'Cuz I'm Leaving, On A Jet Plane...

It is 22:13 on Tuesday night. I have actually finished working and it feels very strange. I taught my last preschool classes this morning and I was very sad. I teach 4 groups of preschoolers and explained to each one that "aujourd'hui c'est mon dernier jour avec vous" or en anglais, "today is my last day with you". Three of the groups didn't seem to be able to grasp the concept that I was really leaving, but the fourth group is my expert English speakers (or as expert as a three or four year old can be!). When I told them it was my last day, a few of them nearly started crying and one asked, "Why are you leaving us?" It broke my heart and the only good part is that many of them are going to Champittet where I will be teaching next year so I can see them again. I miss them already. I headed back to the main school to fill in the rest of my paperwork and drop off some books, then biked home feeling quite a bit lighter. 


I packed this afternoon, doing no online work and instead choosing to get everything together for my trip. Packing was difficult. I have almost 2 weeks in the U.S., a wedding shower, a wedding, and a honeymoon in Jamaica. I just couldn't choose what to bring. I did a terrible job of packing lightly. So I just decided I'll pay for the extra bag home and not worry too much about it. I may regret this during our several customs stops and loading and unloading baggage, but at the moment I am okay with my one 18kg bag.


Later in the day, I went to my tutoring job, spent 2 hours there, then headed home. By 8pm I had turned in my timesheet to all three jobs and have officially started my vacation. It feels strange, very strange. Normally I have so much work to do that I never have time to do anything wasteful. Paul plays online games sometimes to relax and I don't understand that. Why would I spend time doing something like that when I have work to do? Reading is usually what I choose to do if I have 10 minutes to spare before I go to sleep. I don't spend nearly enough time drawing, playing guitar, or just sitting on the balcony enjoying the view. I'm hoping that once I finish the middle school curriculum I will have more time to just relax. 


So I will be waking up in 6.5 hours to get on a train and head to Zurich. It will be a long day traveling and I am not particularly looking forward to the long flight from Philadelphia to LAX. I am sure that the food and the movies will all cost extra, but I have to remind myself that these flights were a good $500 cheaper than the other flights, so I can splurge a little on the plane. I will pay the extra $10 to watch movies if needed. 


I should be able to get to America no problem, but I am slightly worried about my in-laws, friends, and Paul. A volcano in Iceland has started erupting, putting ash back into the atmosphere again, closing airports in Scotland and northern England. What would happen if Paul can't make it out to the wedding? I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it.


I am looking forward to these next few weeks, but I guess I am really just trying to focus on today, on right now. Every bride I have asked advice from has told me the same thing - that it goes by too fast, enjoy the moment. I think that even this first year of marriage has gone by so fast. I don't want my entire life to fly by like this. Time flies when you are having fun right? Well I am having a great time, so how do I slow things down? I try to do things one at a time, focus on what I am doing right now, and, of course, write in my blog when possible to remember all these wonderful, important little moments.

Thoughts on Switzerland and Life

It is my last Saturday in Lausanne before the wedding. I can't believe the "Big Day" is in TWO WEEKS! Paul is having a nice time with his friends in Amsterdam and I am taking a weekend for myself and my friends here. It is quiet in the house as Matt is in the UK visiting Heather and Andrew and his girlfriend are out somewhere in Lausanne. It is just me in the house. It is very quiet. I have just finished lunch, some so-so sushi, on my balcony while reading a mildly entertaining book. I can hear birds chirping and the sun is warm shining down on me. I feel very lucky right now.


I don't actually like Switzerland very much, or to be more exact, I don't like Swiss people. If it was the same country filled with Brits or Canadiens or even Americans, It would be a much more friendly, easy place. But alas I cannot make all of these Swiss people disappear so I will have to deal with them the best I can. At least the view from my balcony is incredible, and I like my town and my street, Avenue de Cour. I like that I can walk to almost everything I need on my little street. We have the boulangerie, patisserie, fromagerie, chacuterie, grocery stores, a sushi place, a chinese place, a bank, a post office, a flower shop, a hairdresser, little cafes etc. etc. It is very "European" I guess I would say. Sometimes I really miss places like Target, where you can go and get everything you need in one stop. But places like Target are big, impersonal and corporate owned. I like walking into the corner bakery where the same lady is working. The shop can't fit more than 4 people, and even that is a little uncomfortable. I still like it. 


My French has also improved since I moved here. I am still nowhere near fluent, but I think I will never be. You really have to talk in French all day everyday to be fluent and I don't. I'm sure, if I really REALLY tried I could get even better, but it takes a lot of time and energy, two things I really don't have at the moment. I can mostly understand what people say and I have even had moments where I know the word in French, but I forget its name in English. I can certainly hold my own when I yell at my students in French. My new favorite term is "Vous n'arrêtez pas de parler, et il est très difficile de vous enseigner!"


So I have been here for almost a year, and it looks like we will be here for several more. Curiously this is okay, because my French is passable, I have some nice friends here, I have an amazing apartment with a great view, and I like my little street. And Paul, I like Paul a lot as well, and he likes it here. I guess we can deal with a few more years of shops closed every day at 7pm (or 6pm on Saturday) and nothing open on Sundays or weekends, and the strange, cold, reserved, conservative Swiss people.


I've been here for almost a year now, Paul for several years, and we have yet to rack up a great number of Swiss friends. He has one truly Swiss friend. I have a friend who has Swiss parents and who grew up in Canada. Another friend who has a mother who is Swiss but who grew up in Madagascar. All my other friends are British, Irish, American, French, Swedish, German, Canadian, Italian, etc. I guess it makes sense because I know people from all over the world who all have interesting and different view points. It certainly makes for some lively conversation. Maybe the worst part is I don't even care that I don't have Swiss friends, because the Swiss have proved that they don't want to be friends. So I stopped trying. Someone last night asked me if I was staying here for good. I laughed and said there was NO WAY I would bring up my children in Switzerland. Maybe that is very selfish of me. Switzerland is a clean, safe, rich country with lots to offer. But I couldn't bear the idea of any kids of mine being anything like the Swiss people here. I want my kids to grow up open and friendly and kind. So no, we will not stay here indefinitely. Maybe just until our permits run out in 2013. We shall see.


It is time to get back to work (I always have work to do), but I guess what I am saying is that I am happy, here, right now. It's not the place I want to stay forever, but right now it is absolutely perfect for me. Just like any place it has its pros and cons, but you have to take the good with the bad. And in 4 days I will be on a plane to America to enjoy a different place. This world has a lot of great places to explore :)

TGIF

It is friday afternoon and I am eating a quick lunch before I head off to work. Usually I ride my bike the 15-20 minutes, but my knee has been hurting since I biked on Wednesday, so I think I will take it easy. I know I am lucky that I only really have to be at work from 2-3:30 on Fridays, but I have a ton of curriculum work sitting on my shoulders that I really should do. But I am really tired. Not the kind of tired where I want to sleep. The kind of tired that needs a holiday weekend. Lucky for me I fly back to America next Wednesday but it just doesn't seem to be coming soon enough.

Yesterday is a perfect example of my life - I got up at 7:30, got some work emails done, responded to students, etc. Packed up and biked off to Les Petites Acrobats to teach my little preschoolers. They were cute, easy, and we sang songs, colored, etc. After 2 hours I packed up and headed to the main school. There I met my replacement, a very nice girl named Lauren from South Africa. I spent the next hour and a half telling her about the kid's routine, songs, curriculum, games etc. Lunch time came and went quickly, then I was prepping for my middle school geography class. I taught that (last one of the year!) and then got on my bike to ride home. I threw my bag down, grabbed by book, gave Paul a quick kiss before sprinting to catch the bus. It was time for my next job.

In my "free time" (hah) I tutor a 12 year old named Maxi and watch out for a 4 year old named Aurelia. Yesterday I was to pick up Aurelia from her preschool. I had to convince them to let me take her because I guess her mom had forgotten to call in. Aurelia and I got snacks at a nearby store, then walked to the bus stop. Unluckily for us, we had just missed our bus, and another one wasn't coming for an hour. So we sat on the street corner, her picking flowers, me wishing I was home. An hour and 10 minutes later our bus rolled up. We got to the train station only to find that we had just missed our train. Another hour later, we had finally made our train, then the second bus, then the short walk to the house. The whole ordeal took more than 2 hours. In a car it would have taken 15 minutes. Sometimes I miss having a car. In the cities public transport is awesome, but out in the country it is few and far between. Anyway, Aurelia and I finally got back to the house, only for the mom to call and say she would be home at 11 or so - that would mean I got home around midnight. Unluckily she came home just late enough for me to miss the 11pm train, so I waited at the station for the train at midnight. I finally ambled home at 12:45. Not exactly the most fun Thursday. Can you see why I need a vacation?

I still had to check student emails and I should have done some grading, but I didn't, I just fell to sleep.

Today is better, because I don't have to leave until after 1pm to get to work, but I have all this work just waiting on my computer. I guess I will do it once I get home before the weekend starts. Paul is at the airport now waiting to fly to Amsterdam for his stag-do and I already miss him. I would have liked to spend last night with him but c'est la vie.

I am totally that kid a week before vacation. I am SO over working right now, and just ready to fly home. 6 days and counting...

(and WOW this blog is all over the place - I will try to do less complaining next time and more interesting writing)

Wear Sunscreen?

I wear sunscreen, almost every day, no matter the weather. I think it is just sensible. I don't know about you. The lyrics to the following song, which started as a graduation speech, I listen to at least once a week. I think the advice helps me get through life sometimes. If you need a little nudge, you should listen to it too.


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If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you
imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you Sing Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes
you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with
yourself. Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you
succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. Stretch Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your
life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe
you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your
choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body,
use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever
own.. Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the
people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize
that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were
noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one
might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will
look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who
supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the
ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth. But trust me on the sunscreen…