouillon.

Are you ready to see how my French is coming along? I find the following phrases to be vital to anyone's stay in a French speaking country.

Je bois de bouillon.
Où est le bouillon?
Pourquoi bois tu de bouillon?
Comment de la bouillon?
Combien coute le bouillon?
Je bois beaucoup de bouillon!

I am not sure about grammar, but I think I could make my point clear with those statements.

Anyways, today I had a craving for something I rarely ever drink. Bouillon. Bouillon usually comes in a compact cube of powder that, when mixed with hot water, forms a delicious broth. So yes, it's just broth, nothing else.

It's salty chicken flavoured water and I find it to be delicious.

I just drank .75 liters of it. I'm allowed to, it's my sick day.

There is something in the taste that reminds me of Thanksgiving.
Something in the smell that reminds me of, well, Thanksgiving again.
It's a comforting sensation.

Bouillon is broth, and there is a famous old proverb that goes, "Too many cooks spoil the broth," so I suggest you bustle on over to your kitchen and try out my timeless bouillon recipe... alone. Do it alone or else it will be awful!

Are you ready for my recipe? You might want to go grab a pencil so you can write it down.

Boil half a litre of water. Add bouillon cube. Stir to dissolve. Drink.

[malade]

2009-10-10T21:08:00.008+02:00

I am thankful for... sick days.

Being sick usually just gets me down. I hate the thought of missing out on life, but today's sick day turned into a time for thought and relaxation.

I woke up at 6:00 AM, prepared to head to a Rotex weekend in Chur. The moment I heard my ring-tone blast through the room, I knew today was not going to be a day for adventures. A sore throat and pulsing head sent me to the kitchen for a quick cup of tea and then back into bed.

11:53, my day begins with social networking and spätzli. Instead of taking a four hour train ride, I had stayed in bed and gotten the rest I needed.

I tidyed up my room for a day of relaxation, all to the tune of Jamie Cullum.

I then worked on my agenda, gluing in pictures of lavendar honey and a snippet of an outfit I liked from the newspaper. Red vest. brown jacket. Small bow-tie. I think my brother could pull it off.

By 1:30, it was time to settle into bed again. I grabbed my history books and tried to make a dent in the assigned reading. I have never felt so un-like a student, yet there is no denying my status of a college kid, right now. A college kid who lives in the mountains of Switzerland and fills her days with walks through the village instead of roomates and long lectures.

To the soundtrack of Finding Neverland I made it through a few pages of my assigned reading. I was already curled up in bed and the transition to sleep came easily.

5:30 PM. Good morning world? I'm greatful Christine gave me a call as it kept me from missing out on the rest of this day. I had been dreaming about the history of aircraft in the Italian part of Switzerland, Ticino. It was a scholary dream. I have the vague memory of a house in Kentucky as well. Maybe that is where I will be someday.

I made myself yet another cup of tea, all in the name of hydration and comfort.

I then connected to the world outside my bedroom in the basement through the world wide web.

Unmotivated to stay up in a horizontal position, I crawled back into bed with some books I had selected to read for pleasure. Currently I am working through two simple books.

Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Caroll, 1962.

Daddy-Long-Legs, by Jean Webster, 1912.

Both have timeless canvas covers and were printed in Great Britan.

I lit a candle from the sack and put on some calming Christmas music. Michael Bublé, McFly, and many classics that you know, but you didn't know you knew, sang through my room as I got lost in the worlds of the books I am reading.

Here are some thoughts I have been having today:

Kentucky. I still think about Kentucky all the time, maybe even daily. Will I end up there someday? I've been looking up some Christian colleges located there.

College. I could have had a roomate by this time and been experiencing a new world. Life is full of alternate possibilities. I chose Switzerland.

Anti-social. No, I am not anti-social, being alone on a Saturday night, I am sick and should stay in bed rightly so.

Farewell. Alice flew away from Switzerland today at 7:00 PM. Knowing I don't have a friend to call on at any hour for walks or long conversations leaves me feeling a bit empty. She was such a major part of that which I have come to call my Swiss life.

Bed. I love having a huge bed. I love pulling the covers up to my chin and feeling safe and secure. The sheets are fresh and it feels likes the luxury of a hotel.

Candles. They have the power to change the mood of any room and slow down time.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds...."

George Orwell

[journal]

2009-10-07T01:38:00.003+02:00

“It is better to be making the news than taking it...”

- Winston Churchhill -

Switzerland, what have you done to me? I am so naive.

I got my hands on an English newspaper today.
The man sitting across from me on the train had it in his bag.
I decided that our common language was a bond strong enough for me to ask the favour of reading it.

I now want to make a huge statement as I say that I believe I have not been missing anything by getting absorbed in my own life and forgetting about the outside world. Is that selfish of me?

The man warned me before I read it, he did. He said it was full of bad news. He was right. I simply found it a depressing experience. That is what the English newspaper has become to me.

When I go to Switzerland, my world shrinks to my own existence. I feel so self centered and naive living that way, but it takes more motivation than I have to read about natural disasters in a foreign language. Reading the news just feels like a huge burden to me. I can only read about the recession so many times.

(Side note, here's one article that did catch my eye. It's about the Wood Schools in Denmark.)

[tenir]

2009-10-05T20:14:00.005+02:00

"...we do not mark our lives by dates and times, but instead by moments in our lives."

-Christian Kang-

It's those little moments that I try and try to hold onto, that I never want to forget.

Moments throughout my day such as...

Walking to school with Oleann in the morning, hand in hand. She was cold so I gave her my unusually large shirt. Wrapped up with the sleeves hanging down to her knees, she looked up and said, "I love... Maggie!" and gave me a hug. Walking like that was no easy task.

I almost brought my iPod with me as I walked to pick up Oleann, but if I had, I would have missed this moment. I was approaching a little boy and his nanny who were taking a stroll in the crisp, fresh autumn air. He pointed to me and said, "She. What is the name?" to which I said, "My name is Maggie." His face lit up and he gave me a huge grin, I don't think he expected me to speak or understand English.

Walking to school after lunch with Oleann. Listening to songs from Glee, we twirled down the lane, skipping - Oh Switzerland, did you think I could keep my joy inside? We then proceeded to sing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious as we waved to the old man trimming his hedge.

Smelling Chai tea for the the first time in a while. I had forgotten what it smells like.

Watching Oleann dance around to, uh, interestng music as Floriane studies and I just lounge on the bed with my eyes closed.

Running home from school with umbrellas as weapons, we hid from ghosts and vampires. The boy following us didn't quite know what to think.

Cooking up chicken for dinner, listening to music and having the family come home. Knowing I can help in some way in this family.

Eating burritos... in Switzerland. This is a first for me.

I could show my you schedule, my to do list, but in all honesty, this is what my life is what now. This is what it means.... burritos!

[stupide moment]

2009-10-02T23:24:00.012+02:00

Somedays, well, I'm just not that bright. I'm slightly amazed that I'm still alive, at times.

Anyways, today, it was 4:00 and I was already anticipating youth group coming up that night at 8:00. I thought of how I could make the time waiting not seem so long. I decided to walk there.

I headed out at 6:22 PM.

For those of you unfamiliar with Switzerland, the entire country is filled with these yellow "Wanderweg" signs that show you how many minutes it is to walk to anywhere. You could get to pretty much any place without having a clue where it is, just by following these signs. I decided to put them to a test.

I left from Arzier and my destination was the Gland trainstation, and then to my church.

First reason why it was stupid for me to do this - I still have a brace and was on crutches. The crutches were real life savers, this evening. I used them to hop and run much of the way. They also were handy because...

I ended up with bloody, blistering heels. Just 25 minutes or so in, I realized my shoes were rubbing my feet wrong. Now these are the hiking boots I wear all the time in America without a problem, so I didn't imagine they could do the damage they did. But see the above picture. Blood isn't extreme.

The pathways I took this time weren't always friendly. The path soon decended down hills into a valley and I watched as the sun went down. I picked up my pace as the path lead me deep into the woods. A few times I would surface up to civilization and breath a huge sigh of relief before the path carried me back into the darkness. A little path that curved with each turn of the creek.

I always hoped that my eyes would adjust to the dark quickly because misteps could twist my ankle, which would slow down my pace by half. The path forced me to go up and down steep slopes and underneath tunnels on tiny pathways that I couldn't see.

After and hour and a half of wandering, I reached a bus stop. It was dark and my ankles were causing me grief. I asked the kid ther if the bus was headed to Gland, he said no, so it was back to the train for me. Another hour, the sign said.

Finally, I felt like I reached Gland. I knew I hadn't completed the path but I was sick of the Wanderweg at night so I just left. Then I was in a city with no sense of orientation. I just started walking based on how I felt. Where I thought I should go. It must have worked (go feelings), because after 20 minutes, I ended up at my destination - Youth Group.

Wandering is one of those things I missed a lot about Switzerland. It's addicting, something I could do every day. In fact, I have done it every day since I did that initial 6 mile trek to Gland. It makes me feel fresh, accomplished, and to some extents - free.

[sucre]

2009-09-22T23:32:00.004+02:00

I'm at it again, I cut sugar out of my diet.

I have cut out sugar before, or to put it better, simply sweets.

There are a few reasons why. Mainly, there is a huge trend I can't deny. My body responds oddly to sugar. It doesn't feel so good. I simply feel awful. I realized my diet in Switzerland had too much sugar in it through various sources, all times of the day.

At breakfast there might be jam or Nutella on my bread or sugar in my tea.
For a snack I might have a waffle, half dipped in chocolate, or a Balisto which is simply a cookie with chocolate - but the Swiss consume it as a meal sort of snack. My host family keeps containers of gummy candies and licorice right at eye level. Then, on top of it all, there is your basic Swiss chocolate consumption.

On my birthday, I realized my sugar "addiction" was getting a bit out of hand. I realized that I was constantly consuming sugar and it was doing me no good. I had done weeks without sugar before, in America, and I realized I needed to do it again. Cut out all sweets.

I'm not one for limits. I've hard it can relate to my ADHD, but I have little control. Once I taste a bit, there's no stopping. I have to go all the way or it simply ain't happenin'. I can't try to limit myself to one sweet a day, because after one comes two and two doesn't seem like that much does it now...

I decided not to consume any more sweets (including jam, Nutella, Balisto, sugar in my tea, hot chocolate, or licorice). I would still eat apples and other fruits for some of my daily, natural sugars. If sugar was in my food, no problem, I just didn't want to eat foods that fall into the sugar and fats section of the food pyramid.

Cutting out sugar has made me feel so much better.

I have this insane amount of energy now, which is hard to believe since I always have my ADHD energy built up. I feel lively and more outgoing and excited about life. I don't feel as physically tired. This is a wonderful feeling.

At first, I thought I was just more happy and I didn't know why. After two days, I realized that perhaps the sugar had something to do with it. I'm no scientist, and I know A does not always cause B, but I don't think this is a coincidence. Wouldn't cutting out bad foods have a positive influence on my mentality?

It also saves me money. When I'm out and about, it's the sweets that tempt me. Cookies. Ice cream. Crepes. Now when I'm out, I go for the fruits or grain.

It also saves me, well, calories. I'm not a weight-loss-crazy person, but I do know that Switzerland causes me to gain weight (15 lbs last time, I believe). I'm not worried about weight as much for asthetic purposes as for health issues. I want to be good to my body and I believe stomache aches are it's way of telling me it didn't like all the sugar.

Anyways, I'll keep this up for a week and see if I want to continue. I think it might be good for me. I can already see my mood changing and I like what I see.

[pique-nique]

2009-09-21T16:13:00.001+02:00

Thoughts and Observations and Bulletpoints of September 21, 2009

10:00 - wake up to furniture being moved around upstairs
11:30 eat breakfast and made lunch for day
Caught the train at 1:40 - went to Lausanne
Met up with Kaci, waited for Christine
Five of us total

Went to Coop for food

I bought nothing

Took the metro to Ouchy

Wow. Cool park
Had a picnic
Saw something covered in sheet and surrounded by officials
Watched covered thing in press

Amusing conversations and inspirations
Waited for uncovering

Guessed what it would be
Was a bust
Train to Geneva was late

Waited 16 minutes for train

Gave money to liar who said he needed it
Went to Geneva
Missed transfer train by 3 minutes because other train was late
Wandered for 30 minutes trying to find another way to destination
Got on bus
Hopped off at first stop after realizing it went the wrong direction
Walked back to train station
Bought some bread
Train to Geneve Secheron
Only one at the station
Walked along sketchy, unlit part of Geneva
Searched for the square dance hall
Pass sketchy building covered in graffiti
End up at the United Nations Geneva
Walk back
Realize sketchy building has matching numbers to the square dance hall
Wander around sketchy property
Enter hallway
Hear music
See one square of dancers
Sit
Eat with them and chat in English
Dance a tip
Catch train to Coppet.
See good looking guy on roller skates in Pont Ceard
Arrive in Coppet and transfer to Nyon
Worry that Nadine will miss little train up to village
Train waits for Nadine
Train up the mountain
Arrive in Arzier and get ride home from Nadine
Check out online courses - realize that I need one book
Call parental
Get book taken care of
Final bed time - 2:34 AM
Wake up time the next morning? 7:00 AM

[dix-neuf]

2009-09-19T18:52:00.000+02:00

The day has come.
My Golden Birthday.

On 9/19/09 I turned 19 which, for me, was quite the big deal.

I really do like the number 9. It looks quite lovely to me and now I feel honoured hat I can claim it as mine for the next 12 months.

Joelle had arrived the night before, which was quite the excellent thing. It was great to hang out with her, simply refreshing. That evening, we went over to see Alice and we watched Moulin Rouge. We went upstairs for pizza, which was delicious. At 12:00, Alice had the honours of wishing me, "Happy birthday honey!" which wasn't freaky at all. So I was 19, I guess. That's it.

We never made it through the whole film due to a wee bit of exhaustion on all of our parts.

Joelle and I tottled on home and went to bed.

The next morning - birthday morning - we just chilled for a bit. Lazy day, well, lazy morning, which is such an enjoyable lifestyle. I like waking up, but not having to get up. Even better when you can converse with someone else.

We got up, ate breakfast, went back to bed.
Wrote postcards.
Surfed the net.

We did what Americans do best - hung out. Simply chilling. No purpose to it at all. There is no need to move on or go forward, no time restrictions. One person can just be on the computer while the other reads old magazines.

At around 11:00 it was time to head to France to go shopping for my birthday cake and for the rest of the week in the Coddron residence. Once again, my host mom was extremely accomidating and bought me things I was in dire need of such as lotion. I do so like lotion.

The recipe we were using was from Marina, and my third host mom used to also make it. I absolutely love it. It's a cream, sort of, well, cream. So it's lots of cream with berries and then roasted butter cookies and almonds on top. It is rather delicious. One of those deserts that you can't help but have seconds of.

We headed back to Switzerland, listening to Cake and the Beach Boys.

When we got home, lunch was served, we ate it. That was lovely.

Then Alice, Florian, and Geraldine came over. We all baked up the cake together, well, we didn't bake it. We creamed it up. We tried whipping the cream but it didn't whip but then we read the back and it said you had to chill the cream or bowl or something first. See, in Switzerland they don't keep their milk or cream always in the refrigerator. You can buy it in bulk and keep it in the cupboard for a while without it going bad.

We mixed it all up. Made it all up.

Then it was time to wait for the guests to arrive.

The question is, how many people can I count on to come after I've only been here for around three weeks.

Veronica showed up first, a lovely girl from my language course. She's from Germany. Christine came as well, who is a fellow au pair from South Africa. She makes me happy.

Then Alice and Florian came over and cake was served.

It was a great birthday and I really did enjoy it. I am so grateful for already having such amazing friends in Switzerland. I do feel blessed.

We had some enjoyable conversations, which I liked. We talked about the concept of hanging out, and I found some other folks who are up for nothing evenings at home.

We hung out some more and Oleann and Alex were quite entertaining. I think they turned their cute levels up to the max. They're good at enchanting people.

That evening, we had dinner, and then we were going to watch Moulin Rouge but Joelle and I were just too tired. We went back to bed and read, surfed, did what we wanted to do without doing anything.

I was glad that Joelle had the opportunity to come here for the weekend. I know what it's like to be with a host family in Switzerland. They can be wonderful, but being an exchange student is like a full time responsibility in which you feel an obligation to always act certain ways and conform to certain ideals. It is always a search to find the balance between being with the family, friends, and on your own. That's why I like being an au pair, I'm not expected to do anything but my job.

I checked my facebook and there were 91 birthday greetings. I feel the love people, feel the love.

And that was my birthday. My 19th birthday on the 19th of 2009.

[le linge]

2009-09-17T14:00:00.005+02:00

One of the high points is Thursdays.

Thursdays are wash days for me.

I absolutely love doing my wash in Switzerland. It relaxes me. Makes me feel refreshed.

I love hanging it up, nice and slwoly. Shaking it out in the cool air. Clipping each item on.

I keep my laundry in a pillowcase I got from Ikea. It goes in the very bottom cubby of the second row of my cubboards.

The washing machines in Switzerland take a long time to do their job. It just takes forever. It washes and washes and the machine washes on. I pour the detergent into a small clear sphere with a hole in the top and I put that in the machine. It is one of those machine with a round door on the side so you can see your clothes spin round and round. Back and forth.

Once the cycle is finished I carefully dump them into the laundry basket and carry them up to the patio.

That's when the best part comes, hanging them up on the clothes line. I let them dry in the Swiss Alpine air. So fresh. It blows the clothes crisp and dry.

Pants go on upside down, each pantleg hung up by a clothes pin.
Shirts as well, two pins.
Two socks to a pin.
Underwear, well, I get to decide as I hang it up if it decides one clothes pin or two.

The hope is that it doesn't rain. if it rains, you've got to take all the clothes mighty fast. Luckily, after living in Seattle so long I know the smell and sense of rain. My first time hanging it up, I smelt a bit of rain coming after they clothes had been up for around 55 minutes. I could tell it was coming soon and started to take the clothes down. Sure enough, when I was 25% done it started to sprinkle a bit and so I had to pick up the pace.

I put all the clothes back into the basket and inside to be ironed.

I normally iron while watching a movie or something. I enjoy the ironing as well and like ironing the ribbons on my pyjama pants.

At the end of the whole process I just feel accomplished, clean, and good.
It's laundry thearapy.

"We're just cheering for laudnry!"
-Jerry Seinfeld-

[reconnaissants]

2009-09-16T08:54:00.007+02:00

I want to do a blog of things I am simply grateful for, I do. Here we go.

I am grateful for my American family. My really family. I love their quirks and all those things that make us the Hubert family. I love that Jesus is the foundation of our family.... and music! I love making cookie dough with Dad. Talks with Mom. Walks with Ian. Sometimes I miss living with those folks, in a home where I can blast my music and have jam sessions with my friends at night.

I am grateful for my Belgian host family. They really are good to me. There is a high level of communication between me and the host parents and I know I can talk to them about any little problem to avoid bigger miscommunication. They give me my space and simply expect me to fulfill my duties as an au pair living under their roof. They give me true freedom and allow me to have friends over for visits, even for a couple nights.

I am grateful for my fish.

I am grateful for Alice living across the street and what a good friend she is.

I am grateful for the Hagons who live across the street.

I am grateful for the beautiful walks to school with Oleann and Nadine.

I am grateful that I am allowed to use an awesome bike in Switzerland.

I am grateful for my huge bedroom in the basement.

I am grateful for the orange blanket from Callie and Lorilee before I left.

I am grateful for the shoes and the backpack I got from Monica before I left.

I am grateful for Mr. Chuck and the birthday present I have yet to open.

I am grateful that I have this opportunity to learn French.

I am grateful that I have already found a wonderful youth group.

I am grateful that I was able to visit Obwalden twice already and see my friends.

I am grateful that Lisa was able to lend me her crutches.

I am grateful for the tea last night from Corey instead of having to wait an hour at the station.

I am grateful that my classes start late enough that I can use my Gleis 7 and travel free.

I am grateful that my host family has so many movies that I can watch in French.

I am grateful for the rhubarb yogurt in the refrigerator and the English breakfast in the cubboard.

I am grateful that the last au pair left me some of my favourite Herbal Essence conditioner.

I am grateful my feet don't stink.

I am grateful for all of the pictures people have made for me.

I am grateful that I am living in such a beautiful place, again.

I am grateful that I am able to sleep in till 11:00 each morning, if I choose.

I am grateful that we have wireless internet that I can use.

I am grateful for an iPod full of songs.

I am grateful that I found a way to get a cello for the year.

I am grateful for trains.

I am greatful that when people ask me how I am doing, I can honestly answer with the truth.

I am grateful for Swiss chocolate.

I am grateful for late night walks.

I am grateful for postcards and letters and packages that show up in the mail.

I am grateful that I am in Switzerland.

I am grateful for my friends back home who haven't forgotten me. For the ones that still keep in contact with me likes we we're still together. For the ones I know will still be there for me when I get back. For the ones that give me a reason to come back, someday.

Life here might not always be easy. It is filled with its daily challenges and setbacks. But I know one thing, life is beautiful, and that's one things to be grateful for.

[enflé]

2009-09-10T14:31:00.002+02:00

September 10, 09
Thursday

Two weeks here. What a nice place.

Woke up, ready to inspect my ankle. It's a lovely swollen fat mess.

I biked to pick up Oleann, which was something she didn't like. I don't think she understood at first why I was riding and I tried to explain to her that it was because of my ankle. I have to walk a total of 60 or so minute a day picking her up and taking her to school.

At school, during lunch, I met up with Nadine, another au pair from the German part of Switzerland. We walked back to our houses together which was nice.

For lunch, we had cordon bleu. I guess for now she can get her wish of cordon bleu Thursdays.

I walked back from school, after dropping Oleann off, with Nadine. It is so much better doing the journey with someone, I was grateful.

I rested my foot during the pauses and watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith. There are a lot of guns in this movie.

That evening I had two events to go to. First I went to my first French course. I'm taking the classes through the Migros School. They had already had one class. It's quite the expensive course to take but I think it's worth it if it gets me ahead on my French. It's held in Nyon. On the train ride there I ran into Secil and got to chat with her for a bit.

I had to pay for part of the class, right then and there. That was a bit difficult. While there I met another American, from Utah, and that was refreshing to hear the American accent. It was also encouraging.

I walked into the class to see that everyone already had the textbooks. I had to buy mine next Tuesday.

The course will be every Tuesday and Thursday from 8:10-9:50 and I have to catch the train at 10:53 so I will always have about an hour to fill in the city.

We learned about foods and what kind of food goes best with red and white wine. I'm still not sure if it's the right class for me. I have to learn my very very French basics and it seems as if everyone has learned French before... yet the course is A1 so I don't know what could come before A1.

Nationalities in my class include New Zeland, Poland, Germany, Canada, Sri Lanka, England, and Columbia. I'm the only American, that I know of.

After the class I went over to the Link Au Pair meeting. I knew it would be already over but I figured some people might still be hanging out. On the walk over, through the streets of Nyon, I returned a call I had gotten from an unknown number during class. It was a guy named Silvan who had gotten my number through someone in my youth group in Sarnen. He offered to take me to a youth group the next night. I guess I have plans now, Friday night. 7:30, some person is picking me up at the train station.

I got to the meeting and had time to meet a few people. Link would be such a great resource, it is, but I'm so busy. I hopped on the train home and met another au pair who lived in my village. Stefanie. But she is only here till the end of September so I don't think our paths will cross much. She offered to give me a ride on the back of her motor scooter, and I would have taken it, but when we got to Arzier there were two other au pairs, one of which I knew, at the train station. It was Nadine with a car! So I got a ride from her, quite handy. The other girl was from Zurich.

I got into my room and within 5 minutes I heard a tap on my window. It was Alice, so we went for a walk, despite my ankle, and then went to her house at around 12:20 to look at plane tickets and she showed me a bit of her family and trip to China. That was great.

Then I went to bed, on exhausted, tired little Maggie.

[poissons morts]

2009-09-09T14:34:00.004+02:00

September 8, 09

Tuesday was entertainable.

September 9, 09
Wednesday

Today could be a special day.

9/9/09

So special. I woke up at a reasonable time, 9:09, and decided to go for a small jog. I got ready, turned on some David Crowder headed out, was doing fine when snurp, my ankle twisted.

I collapsed onto the grass and put my head down.

I just sat there for a bit.

It hurt a bit, but I knew it was like all other ankle twists I had. It would heal in about three days time and I would have to be careful for a while. Careful? Not sure how possible that is. I can be careful, but I have to walk to and from Oleann's school 2-3 times a day. I've got badminton. I've got to walk to my French course in Nyon.

Yes, I signed up for a language course in Nyon. I knew that I needed to have some structured French lessons to build up on. I've learned bits in pieces in America and here, but I want to have an instructor knowing if I'd practiced or not.

Anyways, I hobbled on home, just a 15 minute journey or so, so not too bad.

I sank into the couch and just sort of chilled there, writing postcards. Alice, luckily, came over and she fetched some ice and pizza for me. She is so unbelievably good to me.

Gillone and Alex came home and she gave me a cream to put on twice a day. I played with Alex a bit. Went down the stairs. Tidied up a bit. Went over to the neighbors and played a game with Alice and Floriane. Then Gillone called me over to watch Alex while she went to Nyon. He was sleeping. He woke up. We played with a balloon, it was loads of fun.

I set up a clothes line in my bedroom, well, not a clothes line. A string across the ceiling, like Jordan suggested. I hung up my French verb posters, a few pictures, and a few pics friends had made for me (like Raquel!).

We didn't go to bed that night because it was their mom's birthday. At 10:03, Alice came over and we watched a movie.

Then, the worst thing possible happened, it was horrible. I went to check on Mayo Thai. He hadn't been looking good all day. Sort of drifting, and very visibly breathing. I was worried but at least he was moving around. I turned off the filter to give him a rest.

Anyways, I checked on Mayo Thai and he was face down in the rocks. So odd. Was he sleeping? I turned on the filter and he sickeningly began to spin.I felt absolutely horrible. Sick. Mayo Thai was dead! Alice made sure, and indeed, he was no more. She flushed him for me, thank goodness. I could only hide my head in my pillow.

I felt horrible because my host family had done so much for him and I killed him. But then again, I don't know what went wrong. I honestly think he was a sick fish from the start. He was never very, well, active like a normal fish. Maybe the pet shop will give us a new one, but it's not like I can just replace Mayo Thai. He was sick, but still a great fish.

I was afraid to fall asleep and felt disgusting. I hated walking. For some reason, I felt like I would step on Mayo Thai, who was long gone down the in the toilet.

There was no saying good night to Mayo Thai this night.

[ajuster]

2009-09-07T23:28:00.006+02:00

Life has ever so quickly fallen back into a routine.
I'm kind of amazed at how quickly we can adapt and accept new lifestyles.

I'll try and keep these daily notes a bit shorter now, as there isn't much to discover - or is there? I think it's up to me, really, to find those things that make each day special. Otherwise, life just blends into one big mush, just like with babyfood, you can't tell one meal from the next.

I had been gone for the weekend and had yet to see my host family.

For lunch, Oleann and I had little pizza's. I feel like a master chef when I cook up frozen food. I also made sure we got some fruits and vegetables into our digestive system.

The day was simply regular.

In the evening it was time for badminton. I got a tap on my window at around 8:25 from Alice. She said she wasn't going to be going that night. She wasn't feeling to great, which isn't a good thing. So Nicholas and I went down to the school to play, but now one else was there that evening to play because the club had some sort of meeting. But we played on and talked about barbarian Swiss people, fighting off bears, and walking to get Alpen cheese.

Walked on back home.
Turning off Mayo Thai's light signals that it is time for the world to sleep.

[sentiments]

2009-09-04T20:26:00.000+02:00

Two ideas. Notes. Thoughts in my head.

1. Everyone here speaks freakin' British English
and
2. I am home.

Every little bit of me screams with joy as I ride the train. Ok, that sounds weird. But I've only been on the train for 40 minutes and I can't help but smile. I don't even mind the fact that my yogurt is the plainest flavour ever - not even vanilla.

This is Magi reporting live, 'cause I ain't dead yet, from the train from Nyon to Lausaane, the 2nd train in my 4 train journey back to where I did my exchange last year.

It is such an odd feeling, such a good feeling. I feel sort of numb, excited. It's unbelievable.

It's like my Swiss year was just a dream and this trip will reconfirm that it actually happened.

The train passes through fields of sunflowers, wheat, Swiss houses. I can see France across the water and the mountains that divide Italy from Switzerland and France.

Is it possible to feel such a belonging when alone on a train? It's like a much desired hug. One that reassures me of my reality.

I could stay here forever. Is that horrible of me to say? To think?

I then feel bad. Have I so quickly forgotten the people back home that were so good to me. The friendships that are greater than any spacious landscape. The feeling of love.

Love versus this odd feeling I get by looking at fields and mountains. I do sound like a cold person. Perhaps a loner, but I don't think that is so.

Switzerland is better than I remembered. I wish you could see each minute. Every turn is a new landscape and each one is wonderfully crafted. Even the populated areas are beautiful and have their own quaint charm. I was afraid of being disapointed, that this small country would be unable to compare with how I envisioned it in my mind for the past 13 months.

I don't think I'll be able to leave Switzerland a second time, but little steps. I've only been here for 8 days, just 51 or so weeks to go. Will that be enough to last me a lifetime?

[semaine]

2009-09-03T09:42:00.003+02:00

September 3, 2009
Thursday

I arrived on a Thusday.
Today is Thursday.
That means I have been here for a week.

Thursdays are pretty regular days, and it feels weird to say that.

I meant to sleep in, honest I did, but I just don't like sleeping that much. I love living in the morning. I got up at around 8:00 and fed Mayo-Thai. I buzzed around the house a bit. I washed my clothes, hung them up to dry.

It started out slightly clear but turned out to be just another rainy Thursday. I do feel like I'm in Seattle again.The weather here is crazy. It downpours one minute. Or just 5 minutes ago I couldn't see across the lake and it was grey. Now it is sunny and I can see to France, but it's so windy I can't use an umbrella.

I spent the afternoon watching Moulon Rouge and crafting postcard.

For lunch, we had Cordon Bleu. Oleann informed me that we should have it every single Thursday from then on. I'm not too sure about that yet.

We made our way back to school with perfect timing.
I walked home with speed.

When I went to pick up her up after school, she was one of the last ones out at around 3:08. I asked her how she was and just looked at me like she was going to cry. I felt horrible. We made our way to the English school, before home. It started to downpour at points and it was too windy for an umbrella. We quickly made our way home, she had a headache and a stomach ache. I put her on the couch and let her rest in the company of Alvin and the Chimpmunks. After which she felt better. I still had her rest a bit more and we ended up reading together.

The day continued on.
Fresh air.
Bonne nuite.

[chaussettes]

2009-09-02T10:06:00.003+02:00

It's Wednesday.
It's sort of my day off, but not.

I woke up at 7:20 to chill with the Alex kid while Gilone went to a meeting with Oleann's teacher. Alex and I. We played for a bit, but in the end resorted to television. I'm not normally one to do that, but they said it was fine and I was still waking up. The Twinings English Breakfast tea takes a bit of time to work.

After she got back, the three of us headed into Nyon. First we went to the licencing department to switch licence plates.

Then we went to Coop. They are so good to me. They knew I wanted Rivella, my favourite Swiss drink, badly and hadn't had it in a year. I couldn't help but smile every time it was mentioned. First I got my ID photos for my rail passes. Then we got Rivella. As usual, I was asked if I needed anything, I didn't... except Rivella! Alex got a Pokemon ball with candy and a toy. I was given one..

Onwards to the train station.

I've been thinking for a while what I would do for in terms of rail travel, my favourite way to get around. Last time I was in Switzerland I had a GA from Rotary. Now it would cost me around $2,000 to get it. It's for a year and gets you on everywhere in the entire country by boat, train, and bus. Really a great deal.

$2,000 is a lot so I looked into some other options. The best one was a combination of the Half Tax and Rail 7. The Half Tax is only around $140 and gets me all fares for just half the price. That's not such a horrible deal really, specially considering a round trip to my old hometown and back would cost me more than $145 alone. The Rail 7 gets me all train travel after 7 PM for free. Since I would be traveling mostly in the evening, it was a great deal. It will pay for itself after this weekend when I save $154 on ticket prices. Altogether I spent $242 on rail passes, but it was well worth it and they will last me a year.

Then I said I wanted to buy a fish. I did. I had been planning on getting a fish since America when I took care of Sarah's dear fish. We went to the pet shop and looked around. After 5 minutes someone told us the shop was actually closed. By then, I had already learned it would cost me around $55 to get started with a fish, bowl, water cleanser, food, and a plant.

I thought about it for a while and realized I might not be able to afford a fish. I mean, that could be a college textbook or 60 new pairs of socks. My host mom said we would go back that evening but I later told her I would pass.

Oleann came home for lunch.
We ate.
Alex napped.

Gilone had to go back to Nyon for her car licencing and asked if I could watch the kids. Yep. I could do that. Oleann and I worked on English and Alex continued to nap. After English we went upstairs to find Alex cheerfully reading a book about pirates. We played with the Guinea pigs and I thought they would die but they didn't.

Daniel came home.
I went and learned French.

I Skyped with Charlotte in China. Then Alex came and talked with her. Then he left.

Then I heard a tapping on my door. I opened it to find Gilone with a box with bags in it. A fish! They got me a fish! I asked how much and they said it was a gift. I was oh so joyful. I had fish!

So, my fish's name is Mayo-thai. Mayo as in mayonaisse.

I've started to create an enviroment for the little guy. He is so wonderful! I can just watch him swim. And he is a Beta fish. And he is my fish. I have a fish world!

Maggie - Fish Owner

Dinner was little hot dog style sausages wrapped in bacon. Soo good. And we had green beans with ham. Also delicious.

Then, 8:00 came.
Badminton.

I was so excited and looking forward to it. I don't really play badminton and haven't touched a raquet in a long time but I wanted to give it a go.

Swiss schools don't have sport teams so teens have to go elsewhere to stay active. They join sport clubs. This was the badminton club.

At 8:20 there was a tapping on my window. It was Alice and her host brother Nichola. I said good night to my host family and headed out. The club is held at Oleann's school.

I had so much fun playing. We started doubles with a girl whose named sounded like Sicily, Nicolas, Alice, and I. I thought I would be awful but I wasn't half bad. After a while we broke off and just Alice and I played. Then she had to go on so I went over and asked some random kid to play with me for a while - I wanted to play and I didn't care who with. It was a sold hour and forty five minutes of play and I was worn out and exhausted by the end. My right arm still feels odd the next morning.

I'll be able to play twice a week.

I'm really relieved because I've been looking for some sort of physical activity to partake it. I want to do curling but I don't know if I can commit to something because I might have to babysit sometimes. I'm still looking into it, though. I also have to see about square dancing.

I'm stoked for the end of September when I get to participate in an orienteering something.I don't know what it is. It'll be 6 km or so and it's in Zurich. I get to do it with Roswita, Coni, and a few other people. It's a good motivation to get moving.

After the game, we all headed home. Alice met us at the school. Apparently she never made it home because she got lost. Poor Alice, who just might read this. I felt bad. We'll have to walk the route a few more times so she can get it memorized. It's a right out of the parking lot, second left turn (first real left), follow the road till you come to the fork and follow it to the right, stay on it till the T and then turn right, then take the left onto our street. Voila.

A very tired and maybe even sweaty Maggie arrived home around 10:15. I showered, put on my paper airplane pyjamas, and went to bed with a very satisfying feeling.

[pleuvoir]

2009-09-01T08:37:00.003+02:00

September 1, 2009

It's September, finally.

I absolutely adore this month, I really do. It's the month of important dates such as my birthday and life getting colder. I don't like absolute cold but a bit is fine.

I think rain is a hideous French word. I will be honest, it makes me want to shudder. Want to see it? Pluie. Go ahead, try and make it sound beautiful, and somehow the natives do, but I don't like looking at it. I'll take my rain or regen any day.

Tuesdays are my cleaning days, if ever there were one. I vacuum the entire house. I woke up, got dressed, and got to work, which for me is actually fun. I blasted the Lion King, in French of course, through the house so the neighbors would know what I was up to.

I dusted. Cleaned. Danced. They all go hand in hand you know.

Time to pick up Oleann.
Picked up.
Home.
At some Knacki (like skinny American hot dogs).
Took her back to school.
Continued cleaning.

Oh! I did some wash, that was fun. I hung out all my clothes to dry. It was a warm, windy day which made the process go quickly. I love hang drying clothes. I like the way they feel after they dry. I went outside to check on them, 10 minutes before it was time to pick up Oleann, when I smelled rain. I felt like it was coming. I figured it might be good to take them inside, and, sure enough, the moment my hand touched the first piece of clothing it started to sprinkle.

I felt like a speedracer as I unclasped off all my clothes.
Ran to pick up Oleann.
We wandered in the rain together.

Got home.
Ate some yogurt.
Learned English.

Then, we played on and we played hard. I did some crafting with boxes, a new hobby of mine.

Gilone and Alex came home and she asked me to play with him for a bit while she helped Oleann with her studies. No problem for me. Alex and I played ball outside fo the entire duration of time.

It rained some more. The clear skied Arzier I had come to love was turning into a mess of grey. Sometimes you could barels see past the train tracks in our backyard. I felt right at home. It felt good. Smelled better.

Gilone was gone for dinner because she was getting a new car. A company car. A car from her company. Daniel cooked up some pasta and sausages.

By the time it was time for my evening walk, it was raining quite a bit - but that doesn't stop someone whose lived in Seattle most of her life. I allowed myself an umbrella, since I'm in Switzerland, and headed out to meet with Alice. We wandered a ways, but after about 8 minutes, the lightening started and it's not a safe thing to walk in such conditions. We strolled on back. Came home. Watched some of Annie.

Bed.

[routine]

2009-08-31T08:28:00.003+02:00

Aug 31

The last day of August. Tomorrow September starts.

Speak of which, my birthday is next month. You ought to write me a letter.
Here is my address:

Margaret Hubert c/o Familie Coddron

Chemin des Cerisiers, 5

CH-1273 Arzier

Switzerland

That's right, get out a piece of paper and sketch me a quick note. I'll write back with a postcard. I love getting mail and for those in college, this is a great way to insure that empty post box get's filled up.

Today was my first day of doing what I will be doing.

I woke up at 8:45 to try and establish a routine.

Empty the dishwasher.
Eat breakfast.
Clean up my mess.
Blog.
Tidy up my room.

My breakfast was one piece of bread with butter and jam, Twinings English Breakfast tea with sugar and cream, rhubarb yogurt, a pear, and two tiny plums.

11:40 - time to pick up Oleann from school. I arrived. Sat with the other moms. Out she came! I love our walks together. Even if I can't speak French, we find ways to communicate and laugh together. Always laughter.

At home, most of lunch was set up. We were going to have bread, meat, cheese, and carrots. I got out my curried chicken leftovers and ate that. We cleaned up afterwards and then listened to a book on tape.

Time to go back to school. We rode our bikes this time. I held the little red paper for her as she put in her combination. After a few tries, she gave it to me to open, I succeeded. I rode back. The air was warm. I felt good, free. I was in Switzerland again on a bicycle and it was to early to think about the end.

An hour and a half? What to do in such an awkward amount of time? I began my solo French studies by learning some conjugations of words I knew I needed to know. I must have eaten a few plums.

Before I knew it ,it was time for me to pick up Ollean again. So I got on my bike and made the 3 minute trek to her school. We got her bike free and rode on. I'm glad I can bike up hills. When we approached the last stretch, she was going fast towards the road and I yelled out, "Attent" or, "Slow down!" She didn't and a car was coming, Luckily she fell to the side, knocking the chain off her bike and shoving her onto the gravel. The car had seen her, relief. It waited for a moment to make sure she was ok and we signaled it to move on. I wasn't too pleased. Not mad, just not pleased. So we had a quick English-French talk on stopping at the gate. My intent was understood.

We went home for a Balisto, me carrying her bike with one hand and pushing mine with the other. Balistos are so good, like a cereal bar with a whole lot of chocolate. Time to start English time.

The host rents have requested that I work with Oleann for at least 10 minutes a day on English. 10? We can do more than that. I didn't have the English coursework yet so we played our own games. To get her excited about making accomplishment, we developed a handshake that we did when I thought she had accomplished something worth noting. 30-40 minutes later, we decided we were done.

This is the point when my time with her is optional. I have to be in the house, be with her, but not play all the time. But I'm still in the honeymoon phase and life is new, we played some more. We played Petshop and then she went to play with Floriane. Floriane was loaded with homework but Alice came over instead. We went inside with the intent of seeing the Guinea pigs. We checked them out and then Oleanne got out a few books and had Alice and I each pick one from a series. I picked one out that turned out ot be about girls making a band or something. Without reading the title, Alice picked out one about, well, I'm not sure. Alice was talking with Floriane, who had just arrived. I finally was picking up on some words, "Sexuelle." Which was repeated multiple times. In a kids book? Then I finally I asked for a translation. Turns out Alice's book was about a boy and his penis and vaginas. I'm still not entirely sure but I put the book away.

Floriane and Alice when home. Oleanne and I set the table. Then, I let her play and I tidied up my room a bit.

Someone came home and I was off duty. Dinner was these wonderful sausage roll-ish bundles called "Bird Heads" in Belgium. Delicious.

It was a bit after 8:00 and time to go for a walk. I do so like going for my walks. Floriane asked me if I had taken my medication, which I hadn't. I got to say good night to her and then Alice and I set out on our miny adventure of a walk. I wanted to go down hills, so we could walk up them in the end.

We got home.
Time for bed.
Just another day in Switzerland.

[france encore]

2009-08-30T14:33:00.001+02:00

Aug 30 09

Sunday morning.

I just arrived so I haven't had time to find a church. Old Cedar Park Northshore Podcasts will suffice till I can find a congregation. Thanks for the tip, Heather.

I woke up to tapping on my door and the announcement that we were going to the market. I guess we needed more food, this time fruit. I threw on some clothes, rushed up stairs and began on my favourite breakfast.

We all got into the family van and headed out. In the car, we all listened to Mika. The kids favourite song is "Lollipop" and I think we went through at least three encores before any other song came on. They knew the words. We all sang together. How happy.

When we got there, Daniel asked if I felt different in France. What? We were in France again? Oh joyous day.

I guess shopping in the market is a popular thing because the streets were packed like Pike Place during tourist season - but there weren't any tourists to be seen. We were there for fruit. Wonderful fruit. Precious fruit. We got plums. Lots of mini plums, I was delighted.

I played with the kids by the brook and Alex dipped his foot in the water and got it wet. We wandered through the streets, quite the task with 5 of us trying to stick together. We stopped at a butcher's stand and got some raw meat and sausages. Time to go back to the car.

Drove home.

The family napped.

I played Rush Hour with Oleann a bit.
I made myself a bank out of our take out containers as well as a few picture stands.

We piled into the car, for a second time, for a trip to Nyon. Time for Maggie to see the great city. We strolled the water front. The Swiss are big on family Sundays and it was evident as we saw parents, kids, and grandparents all together walking along.

On the water, they had a huge slide. It wasn't regulated, but it was huge, wide, and steep. When people when down it they would skid on the water for a few feet before sinking in. I love Switzerland. I love how they can have that and not worry about being sued. Kids would run up it and fall down again or climb up by holding onto the sides.

We walked into the heart of the city for some much needed ice cream. It must have been the best ice cream in the region because the line coming out of the shop was extensive. It would even rival Molly Moon's. I was informed that indeed, it was the best.

We waited our turn and ordered. I got cinnamon, a good choice in my opinion. I think Oleann disagreed after a small lick. Perfect summer days. Water. Ice cream... all over the kids' faces. Smeared on. Dripping onto the cobblestone streets.

Daniel and I talked about the economy a bit and how Switzerland hadn't suffered as much as places such as the UK and Iceland.

I bought four postcards.

We headed back to the water. To the playground. Played. Then Alex had to go the bathroom. We went home. On the car ride home I showed them the cow hand shake and we built thumb towers.

Back home it was time to talk about the schedule. I found out that life would be a lot less strenuous than I thought it would. I don't even have to take Oleann to school in the morning every day which means some days I don't have to be anywhere till 12:00. I'll talk more about my responsibilities and schedule in another blog.

Dinner was bread, meat, and cheese. They had this really strong cheese that was unbelievably awful.

After dinner I went for another stroll with Alice. I enjoyed her company and we did friend profiles. I told her about some of my summer mates and my best friends. We went back to my room and hung out a bit, then she had to go home and help her host dad with a translation.

Good night world.

[france]

2009-08-29T10:35:00.000+02:00

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.

[deux jours]

2009-08-28T22:00:00.000+02:00

I am so greatful they let me sleep in.

So I did. Till 10:00.

My first Swiss breakfast made me feel so good, like every breakfast from here on out will. I love bread with butter or Nutella and a cup full of hot chocolate. That is what I eat. I heard Alex running around the house when I woke up and Mammi (the grandmother) calling out after him, with the occasional loving scold.

I literally played all day.

Every minute was filled with play, if I wasn't eating.

At 11:30, Alex and I headed out together to pick up Olean from school. Alex is a very slow walker, or perhaps galloper.

From what I can tell, his second favorite toy is his hobby horse. He goes everywhere with it between his legs and pauses every 5 steps to stroke its mane. It's a very slow process and then I understood why we needed the 30 minutes for a walk that takes me around 7 minutes.

There she was waiting for us in a purple and white gingham (I think) dress and pigtails. Such a sweet girl.

Touche saved the day!

aka Tag

With the kids racing after each other, we got home pretty soon. I have to admit, I'm a sucker for kids that grab my hand and hang on on sunny days. I felt quite blissful. Alex on my right. Ollean on my left.

Lunch was bread, meat, and cheese.

We played touche and cache in the yard. Tag and hide and go seek.

Then we heard a crash and I looked to where it came from, my bedroom. The windows were in tact so I wasn't sure what it was. It wasn't until later that I discovered the huge poster of Seattle (my host dad's) that was in a frame had crashed. The glass was everywhere and we couldn't even open my door.

Diareehe. Yeah. Poor kid had it. Flowed onto the cement. It was gross.

Then we walked Olean back to school.

Alex and I played on the playground until it was time to go home, which was when I said so. Go me.

We skipped on back home singing the one of the two songs I know in French, "Jingle Bells."

At home, it was time for his nap and I volunteered to help with the clean up. First, it was the glass. Glass shards covered my floor. Erk. Welcome to Switzerland?

Then I dusted and vacuumed. Went to my room for a bit till it was time to pick up Olean. I got her, we alked home.

The rest of my work day was all play, literally. That is what I do.

I just found out today that I don't actually have to play with the kids all the time. In some ways, its a relief. It other ways, I don't mind it. I just don't know if I could do it for a whole year. It does keep me active though, running constantly.

Daniel came home and I was free to go downstairs. I did.

We all ate together. It was some dish with leeks (I think), potatoes, onions, eggs, and bacon. It was good.

Then I went for a walk with Alice.

Alice is a wonderful girl from South Hampton, England who is going to be an au pair for the family across the street. She's fantastic. I think we walked for about an hour. We were in the woods and the dark made it hard to find our way home, but we did. I'm quite grateful to have her here. I love being with the host family, but I need interaction with people my age, sometimes, and its hard to get without going to school each day.

I got home.

Logged on.

Logged off.

Read my Bible.

Slept.

What a life.

[here i am]

2009-08-27T21:42:00.000+02:00

I arrived in Switzerland at around 9:30 in the morning, their time. For me, it felt like it was around 12:00 at night, but I didn't feel all that tired, I was too excited.

Flying into Switzerland was surreal. Amazing. It felt so good. It's hard to explain, but it was like this huge weight had been lifted because I knew that I had another chance to live here. Another year. There is no stress for me to get everthing done, I have time.

My host father, Daniel, met me right outside the baggage claim. He really is a great guy and easy going. It was a huge relief. He also is quite fluent in English which made it possible to converse.

I started to see sights I hadn't seen, brands I had forgeten, as we drove on the main road. We passed a bright red "Denners" truck.

Once we got home, I was introduced to my host grandmother. She will be here for a few days to show me around since the host parents have to work. We drank some French water and I started to unpack. That's when the fatigue hit me. I didn't feel all that motivated to move in, but I did... msotly.

My room.

It's huge. It has room for a queen or kings sized bed, a large desk, bookshelf, couch, a wall of closet space, and an extra twin mattress on the floor if I so desired.

The main wall is orange concrete or something. I couldn't be happier.

It was then time to pick up Olean from school. This is the feeling I had missed.

Her school is about a 10 minute walk from home. As we approached the school, you could see the younger siblings of the current students playing, parents talking. This is a community.

Olean was one of the last students out and I was greeted with a hug. I could tell I was going to like this girl already.

On the way home, I loved watching her. The way she skipped, danced around. She picked flowers and greens for our guinae pigs. She smiled, laughed, held her father's hand.

I can understand bits and pieces of French. I have a long ways to go, but I can get the gist of things if I know the context.

For lunch we all shared a giant "omlette," tomatoe salad, and the beloved Swiss bread.

Then me and Olean had a chance to play before she went back to school. We threw the basketball around, waved to the train passing by, and checked out the bicycles. We played this balancing shapes game for a good 15 minutes. Soon, it was time to take her back to school and this time it was just me.

When I got to the school, the playground and fields were filled with children. It made me so happy. It was a bright sunny day and the parents were chatting and watching the kids from the sidelines. Olean and I joined two of her classmates for some blackberry picking.

She gave me a tour of the grounds and made sure I knew which classroom was hers. I said good bye and began the walk home.

At home, it was just me and the grandmother. She allowed me to continue to unpack and rest, without sleeping. At 2:45 I walked back to pick her up.

All the moms were in groups so I just sort of stood there. I heard someone speaking English with her children.

Olean came.

We walked hom.

We grabbed some yogurt from the fridge and enjoyed it on the patio. Olean just speaks French to me and I listen and hope I don't say "oui" to the wrong thing.

Then it was time to play. We opened up her piggy bank and got out a few franks and headed over to the village shop. It was full of kids picking out drinks and gummi candies. Olean got a push pop sort of sucker and I got two gummi candies. We played on the playground. Ran across the field. Checked out the new benches that were being built. Ran back to the play ground. Ran to the back of the school where there was a partial skatepark. Walked around the school some more. Went into someone's field to hide in their tree. More walking.

We finished our journey and home and got to work on the balancing shapes game, again. We also played Dora the Explorer.

This is when the exhaustion hit me. I had to focus on not closing my eyes. Finally, I gave in and went downstairs. My one minute nap turned into and hour and it felt good.

More unpacking.

Olean was playing with the neighbor girl.

Alex and Gilean arrived at home. Time to meet the rest of the family.

Alex gave me a polite "bonjour" and a kiss on the cheek. Gilean was wonderful as she welcomed me and asked about how my flight had been. Her English is great as well.

Alex, Olean, and I ran outside and played until it was dinner time. First Olean read a book to us and Alex started to warm up to me. Before long I felt like it was just another babysitting job, in a god way. In that comfortable, I can do this, sort of way. Rolling around on the ground together. Bouncing the ball. Laying in the grass. Playing "touche" - tag. Lots of laughter.

Gilean brought me my first letter from Roswita!

For dinner we had spaghetti which was quite satisfying. The small glass of wine tasted good as well, something they don't give me in America.

That was pretty much my day. They figured I would be tired, which I am, and told me I could go to sleep. I chose to go for a 35 minute walk around the village gathering information on the trains, the library, and community gatherings.

I arrive at home at 8:55 PM and here I am now.

I am so greatful to be here. I am so relieved. My host family is wonderful. Yes, I know it's the first day and most are, but you can normally get a basic sense of how it could be. I have a lot to learn with my French and that will be essential in guiding the kids. I am supposed to give them limits, and that won't be possible if they can't understand me. All in time. But for now, I know that I can meet the most important requirement and love their kids.

[au revoir]

2009-08-26T10:22:00.000+02:00

It is 1:24 AM in the morning.

I need to get up in 4 hours to get ready to go to the air port.

I am exhausted, wasted, and so grateful that my friend Jenny helped me get everything packed up even when it is so late at night.

It was kinda fun? No. Sort of. Not really.

I normally blog my feelings about leaving. I did that last time. I think I'll try to summarize how I feel here:

"I am excited to go to Switzerland. I will miss America."

And that is simply how it is. I am stoked to see small glimpses of my Swiss life again, I'm thrilled to get a new life style, I am eager to go to Migros, I can't wait to meet my new host family.

But America, you were good to me. Thanks for the memories. I've found quite a few amazing friends over here, especially in the past year. People I never thought I would get close to. They are great.

Can you hear the enthusiasm?

Good night.

[rêverie]

2009-08-22T20:14:00.000+02:00

A dreamer, is that what I am?

I don't think so.

But one of my favourite things to do lately is this -- I love laying down, closing my eyes, and walking my way through memories. I like walking to my Swiss school, walking through my host homes, meandering the hallways of the Kantonsschule Obwalden. I take every step, look around and let my mind fill the holes of my memory.

It makes me feel sort of strange.

Lonely.

But then I get this child-like, giddy sensation when I realize I will get to see these sights once more.

Other Notes & Updates

Packing

Still going strong, I am gettingit so all the belongings in my bedroom are the ones I am taking with me to Switzerland. Eveything else is getting packed up.

Good Byes

I am not too focused on that and I've already come to face the reality that I won't get to say "good bye" to many of the people I want to. But I guess that's how life goes, and farewells aren't exactly my favourite thing in the world.

I've said good bye to a lot of important people to me lately. The ones I know I could count on for everything and anything.

Just a small handful of friends remains that I know I'm going to see at least once before I leave including Jenny, Monica, Chrisitan, Alyssa, and my grandparents.

Countdown

As I write this, I have a total of 2 full days left in America, 70 hours, 4225 minutes, 253543 seconds.

[blog règlement]

2009-08-13T18:03:00.000+02:00

As always, my blogs have rules and purpose to them.

There is a reason to why I write.

There are things I won't write.

First, since this new family is like an employer, I want to protect their privacy. I will never write negative thoughts about them online, if I should have any. I will not make fun of any differences in a demeaning manor. I will not reveal private things about them.

Also, until I have their permission, I will not write their family name or their children's names. I just picked two random names so we'll go with Jérôme and Caroline till I get permission to use their real names, if I do. Jérôme is three. Caroline is 7.

In general, I will not write about my negative experiences, if I should have any, as they are happening or right after the fact. I will wait till life is back to normal and I have seen the good that came out of it. I record positive memories I want to remmeber, and learning experiences I want to go back to.

My purpose in writing is first for myself, as I am quite the selfish person. I am greatful that I have blogged consistantly since I was younger and I still enjoy looking back on my words. It is my online recording of life. I write online blogs because I feel a slight obligation to keep them coming for the people who do read them. It also ensures that I write out things I would want to remember in the past.

My second purpose is for those who do want to keep updated on my happenings. Apparently, people read these. I know this between the comments posted and people talking to me about it in real life. No one should feel obligated to read these, and I know no one feels that way, but if you're bored and want to know what I'm up to - read on.

[rêve]

2009-08-13T17:33:00.001+02:00

I've got less than two weeks left in America and it seems like every day has already been laid out before me, planned out to the minute.

Since I left Switzerland, it's like I've had this ever-so-almost-constant pain, a longing to go pack... did I say pack? I meant back. Longing to go back. When I think about that place, I feel sick and a tightness in the pit of my stomach. I really do want to go back.

For me to imagine going back there - wow - t's this unbelievable feeling. I can hardly believe that it is coming true. I can't believe I will soon be living in Switzerland again.

See, when I left Switzerland and came back to the United States, it was as if my Swiss adventure had never happened. Since no one here in America, in my daily life, had experienced it with me, I didn't have a confirmation of its existence in my daily life. Therefore, Switzerland became something of a dream to me.

Here's are a few select update on various topics:

Packing

Packing and cleaning my room is an ongoing, daily task that I have to deal with. I am constantly trying to purge my life of all of these belongings I have acquired over the past 18 years. It feels good to throw it all away, or at least donate it.

Last time when I left, I knew I was coming back here for another year. Now, I don't know when I'm coming back and I don't know if I'll be living at home when I do. I do know I don't want all of my belongings to follow me for the rest of my life. It is a satisfying feeling to know my meterial life can fit in two suitcases.

I am glad that this time, as I go overseas, I know more what I need to pack. I know what they have there that I like, such as office supplies and body wash, and I know what I want to take with me, such as Reese's and shoes.

I am still figuring out what I need to purchase before I go and this list is a bit too extensive for my comfort including items such as a suitcase (how I wish it could be orange), a backpack for my laptop, additional adapters and converters, photo album gifts for my past host families, and a Webster's New World French Dictionary. My hope, not something I am counting on or really even imagining possible, is another lens for my digital SLR, but I don't see that happening.

Driving

I want to be able to drive for my host family, but currently I am wondering how safe it would be for me, a new driver, to do it. I also don't know that I can get my licence in the next 12 days with so much going on.

French

I am so excited to learn French, it's such a beautiful language. My basic knowledge of Spanish, German, and an insignificant amount of Italian, is quite useful in learning French. I study it daily and write down key words and phrases in a yellow notebook. The thing that is a true struggle for me is the pronunciation. Luckily I know a few people fluent, and there's a great free online program through my library system. This new program is, in my opinion, superior to Rosetta Stone on many levels and is just what I need.

Not Going To College

Of course I have those feelings as I talk to my friends who are going to college. I can imagine what my life would be like if I had chosen to attend schools such as Ripon College or Trinity Western. I would be preparing for dorm life, stoked to live with others my age going through the same thing. I think about all the progress they will be making in that year, how they will meet so many people and experience so many things, but then I have to remember that what I'm doing is what's right for me. I need a year off to make some money, travel, think, and live. I think I will be more mentally prepared and mature for college in a year.

Saying Good Bye

The reality is I won't be able to say good bye to everyone I want to. That's ok with me, too, I guess. I really am not a fan of saying it and I know I'll be back in one to two years.

So, I guess progress has been made. Life is just turning into one giant countdown, it's like New Years Eve stretched out over the course of two weeks.

If you are interested in saying good bye, be at my house at 7:00 to 10:00 on the 20th of August. You can email me for directions. I would love it if you could just stop by and say "hi" or something.

[à plus]

2009-08-08T19:36:00.000+02:00

"à plus"

"Yeah, I'll see you later."
No. I won't see you for quite some time.

You know what? I think I'm getting much better at good byes. I don't find them as emotionally draining any more. I don't need to think through them too much anymore.

Good bye can be temporary or pernament.

The truth I hold onto is that I know I can see them again if I have a strong enough will. It could take me a life time, but I know I could see them again. It might be in my forties, after I saved a dollar a week for a couple weeks, but it is possible.

There are temoporary good byes (see you later, see you next week, etc)
and certain good byes (I'll see you in 11 months)
and uncertain good byes (good bye).

Uncertain good byes are those ones where you honestly don't know if you'll see that person again. Sometimes they are the ones where you know you won't see the other person again, regardless of how much they meant to you.

What I like is that greetings are unrecorded, often unexpected moments, but farewells are celebrated and expected moments in which we look back to that one unexpected moment.

Life between the unexpected and the expected.

[admettre cela]

2009-08-06T22:18:00.000+02:00

Sometimes, reality just seems weird. We can't picture a life alternate to what we have.

During my Sophomore year of high school, I couldn't picture going to a Swiss school and living with a different family. During my year abroad I couldn't imagine life back in America. Now I am in America and I spend hours imagining the life that lays before me.

Not hoping and wishing, just dreaming.

It feels good to let myself think away.

I have to admit, I see myself as a Snow White figure in Switzerland - happily singing as I clean. We'll see how that works out. I do enjoy housework that is not my own, though, so that could be good.

If I just have to love their kids and take care of them, I'll be fine.

That is what I love to do.

Saying good bye for at least 13 months feels weird.

It's odd to say good bye and not know when I'll be back.

Then again, isn't that what I did when I left Switzerland? I was gone for 14 months and now I'm headed back. When I left, I didn't even know when I was coming back.

On and on life goes.

I think I like it this way.

[save the date]

2009-07-23T07:12:00.000+02:00

Got a message from the future host dad - is that what he is?

A host dad? How do you refer to the family you are an au pair for?

Anyways, he's looking at tickets for the 26th of August, so I guess I just might be heading out on that date.

35 days.

35 days in America.

Is that what we're doing with life. Always living forwards, towards a future date. Working towards a goal. Living with some deadline in mind. In high school we were looking towards college, and after college, marraige, and onwards it goes.

But, I'm keeping busy enough as of now with life, no time to think of Switzerland... 'cept those short moments when people inquire. Those times at night when I freely give my mind the privlidge of wandering through Switzerland. I like letting my go on like that, it just makes me smile.

"I bought him an attractive bird cage made in Switzerland."

-Charles F. Kettering-

To Be An Au Pair

2009-07-20T04:51:00.001+02:00

Deciding to go was like a huge sigh of relief for me. I knew what I was going to do next year. I had a plan. Relief. And then again, there is a little part of me that is anxious about going.

I am oh so excited to go, don't get me wrong, but I wonder about my qualifications. I am worried about letting them down.

There are two main things I need to work on and attempt to conquer: French & Driving.

Français & Conduite

Can I do it? I only want to please this family, as I am working for them. I hope they will understand that I will do all I can to serve them, but there are some things I just can't do, yet.

I told them before that my driving was limited and that my French was near to non-existent. Anyways, this is different than an exchange. On exchange, it was my job to learn German and adapt to the culture, all of a sudden I'm getting paid to do this and I need to give back my services in return.

As for age, I'm only 18. That's the youngest you can be when you want to be an au pair. Their last one was 23 or 24 or something.

I guess I need to just keep reminding myself that I am, indeed, qualified for this job to most extents. I love working with kids and enjoy my time with them, and that's what matters. I can clean. I am willing to serve.

[nouveau départ]

2009-07-20T03:32:00.000+02:00

Hoi Zämä,

A new year.
A new adventure.
A new blog.

Last time I restarted a blog was 2007, 2006, or something. I was writing about going to Switzerland on exchange. I was nervous, excited, and ready for a new adventure.

"But these emotions are so weird. I mean, it's so crazy looking at my house and my stuff and saying, "see you in a year!" And I just can't get over the emotions. Any emotions of saddness and regret have not entered my brain..." "...I just think forward and I'm so excited and in awe that I really don't have anything to be worried about."
-August 6, 2007-

Well, it seems like I'm drawn to experinces like that. Up for an adventure.

Hello, my name is Mägi and I'm going to Switzerland for the next year. I am going back to Switzerland, my home for a year.

Now get your notepad out and take note, here are the details:

I will be living in the town of Arzier, near Nyon.
It is in the French part of Switzerland - 20 minutes from France.
My host family has two children, a 7 year old girl and a 3 year old boy.

I will be an au pair. An au pair? Is that some French word? Why yes, indeed it is. It's another word for something of a nanny. It's menaing is something on the page of "equal to." It's a relationship with a win win situation. I'm something of a domestic housekeeper and nanny, but as pay, not only do I get money but I get room and board in a foreign country. Whoo hoo! Culture!

I guess I'd have to say, I'm excited.

Yes, indeed, I am quite excited.