On Friday morning I woke up for the first time in Switzerland to see a thin layer of snow covering the fields and frosting the trees of Freienwil. Yes, I have seen snow every year of my life. No, the feeling of seeing the first snowfall never gets old. I did a little dance in the kitchen, and realized that it’s really feeling like Christmas. Enjoy my last blog until after Christmas!
A Visit to my Old Town
Last Tuesday I went back to Untersiggenthal to go running with Brigitte and her best friend. We ran all of my familiar routes and the cold night air felt so good. I forgot how much I loved to run, because I can’t really do it up here in Freienwil at this time of year. There are no street lights and so it is completely dark when I get home from school. The new snow also makes things more difficult. At the end of my run, I showed up sweaty and red-faced to surprise Daria and Andreas at home. My room is now the wool-spinning room, and it’s looking way cleaning than I have ever seen it. Other than that, not much has changed. We spent a few minutes laughing catching up, and collecting everything I had forgotten on my first round of moving. Can’t wait to spend a little bit of Christmas time in Untersiggenthal next weekend!
Canadian Class
On Wednesday I showed up to school after lunch and got totally soaked in the rain on the way to the bus. Freienwil loves to let the sun shine while I am safely inside, than pee down on me the minute I step out the door. My boots have an enormous hole in the toe, so my feet are constantly wet. (I have money to buy new ones, but this money got transferred to my snowboard funds). It’s safe to say my mood was on edge as I walked into German. In this class, I learned that we would be going skating next class (I had looked forward to putting on dry gym clothes and running shoes). We then missed our bus, and had to walk a half hour to the area. I was not at all pleased, and childishly grumpy. However, as soon as I tied up the skate laces my mood started to lift. There is something about putting on the most uncomfortable pair of skates and slipping into my oversized Canada mitts that makes me feel so rejuvenated- so much at home. The rink was a little sloppy due to the rain, but it was enjoyable all the same. Get a girl's gym class together to play hockey (not one being able to stop, and half wearing figure skates) is a perfect combination for some serious laughter. On my way home, I was once again completely annihilated by a storm, but just laughed at my luck and smiled because my day had been a good one.
Miscommunication
As much as I like to think I have learned a considerable amount of German, it becomes clear to me often just how much I don’t understand. I show up for skating with shorts and running shoes, a math test without realizing we were writing one, a knot tying lesson without a rope, a secret Santa party without a gift, a bus station without my ticket, and a modern dance show thinking I was seeing Shakespeare. It’s frustrating, but at the same time I just have to laugh. The strangest was certainly the modern dance show I saw on Saturday night. I 100% thought it was Shakespeare I had signed up to see with my class, but in the theater there was no stage. Just a large sandbox at the bottom of the rows of seat. The entire hour and a half a group of people fought, wrestled, sang, danced, and raced around in the sand. They spit in it, kicked it, threw it at the audience, rolled in it, dug in it, and even ate it. It was the strangest thing I have ever seen in my life. The only word I said after to describe it was “special”. Not boring- not normal. I have searched far and wide for a video clip to show you, but I think this production was somehow too obscure to even be on the internet. Definitely a new experience!
Parlo L’Italiano
I am pretty sure what I wrote above means “I speak Italian”- or it’s supposed to anyways. I wouldn’t have a clue because I don’t speak a word. This was very clear when I travelled down to Tessin with some friends on Saturday. I was out of my house by eight o clock and ready for a big day with some of my favourite people. The weather in Switzerland never ceases to amaze me. I woke up to a wet snow covered field, hopped on the train in the rain, and travelled through a massive snowstorm with men shovelling a few feet of the train tracks, and popped out of a tunnel into Bellinzona at 7°C and sun. Without having a clue of what there was to do in this city, we ended up having a really amazingamazing day. We saw two castles, a Christmas market, and ate in a little pizzeria. The vibe in this city is totally different than the one in the German speaking area of Switzerland. It doesn’t feel like Switzerland at all! Felt like I was right back in Italy and it was so much fun. The only problem arrived in the restaurant when trying to order our meals. My friends Hayley speaks a bit of Italian, so when I didn’t even know how to say “I want pizza,” she could help me out. She wasn't, however, able to catch my mistake when I translated "acciughe" for "artichokes". I love artichokes. Unfortunately, "acciughe" means "anchovies". An enormous pizza was placed in front of me with little fishies lying dead in the melted mozzarella. Another girl had trusted my translations and had ordered the pizza as well. When we both realized my mistake, we just couldn’t help but bust into a crazy laugher. It definately was not the best pizza I’ve had, anchovies really are as bad as people describe them, but we sure did laugh a lot at my mistake. I also realized here how much i am lacking in the knowledge of Swiss history. In both castles I just wanted to know why they were there? Who lived there? What was this room for? Why was it built this way? Since I didn’t know the answers i just began to make up things like, “this tower here was for the dragon,” and “the princes slept here,” or “this was where they poured boiling cauldrons of hot stuff on people they didn’t like trying to get in the castle”. Maybe i should do some research and get some real facts...I did get some great pictures though.
Swiss-German Christmas
On Sunday morning i had my first christmas celebration with Willi’s family. Sixteen of us sat around the extended kitchen table and i tried to keep up with some rapid Swiss German. I surprised myslef by understanding, but i was totally and completely exhausted by the end of the day.
We finihsed our day with rich chocolates desserts and christmas cookies. The snow shone in the sunlight across the farms, the newly decorated tree stood in the kitchen, and everyone just enjoyed to be in each other’s company. I love christmas-time.
After a wonderful brunch, we did the coolest thing. Couches, duvets, pillows, bean bag chairs, and comfy chairs were dragged into the kitchen and the lights were turned out. Sheets hung in all the windows (there are a lot of them) and a projector was set up on the kitchen table. The large, flat, white walls in the kitchen happen to be perfect for setting up a movie theare. We watched a comedy “Johnny English” in german together. Everyone laughed, and although i didn’t understand alot, i enjoyed myself too.
At night we lit the tree- real candles and sparklers! And listened to traditional Christmas music. Oh wait no, that's not right. We got didgeridoo lessons from Willi and played by the light of the tree. Willi was really good at it- I managed to make a really lovely farting noise that sounded nothing like music. You have to learn how to breath out and suck in at the same time. You can practice this with a glass and try to keep your bubbles even. It was hard to concentrate with so much laughing, but it was a blast.
A Merry Christmas to my English friends and family, and eine fröhliche Weihnachten für meine Schweizer Freunden und Familien.
All my love
Stephie
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