There's a first time for everything....

hello friends, so glad to see you! I have been eager to update you on our happenings, but have been consumed with unpacking, and getting settled. In the evenings, I am so tired, that I just don't seem to have the energy to update my blog. So much has happened in the past 2 weeks or so....or does it just seem so because everything is so new?

Let me try to start chronologically....so I left off with my first driving experience. The next day, our Sea Shipment arrived, which was a joyous occasion. There was a crew of 7 movers who delivered our furniture, clothing, housewares.  The American movers we used were young guys in their 20-30s who really hustled and almost killed themselves with this backbreaking move. This crew was German and very nice, precise and efficient, middle aged, and didnt seem to break a sweat the way the Americans did. For example, it took 2 American guys to carry my big ornate cabinet, while the Germans used 4 or 5 guys to carry it....hmmmm.
They were wonderful, not in a rush, took 2 days to deliver everything, and enjoyed the benefit of our elevator. It was an exciting time - happy to see that most things arrived safely, joyous to make this haus our home, lovely to sit on our own furniture and be comfortable, and good to begin to feel settled again.

A couple things did not arrive in good shape. Primarily, our cooking utensils did not arrive at all. I am thinking that the packers overlooked it entirely. Bummer....  An umbrella stand was smashed in a zillion pieces. A glass door to an Ikea wardrobe closet I bought in the US was shattered... which leads to my next harrowing experience. The movers were going to assemble this big wardrobe closet with glass doors but with one of them broken, I had to go to IKEA Switz to pick up a replacement. I was dreading this. There are 2 Ikeas - one requires me to drive thru Zurich, and the other is 30 mins northwest, enroute to Germany. A 30 minute drive does not normally overwhelm me in the least, but really, 30 mins away in a foreign country by myself is a bit intimidating. So, I reluctantly set off with my 2 trusty aids....the GPS and my navigator 12 year old son (poor thing.) I glanced at the map on mapquest and had a general idea where we were headed. We took off on the highway, and went thru a series of tunnels. I was surprised by how long these tunnels were but what really shook me was that the GPS lost the signal....I didnt know where we were going, what exit or roads we were seeking, and wondered what this tunnel system was under - lakes? rivers? Zurich ?Germany? Also, the road markers here DO NOT use North, East, West, or South for directions....they use towns for direction. I have since learned to head south, you would head toward " Chur, " to head north, you go toward " Bern and Basel". That makes perfect sense, right?  Anyway,  I started to feel a bit panicky so I quickly ausfahrted (exited) somewhere - wound up in a small rural looking village. I was so glad to have my big boy with me, but felt sorry for him - he didnt sign up for this and need this kind of concern. I wanted to cry, but managed to keep it together since I didnt want to scare him. I didnt have a cell phone (the Swiss dont give you permission to get a phone for a while - more on that later) nor did I have anyone to call. My husband was at home with the other kids and even if I could call him - what good would it do? We dont know anyone to call, and we dont have another car. I really just wanted to quit and be back home...wherever that is. I realized I needed to figure this out by myself...and by then the GPS regained consciousness, and I wrote down the directions and we got on our way.  Upon arriving at Ikea, I treated my big boy and me to a yummy vanilla cone and looked for the replacement piece. This Ikea actually did not have the necessary piece, but the other one, on the other side of Zurich has 18 ! They offered to deliver it to me....in 3 weeks. So, all for naught....we did some more shopping, and headed home hours later.

 Next to Ikea was a Burger King. I can not even remember the last time I ate BK in the US, but after this tough experience it looked lovely to me. We ordered 5 sandwiches and 2 fries for $50. I didnt care how much it cost, or how wanton the nutritional content....I wanted to get home and have dinner served. We managed to order it thru the drivethru - causing us to hold our breath as our car is so big compared to the garages, lanes and drive thrus here. It all worked out and we were very glad to make it home uneventfully.

The next day, we had our first visitor from the US. Hubby's friend and colleague was in town and we had a nice afternoon with her. We had lunch at a little restaurant, showed her our haus, and took a walk thru the local Wildepark/Zoo. It was nice to have a familiar bit of America with us !

Monday, Jan 10, the kids started school. A few nights before, we realized that the kids were still a big jetlagged, staying up with us until 10 or 11:00. They would need to awake around 7 for school, so we dialed back their bedtime to 8/9. It was still hard for them to fall asleep at first, but they quickly adjusted.

The kids were so excited to start school. They were anxious to be around other kids and have their structure and social connections. We were equally excited and curious for them. The big morning finally arrived - we were packed and ready by 7:40 to drop the kids at 2 campusses - the Middle School 10 minutes away and then the Lower School 10/15 minutes south on the highway.Should be a piece of cake, right? Its a good thing we left plenty of time to get to school because the GPS directed us to a dead end street, then to a road that is bike path only...hmmm... This GPS gets a bit frustrating.... We finally dropped off the big boy with dad, and somehow got to the Lower School fine. The kids loved their new school right away. It was sweet to see them introducing themselves. I met their teachers and was offered a brief tour. At the end of the day, I picked them up and it was amazing. They were all so happy; each one said that they had a "great" day.  My youngest raved about his school - he thought it was so nice and was amazed at having classmates from Australia, Spain, England, Switzerland, etc.  My daughter enjoyed her teacher, and friends, and going to dance class during lunch recess. My big boy was very happy as well. He said," Mom -this is such a small school - EVERYONE knows 'the new kid'. I asked "Is that good?" He smiled and said "Yeah...sorta!" He was very impressed by the kids being allowed to listen to their IPODS in Art class, getting assigned a computer tablet (wait till he gets to the HS where they are assigned a computer 24/7 and are completely paperless), and they had recess which he LOVED (his prior Middle School did not give any recess). So far, 8 days in, they are all still very happy with school, and  making friends.

I made another trip to Ikea with an expat friend, K1  who brought along and introduced me to another American I will refer to as  K2.  I drove to Ikea since I had the biggest car and we had some large items to haul. This time, I had the benefit of their experience and support. We had a great day together, and I gained much more confidence. K2 spent the Christmas vacation in Egypt. It sounds like an amazing trip and something I would love to do. My daughter is in the same grade as K's daughter and on their own, have become friends, and have played together ! Its so nice to have such normalcy after being unsettled for so long.

 My driving has greatly improved as has my navigational understanding. I have confidently driven the 120 KM on the highway, although every once in a while I treat myself to a little break and get behind a slower moving truck going about 100 km, and stay there.

I attended a new parent orientation at the Middle School and a welcome coffee from the Lower School. It is such a lovely school and the kids are given so many amazing opportunities. The school is very understanding about the effect of moving on the kids and earnestly care about the kids' adjustment and that they feel settled and are happy. I met some other new moms from this school. It is really surprising how international things are here. One of the first things people ask are "Where are you from?" they then comment," oh, this is your FIRST international assignment?" We must appear to  be so quaint and naiive!  Many people here are truly global...that is, they have lived in other places, mainly having spent time/years in London, Dublin, Asia (Shanghai, Thailand, Hong Kong), and some Europeans from the US. There are also several Canadians, Sout Africans, Chinese, Japanese, Brazilians, Spaniards, New Zealanders, and Australians here. I also met a American woman who just moved here from Bermuda. The women all seem very nice and if I had to characterize them, first impressions, that they are so refreshingly down to earth. They seem to enjoy traveling and adventure, resourceful, and quite independent...I think I'm in good company.

I attended my first book club. Another expat had invited me into her English speaking book club. I read the book in Dec before the move and was looking forward to the discussion. It was a lovely mild night, so I walked to my little town's Bibliotek (libary) where the meeting was to be held. It was a nice group of women, perhaps 12, some native Swiss desiring to converse in English, some from the UK, one from NZ, and a couple of Americans (2 of whom are married to Swiss and here permanently).  The host brought cookies and treats and wine. It was a nice discussion of the book, Beyond Chocolate, which, so timely, discusses the Swiss Culture. The major points of discussion concerned the societal characteristics of Privacy (the Swiss only share personal info with close friends and family) whereas Americans are very open and freely discuss personal matters. The Author compares this to a Coconut (Swiss: hard public exterior, sweet personal interior), vs. Peach ( Americans: there's only a thin skin/distinction from our public and personal life).  The author describes the RULES - how the Swiss basically enact rules/laws to ensure courtesy - you must phone before visiting a Swiss, they dont readily invite people into their homes, the term "Friend" is very powerful. They actually use other more accurate terms in describing other people " colleagues" 'neighbor" "Classmate" " book club acquaintence" whereas in the US we would refer to someone as a "workfriend" " friend from college" etc. They use the term" friend " to refer to those whom they have known a very long time and whom they share confidences. It was eye-opening to read this book, and gave the indication that they Swiss are a bit standoffish, but I have actually found everyone to be quite helpful and caring...although I have been careful to not be too personal or chatty with non-English speakers.

Speaking of the small distinction of one's personal and public lives....
I may have explained that our house is very large by Swiss standards. Our entrance floor was historically occupied as a business office, and the upper floor an Apartment with a kitchen, living room, bedrooms, etc.  We are renting the whole thing as one HAUS. So, the entranceway still resembles an office, but once you enter you can see it is a home. So, one morning, I returned home from driving the kids to school and came upstairs to make a cup of tea and start my day of unpacking. I heard a ding dong and realized it must be the door.  I scurried to the entranceway only to be completely startled by a very tall  man standing inside my haus, wearing  bright yellow and black motorcycle garp including the helmet. I almost screamed but quickly realized it was a postman. He neeeded to verify my name and have me sign for a letter. In his haphazard English he conveyed that he thought that this was an office and and I believe I conveyed in my non-existent German this is now a haus only.

Another intersting facet of life here is the existence of horseback riding on public streets. I was shocked the first time I saw a person riding a horse down the street while holding a leash connected to a dog who was walking alongside. The kids and I thought it was hilarious ! I have come to see that this is a daily occurrence. Every day we see horseriders along the street, clipping/clopping along despite the traffic, speeding cars, busses, trucks... and sometimes they are riding on the sidewalks.


Afraid I must sign off....time to retrieve the kids from school. Sending you all much love & misses !