i am returned to canada since three months. these three months have been an experience. my swiss adventures were amazing. absolutely amazing. but now i am back. and so life goes on.
i was happier than i think i've ever been when i was in switzerland. i knew it would be hard to leave, but i am still surprised at the general feelings of loss. i have since left williams lake and relocated to vancouver. close to balance, i can feel it. but baby is still in der schweiz. i miss him so much, and i am sure everyone i know is tired of hearing me talk about him. he will visit me in another three, hopefully short, months. until then, its all about yoga.
i was thinking about yoga and being financially challenged. i thought, maybe i could just yoga-studio-hop. most studios have a free first class, right? i think about this and wonder if it is a tacky thing to do.
i just was reading about myself in a horoscope book. something called the ascendant. this is interesting to me. its based on the hour you were born, and apparantly if i had been born about an hour earlier than i was, i would be a humanitarian. way it turns out, i'm only half humanitarian, but also half hedonistic and self-loving, and half regretting not using the extra effort to push out earlier and be a bit more of a "blessing" to the human race. whatever.
i hope i don't turn into a brand-oriented person. actually, i think it might be too late. i work now in a brand-name clothing store. i get an enormous discount, so that it is actually worth buying the clothes in my cheap opinion. trouble is, my cheap opinion is not cheap anymore, but ready willing and (almost) able to shell out real money on regular priced stuff from other big brands. i don't know if this is going to make me a better person in the long run. eh.
new years resolutions this year: don't make new years resolutions. they are for people who are too lazy to fix stuff during the rest of the year. thing is, if its broke, fix it in july when it breaks, not in january just because everyone else is doing it.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Monday, October 20, 2008
on august
12aug
christy feels dumb. she has moved to sweden and learned to speak chinese.
no matter how many german books i go through, i shall not learn swiss-german. and yet, everyone around me continues to speak swiss-german. unless, of course, they are addressing me personally, in which case they speak english. not german. this makes the conversations at the dinner table either very difficult for me, or very boring, depending on my mood. end of bitch-fest.
i have now seen most of switzerland. the largest waterfall in europe, the rhinefall, is quite close (by canadian standards, of course), and quite spectacular. you can get right down next to it, too, which is pretty darn cool. baby took me on a little motorbike trip through italy and the alps. we went over the stilfser-joch, which is like, 34 clicks of road with about 85 turns in it. CRAZY fun on a bike. we stayed a night on lago di garda, which is gorgeous, and perfect for swimming. we went to the tourist office to book a hotel, then we suited up, hopped on the bike, and drove fifteen metres to the hotel. as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, the manager ran out to us with a key in his hand. "duschen!" said he, pointing to the room, then, "baden!", pointing to the pool, and finally, "grappa!", pointing to the bar. (translation: shower, swim, get a little drunk.) he was great.
we went as far as venice. venice is a very special place. a little crowded, though. we went first in the evening, got lost and eventually stumbled upon a piazza and bars with outdoor terraces, where we had a drink. maybe two. then we looked at the map, got even more lost, and eventually had to ask a local to take us back to the bus station. the next day we went back and fell in love with the place, in spite of the gondaliers wanting two hundred euros for a ride in a boat, and in spite of having to pay to pee. we went over the centovalli, which is actually a road, and it started to rain. we stopped in a little catholic town at about 2000 metres, and all the women were old and dressed really nicely, and i felt like a heel in my bike clothes and wouldn't go into the big beautiful church because i didn't want to offend anyone. the hotel there was full, so we went to the next town and stayed in a one-star, which i never would have considered had there not been lightning on the road ahead. no matter, it was a great place and i would go again in a heartbeat, even though i ran out of water halfway through rinsing out my conditioner. the girl who checked us in turned out also to be the bartender and the waitress in the little restaurant they had there. she was super-duper, and i really mean that. the food was also spectacular, cheap, and unending. i couldn't even eat the dessert (included in the super cheap price) because i was so full. and that is sad. but we had grappa after, because we were in italy, and i felt much better. we eventually made it to zermatt to see the matterhorn, but the clouds wouldn't go away. so, instead of looking at that, we watched the olympics on tv. maybe we'll see it next time.
25aug
i spoke on the phone today with baby's youngest older sister. she's the one i haven't met because she is in africa. she speaks english with an african accent. she sounds nice. i don't get to meet her this trip, because they, she and her husband, are not coming back to switzerland until december, and i leave in september. that is sad.
i am published! officially! my baby was so very excited when i told him, he picked me up. after he dried his hands of course. (he was washing them when i told him).
hello, rooster. he is in the kitchen. he is called "gecku" but i don't know how to spell it.
i have read several books recently. we found a stash of english books upstairs from when the older sisters were learning. there are lots of famous ones that i always wanted to, but never did, read.
baby's mother has done some travelling. the other day she showed me pictures from london, italy, france and austria.
good chocolate is cheap here. comparatively. its too bad i have to go.
we went yesterday to the emmental to a show-cheesery. we learned how the famous holey swiss cheese is made, and could see the big vats of cheesey-goo being made through a glass window. the woman working in there knew that everyone was watching her clean things and change parts and push buttons. i couldn't clean things and change parts and push buttons with everyone watching me. she had white rubber boots on.
power status: battery charge is low. gotta go.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
on weeks
12apr
10:30 last night we were racing go-carts. it was fast. they were fast. i drove right into the wall, bounced off, and did a 180, really fast, and it was great. better, actually, when i was moving, and not crashing, but always great. except today my neck is spasming all over the place. which is quite uncomfortable. baby belongs to a motorcycle club, and it were they whom we went with to the racetrack. because, as everyone knows, people in motorcycle clubs like speed. every time i went around a particularly sharp bend in the track, all i could think was, “i have medical insurance!”
on another note, ich liebe den schocolade. thats german.
17apr
major moment just now. i was listening to the beatles, imagine, when the bells started ringing perfectly in tune and beat with the music. ah, the bells.
on sunday we went to rigi mountain, near lucerne. as we rode up on the train at about a 45degree angle, i felt as though i would fall from my seat onto the passenger across from me. luckily, the passenger across from me was my heartthrob, and i was unconcerned. we ate in a lovely restaurant on the mountain, where the waiter spoke english. i have come to realize that there is no lack of english-speakers no matter where i go. as a matter of fact, most of the visitors to the mountain were in fact tourists, specifically english-speaking tourists. nevertheless, i often remain diligent in my german language studies.
this week i am left alone to my vices, as my lovely man has been taken away from me by the swiss army. only during these three weeks, however, must i entertain myself, as he is allowed to come home on the weekends. i am planning an excursion, but i shall keep the details to myself until the time has come to share experiences, and not just plans, with you.
18apr
picked up baby from the army today. as i was driving on the scary european highway, i suddenly changed my mind. no longer was it a terrifying place to be, where the cars, all driving at outrageous speeds, are clustered together in the inevitable vicinity of death and serious injury, oh no. now it has become a challenge, a race, a hoot. who can be the fastest, the most spry, hurtling through the other traffic, from one lane to the next and back again, over and over in a jumble of cars and speed and cautious danger. and the only reason they do it is because they can. what a lovely place.
22apr
it has been raining for two days straight without stopping. no wonder this country is so green.
baby's mother is charming. she telephones her amigos all afternoon. however, if the phone rings of its own accord, she responds, “ja, ja,” slowly rises from her seat where she has been reading or trying to converse with me, exchanging her broken english for my broken german, and blithely grumbles all the way to the corner where the phone resides and answers in a pleasant voice. she works hard and is happy, and i admire her already.
saturday we went to bern. we saw the old town, about 700 years old to be precise, with its buildings still intact and beautiful. in the old cellars, with doors opening into the street, are shops and cafes. on ground level are more shops and cafes with terraces out into the cobblestone street. the river runs right through the city, and there are amazing views from wherever you are. the cherry trees are in full blossom and their flowers are spread about between the cobblestones and in the grass. we saw the cathedral, which absolutely makes the skyline. it was breathtaking. it took over 600 years to be built, and finally it was finished in the late 1800s. floor to ceiling stained glass windows with depictions of literal holy terrors are on every wall. the pipe organs were the most impressive, though. the largest, hidden above the entrance, was shiny and brilliant, complete with angel sculptures and elaborate paintings. to climb to the top of the tower for an impressive view of the city costs CHF4, which i think is a touch ridiculous in a church. but nobody asked me, so it will continue, i'm sure.
it's still raining.
23apr
can't find a wireless connection to save my life.
forgot to mention the rock concert we went to saturday night. we went to a rock concert saturday night. a swiss band, who incidentally sings in english, called shakra. very nice, actually. i quite enjoyed it. something else about this lovely country – red vodka. wonderful stuff. very nice mixed with red bull – drunk, maybe, but not sleepy! good combination for a concert of this volume.
met baby's godmother today. very nice lady. speaks english. big family, this one. baby's got five sisters, two brothers, all of whom have spouses, some of whom have children, and every one has a godmother and a godfather. that's large. i have one sister. that's small. so who says a bit of contrast ain't good for the soul.
i have had no access to the internet for over two weeks. i have a list as long as my arm of things i need to look up stat. i'm so sad. i might go crazy. if you visit an asylum in the near future, don't be surprise if you see me there.
side note: it's still raining, but only outside.
24apr
in a cafe in aarau. posting. feeling relief. over and out. and lame.
10:30 last night we were racing go-carts. it was fast. they were fast. i drove right into the wall, bounced off, and did a 180, really fast, and it was great. better, actually, when i was moving, and not crashing, but always great. except today my neck is spasming all over the place. which is quite uncomfortable. baby belongs to a motorcycle club, and it were they whom we went with to the racetrack. because, as everyone knows, people in motorcycle clubs like speed. every time i went around a particularly sharp bend in the track, all i could think was, “i have medical insurance!”
on another note, ich liebe den schocolade. thats german.
17apr
major moment just now. i was listening to the beatles, imagine, when the bells started ringing perfectly in tune and beat with the music. ah, the bells.
on sunday we went to rigi mountain, near lucerne. as we rode up on the train at about a 45degree angle, i felt as though i would fall from my seat onto the passenger across from me. luckily, the passenger across from me was my heartthrob, and i was unconcerned. we ate in a lovely restaurant on the mountain, where the waiter spoke english. i have come to realize that there is no lack of english-speakers no matter where i go. as a matter of fact, most of the visitors to the mountain were in fact tourists, specifically english-speaking tourists. nevertheless, i often remain diligent in my german language studies.
this week i am left alone to my vices, as my lovely man has been taken away from me by the swiss army. only during these three weeks, however, must i entertain myself, as he is allowed to come home on the weekends. i am planning an excursion, but i shall keep the details to myself until the time has come to share experiences, and not just plans, with you.
18apr
picked up baby from the army today. as i was driving on the scary european highway, i suddenly changed my mind. no longer was it a terrifying place to be, where the cars, all driving at outrageous speeds, are clustered together in the inevitable vicinity of death and serious injury, oh no. now it has become a challenge, a race, a hoot. who can be the fastest, the most spry, hurtling through the other traffic, from one lane to the next and back again, over and over in a jumble of cars and speed and cautious danger. and the only reason they do it is because they can. what a lovely place.
22apr
it has been raining for two days straight without stopping. no wonder this country is so green.
baby's mother is charming. she telephones her amigos all afternoon. however, if the phone rings of its own accord, she responds, “ja, ja,” slowly rises from her seat where she has been reading or trying to converse with me, exchanging her broken english for my broken german, and blithely grumbles all the way to the corner where the phone resides and answers in a pleasant voice. she works hard and is happy, and i admire her already.
saturday we went to bern. we saw the old town, about 700 years old to be precise, with its buildings still intact and beautiful. in the old cellars, with doors opening into the street, are shops and cafes. on ground level are more shops and cafes with terraces out into the cobblestone street. the river runs right through the city, and there are amazing views from wherever you are. the cherry trees are in full blossom and their flowers are spread about between the cobblestones and in the grass. we saw the cathedral, which absolutely makes the skyline. it was breathtaking. it took over 600 years to be built, and finally it was finished in the late 1800s. floor to ceiling stained glass windows with depictions of literal holy terrors are on every wall. the pipe organs were the most impressive, though. the largest, hidden above the entrance, was shiny and brilliant, complete with angel sculptures and elaborate paintings. to climb to the top of the tower for an impressive view of the city costs CHF4, which i think is a touch ridiculous in a church. but nobody asked me, so it will continue, i'm sure.
it's still raining.
23apr
can't find a wireless connection to save my life.
forgot to mention the rock concert we went to saturday night. we went to a rock concert saturday night. a swiss band, who incidentally sings in english, called shakra. very nice, actually. i quite enjoyed it. something else about this lovely country – red vodka. wonderful stuff. very nice mixed with red bull – drunk, maybe, but not sleepy! good combination for a concert of this volume.
met baby's godmother today. very nice lady. speaks english. big family, this one. baby's got five sisters, two brothers, all of whom have spouses, some of whom have children, and every one has a godmother and a godfather. that's large. i have one sister. that's small. so who says a bit of contrast ain't good for the soul.
i have had no access to the internet for over two weeks. i have a list as long as my arm of things i need to look up stat. i'm so sad. i might go crazy. if you visit an asylum in the near future, don't be surprise if you see me there.
side note: it's still raining, but only outside.
24apr
in a cafe in aarau. posting. feeling relief. over and out. and lame.
Friday, March 28, 2008
on travelling and disappearing acts
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26mar
for my next trick, on the count of go, i shall disappear before your very eyes and shall not reappear until six months have come and gone! aaaaand..... go!
so i'm hiding in switzerland. it's amazing. trick actually worked!
we had a layover in amsterdam for about two hours. i wrote some postcards home because now i am a flag-wearing, map-toting tourist. when we landed in zurich, giant snowflakes were falling. winter just follows me wherever i go. it reminded me of home a bit – the four seasons in canada*: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction. i guess that since i knew switzerland had hardly any snow this winter, i brought some with me, because canada won't miss it.
now i am in moosleerau, one of switzerland's many villages. in each village reside about two or three hundred people, and just down the road and just over that hill are more villages. they are charming and quaint little places, comfortable and homey and swiss. moosleerau is in a valley, but the mountains here are small. some of the trees are strange to me, but most of the countryside is quite similar to canada. sometimes i forget i am in europe for that reason, but then i see a doorknob or a toilet or the windows on the side of a house and it nudges me back into the dream. soon we'll be travelling a bit and i'll have lots more to say.
*joke courtesy of meine schwester.
27mar
we went to aarau today. bought an adapter for my electronic gadgets and a dictionary. the language seems impossible – swiss-german is like a whole different language than german, although essentially the structure is the same. babe told me just to learn german because you can't learn swiss from a book, so i had almost given up until today. we wandered into a bookstore downtown aarau and i spotted an english/german/swiss-german dictionary. now i feel that the culture shock will actually wear off (eventually).
speaking of culture shock, oh my god. it's a bit overwhelming, everything changing at once. the time, the language, the food, even mealtimes. all of my surroundings are strange. it's exciting and terrifying at once. and i always want to sleep. i read that if you don't sleep on the plane, the jet lag lasts one day for every time zone you cross. so that makes nine days for me. nevertheless, i am having a hoot! until next time.
28mar
baby went to aarau again today for paperwork, and he's bringing me chocolate. ya baby.
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