Monday, September 21, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
The most important thing
I bought Root Beer today.
I realize that for most of you, this is the sort of news that makes you yawn. But to us expat types this is something to be shouted from the rooftops. Plus it was only 1.40chf per can. Yippee!
I found it at an Asian Market that I've passed a zillion times and never been in. It's on the tram line we take for Sarah's school, so I'm usually coming or going with other things to do so I don't stop.
Today, however, Sarah started her after school cooking class. The school requires that a parent pick up the child and then deliver the child to the class. This is ridiculous, seeing how school gets out at 3:15 and the class starts at 3:30, but I'm a rule follower, so Daniel and I went, saw Sarah for about 5 minutes, then sent her off the class.
Since it is 45 minutes to home and class was 70 minutes, Daniel and I went for a walk to this Asian market. It's A&W rootbeer, so no caffeine either. I'm thrilled.
In my German class, we started learning about food and how to order in a restaurant. Our teacher has been surprised by how important we think this topic is. The discussion drifted into cupcakes and he didn't know a German word for them, because he's never seen them around, but then he mentioned that he had seen bagels.
Well then. Bagels. None of the students (3 Americans, 1 Argentinian and 1 Japanese) had seen bagels since our planes touched down in der Schweiz. We all wanted to know where he had seen these supposed bagels. (Well, the woman from NYC declared, presumptively, that they would be lousy. Bagel snob.) He couldn't remember, and I bet he saw them in Germany. (He's German. The language schools like to have German teachers because Swiss German creeps in too much with a Swiss teacher.)
We think food is important. Now that I have a source for rootbeer, I may have to buy some $12 ice cream (900 ml!) and make a rootbeer float.
I realize that for most of you, this is the sort of news that makes you yawn. But to us expat types this is something to be shouted from the rooftops. Plus it was only 1.40chf per can. Yippee!
I found it at an Asian Market that I've passed a zillion times and never been in. It's on the tram line we take for Sarah's school, so I'm usually coming or going with other things to do so I don't stop.
Today, however, Sarah started her after school cooking class. The school requires that a parent pick up the child and then deliver the child to the class. This is ridiculous, seeing how school gets out at 3:15 and the class starts at 3:30, but I'm a rule follower, so Daniel and I went, saw Sarah for about 5 minutes, then sent her off the class.
Since it is 45 minutes to home and class was 70 minutes, Daniel and I went for a walk to this Asian market. It's A&W rootbeer, so no caffeine either. I'm thrilled.
In my German class, we started learning about food and how to order in a restaurant. Our teacher has been surprised by how important we think this topic is. The discussion drifted into cupcakes and he didn't know a German word for them, because he's never seen them around, but then he mentioned that he had seen bagels.
Well then. Bagels. None of the students (3 Americans, 1 Argentinian and 1 Japanese) had seen bagels since our planes touched down in der Schweiz. We all wanted to know where he had seen these supposed bagels. (Well, the woman from NYC declared, presumptively, that they would be lousy. Bagel snob.) He couldn't remember, and I bet he saw them in Germany. (He's German. The language schools like to have German teachers because Swiss German creeps in too much with a Swiss teacher.)
We think food is important. Now that I have a source for rootbeer, I may have to buy some $12 ice cream (900 ml!) and make a rootbeer float.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Things that are just wrong
Mostly, things in Switzerland are wonderful. But there are a few things that are just w-r-o-n-g.
- If there are two elevators side by side, pushing a call button will, more often than not, only summon one of the elevators. You have to guess which elevator in the bank is closer to you!
- No life guards at public swimming pools.
- Speaking of pools, Speedos are just wrong. Okay, I'll allow them for a swim team (although the Olympic athletes don't even wear them any more). But you, paunchy Swiss man, put some regular swim trunks on.
- And put the swim trunks on your 7 year old as well. No speedos for kids!
- And let's not talk about bikinis, grooming and all the areas in which a female grows hair. I know it's sexist, but you are only allowed to show the hair on your head. Any other hair should be covered or removed.
- Air conditioning is a fundamental human right. Why have the Swiss not realized this?
- Men who wear more jewelry than Zsa Zsa Gabor.
- 14 year olds drinking beer on the tram. (Legal drinking age is 16.)
- Brown sugar? Doesn't exist.
- Slugs.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Random Photos
Thursday, August 13, 2009
I'm slowing becoming Swiss
The Swiss National Holiday is August 1. To celebrate, the city of Basel holds a fantastic fireworks display. And when I say fantastic, I mean it puts Stadium of Fire to shame. The Rhein river runs directly through the middle of town, so they bring two barges loaded with explosives into the river. We were on a bridge between the two barges.
The fireworks were utterly spectacular and Daniel slept through the whole thing, which is amazing in and of itself. Sarah fell asleep in the last half. Although children that are woken up by merely breathing near them who can sleep through explosions is a topic for one of those mysteries of the world post, that is not what we are talking about here.
No, we're talking about me becoming Swiss. As the sun started to go down, it started to cool down a bit. All the Swiss people around me were pullng on jackets. Their children bundled. My family is all in shorts and short sleeves. I start to be concerned that I'm freezing the children. Especially Daniel.
I, myself, begin to feel a chill and wonder if we should just go home so we don't freeze to death. Sarah starts complaining about her lack of jacket. I find a long sleeved shirt in the diaper bag and put it on my perfectly happy--yet must be freezing--baby. I mean, everyone around us is wearing jackets. It must be cold.
Then Sarah and I go for a walk. On our walk there is a sign with time and temperature. Temperature? 23 degrees. Celsius. That's 73.4 degrees farhenheit. Umm, the cold was all due to peer pressure.
I wonder what these people are going to wear when it's actually cold out.
(And just a note--the Swiss may love their jackets, but they are brilliant about celebrations. They hold the fireworks on July 31st so you can stay out watching them and because the 1st is the actual holiday you get that day off work. Brilliant, eh?)
The fireworks were utterly spectacular and Daniel slept through the whole thing, which is amazing in and of itself. Sarah fell asleep in the last half. Although children that are woken up by merely breathing near them who can sleep through explosions is a topic for one of those mysteries of the world post, that is not what we are talking about here.
No, we're talking about me becoming Swiss. As the sun started to go down, it started to cool down a bit. All the Swiss people around me were pullng on jackets. Their children bundled. My family is all in shorts and short sleeves. I start to be concerned that I'm freezing the children. Especially Daniel.
I, myself, begin to feel a chill and wonder if we should just go home so we don't freeze to death. Sarah starts complaining about her lack of jacket. I find a long sleeved shirt in the diaper bag and put it on my perfectly happy--yet must be freezing--baby. I mean, everyone around us is wearing jackets. It must be cold.
Then Sarah and I go for a walk. On our walk there is a sign with time and temperature. Temperature? 23 degrees. Celsius. That's 73.4 degrees farhenheit. Umm, the cold was all due to peer pressure.
I wonder what these people are going to wear when it's actually cold out.
(And just a note--the Swiss may love their jackets, but they are brilliant about celebrations. They hold the fireworks on July 31st so you can stay out watching them and because the 1st is the actual holiday you get that day off work. Brilliant, eh?)
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