Take it Easy

If I told you that I have something to worry about, something stressful, or something difficult in my life right now- it would be the biggest lie I have ever told.  I sleep like a baby, laugh every day, love every minute, and look forward to everything that’s coming.  I am starting to train for my half-marathon, playing lots of soccer, and seeing new places all the time.  I don’t know how many times I’ve said this…but man, am I lucky.

The Best Kind of School Day

As much as school has improved for me, let’s be honest.  The best school days are when I don’t have to go at all.  Last Thursday I went with the girls from my class skiing in Flumserberg.  One of the girls was leaving for Canada on an exchange year, and it was nice to be able to spend some time with her her before she left.  I taught her all of the most important Canadian words, like “pardon”, “eh”, and “sorry”.   We had a little lesson on how to annunciate her province name, I warned her about how the landscape may me a “tad” different, and wished her all the best in Saskatchewan.

To get to Flumserberg I was in the 6.00am bus from my house, and not even partially awake.  I slept like a rock in one bus, three trains, and one gondola before we were at the top, and I finally had enough energy to for a big day of snowboarding.  The sun was shining, there were very little people on the slopes, and it was just above zero degrees.  The snow was hard, fast, and groomed as perfectly as corduroy from top to bottom.  Every time I took a break I would look at my surroundings and have to remind myself that it wasn’t a dream.  This is my life; and what a beautiful life it is.  The day took a turn for the worse when a friend of mine fell and sliced her cheek open with her ski edge.  She was completely in shock at the time, and didn’t even realize that her cheek had a gash that went almost all the way through.  I managed to stay calm and give her some instructions on the hill while the others went to go get help.  She was brought to the nearest doctor, who gave her eight stitches (inside and outside of her cheek).  She didn’t shed a tear the entire time- I would have made quite a large scene I’m sure.    

Hellogoodbye

On Saturday, a friend of mine, Jill went back home to Australia after her year-long exchange.  Her host family, along with about twenty exchange students were at the airport, all ready to reluctantly say goodbye.  Being in an airport was a very weird thing.  It brought back memories of the feelings I had the last time I was in one, and initiated some new ones by reminding me that in less than six months from now I’ll be in her position.  I am not even close to being ready to go home, too much to see, too much to do, too many people I haven’t met, and too many experiences are yet to come.  Something about this day was an important wake-up call, that at some point I will have to mentally prepare to leave my life here in Switzerland.  Key words: at some point.  But not quite yet!

In the afternoon, I hung out with some of the other Canadians, and a New Yorker.  We did the typical exchange student activity, and simply hopped on the next train to a city we’d never seen.  We stopped in Winterthur (where I will run my marathon), then headed up to Schaffhausen to climb the tower there and enjoy the beautiful day in the old city.  Great people, great places.  There is nothing more I need!

Schwartzwald

On Sunday my family took me on yet another cool excursion- to the Black Forrest, and Schluchsee in Germany.  They actually had a bit of snow there, which made it so beautiful in the sunshine. 

We hiked around half of the lake and stopped for lunch.  I had a traditional winter meal- which I can’t remember the name of.  For a lack of a better, German word, I shall name it “A Weiner in Soup”.  It was the perfect thing to warm up and fill up for the second half of our hike. 

While the first half of our day was a leisurely stroll (picture taking, watching Willi doing Ina’s hip-hop moves, skipping in unison instead of walking) the second half was rather strenuous.  Brigitte realized we were running a little late to catch our train.  We speed walked like we were training for the Olympics, and even ran the last kilometer or two.  We looked like quite the sporty bunch, flying by the other families at top speed in single file.  We made our train, and decided that our efforts should be rewarded with apple strudel in a restaurant that overlooked the lake.  Definitely worth it. 

At night we went to see a Historical theatre about Baden in the Baden museum.  Out of the four presentations, I understood two well, and two not-so-much.  But it was still cool to see a little history about the city I live in (or close to). 

Perfectly Impractical

This little story is for my mom, who would be shaking her head and laughing at my ever-present disability to “shop smart”. 

A few weeks ago I went boot shopping to replace my black leather boots with the big hole in the toe.  There should be a rule about shoe shopping, like the one about grocery shopping (never go grocery shopping when you’re starving).  “Never go boot shopping when your feet are cold and wet.” I came home equipped for the arctic with a pair of water-proof, fur lined, enormous pair of winter monster shoes, with the highly convenient option of retractable ice spikes.  I live in a town that doesn’t even get lasting snow in the winter.  I haven’t needed to wear the shoes in a month.

 

Realizing that I needed something for our normal mild days (that aren’t like ovens for my feet), I decided to simply replace my black boots.  Calf height, plain black, no heal, go-with-anything, kind of deal.  Just a replacement.  I accidently came home with a pair of high heeled greyish-brown ankle boots that don’t particularly go with anything.  They hurt like hell, they make running to the bus stop impossible, and walking on cobblestone an extreme sport.  They are totally impractical, unnecessary, and unsafe.  They are beautiful, and I love them. 

Thanks for reading everyone,

And until next time! Kuß Kuß

Frohe Weihnachten und Guets Neus

“Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!”
The last few weeks have been some of my very best here in Switzerland, although I am starting to get the feeling that I am just enjoying myself more and more with each day that goes by.  I love my life here.  I hope that everyone at home has enjoyed the holidays as much as I have, and I hope you enjoy my weeks’ worth of adventures. 

The Christmas Spirit

The week before holidays started was a really good one in the school.  Even the teachers were in the spirit, making things extremely easy for us.  Movies, shortened classes, Raclette dinner with the class, secret Santa, Christmas concert, and Christmas volleyball night made the week more enjoyable than most in school.  Since my church is an old monastery, attached to our hallway is a beautiful and well known church.  It is firstly known for its acoustics which are perfect for choir concerts, and secondly for the fact that it is always colder inside the church than it is outside.  On Wednesday, we left class early for the traditional Christmas concert, all dressed in our warmest winter clothes for the occasion.  I sang twice with the choir, and then was able to enjoy the sounds of our school- sounds completely different than the one at St. T’s back at home.  The classical choirs, stunning orchestra, and flawless bands were so amazing that from back stage was sure it couldn’t be high-school students.  We had a Raclette Christmas dinner together as a class after and made the whole science hall reek of melted cheese.  A seriously good day.  As a final Christmas celebration my class participated in a Christmas volleyball tournament on Friday the 23^rd.  We ended up playing pretty well, and making into the final round.  I felt pretty ridiculous walking around the school with “Rudolph” painted on my butt, a completely brown face, and a red nose- but I’ll never say no to a little Christmas spirit.  I managed to only mess up occasionally, and was yelled at by my team a minimal number of times- all in all a successful experience.  I came home and wrapped Christmas presents until after one am (Christmas wrapping becomes a marathon event when you have more families than you can count on one hand) to prepare for the European Christmas on the 24^th. 

The Cutest Reindeer Around

Looking ready...hoping to God the ball doesn't come anywhere near me

Christmas Day (24^th)

In most of Switzerland (and many other European countries) Christmas is celebrated on the 24^th of December.  Many traditions are the same; they simply take place at different times than in Canada.  While in Canada I find that most people celebrate Christmas in the same way, I have found that here is a bit of a mix between traditional Swiss, modern, and North-American Christmas.  Traditionally, the “Christ-kind” (an angel) comes to deliver the presents on the 24^th after the tree is set up (also usually done on the 24^th). But we sort of just did our own thing. On the morning of the 24^th I visited Barbara, Andreas, and Daria to exchange gifts and spend a few minutes with the neighbors too.  They went over the top with Christmas presents, but each one is perfect, and made me realize how well they have truly gotten to know me.   Daria made me a card with one of my favourite pictures on the front.  She knitted me a scarf that matches my jacket perfectly.  Barbara got me a German to Swiss-German dictionary and a grammar book so that even though I don’t live with my own private tutor anymore, I can still keep up with my work.  Andreas got me my favourite CD, a beautiful candle, and some new natural hair products for my new doo (yup FINALLY got a haircut!).  In the evening I went with my family to Brigitte’s brother’s house (just across the field we live on) to celebrate Christmas dinner.  Ina fasted for the entire day in order to make room for dinner, and I was glad that I didn’t eat too much beforehand.  We ate the traditional meal of my host family which was fondue chinos.  An enormous plate of raw meat was passed around the table and we cooked it in a pot of soup broth.  The meat was juicy and delicious every single time- I couldn’t get enough of it! Whatever meat I didn’t eat in my first four months here- I certainly made up for at Christmas dinner. 



The kids set the table.  Slightly heavy on the napkin application.
Adorable.



Yummmmm





Halfway through the meal little Neils (new host-cousin) started to cry because it was simply too hard to wait any longer for presents.  We lit the tree and sang some songs together (I hummed- not knowing the German words).  With the lights down low, the tree all beautifully lit, and music being sung by the young and old it was the perfect Christmas memory.  We opened our presents, and I have a new ski-day-fund as well as 150 francs to spend at the sports store!  We finished with dessert, which I ate way too much of, but Brigitte’s mother is simply amazing and I can’t say no to anything she makes.  We went to midnight mass in the little town church to conclude my very Swiss, very memorable, and very special Christmas. 



Temo, Neils, and Ina



Temo lighting the tree



Neils finally able to open his gifts



Grandma Elsbeth's Amazing Frozen Torte!

Canadian Christmas

On the 25^th I was lucky enough to be able to spend Christmas with my real Canadian family- even from over 6000km away.  In the morning I opened presents with my dad’s family.  Each time a present was unwrapped it would be brought up to the camera to show me here.  It was almost as good as being right there with them.  With my mom’s family we opened stockings together, and I unwrapped a loaded package with lots of goodies from home.  My family managed to make my Christmas very special, even being so far away. 

The Not-So-Traditional Sibling Christmas Photo

In the afternoon with my Swiss family (I need to clarify so you don’t get mixed up between all my families!) we went for a hike to Brigitte’s very favourite spot.  Zurich, the mountains behind it, and on the other side, the Black Forest in Germany.  It was so beautiful. 

Its hard to miss snow when you wake up to this outside your window on Christmas morning.  Perfection.

Beginning the Hike

The View (and where I walk from the bus stop)

 At night we lit the Christmas tree for the last time and I opened some Canadian themed gifts that truly made me smile.  It was a perfect day. 

King of the Hill

On the 26^th of December we packed up Willi’s van and started out for an adventure that truly is the experience of a lifetime.  It is something that I will remember, be thankful for…and probably brag about for the rest of my life.  Skiing/snowboarding…in the Alps.  We were in Obersaxen, Graubünden in a ski-lodge/house with eight other families for the week.  The first two days were like a dream.  Sunny, blue skies, nice snow, warm, but not too warm.  I was thankful for the good weather, because I became aware of one thing very quickly- the Alps are nothing like the bumps in Ontario.  I was slower, sloppier, and a lot sorer than the others after a few days of wipe-outs.  I may have “Mountainview” (all 100m of it) mastered, but I have a lot to learn here.  By the end of the second day, the only problem was that the hills were pretty skied-out and we needed a fresh dose of snow.  I also mentioned at some point that I have never really been skiing in power.  The snow gods listened. 

On the third day we woke up to a world of fluffy white flurries.  An important difference between Switzerland and Ontario: when it snows in Ontario, there are clouds above you, and you ski through the snow- simple.  When it snows in Obersaxen, you are in the clouds, and you ski through the clouds/fog/snow- not so simple.  I kept trying to wipe my goggles because I thought they were fogged over, but it was just the weather.  At some points on the chair lift we couldn’t see the chair in front or behind us, the trees below us, or the sky above us.  What a freaky feeling.  It was a good thing that Brigitte was wearing a bright yellow jacket, because I needed it desperately to keep me on track going down the hill.  I felt like a child with my skis in the “pizza” position going at a snail’s pace down the hill.  It was hilarious and a ton of fun.  The day after, the snow hadn’t taken a break.  We had about two feet of fresh snow and it was time for my lessons in powder skiing.  I had no idea how strenuous it is! In order to keep in motion and not face plant into the snow, you need to hold your weight as far back as possible.  This does two things- gives you 10x less control, and makes your thighs feel like you’ve done approximately four hundred squats the day before.  I tried to take a break and let my weight forward for just a second…the result?

Taking a Break

Trying desperately to stand up again

But either way, it was the best experience ever.  Looking up at a hill of total powder, with only your tracks running through it is not something you can do every day.  Another cool thing in Obersaxen- they have a toboggan run down the middle of the ski hill.  Yes my friends, I tobogganed the Alps.  I ended up being the last one outside to claim a toboggan, and had to share with another guy who is over six feet tall.  I was perfectly willing to share because a) I could close my eyes and not have to watch as we flew recklessly down the hill b) I wouldn’t be in charge of steering c) we would be fast on the flats with so much weight.  This however, did not go as planned.  We had too much weight on too small of a sled and ended up spending more time recovering from wipeouts than actually riding.  Black, blue, cramped, and full of snow we made it down the mountain in dead last out of about ten sleds.  Was certainly an experience! On New Year’s Eve (called “Sylvester” here) we had a really great time.  We looked at pictures from the years past (the same families go together every year), and each cooked a part of a delicious meal (normally we had a chef for dinner).  We had pork tenderloin stuffed with some sort of cheese, risotto, and beans wrapped in bacon.  For desert we had vanilla ice cream topped with melted dark chocolate and a red wine-plum-cinnamon sauce (my job).  Everything was delicious and it brought us almost until midnight when it was finished. 

At twelve o’clock we all went outside to watch the fireworks being set off from the different villages and houses throughout the mountains.  We had a glass of champagne and sang a song together.  

The whole week was purely based on relaxation and quality time with friends and family. We played games every night (with lots of breaks for to whip out my dictionary) and I felt completely accepted and included the whole time. We played what I’ll call “ice Bocce” (a mix between curling and bocce ball on an ice rink).  I managed every single time to knock my own team members out of the circle and lose pretty much every round.  People were sure I was being paid by the other team. 

We also played a foosball tournament; also apperantly not my calling.  I jumped, and shouted, and cheered, and tried really hard, but my partner and I managed to lose our first three games- by a long shot.  In the last and final, exciting and thrilling match (deciding between 14^th and 15^th place) we managed to pull our team of small plastic men together.  With the whole ski camp chanting “Canada, Canada, Canada…Stephanie, Stephanie, Stephanie,” we got ourselves a win.  

Yup, we lost against her

It was definitely one of the nicest groups of people I have ever met, and I was very lucky to be a part of their tradition.  There were five other teenagers in the house and I had a lot of fun getting to know them and spending time together.  One of the guys had a birthday while we were away, and we decided that we wanted to go to the bar down the street.  I hadn’t had to ask Brigitte or Willi yet to go out, so I wasn’t sure if I’d be allowed, or what the rules would be.  I asked Willi if I could go and he simply said “Yes, of course!” End of discussion.  I thought that was a little strange but I went and got dressed anyways.  When I came downstairs, all of the adults were laughing.  They had understood my question properly, but Willi had thought I was asking to go take a bath.  Yes, I still have problems communicating properly every once in a while.  However, I did realize something cool.  In Obersaxen I didn’t have my laptop, didn’t use my phone, didn’t bring any English books, and didn’t have any (native) English speaking people.  I was practically totally immersed in German the entire week and I realized I was even thinking in German! What a great feeling.  The minute I got home from Obersaxen I wished to go back for a second week.  I will never be able to thank Brigitte and Willi enough for bringing me along.



Our House



Brigitte and I

Willi and I

Getting my daily nap in

It just doesn't get any better than this...

PS: Thank you all for the photo donations from this week.  MUCH appreciated.  (I was taking a photographer vacation)

Setting Goals, Getting Goals

In my attempt to work off a portion of the chocolate, cheese, and bread that I inhale on a daily basis, I have been looking into the possibility of running a half marathon while I am here.  I have done a lot of research, and I think I have finally found something for me.  I quickly disregarded anything labeled as “Mountain warrior”, or “Alp Marathon”.  This narrowed my choices substantially.  My top choice at this time is a half marathon on May 5^th in Winterthur that is mostly in the forest.  I am not one hundred percent certain of this yet, but now that I’ve told all of you, I pretty well have to do it.  It would certainly be a huge challenge, and afterwards an enormous accomplishment for me.  With my newfound motivation, and a rare sunny afternoon in Freienwil, I decided to start my training.  I was having such a great time running, that I didn’t even realize how far I’d gone.  When I turned around to come home was when things went a little wrong.  I could have followed the signs leading to Freienwil (the intelligent, logical, and obvious thing to do) but I pulled a big “Stephanie” move.  I decided that the signs were wrong, and that I’d take a way better “shortcut”.  I ended up in a completely wrong town, looking longingly on the other side of the hill, over many fields at Freienwil.  I had no energy left to run any farther, and I just wanted to get home.  I sprinted across four or five fields of private property and hoped to goodness that I wouldn’t have any angry farm dogs, cows, or farmers chasing after me.  I arrived home almost 15km later, full of mud, sore, and exhausted.  Although I wasn’t able to walk properly for three days, my run did allow me to do two things: a) get jet-powered leg massages for sore muscles in the thermal baths in Baden, b) live up to my full eating potential at Barbara’s for a fondue night.  I will definitely need some more training. 

On Saturday, I played for Baden in an indoor soccer tournament.  I was pretty tired from going out the night before, but I was feeling excited for my first indoor experience.  The day turned out to have a largely varied mix of good and bad outcomes.  Good: I had a lot of fun with my team. Bad: we lost every game.  Good: my two best friends from school came, armed with banners, signs, and my favourite snacks for in between games.  Bad: I gave someone a concussion.  Good: I got the funniest goal I have ever seen.  Now about the last two things…I accidently stepped in front of a girl as we were both running for the ball.  She tripped over my foot, stepped on the ball, and fell backwards directly onto her head.  I immediately tried to help her up, but I was mortified.  Her eyes were completely rolled in opposing directions in the back of her head, and she wasn’t responding to anything.  I know things like that happen in sports, but I was scared out of my mind and wished more than anything there was something I could do.  She was rushed to the hospital, and I wish her all the best in her recovery.  I can tell you first hand, from multiple experiences how much concussions suck.  On a lighter note, I did get the most interesting goal of the tournament.  The ball was kicked hard from our net down to the other and I ran like crazy trying to get it in time.  I was too slow, and the goalie got it instead.  I was close to her, and she wanted to get it away from her as soon as possible.  She tried to boot it to the other side, but it caught me directly in the stomach.  The air was knocked out of me completely, and I collapsed to the ground.  However, the ball had just enough momentum left in it to roll slowly past the line into the net.  It wasn’t pretty, but it was a goal.


                                            clever huh? ^^




I have the best Swiss friends <3



The World is Small

A friend of my dad’s (real dad- just to clarify) has a very successful business, and is part of a corporation that is based out of Switzerland.  He has been many times to Switzerland, and I was so excited to hear that he’d be coming again this year.  He had a pretty packed schedule, but Rob managed to make a whole afternoon free to spend with me.  He showed me the stunning town of Rapperswil, on the Lake of Zurich, and we enjoyed a fabulous sushi lunch.  It was so strange seeing someone from home here in my life now.  It brought back a few pangs of homesickness, which I haven’t had to deal with for quite some time now.  Nevertheless, it was a wonderful afternoon, and I can’t thank Rob enough for spending time with me (or for bringing a suitcase PACKED with clothes and chocolate back home!).  The best part of my week, for sure. 

Well everyone, I apologize for the lengthiness of this blog.  If you’ve made it to this point, than thank you for spending so much time to catch up on my life.  Wishing everyone the best and I promise next time not to be so long winded.

Love,

Stephie