LONDON BABY!

LONDON TOWN

Have spent the last few days wondering (most likely looking like lost tourists) with Nat, catching numerous buses and tubes, hunting down markets and good food, trying not to get rained on, and generally feeling like I'm in the middle of a monopoly board. I kid you not. But I'm still looking for GO so that I can pass it and collect $200. Not successful so far.
Also haven't seen the Queen yet.
But did see 2 wonderful Broadway shows :) :)
There's Karaoke going on downstairs in our hostel, but we have to get up early tomorrow morning to catch the bus to Oxford, so I'm off to bed.

Crazy town, there's meat pies here!!!!! and I've also eated Indian, Portuguese (more custard tarts!) and Thai...and most likely more I can't remember....

Night.

Gum Anyone? Fresh Yeast?

I'm on the train and I'm lugging around a giant handbag. Full of stuff.
At least I'm prepared...with:

3 books
4 blocks of chocolate
1 pair of gloves
2 bottles of deodorant (this does NOT mean anything)
1 hairbrush
1 comb
1 journal
1 phone book
2 wallets
1 new tube of toothpaste
1 pill bottle (good rhythm for when i walk)
1 cube of fresh yeast (yes, indeed. don't ask)
2 pens
1 million pieces of scrap paper
1 pair of sunglasses, broken (is it any wonder, being shaken and squashed in this thing!?)
1 packet of throat lozenges
1 iPod
1 bottle of moisturizer
2 packets of chewing gum
1 set of broadway tickets, used (unfortunately)
1 NYC map
55 cents

No joke, I am prepared to: walk NYC with music in my ears, sporting cracked sunglasses, chewing an awful lot of gum whilst simultaneously sucking throat lozenges and scoffing chocolate, brushing my hair and applying, yes, an awful lot of deodorant, and baking some fresh bread. I can also read a book, whilst journalling about this experience. I'll have to think about what to do with my 55cents...

An Average Day On Your Average Sailing Boat

When your average day on your average sailing boat is spent being the average au pair to your average swiss children, it might look something like this:

6:45 AM - I wake up having been awake most of the night dreaming the craziest dreams you can imagine. This is most likely due to 1.) my new and different enviroment, and 2.) movement of the boat during the night.
Spend 5 minutes trying to clear head working out the true and the false of the previous night. Make mental note to warn 4th cousin's husband's aunt of her impending doom and to cancel dinner tonight with the Prime Minister.

6:50 - I was blessed by a friend with a silver box containing cards for every day reminding me of Jesus. She'd also talked about starting the day with 1song+1prayer, a project I'm currently working on. And she'd included a Lindt chocolate for each day, which made this time actually 1song+1prayer+1card+1chocolate. I'm really glad for this time I had to start each day fresh and new and grounded, regardless of where I was actually waking up.

7:10 - Straighten my bed - which included positioning the bike, bag and strange unidentified sail like thing that lived on the other half of my bed. Funny, I spent approx 315 hours lying next to this thing and I really have no idea what it looked like or what it did.
Straighten myself. This did NOT include showering, unless it was one of the 2 out of 35 days I showered. Don't despise me.

7:15 - Prepare breakfast. This included first cleaning the table of the inch of salty goodness it had acquired throughout the night. This also included toting a whole bunch of cereals and spreads to the table that we didn't ever seem to consume.
See, I told you I worked.

7:59 - Hurridly try to clean up all breakfast dishes before school starts promptly at 8. This involved washing in salt water and then rinsing in a centimer of fresh water. This is a lot more fun than it sounds. After a few days of so much salt water, your fingers actually start to literally disappear. Layer by layer.

8:00 - I am really fast at washing up. MLF2 and I start an hour of English. Over the course of my time there we learnt about food pyramids, the journey of milk, and how to make pancakes. Also about the difference between earphones/headphones and rollerskating/rollerblading. All very important stuff. Her English improved so dramatically over the boat time. I think it was the study content. She loves pancakes.

9:00 - Another hour of English Power. We read through The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton and Romona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary while I was there. I selfishly chose some of my favourite stories and I can't express how much they loved them. And we learnt 99 new English vocabularly words whilst learning about pixies and brownies and magical trees.

10:00 - Time for a quick swim to insert some more salt into the hair before MLF1's turn for her hour of English. Her English also wonderfully improved during the boat time. We studied amazing animals, volcanoes and learnt how to organize and run a Sports Day. She wanted to include a competition of holding your breath underwater. Little did she know I am the world champion of this.

11:20 - Last but not least, MLF3's turn to shine. I tried to think of arty and crafty things for this time, and so we ended up painting and drawing and sewing. She is master of embroidery and I am the master of Butterfly Blot paintings. So.Much.Respect.

12:30 PM - We ate. The French Skipper would usually make lunch for us and our menu was good and new and varied after a year of Kylie's cooking. So.Much.Fish.

13:30 - The afternoons varied. Sometimes we would go into the town, or sail to a new one.
If I was lucky, they might decide to take a nap and I would be most obliging and take one too.
Or perhaps we would go snorkelling or explore a tiny island. Or perhaps a big one.
We might go on a hike or take a tour with some rather-focused bird watchers.
Swimming was also a popular choice and most afternoons I lived in my swimmers. FYI, I am a master of all things sandcastle.
The afternoon might also include grocery shopping, swimming with turtles or make bread. Or perhaps cake. Cake is better.

Sometimes it was good. Sometimes it was hard. Sometimes it was hard but good. It was a different dynamic because, although I'd lived with them for a year, I'd had my own space, my own time and then, for this trip, a lot of that disappeared. Which wasn't altogether a bad thing, just different. After all, we were sharing Caribbean space.

17:30 - Time to start dinner. Sometimes it was me, sometimes the French Skipper, sometimes M or P. It's a good thing to make dinner watching the sun set over the ocean.
I've had my food options expanded to include a lot of then-rather strange vegetables and unknown fish. I didn't die from any of them though. And I even half-like fish lasagne. And fish pasta. And baked fish with fish patties. Even fish nuggets and fish salad. And of course bbq'd fish.

19:00 - Eat fish.

20:00 - Of course no meal would be complete without the washing up. My fingers are now half their size due to the fact that skin does a funny thing when met with a lot of salt water.

21:00 - We tidy up the boat and the girls go to bed, followed closely by me. I found it sometimes rather tiring being your average au pair to your average swiss children on your average sailing boat. Why, you ask?
Persistant boat-salesmen, French/German-speaking children, mountain guides who ran expecting me to follow, angry fish, snorkeling through strong currents, flesh-eating salt water... Sheesh. It just plain wears you out!

And so, time for bed.
Ah, hello strange unidentified sail-like thing. How I've missed you.



PS: MLF1, 2, 3? M & P? I miss you!

Pregnant Much?

So, a couple of weeks ago, I got asked if I was pregnant.
I didn't think much of it.

Yesterday, when I was taking some medication, I was asked again. Are you very sure you're not pregnant?
I know, I know. They have to ask this. To be safe. So I didn't think too much of it.

But today. Today I was handed some clothing and asked, Do you want this? It might fit you. It's too big for me now, I wore it when I was pregnant.

!!!

Thanks, but no thanks!

Actually, I took it.
Who says no to Free Stuff?!

Sometimes It's Ok To Jump Off A Cliff

I'm grasping at summer straws but I'm trying to tell myself that summer is still here. That sunny warm days will still continue.
I'm probably kidding myself.


Goods and Bads from the last week. Bad news first?


Bads:

Friends are leaving to go home left, right and centre! It's weird being one of the "older" au pairs - I'm not! I just got here! Stop asking me questions, I have no idea what I'm doing!


Winter is coming. This will bring the obligation to ski. I still have nightmares from last season.


I also seem to have picked up a cold from somewhere. If someone is missing theirs, it's probably in my head. I would love to return it to you!



Goods:

I just spent a lovely day with a friend doing - well, not much. Eating. (We even ate ice cream for breakfast with crepes. Don't tell my Mum!)


Holidays in 2 weeks!! Am planning on a few days cycling in Holland and then off to Greece for 9 days to ... eat Greek food! (And perhaps pretend that I am in the Mamma Mia movie!)


I made Pumpkin Soup for dinner one night this week and MLF1 was NOT happy. Not happy at all - due to a dislike of the main ingredient.
She sat down at the table - pushed the soup away and was NOT happy.
Did I mention she was NOT happy?
But after about 10 minutes, I saw her pick up her spoon and lick it. And then, filled up the spoon and ate some more. And then, a little more.
6!!!! bowlfuls later, I think she liked the soup?


MLF3 (4 yrs) correcting MLF2 (8 yrs) on her English.


Paragliding last weekend! Absolutely amazing!!


It was a birthday gift from my host family and I just want to go again! Had about 20 minutes of flying time above the town and mountains surrounding Zermatt. And got to see the Matterhorn closer than most!

I wasn't nervous at all (birds fly all the time, right?) - until my tandem dude's words were, "Now we're going to take a few running steps toward the edge of the cliff."
How many times do you hear that in your life?

But after that all was fine.

Until we landed and my legs didn't work and it was all rather unceremonious. Him trying to pull me up, being attached by many strings, belts and clasps, him not being able to pull me up, still being attached by many strings, belts and clasps.
You get the picture.


A beautiful walk/hike near Neuchâtel. Steph and I were whisked away to a land that resembled a fairytale.






But it did play with my head when I realized the scenery I'd seen the day before compared to this day. Such a small country but it's vastly vastly different!

Day 1:


Day 2:

Day 3:

- See? I told you I worked sometimes!

Esmerelda, Is That You?

Just in case you didn't know...the Eifel Tower is HUGE. I never knew it was so big. It towers (no pun intended) over the rest of Paris by a mile (or something like 300 something metres). Tomorrow I have the full intention of climbing to the top!

We're staying in a crazy quirky hotel in the absolute heart of Pareee. Unfortunately they decided to use jack hammers in the absolute heart of Pareee this morning.
Dear Construction Men, please do your thang in the outskirts tomorrow morning.

We have a wonderful view of the Notre Dame from our window, from the Hotel Esmerelda. There seems to be a old lady living in the reception room of our hotel. Last night she told me she owned the hotel.
She might be right....she is there all the time, sleeping in the chair. Sometimes I feel the need to go and shake her, just to check she is still with us.
And I think she may be Esmerelda. Even though the original Esmerelda was Victor Hugo's fictional character - somewhere back in the 1830's.....there is still a chance. This lady is rather old. And everyone needs an inspiration, even Victor Hugo.

Today we joined the throng of tourists and sat aboard an open topped bus and saw some of the sights this way. I had an overwhelming urge quite a few times to spit my chewing gum on the heads of people walking along the pavement. Would this be wrong? Why do I get these thoughts? Where do they come from? I'm not a bad person. It's just...tempting.

I saw the Moulin Rouge today. And a few locations for the film Amelie....I may have even seen Amelie running down the street. Still an unconfirmed sighting though. Again, a fictional character but....

I also saw some bad guys get chased by policemen on bicycles.

Exciting stuff. Paris.

Cheers Franceso!

We're in Rome.
And we just had dinner with a crazy man.
I was late. We were going out for a quick dinner.
He introduced himself and sat down with us. It was my fault, really. I caught his eye when we both clapped for the singing guitar man.
But I think he was a little crazy. He spilled Dad's Coke on his lap and threw Mum's fork at her white shirt. Or he just helped Mum and Dad do that themselves.
Not sure.
He wanted to swap addresses with us and we gave him a fake one.
He gave his compliments to Dad when he found out about the 6 children.
We also have an outstanding invitation to his house in southern Italy.
This may be taken back when he finds out about the fake address.
Not sure.
He bought us a lovely bottle of champagne though. He can't say cheers to himself.
I know a surprising amount of Italian when he can't speak English.
His poor cousin on the next table spent half her evening translating.
Got a great photo of him and I which I may perhaps share at a later date.
We wanted to meet Italian people in Italy. I guess that was him.
Not sure.
I ate a plate of mushrooms for dinner. I had my heart set on mushrooms AND Jerusalem artichokes but the were all out of artichokes. Something about it being Rome.
Not sure.
Thanks Franceso for a lovely bottle of champers.
And for wetting my Dad's pants and ruining my Mum's shirt.
Cheers!

Tourist-ing it up with the Sound of Music! (Salzburg)

The hills were alive with the Sound of Music in Salzburg last weekend.

I probably should start this blog with a warning. I'm not going to pretend that the Sound of Music setting didn't form rather a large part of wanting to visit this Austrian city - it was.
I admit it.
And so I took the tour. Had I know about it, I would have also taken the Fraulein Maria's cycling tour of Salzburg where you sing your way through the city.
(Seriously, there is such a tour!)

And so, WARNING: Some Spoilers may follow. Also, some references to the Sound of Music.


We spent a lovely 33 hours in Salzburg and I took in the biggest gulp I could.
These hours included, but were not limited to:


Reinforcing my hardcore status. Rain with lighting bolt symbols was the forecast for the weekend. Undeterred, Steph (my accomplice) and I decided we would go hardcore and see everything anyway. We bought awesome yellow ponchos to support our hardcore status.



Climbing every mountain and fording every stream.


Visiting Mozart's birth house. He was born in Salzburg (but rumour has it that he wasn't too fond of the town).


Meeting Mozart. 'Cept he was the younger, more hip version of Mozart. He even had an IPod, and he juggled, did some interpretive dance, and fire-twirled to the music. He is pictured here with his IPod.



Following every rainbow, and searching high and low.


Embracing tourism and the Lonely Planet. I would just like to take a short moment to give thanks with a grateful heart to Lonely Planet, without whom I would have been lost on the weekend. (Oh, and for Steph - great map following!)


Eating Lonely Planet recommendations. Living in Zurich really limits my eating-out possibilities (hence the 'I could live off cheeseburgers' label) and on the weekend I got to eat.so.much.good.stuff. Who would have thought Italian Restaurant owner with credentials from the Love Boat could make such good Pizza? Who could have known that the all natural-vegetarian-vegan-organic-bio-healthy-kill-me-now Indian Restaurant would be so good?
Lonely Planet, I lift my glass of water to you!


Singing 'These are a few of my favourite things' whilst eating Italian ice cream x 3.


Smiling for Japanese(?) tourists in the Mirrabel Gardens. As featured in the Sound Of Music. We did not share a common language, and so when they gestured towards me with their camera I assumed they wanted me to take a photo of them.

However, it soon became clear that this was not the case. I was dragged into their photo (I still have the bruise marks on my arm to prove it!) and made to smile. Seriously. And then a line started to form....and a new bunch of people surrounded me and grabbed my arm held on tight. I saw my life flash before my eyes and knew I had to get out of there. I think maybe they thought I was Julie Andrews. My singing did kind of sound like her. And I was doing all the right dance moves in the correct places around the garden so I guess it was an easy mistake to make.

Uncanny resemblance.....?






Practicing my moves for the Sound of Music 2. Here I am doing my audition piece on the water fountain. Unfortunately, Steph cut me out of the picture, but you get the idea.



Listening to the Sound of Music soundtrack on the bus as we drove through the hills out of Salzburg. It was just one of those ironic moments in life where you just want to laugh at yourself. A year ago? - I never would have dreamt that I'd be living in Switzerland, on a weekend trip to Salzburg, on a Sound of Music bus, listening to 'How do you solve a problem like Maria....'


Seeing all the places from the movie was pretty cool. You may not be able to see it, but behind my head, Julie Andrews -aka Maria Von Trapp - and the kids are falling out of the boat and Gretl is almost drowning because she didn't know how to swim. You may not also be able to see it because it may have happened 45 years ago.




Biking along the Salzburg River during the late evening. We had to wait until almost 1AM for our train, and so why wait at the train station when you can ride along the river? I love the summer months when it stays light for so much longer!




And, at the end of the 33 hours, it was time for the train home. Rather unfortunately, a supposedly sweet older lady was sleeping in my reserved seat. (Unreserved seats are never mentally the same!) Also unfortunately, it was 1AM and, unfortunately, I was feeling too nice. In the spirit of the unfortunate I think she slept the whole trip. I know this because I didn't. She was also warm under her blanket. (Note to self: Bring blanket next time!)

So Long, Farewell Salzburg!

Have you ever...?

I was with a friend the other day who, in the course of this story, would like to remain anonymous.
Understandably so.
We were walking along. We'd been hanging out. We were enjoying the sunshine.
It was about 2 in the afternoon (This is important).
She stopped and rubbed her knee. Something was a little bit uncomfortable.
We kept walking and then she stopped again. I thought perhaps she had a small crawly creature biting her...?
But no, she reached up her jeans to her knee and pulled out...yesterday's undies!!
Tee hee hee.
We'd been walking around for hours! And she hadn't noticed it before then!!

It suddenly occurred to me that I could embellish this story any way I wanted to. The one person who knows about it is the anonymous friend. And like she is going to come forward to argue the story!

Would the anonymous friend please step forward?

Sliding Down a Fireman's Pole is Harder Than it Looks.

After my rather eventful night on Saturday night and morning with Mr winking Policeman on Sunday, I was ready for a sleep.
I said goodbye to the policeman and looked at the time and realized that it was much later than I thought.
I had a very important meeting penciled into my diary.

Well, actually I don't have a diary, but if I did it would have been in it.

I was meeting fellow blog people face to face. Yes, we do have faces. We were meeting at the Zurich Google Office for a tour and initial meeting and then heading to a coffee shop for a larger gathering.

And now, because of worst nightmare and follow up visit from a winking policeman, I was going to be rather late.

I got out of the house and onto the train after getting ready in record time and without really finding out where the Google office was. How hard could it be? I just had to look for a big Google sign, right?

I got to the station where I knew the office was and after having a look around, I asked a couple waiting for the bus.
When the lady said, "Google....hmmm...does that have to do with computers?" I knew it had been a bad choice of unsuspecting help.
I moved onto the couple next to them and they, again, wanted to help, but obviously had no idea.
Along the line I moved again (literally) and the next lady could tell me where the old Google office was and had a vague idea where the new one was and so I followed her vague directions.
She was right, it was quite a hike, but I was only a little late. I'm not Swiss, and I've only been here for 2 months so I tell myself this is a pardonable sin.

It was quite bizarre meeting people, who, before this point, had been no more than text on a web page. But such a lovely bizarre meeting. I really really enjoyed it. Much more than I thought I would (walking into a room of complete strangers is not one my favourite tasks!).
So good to put faces to names and meet so many new friends!

And the Google offices - ahhhhhh.
I have decided I think I should work for Google.
To help me with this decision, I have started a pros and cons list.

PROS

• Floors/Levels with themes - including a yellow one.
• Little conference rooms in old ski gondolas.
• A fake library with a fake fire.
• Computer IT help on site.
• Super nice people work there (well, the ones I met were super nice)
• White Kit Kat Chunky bars just waiting for people to eat them in baskets everywhere.
• 2 Firemen's poles and a slippery slide at different locations throughout the building if you're feeling the need for a lift-alternative.
• Kitchens everywhere with gleaming coffee machines. Mmm.

CONS

• No Engineering or IT degree.

After seeing it all so clearly laid out, I don't know why I didn't think of this before.

After the blogger coffee experience (which included us taking up half of the shop and a waiter who was obviously on a too-much coffee high) I met up with Ma and Pa and MLFs to take MLFs home via the train whilst Ma and Pa enjoyed some Cinema action.

The train - a fun experience with MLF3. She kept repeating our station over to herself and then to me to check she had it right, and whenever the voice-over would come on she would sshhhh us so that she could make sure we got home ok.

I did spend half the trip ready to make a run for it if Mr Ticket Inspector showed his face. I didn't have a ticket for MLF2 and didn't realize until we were halfway home. And I know an au pair who got caught with her ticket-less child on the train and they had to go to the Police Station where they accused her of kidnapping. And slapped with her with a large fine.
Needless to say, this story was present in my mind but thankfully we got home-free.
Phew.

I plan to include a list of these wonderful blogs on this blog soon...so keep an eye out.
Also keep an eye out for white Kit Kat chunky bars and fake-order-online Engineering or IT degree certificates. I'm keen for either. Or both.

Here Comes The Sun

The John Lennon Wall in Prague was one of my favourite places in the city. Although John Lennon has never been there, it is filled with graffiti inspired by him and Beatles lyrics. It's got a cool history - check out the Wiki
It was really interesting to spend time reading lots of the writings and I went away with Here Comes The Sun in my head.

Lady Muck & And A Stuck Truck

Yesterday I walked past Napoleon Dynamite. I'm serious. I know he's a fictitious character, but I saw him for real. He walked past me in the street.
I was so busy looking at Napoleon Dynamite that I almost crossed the road without looking.
I stopped in time.
The elderly lady in front of me, however, almost got run over by a tram. I yelled, 'No Wait!'
In hindsight, I realize this was not a clever thing to say. I need to learn to say this in German. You never know when it will come in handy.

After this close call, I sat down to wait for my train. And smelt the woman next to me. And she smelt really good. I do not normally go around smelling people but this was an exception. I was all over her like a dog his dinner. I could drink whatever perfume she was using.
Note to self: Start wearing perfume. And, no, going into the Perfume section at Co Op regularly to test does not count.

I knew Pa was going away for a few days. The suitcase gave it away. I thought he was going to a neighbouring country. However, as he was walking out the door yesterday morning he mentioned he was going to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. As you do.

She seems to have it all. Her clothes make me drool. I often think about stealing them. And her shoes - to die for.
She somehow has me doing everything she says and the world revolves around her pretty much every waking moment. How is this so? How has she accomplished so much in her life?
She's four. How can this be?

And in other news (yes, besides intense jealousy of MLF3) I saw a stuck truck.
I don't know how he got as far as he did, but Mr Truck Driver was not happy. And he kept revving the guts out of the truck but he was stuck for sure and certain. Under the train bridge. He'll probably have to live there forever.

Toto, We're not in Kansas anymore.

I've spent many hours wandering around Zurich in the last days and seen many strange and wondrous things.
Some I've understood.
Some I haven't. Actually, most I haven't.
Mostly I've just been reminded that I'm quite far from home.

Yet again, surprised by the innovation of the Swiss. So clever. I almost wish I were Swiss.




I said almost. Imagine having to deal with the best of Swiss gastro!

It wasn't that good. Quite disappointing actually. Still, a McDonut was hard to resist.

It was a bowl of broccoli. I'm serious. And I don't think it was for eating.

Zurich has a giant toy store. Floors and floors of toys and things and lollies and fun and crazy kids whining and cranky parents and declined credit cards and stuff and stuff and stuff.
But who cares? I got a photo next to a life sized unicorn! How cool am I?

And - something not so far from home....Charlie & Lola! (Actually Clarice Bean, but same dif). Hooray for me! I would have bought the card for myself, but I'm feeling fine so not really appropriate.

Ruby Tuesday

Last night we were exploring a few side alleys walkways on the outskirts of Zurich. (It's amazing - so much history everywhere. Tiny, skinny walkways are well-used thoroughfares and there are little hidden shops and cafes to be found.)
At one point my ears pricked up and I could hear some good acoustic guitar. And so we followed the sound until we found him in a corner.
He was in his own little world and singing a song that I can't quite remember. He had his face painted and was just playing away by himself.
It is the festival of Fasnacht here at the moment. I don't quite understand the full meaning but it literally means 'fasting eve.' It falls before the beginning of Lent, I think, and they traditionally 'let their hair down before they have to put it up (for Lent), so to speak.
I think.
Anyway, there have been some pretty weird and wonderful costumes and processions and crazy music happening around Zurich. *Side note: today I was stuck following a yak (I think it was a yak) who was wearing a red coat and a pretty dress and he was walking with his wife (or lady friend) who was dressed normally. Awkward. And then awkward later on when the same yak wanted to use the train ticket machine at the same time as me and I was trying to translate German and I was slow and trying to work out money and just awkward.

Anyway.

I went into all that because I assumed the guitar man had his face painted for Fasnacht.
When I first found him I had tears come to my eyes because his music was so beautiful. I don't think he was particularly musically talented, but somehow it was so beautiful.
The acoustics of the narrow but high passageway were amazing.

I mentioned to my friend (the out-going au pair) that I found it hard to take him seriously - with his face paint and wig. It was beautiful but bizarre.

And then he began to sing Ruby Tuesday.

We listened in silence and then she said that maybe his disguise was the reason he could play. Maybe it gave him the courage to put himself out there like he was.
Or maybe he was Keith Richards, the Rolling Stone who wrote the song.

And I've had Ruby Tuesday in my head most of the day. And it's been good to be reminded not to take people at face value, to judge by appearance.

This is rather relevant to me at the moment - for a time and place when everybody I meet is new to me. It's overwhelming. But I still need and want to make an effort with each one. Perhaps to even use my disguise of anonymity to give me the courage to put myself out there. And to treat people like Jesus did, as Donald Miller mentions in his book Blue Like Jazz (favourite quote of last year :))

"Jesus - didn't just love me out of principle...
I think I realized that if I walked up to His campfire, He would ask me to sit down, and He would ask me my story...He would look me directly in the eye, and He would speak to me;
He would tell me the truth,
and I would sense in his voice
and in the lines on his face
that
He
liked
me."

So thanks Mr. Anon Guitar Man, or Keith Richards - whoever you were. And not just for some really great music.


----And I've almost eaten an entire block of Lindt chocolate whilst writing this. Living with Swiss benefits eh? -----

Freitag on Wednesday

On my first excursion into Zurich we went to... Actually I don't really remember - so many trains and trams and footsteps and I really don't have much of a clue where I was. I'm hoping future aimless wanderings around the city will orientate me better.

BUT
we did go to this store - the Freitag Store. They sell bags. Apparently these bags are currently all the rage in Switzerland.

They are made of tarps -only used tarps - tarps from trucks - no two bags are the same - they're all hand cut - you can wash them in the washing machine -
They're not cheap by any standard - approx $200AU for a standard bag, but I guess you get an original bag? And the admiration of your fellow Swiss. And, my stare. Now that I've been acquainted with Freitag, I can't help but see them everywhere.

So they're all made of recyclable materials - and not just the bags - but the store as well.

Check it out - the store is made of shipping containers. How bizarre. Bizarre, but very cool.
Brings a whole new meaning to green.


I climbed all the way to the top - surrounded by bags, bags and more bags. I took photos of the view - but not the bags. Oops, sorry.

And, somewhat appropriately - next door I spotted the Brocki - the Salvation Army Opp Shop. If I can find my way back there (slim chance but I shall definately try!) this is my next stop.

Rubbish! - No Wait! We can recycle that!

It's times like this that I'm sure all foreigners just shake their head and mutter, 'the swiss.'

I just spent the last 2 hours sorting cardboard from paper and paper from newspaper. And newspaper from cardboard.

Then we bundled it all up into little bundles of joy, I mean recycling.

They waste a lot of string in this country.

And you have to do it right. Or else the recycling pickup people just leave yours there. To embarrass you, I'm sure. In front of all your neighbours, friends, and passer-by-people. Rejected by the recycling committee.

Or else they send you a letter in the mail.

Seriously. It happened to a friend of a friend of mine.

Who would have thought? And that's just the paper/cardboard/newspaper side of things. Tomorrow we deal with the clear glass/green glass/brown glass/tins/cans/plastic bottles.

Such a glamorous life.

Purple Peaceful Pavlova

A little bit scared. And quite a bit nervous.

I haven't allowed myself to think much beyond the initial meeting of this new family. And why should this meeting be scary? I've already sighted them, and walked up to them without tripping over an invisible object. And I then conversed flawlessly in German with them. Introductory small talk stuff? No worries.

Wait - actually, all that has just happened in my head. And no matter how many times I run through it, it still doesn't bring it to pass.

Eek. Guess I'd better keep on practicing then.

When I start feeling nervous, I repeat a couple of mantras given by some lovely friends. Actually, I think they were just words of encouragement, but I repeat them so often that they've become mantras.

"Nothing to be scared of - everything to look forward to"
"Fear not, the initial week will soon be "last week" and then last month, and then ancient history!"

I know these things are true, I just need to keep reminding myself . And I know that I follow the giver of Perfect Peace!


I was given a couple of lovely gifts today which made me feel very special. A beautiful pen and a gorgeous chocolate cake. The chocolate cake I shall share, the pen, not. And I had a lovely surprise visit from a good friend and my new camera finally arrived in the mail! (photos of my new little purple toy later, perhaps. But he/she needs a name - suggestions anyone?)












Dad turned 44 today - (and he woke up at 4:44am). Thus we had pavlova for dessert (yum!) Happy Birthday Dad!

And, on an odd note - I received in the mail a couple of replacement space-saver bags. One of the ones I bought a few weeks ago was faulty and so I had asked for a replacement. BUT the replacement from the company wasn't their brand. Weird.

4 sleeps to go. I'd better keep practicing.

25 is the magic number!

25 things you must absolutely-totally-without-a-doubt-know about me

1.) Mostly I don't like these type of things...but everyone says that - and here we all are filling out the form.

2.) Last year I discovered that, not only can I cook for 20+ people, but I can also organize all parts of the meal to be hot and ready at the same time.

3.) Number 2 quite surprised me - this takes thought and organization.

4.) I think and organize a LOT in my head. My head is always swimming with sums, times, dates, lists and facts. Sometimes its hard to get to sleep at night.

5.) If I leave the room to do a task, half the time I repeat the task over and over under my breath, because otherwise, I'll be back in the room 10 seconds later trying to look around to see what it was that I left to accomplish.

6.) One of my first memories is learning to ride a 2 wheel bike. On my fifth birthday I remember my uncle running alongside me as I wobbled on my pink bike and crossed over to the big kid world. I was invincible.

7.) In 6 days I'm moving to Switzerland for a year. In my head, the scariest part of the whole trip is the first few hours in Switz. First impressions after a 34-trip - eek!

8.) 4 things I'm really looking forward to about Europe: 1.) seeing the Mamma Mia stage production 2.) seeing the Greek Island where they filmed Mamma Mia 3.) Going on a Sound of Music tour 4.)Visiting the house of Corrie Ten Boom is Holland.

9.) Mamma Mia is my favourite movie of all time. I can play it in my head now whenever I want.

10.) Number 9 does not make me a bad person. Nor do I lack culture or taste. I got ABBA into the heads of all the first years in Canowindra 08. This was no easy task. It required many repeats and hate letters.

11.) My favourite book at the moment is Blue Like Jazz and I think I have bought at least a dozen copies of the book. However, I currently own none, but hopefully YOU DO! If you haven't read it, READ IT!

12.) Blue Like Jazz made me realize that Jesus didn't just love me out of principle but that he liked me. This is something I want to emulate in my relationships.

13.) I didn't know how to spell my middle name until I got my first passport when I was 11. Neither did my parents.

14.) I passed my driving test with no spare points. In fact, the instructor's words to me were, "Not enough to fail you, so I guess you pass."

15.) A couple of years ago during a massive cull I burned all but one of my trophies. Not sure why I kept one - token trophy of its burnt brothers perhaps?

16.) Our family lived in a bus and travelled Australia for 18 months. I'm glad I did it. I wasn't at the time.

17.) I've had 3 car accidents. I've hit a goat, a dog, and I rolled my car. I don't like animals.

18.) I suffer from oldest sister syndrome. When I first left home, it was all I could do to not remind everyone to buckle up when I was in a car.

19.) My first job was doing some teacher aide work at the end of grade 10. I bought a mini cd disk player with my hard earnt cash.

20.) I have 24 pairs of knickers. This means I can go for 23 days without washing my clothes and I drag my feet to the task every 23 days.

21.) I've recently become half addicted to the blogging community whilst setting up my blog for Switzerland. You can join me if you like. Or become my blogging friend. www.chaupair.blogspot.com

22.) When I came home from Chile, my Mum had decorated my own room for me as a surprise and bought me some beautiful dark pink curtains. These are one of my treasured possessions now - heavy curtains = good sleep-ins. I was only gone for 6 weeks then. I wonder what she'll do for me when I come home after a year?

23.) My dad always sang this song to me when I was younger that I thought was just mine.

24.) I absolutely LOVE the Friends sitcom. Imagine my horror the day I discovered that Pheobe's "Smelly Cat" song was to the same tune as my dad's "Kylie Song."

25.) I like talking about myself. This was easier than I thought.