Zurich Sea
For the first time, I went to swim in the Zurich Sea with all of my friends from language school. It was so amazing. The water was 24 degreeds, and the water seemed so clean for being right beside the biggest city! There was a huge fountain in the middle that we swam to and sat under it in. The sun was shining, the people were amazing, and I just had the best afternoon.
Farmer's Market
In class we were given another awesome assignment- go to the farmers market to learn the names of all of our fruits, vegetables, etc! The final question on the assignment was to buy something for under 2Franks. After much contemplation, I decided on some bread to have for my lunch. You may be thinking "croissant" or "bun", but no no no. I bought a LOAF of bread for lunch. And god it was good. Freshly baked, moist on the inside, I thought it would last me two days of lunches- but no such luck. I thought in my head, "I have a race tonight...so it's okay to eat a loaf of bread!" No regrets! I'm just living culturally.
The Race
It was approximately 32 degrees yesterday and so humid I could hardly breathe, but I had my race to run. I seriously considered not going, but finally decided I had to. Just as I got to the starting point, it started to pour rain and thunderstorm, which was a great relief. Fresh air seemed to come instantly. I registered and lined up at the start line. My host dad came to watch, my host sister was directing traffic, and even my councellor pulled up in his Mercedes e-class in his Ralph Lauren shirt to stand in the rain and cheer me on. The race was two laps around a block in my town, and was 3.5km in total. Before starting the race, I actually felt good! Part of me was thinking- you could come in dead last, and no one here knows you, so it doesn't matter!
First Lap: Off the start I tried to stick with the first girl I saw, and she pretty much killed me in the first km. My host sister cheered me on at the top of a stepp hill and I waved, I was having fun!
Second lap: I'm dying. Why didn't I train? Why am I doing this? And why in the world did I eat that loaf of bread? My host sister cheered my on at the top of the big hill and I hardly agknowledged, I was too afraid of busting a lung.
I finished the race and ended up coming 3rd of all the women! I expected that maybe for a top three finish I'd recieve a small medal, or a ribbon or something, so I stuck around for the awards ceremonies. While waiting, my councellor bought my my first true Bratwurst!!! Wow. That's all I have to say. It was greasy, and delicious, and exactly what I wanted. We won't talk about how many I ate. A medical team may show up at my doorstep just waiting for my heart to stop. Totally worth it. The announcer reached my catergory and I went to the front. Instead of a medal, I stood on the podium with a rose, and recieved... A BASKET OF CHEESE AND SALAMI. I love this place. I really do. I also got olives, sun dried tomatoes, biscotti, crackers, and a small bottle of wine. How great is that? I contemplated bringing the entire basket for lunch today- but decided against it.
Babysitting
Lydia next door was told that during the evening, she should babysit me. So, we sat down together and she asked if I wanted to hear a story. I sat and chose a very small childrens book, hoping to God I'd understand some of it. She opened the cover, and apperantly thought that I cannot read at all, because she started to make up her own stories about the pictures she saw. It was so cute. She would "read" a page, and then ask me to repeat the hard words, like a teacher. I was truly being taught by an eight year old. I had to laugh, but it was so great at the same time.
Love to my family, love to my friends, love to everyone who is reading this blog! xox
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