Some of the random things I've always thought I should write about all mashed up together

Economy of Space- A phrase that I began applying to the way the Swiss live. Space is a valuable commodity here, and the Swiss are perfecting the art of utilizing it the best they can in a way that is still aesthetically pleasing. From the use of underground- shopping, parking, the garbage dump- to building houses/apartment buildings up and using roof space.

Packaging for products has this in mind also. Liquid detergent is most often sold in a pouch, not a jug, for instance. A lot of packaging is recycling or disposal friendly. The milk carton I buy is a coated cardboard and there are instruction on the side for how to flatten it. I think it is very much a way of life. I have seen people throw away at the grocery store the plastic container their meat came in. I assume because it took up too much space in their grocery bag. I also assume they wrap their meat in a plastic sack. Johanna, Eli and I often sit next to the recycling wall in the grocery store and I have watched many people pushing their recyclables into the appropriate slots, and when they are finished they walk over to the public trash can and throw away their plastic clam shells. Those things take up valuable space in the 2 CHF trash bag, why keep them in your trash when they can go in someone else's?

Things I see.

There are several trends I have spotted and I wonder if they are particular to St. Gallen, Switzerland, Europe, or if it's a bigger city thing. Or none of the above and I'm just that behind the times.

-Tattoos. Obviously these are plenty ubiquitous wherever you are, but they appear on every mild mannered desk jobber around.

-Also piercings beyond ears. There just seems to be a crazy high number of them. And if you happen to be one of those people with a bull ring in your nose- yes, it does look like you have boogies hanging out.

-Dreadlocks on white people. This is about to get un-p.c.- is the term “Euro-trash” applicable?

Since Jackson starting kindy, I have had the privilege of observing the school kids (ages 4-12/13). The big trend with the boys is to gel their hair up and over in the front (what is this called? Think rainbow). And then to wear a knit ski cap over the rest of the hair- leaving the bangs out. And skinny jeans, colored skinny jeans. (EVERYONE wears skinny jeans. They should not.)

A story (kinda): Jackson takes a snack to kindy everyday. The first week, when it was exciting to go to school, I sent bread and cheese (very Swiss of me). The second week when things came crashing down, I asked what he would like and gave him options that included a granola bar- that is what he went for. I knew (intuitively) most of the kids brought healthier things, but if it gave him a moment of happiness to eat a granola bar at school- that is fine. He continued on the granola bar track for a couple weeks. One day he told me he had to brush his teeth after snack. Okay...did he need a toothbrush? No, the teacher provided one. The next day he tells me he doesn't want a granola bar because they have sugar and if he has sugar then he has to brush his teeth. He then asked if he could bring chocolate for a snack.

Cost of living. I have mentioned before that Switzerland is expensive, but I had someone ask me about the price of bread here and it occurred to me that a basic way to understand the difference in COL (without going into the political factors) is the price of some basic staples. I am going to do a rough estimation of the price in US Dollars

Gas: Sold by the liter (about 4 liters in a gallon) at about $1.90 a liter. ($7.60 a gallon!?)

Milk: Also sold by the liter. There is a very wide range on the types of milk you can buy. From UHT shelf stable, to Alpine organic. Probably ranges from $1-2/liter. Do the math: $4-8/gallon

Bread: To my Swiss-washed brain, bread is very reasonably priced. For a common loaf (a good sized 500 grams) around $2

WHY does it cost so much more to live here? The one basic factor I'm aware of is that everybody makes more. There is a higher minimum wage and this leads to everything costing more.

I also want to say that it is impressive how many goods are produced in Switzerland. Trash cans, binders, paper, watches, knives- so much stuff is made here. And if it is made here then you will surely see a symbol telling you it is Swiss made. If I noticed this many products in the U.S. that indicated they were made in the USA, I would be shocked.

A game I play with myself: What I Will Miss About Switzerland

(Other than the things that remind me of home, like my Women's English Bible Study)

-Elderly people using ski poles/nordic walking poles as canes

-the bread

-the cheese

-the chocolate

-public transportation (don't get me wrong, a car is great, but it is nice to have the option) and even though I don't always like it, it's good that we have to do some walking every day. It's actually really nice after a big meal- assuages the guilt and aids the digestion

-the emphasis on outdoorsiness (thus making outdoor activities more accessible to the regular joe shmoe)

I suppose I play this game when I'm feeling homesick or I see something particularly amusing.

  

Torch Walk

      What is the most important ingredient for good fondue? The same ingredient for good anything- an appetite. It doesn't hurt to develop this appetite with a 5 km hike over snowy terrain. This is what was quaintly referred to as a “torch walk.” It was really a nice little adventure, improved only by less whining (but what isn't?). But as with most things outdoorsy here, I underestimated the event.

     The event was put on by the Swiss Milling School Student Association so most of Kenny's classmates participated. We were driven by van up and out to-- I really have no idea where. But the owner of the restaurant we ended up at was there with mulled wine and warm (kid friendly) punch. The worst part, as far as being cold, was probably waiting around at the trail head for twenty minutes or so for the teachers/guides. Although it was very entertaining to watch all the students dancing and horsing around in the snow. (Gangnam Style is the class anthem) Once we were walking it was not so cold. 

       The kids and I were given the option of going straight to the restaurant and waiting for the others, but like I said I was underestimating this “walk” and I didn't want to miss out on a quintessential Swiss experience. I regretted that decision off and on throughout our hike, but Kenny's classmates were very kind in helping us get the children to the restaurant in a timely manner. Kenny carried Eli, the reasoning being that Jo is so clingy to me that if I carried Eli, I would end up with both him and her. But the cold and the dark increased her clinginess (she would really do herself a favor by WEARING HER GLOVES!!) and she refused to walk so Kenny ended up with the two youngest. Jackson was a trooper, but he has great difficulties walking next to snow and not kicking at it or playing in it, so we were a little slow. 

          This really was a torch walk. Real torches- open flame and everything. The kind of thing that made me feel like I was in the Lord of the Rings. I had a hobbit, I only needed a green cape. And these were definitely necessary- our path was dark! It was apparently a road, though. We came across a house or farm every now and then.

We were hiking in the snow, but our path had been flattened. It was a little slick. Kenny tells me that after awhile, Johanna fell asleep so she was passed around to several classmates, and one of these guys even came back to me and Jackson and gave Jackson a shoulder ride to the restaurant. It's sweet to see all these men with our children. Some have children back home, but I think most miss being around families. Or maybe our kids are just that cute. 

Dinner was great. Fondue is delicious, but when you've been out in the cold, working up an appetite, it is just really really good. The kids shared a chicken and vegetable plate. I have never seen so many vegetables on one plate in a restaurant before. They like the idea of fondue (they like the idea of dipping any food in some kind of sauce) but hot cheese with the flavors of wine does not do it for them. (ketchup does)

How Jo ended the night

   The guy holding the staff for Samichlaus is from Israel- Jewish. The man sitting next to me laughed and said, "it's like the light and the dark sides together." Yes, Stars Wars metaphors are ubiquitious.

    Samichlaus and Shmutzli came to visit so I was able to build on my working knowledge of Christmas traditions here. He gave a bit of history on Saint Nicholas and was very specific that Samichlaus has nothing to do with Santa Claus (I beg to differ, the idea of Santa Claus had to come from somewhere). He seemed to be trying to throw in a little superiority about this separation. 

    There are a lot of men who dress up as Samichlaus and go to schools, houses, public events. I had assumed that the Swiss did Samichlaus, like the U.S. Santa, or even like I did St. Nick, back home. You leave out a sock or shoe at night and in the morning there are goodies. Now I kinda think that it is more common to have a direct visit. I learned from another woman here that it is the Christkind- Christ Child- that brings the gifts on Christmas Eve. And I have picked up from TV that our “Santa Claus” is known as “Weihnnachtsmann” (spelling is probably wrong) The Christmas Man? Curiouser and curiouser.

    Anyway, this Samichlaus had a little ribbing planned for all the students and bags of treats- nuts, chocolate, candy. He is one of Kenny's teachers. Ouch- What a thick accent. That would definitely be difficult to follow for 8 hours a day.  "Thank you, wery much!"

 Some shots of the students

"

  When all was said and done, it was late. We still had to get back to St. Gallen. And up the hill to our house. I was ecstatic to learn we were getting a ride back in the van all the way to our door!  I was sleepy so this excitement didn't really show until it  was our turn to be dropped off. And just as I tell the driver thank you and he turns onto our street- and the van stops. And won't go any further.  He can back up and get out, but he cannot make it up our now snow covered street.  :(  We had to wake Jackson and make him walk. He was so out of it that he just bawled the whole way. I almost did, but I managed to keep it together.

Food: part bread

Oh bread, bread, how I love thee, let me count the ways.  The bread here is something I am definitely going to miss when I get back to the states, Kenny too.  He doesn't eat quite as much now, but when we first arrived it seemed two out of three of his meals were bread and jam. 
   Kenny wants me to point out that there are over 200 varieties of bread in Switzerland. He learned that in one of his classes.  The teacher that told him this brought in a BUNCH of different kinds for the students to sample. I think that was a good day for him.
   The vast majority of bread sold here is not sliced bread- it is whole loaves or small buns/rolls. They do have sliced bread, labeled as toast. I've also seen "American style" hamburger buns, but I've never bought them so I don't know how they are. 
   Similar to the cheeses here, every locale seems to have its own bread. So I can get Alperbrot, or St. Gallerbrot (that would be the local variety) or tessinorbrot from the Italian area of Switzerland.

One of my favorites is the little silzerbrotli. Kind of a pretzel bread.

 I also really like sonnenbrot, which I believe has some component of sunflower seeds- meal? flour?  There weren't any big seeds. Not sure.

 

 The traditional breakfast bread is a gipfel- you would call it a croissant (Kenny says there is a difference).

Butterzopf, Kenny tells me is the weekend bread, and I have noticed that it is on sale every Friday. This one has almond flavoring.  Sorry about the pictures. I kept eating stuff before remembering I wanted to take a picture

There are some holiday breads. This is a Tiegmannli. It's a little bit sweet. Kenny and I wanted to take a second picture of this guy- sort of an after the battle shot, limbs missing, chocolate sauce oozing out. Didn't get it done.

What else can I say about the bread...it goes stale pretty quick- less/no preservatives. (Fruit and veggies go bad faster here, too. And there is evidence of actually having grown- dirt in the lettuce!  a caterpillar on the broccoli! I do not mind)
  Have you ever noticed a funny taste to the "fresh baked" loaves from the local grocery stores (in Effingham)? I don't taste that here. Yes, I will miss my European bread.* tear*

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

    Switzerland does not have Black Friday. So, how, you may ask, do the Swiss start gearing up for Christmas?  Well, here in St. Gallen, the big intro to the Christmas season appears to be the lighting of the stars in the old town market area. 
  I had seen advertisements for the event on the bus- it was all in German so I was only guessing at what the event was, but I was pretty much right. 
   The kids and I met Kenny downtown at the bus stop for the major shopping area. We then ate out at an Italian restaurant we found when the Grandmas were here. This was no easy feat and I was reminded why we don't do that more often. I think the staff took pity on us (or on themselves) and served us very quickly.
   We then made our way to Vadianplatz. There was a brass quartet playing and Samichlaus (Santa Claus - Saint Nicholas) and his "friend," Schmutzli, talking with children that came up to them.  At first it seemed that these guys were avoiding us. Maybe hearing our English and not wanting to mess with the language barrier, or maybe because we were obvious Auslanders (foreigners). By the time I had mentally given up on getting their attention, they turned to us and spoke with our children- they both had a little English - and gave the kids some peanuts.

 The peanuts are in the bag. And Santa is handing out coupons for free drinks

Just a closer look at the twig-broom the guy in black is carrying.

The peanut offering.

   So you can see that the dress is not the same as the American version of Santa. Similar, but still pretty different.  And we definitely had no idea who the character in black was when we first saw them.  When I told the men we were unfamiliar with this guy, they explained that he was Samichlaus' friend. And the definitely wanted to use the word "friend." Well, if you look up this character on wikipedia, he's not so friendly.  I'll have to ask about the local tradition surrounding this guy, but wikipedia talks about him taking away gifts if children misbehave. I'll let you know what I learn.

    Back to the Lights. So, at 7pm, a government guy got up on a little stage and pushed a button and the lights began flashing to a Christmas soundtrack. The flashing was just for one song and then they all lit up.
     Another Christmas event here is outdoor shopping stalls. Weihnachtmarkt, if I remember the spelling correctly. Seems to be similar to the booths that get set up in the Village Square Mall around Christmas time- I haven't seen any crafty type stuff yet, but it really doesn't work for me to peruse for very long. Just a handful of sidelong glances as we march past, lest a child become bored or lost. (Which can be the same thing.)  The stalls are indoor also, but far be it for the Swiss to shy away from doing something outdoors, even in freezing temps and a foot of snow.  (That's about where we are as of Monday evening, Dec. 3)
    Friday morning I had the opportunity to speak with the mom of one of Jackson's classmates. She told me that Samichlaus only visits the evening of December 5 (The Feast of St. Nicholas is Dec. 6) and Dec. 24/25 is only the celebration of the birth of Christ. Santa doesn't come on a sleigh with reindeer, either. I like the way they do this. Keep a little bit of the magic of Santa, but this allows a greater focus on Christ at Christmas.
    Advent is really big here, too. You can find all kinds of Advent calendars. It's definitely a cultural thing, not just religious. I've seen several toy company sponsered ones- like Legos. I watched a weather report on a local channel and instead of printing the date for Sunday's forcast, they had 1. Advent. found the cutest mini Advent wreath. We can only leave the candles lit while we pray or they will be completely gone in a day, but I'm glad to have it.

In my last post I told you about our hike up to Solitude in 50 degree weather.  This Sunday we hiked up Solitude in below freezing temps and a crazy amount of snow on the ground. That's the difference a week can make.

 Jo, getting a lift home. She's in a no daddy phase, so Kenny was astounded at her willingness to be so close. I think she even willingly gave hugs and smooches.

 Our neighborhood

 Jo warming up; Jackson hamming it up

When we started hiking, there was more sun, but it's not too bad looking.