Just for Funsies

This is a chocolate bar. (The tablet computer is there for scale) Kenny and I began eating it Tuesday, August 27. Let's see how long it lasts, shall we?

These are our house keys, Kenny and I are highly amused by them. The kids think they are awesome.

Head Colds are the Devil

This week we have all been hit to some degree or another with a head cold.  Jo started it.  And she probably got the worst of it. She almost has an ear infection. Her ear(s) definitely hurt because she is one cranky 2 year old without tylenol.  Even Eli has suffered :( So sad to hear his little bark of a cough as he tries to clear the junk out of the way.  So between my own breathing inabilities, Eli's, and Johanna's- my sleep has been a rare thing the past few nights.  Jackson and Kenny have been spared the heavy artillery in this go round.
   Despite our infirmities we have had our adventures.  This past Sunday was a no translation Sunday at church so we decided to get out and enjoy God's green Earth a bit.  I was told about a "trail by a stream" in the nearby town? neighborhood? of Riethusli.  This turned out to be a really great walk UP a big hill.  Not too steep, we could all handle it.

   The beginning of the hike. Notice how my hand is on Jo's head? That's because we are standing near the edge of the road which quickly declines 30 or so feet to the aforementioned stream.

 Nice shot, Kenny!

 

Kenny really wanted to check out the stream, so of course he had tagalongs.

The hike did get kind of long. 2 and 1/2 hours long. And we didn't pack snacks. At that point we were pretty sure we were on a path that looped back to the town and it would be faster to keep going forward rather than go back. I was a little panicky. I knew we weren't too far from home but we weren't sure exactly where we were or how to get home. It was getting colder, everyone was hungry and there was no one we could call for help. Thankfully a couple of mountain bikers came by us and we were able to get some affirmation that we were going the right way to get back to Riethusli. We really only were 20 minutes from town. Really glad we didn't try to backtrack at that point.

 This is the view from the point where we talked to the cyclists.

That was Sunday's adventure. Monday's adventure was laundry. As I mentioned on facebook: 4 flights of stairs, 6 times. Baby strapped to chest, carrying laundry, 2 year old that wants to come with me. (and jump down the stairs).  And all for 7 CHF. sigh.  I also took the kids to the Riethusli store and bakery twice because the first time the store was closed for siesta. Definitely got my workout Monday.

    Tuesday I attempted to go to Aldi's. (about a 10 minute bus ride) I'm sitting on the bus and I realize I don't have cash, my debit card is not working in the ATM machines and Aldi's doesn't take credit cards, at least not in the States. And it turns out not here either :( Good thing there was a Co-Op (grocery store) nearby.

    I've decided at least one shopping trip a week needs to be done on Thursday night (stores stay open later that 5pm) or Saturday when I can go alone.  I don't mind bringing groceries home on the bus. I don't mind taking kids on the bus, but both together is physically too much by myself. The great thing about a car is that you can strap your kids in and drive and not worry about them. You can pay attention to them or not. They might scream, but it is just you they are bothering.  Kids on buses require constant attention and when the infant wakes up from his 3 hour nap-well, I'm becoming immune to hostile stares.  (*I think every Swiss person I've met personally has been very friendly-really)

   I will also note that Kenny and I have received a lot of parenting advice from strangers over here.  Kenny was told to support Eli's head. I was told my baby should have socks (on one of the hottest days here). And while we were waiting for our second bus home with all our groceries and my 2 year old is happily eating grapes and standing RIGHT BESIDE ME (hallelujah!) a lovely woman informed me that I really should wash those grapes first, it's not safe. "Thank you" I politely say, and continue to feed my daughter dangerous grapes. 

Our Apartment- lots of photos

Today marks 2 weeks in our apartment and 2 more weeks until we get to move to the downstairs apartment. I can hardly wait.  Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty good set up, but I just know the downstairs one is going to be a big improvement. Let me take you on a tour:
   First know that we are on what to you and me is the third floor, but to the Swiss is the second- deceptive.  Thank goodness we can keep the stroller on the front porch. That would be super difficult to haul up and down.
Okay, so here is the view from the front door:

Please note, that I did not pick up for this tour.  First, there isn't too many places to put things. And second, no sense giving you a false impression of how we live.

Immediately on the right is the WC  (water closet)

First stop on the left is the living room

This doubles as Eli's bedroom- he sleeps through pretty much everything. Windows: In all my trips to Europe, I don't think I've ever seen screens on the windows. Here we have metal roll down shades on the outside of the window. Handy for long summer days. The large window/door leads out to a roof porch, where I hang our laundry.
   Just out of this picture on the left is a door leading to the room Jackson and Johanna share. Jo was napping when I did these pics so I didn't get one of their room- it's pretty sparse. They share a bed, there's a table and a wardrobe.
  Across the hall from living room is the "master" bedroom

 Another European thing: duvets and their covers. A blanket inside a sheet sack basically. Our duvets are in the corner because at this time it was too hot for blankets and there are no other sheets.  Really could have used a fan.
Here is our wardrobe- typical European style again- no built in closets.

At the end of the hall is the "spare" room. We keep the toys in here. The couch becomes a bed, if you want to visit in the next 2 weeks.

 
Opposite this room is the kitchen.disclaimer: This picture was taken right after I made supper.  We have to buy special garbage sacks that cost 2chf a bag! This apparently also pays for trash pick up.

 Here is our table. We do have 2 more chairs in the kitchen so we can all sit down together.  You can see behind Jackson is our bath(ing) room

 This is also where I keep the dirty laundry- that would be all the stuff on the floor in the picture.

So concludes the grand tour.  I can't wait to show you the next apartment :)

The park and the mall

A quick update on the past couple days:

Friday:  So does watching TV in a foreign language automatically make it educational?  I hope so.  There was a lot of TV today. I was just wiped out and couldn't muster the energy to do much.  We did make it to the park for an hour and played soccer. 

  And I had a real treat! A baby-sitter :)  Not something I was expecting over here. The downstairs neighbors include a 13 year old girl and she took the kids out to the park for a couple hours while called in for a meeting with Siemer Milling.

Here are some other pics of our park. the first one is a game called Spielweisse. I have yet to see it played, but I think it would be interesting.

The Swiss take advantage of the hills for their slides. I have yet to see a slide on flat ground.

The black rectangle is the sandbox, they keep them covered because there are a lot of feral cats around. I don't think the fort would make it in a public park in the U.S. The Swiss do not seem to be as litigious.

Saturday:
   We found the mall. Pretty easy bus trip down to the train station and another bus to the Arena. The mall is underneath the Football (Soccer) Stadium. Clever use of space.  We had to make it a quick trip so we could get back in time to skype with my parents but I look forward to going back- there is really big grocery store, an IKEA, a kids play place, and an Aldi's (so I could maybe not pay an arm and a leg for groceries, although I've heard to do that I need to go to Germany). I have to be careful- I have to get it all back on the bus.
  Good thing we bought bus passes!  We got "carded" today.  I stressed out because Jo likes to find my pass in the diaper bag and pull it out and it wasn't where I normally keep it, but we had it. Yay!
  We accomplished our first skype!  Jo repeatedly said HI!, which makes it difficult to have a conversation, but I think the grandparents and aunt appreciated her enthusiasm.
  Kenny had soccer practice with some of his classmates.  He really enjoyed the diversion. He came back soaked since it started to rain half way through. Another joy of being restricted to public transportation.

Steppin' Out (with pictures!)

On the agenda for Wednesday was getting a phone, and I took some pics of our outing so you can see a tiny bit of town. 
   First up is the pedestrian market area.  Lots of clothes, shoe, food shops.  Seems like it is touristy, but then there seems to be a lot of locals there too.  I found 3 or 4 cell phone dealers in this area.  

By the time I had shopped around the kids were asking for food so we stopped for hot dogs here.

This is the Swiss version of fast food.  Brats or Weiners are a very common food.  Brats are usually eaten just as a piece of meat maybe with mustard or some kind of sauce, but no bun.  There is usually bread on the side, it is a hard roll. I tried to get a picture of the meat in the window and you can see the baskets of rolls.

The kids had hot dogs, I've also seen them called Weinerli.  What is awesome about these buns is that it is really 1/2 a loaf of bread so there is a bottom. Only downside is that the ketchup all slides to the bottom. It makes for easy holding.

So I got the phone and we made it back home- no major fiascos.  I've had to implement a new rule for buses- if we have the stroller, you must STAY IN the stroller on the bus.  (Why is it if you don't have a stroller the kid doesn't want to walk, but if you do have a stroller the kid only wants out of it?)

   The other great thing about Wednesday for me was that I got to go to a women's English Bible study. Someone even offered to pick me up so I didn't have to navigate the buses with Eli in tow.  It was really great. I met women from Canada, South Africa, Australia, Germany, Sweden, the U.S., and I'm probably missing a couple countries there. A really great group of women and I'm looking forward to going back hopefully without Eli as he cried for quite a while so I missed probably 1/2 the study. 

   It looks like Jackson is going to join a Spielgruppe (play group).  This is basically daycare/preschool for 3 hours a couple days a week.  His teacher is from Mexico and speaks Spanish, English, and German.  She has also offered to baby sit our kids on occasion so we can get out alone :)  There are several kids in the class that are immigrants and do not speak German (or English).  So it will be a great multicultural experience.  I think I'm more excited for it than he is. Johanna got to stay with Jackson for an hour and I think she has been invited to stay for an hour or so on other occasions too.  Might be some miscommunication on that...we'll see.

  Kenny is learning how to be a student again. Figuring out what teachers expect and how to study and how to take tests :(  Prayers and positive thoughts for him to study well/smart and to have peace- no anxiety- in his test taking. 

 

Alone...

Kenny and I each ventured out without the other today. He went to school. And I got to bring 3 kids down to his school to meet Nicole the Secretary who was super helpful in assisting with our visa paperwork today and helped to make it possible for the kids and I to get expedited visas in less than 1/2 the normal time.  (I'm a big fan of hers.)  It went well for me, until we were at the registration office.  I have a baby strapped to my chest, I'm pushing a double stroller, I'm sweating profusely, and we have stopped moving so my children realize this is the time designated for fussiness and fidgetiness.  After many attempts at distracting them- animal sounds, what do you see?, etc. etc. I resort to food.  The Swiss seem to be kind of uptight about some things, like messes- not too keen on children eating anywhere except in your home and maybe outdoors. But no one said anything and I don't think I got any dirty looks.  This was the time I quit looking people in the eye, though. Oh Dignity, where have you gone?

Just imagine me behind the stroller.

   School was all welcomes and paperwork. The real work begins tomorrow and Kenny's first test is Thursday.  There are 25 students. 5 are Nigerians, 3 are Japanese, and there are 17 students each from a different country. Kenny is the only native English speaker, including the teachers.

Just for fun.  This is what we found just a few blocks up our street.

It turns out, I cannot start typing a post and save it and expect it to come back up next time...now what was I saying...Okay. So yesterday was Kenny's first day of school- turned out to be welcome to school, paperwork, and here is the city kind of stuff.  This was the first day both of left the house without each other. He all by his lonesome, and me with a baby strapped to my chest and pushing a double stroller.  I'm not really complaining. I knew that is how it would be. But you get enough looks that say "are you crazy, woman?" and you start to think "maybe."  But I had to meet the school's secretary because she was going to go with us to the city registration building and use her Swiss-German speaking magic to complete our visas.
    When we finally applied for our (the kids and mine) visas back in Chicago one month before our flight here, we were told it would be 8 to 10 weeks before the Swiss Consulate in Chicago heard back as whether our visas would be approved or not. Nicole (the secretary) was able to contact the right office here in Switzerland and expedite our visas. So I'm a big fan of hers.
   I was also able to get a monthly bus pass (thanks again to Nicole) so I can stop feeling guilty about hitching rides on the bus without a ticket.  Yes, I could have bought tickets, but no one ever checked and I didn't really understand the ticket buying rules, and we always were going rather short distances, and stop giving me a guilt trip about this already.  You know how sometimes there are rules that everybody breaks and never get caught- it seems like I'm the one who always gets caught. So I every time I rode (which really wasn't that often) I was sure I was going to get caught, but I never did and now I have a pass.
  Great discovery for yesterday: there's a bakery and little grocery store, and fast food type restaurant really close to our flat!  We always turn left off of our street to go to town and this little shopping area is to the right and over a little hill. 
  So speaking of going out on my own with the kids, I did it again today.  This time without a stroller!  I took all 3 kids grocery shopping. I know!  We rode the bus down, we shopped, and we rode the bus back up. That makes it sound so easy. It wasn't. But for the most part I got cooperation. With the help of a pacifier for Jo and lots of food bribes.  I appreciate the lifestyle where the stores close at 5, but it is really inconvenient! I don't mind hauling groceries on the bus and I can survive 3 kids in a busy grocery store with people that seem very rude (not a lot of "excuse me's" or "let me get out of your way" or "please, go ahead") but both together are HARD! I've had 2 neighbors now offer me the use of their car in some fashion for groceries, but I have yet to figure out how to take advantage of that.
Great discovery for today: I spoke with our neighbor and she told me about a playgroup (kind of like pre school, but they just play, I think) that meets nearby and she is calling the director for me to find out more info!
Other great discovery for today: It is possible, but time consuming, to do laundry in our shower. (we do not have a tub). Also, it only costs 2 CHF to wash a load on the "express" setting- 20 minutes.
Okay this is long enough.  One of these days I won't have so much to say!  This needs pictures, but I'm being bugged for food, so later.

Sunday, Sunday

 We made it to church this morning!  It happens to be the 3rd weekend of the month so there was English translation at Stami Kirche. This was extra incentive, for me, to get everyone up and moving this morning and get us to the church on time.  I thought we would be pretty late because we did miss the bus I intended us to take, (out the door, out the door, GET OUT THE DOOR NOW!) but the next one got us there with a little time to spare. Good to know we can have a few extra minutes next Sunday.
   Good news:  Johanna and eventually Jackson went to children's church and enjoyed it- we were not paged- hooray!  Jackson said, "I didn't sing, I just played"  That is just fine Jack, as long as you are not crying I call it a win.
  We got to wear headphones and little radio packs- I kind of felt hard of hearing, but it was really nice to have the English translation. It actually helped me pick up a few Swiss words (Gnade = Mercy)
    Great new:  We met a bunch of people.  A lovely lady named Beatrix sat behind us in the service. She was eager to meet us and more eager to connect us with all the American church members. All women, interestingly.  Theresa from New York whose husband owns a bakery, Stefanie from Indiana, who invited me to an English speaking Bible study, and Melissa who speaks with no accent whether in English or in Swiss. 
   I think we will try to be at Stami on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month and the other Sundays depending on if we are in town or not.
   Had a lazy day at home after church. It was pretty warm here. I didn't pack for that. We are wearing clothes in what I consider to be the European way- over and over again without washing. I mentioned on Facebook that our laundry costs 5 chf a load and we have no dryer. And the washers here are ever so cute and little :(  Definitely miss my washing and dryer back home. 
   We did walk to the school park after supper. Kenny and I played ping pong. By the 4th game I almost won.  Jackson brought his bike. Did anyone notice in the last picture that there were no pedals?  I've seen this style before at home, but just about every little 3-4 year old has this style of bike here it seems like.  Child can learn balance first, skip training wheels, and go straight to the big two wheeler.  I'm hoping Jack picks up on the balance and remembers when we get home.

Here is the view of the town from our street.

And just because pictures are fun, here is Eli. We are trying to capture his grin on camera but he seems to be on to us.

One week in and I'm finally getting this started.  Hopefully this blog serves as a way for me to communicate more fully our family's adventure living in Switzerland for 7 months.  That is my goal.  Since we have been here a week, I'm not sure where to start in telling this story...I think I will start with today and maybe when things are a little more boring (routine) I can fill in the first week.
    Today is Saturday, 18 August 2012.  We have been in St. Gallen for 8 days now- we arrived last Saturday.  So by now our bodies should be completely set to our new time zone (1 day for every hour changed). We slept so little on the plane and did so much that first day, it doesn't seem like any of us has had much jet lag. 
   This morning the kids and I took their bikes from the awesome toy library (I know, how awesome is a TOY library!?) we visited yesterday to the closest park- nothing more than a ping pong table (there are lot of these in public places, but I never see them used) and a sand pile and some flat concrete- a rarity in our neighborhood. this was an adventure because it is further UP our (very steep) street. Jackson pushed his bike the whole way- that was the deal or wouldn't go.  Kenny took this time to look over school notes in preparation for Monday.

    We rummaged for lunch back in our flat because even though I have shopped 3 times and spent over 250 CHF (short for Swiss Francs) we still were about out of food (and my parents took us out to eat a lot while they were with us the past week).  BTW- the Dollar to CHF exchange rate is not quite 1 to 1.  It's somewhere around $.95 to the Franc. More on money and cost of living later.
   Later in the afternoon we walked downtown to check out St. Gallerfest, the Farmer's Market, and do some grocery shopping. 
   St. Gallerfest takes place in the pedestrian shopping district in the Old Town area. It appears to be beer stand after beer stand with a food (mostly Asian) stand here and there. And at every intersection or open area there is music.  Most of this was pretty dead at 2 in the afternoon, but we did find grilled meat on a stick-I don't know what kind of meat but it was great. We also ran into some Christians doing some community service/evangelizing- handing out bottles of water. One guy spoke English and in talking to him, we learned about a church that has an English translation service twice a month.  I'm really excited about this because not everybody will be speaking English so we can meet some locals, but we can still understand what is going on! and they have a children's church- double score! 

  After checking out some traditional looking/sounding singers and lounging in the grass outside the Cathedral, we went grocery shopping. Correction. I went grocery shopping :)  Kenny watched the kids outside, which I know was a chore for him and I sooo appreciated it.  I am somewhat faster and much less stressed shopping by myself. (Farmer's Market must have been canceled due to the festival) I managed to spend less than 100 CHF for the first time. Okay, the second time, but the first time I went shopping I had only 10 minutes and I still spent 50CHF.
   We caught the bus partway up the hill to our house and hoofed it the rest of the way up. And there really isn't anything too interesting to say about the rest of our evening.  Besides this is long enough.  I have so much to say about living here and what set up is here, but I'm pretty sure there will be time for that later.