Steiner School Fasnacht 2012

Every year the school celebrates Fasnacht with the kids in costume, and skits by the classes and staff.  This year, Xavier dressed as a cat and Izzi as a star (in abstract).  Below is a photo of them getting ready to leave for school.

Note: Isabella's class acted out a story that she had written for their English class.

Fast and Furious Sledding

It was such a thrill to sled down the mountain near Kandersteg.  There were moments at the top where I had time to think, "If any of us don't make this turn, we're dead".  Luckily, we all survived our two runs without injury.  Fun, fun, fun!! (February 2012)

The Night Train to Zagreb

Our dear friend from the Peace Corps, Tina, lives with her lovely family in Zagreb, Croatia.  They have invited us to join them at their island house several times while we've lived here, but the timing has never quite worked for us.  In February, I decided that I must at least visit them in their Zagreb home before we return to MN.

I booked a spot in a sleeper car from Zurich to Zagreb, a fifteen hour overnight train ride.  When I purchased the ticket at the SBB office in Bern, I made sure to ask if this would be a Swiss train.  The agent assured me that it was, and I was comforted to know that I could expect a certain standard of comfort.  The agent had also encouraged me to save some cash by getting a spot in a 6 berth car, saying that typically the trains are quite empty and I may very well have the car to myself.

When I boarded the train that Friday night in Zurich, I found myself in my assigned sleeper car with 6 other people (2 young women sharing on bed).  Everyone was pleasant, but just as the train got on its way, they announced they'd like to shut the light off and go to sleep.  It was 9 p.m., but I had been looking forward to settling in with my book for a bit first.  Being somewhat flexible, I ran to use the bathroom before "lights out".  I squirted in nice portion of soap on my hands and then realized that the train had no water.  (I found out later it had frozen.  This did happen to be the coldest spell this part of Europe had experienced in years.)  I wiped the soap on some toilet paper and returned to the car to get settled for sleep.  The ride overall was uneventful and the sleeper car was quite toasty, although the quality of the train was not Swiss and most definitely brought back memories of my time in Eastern Europe.

Tina, Angus and their two children met me at the train station and then showed me central Zagreb.  We visited a chocolate festival, a church and a yummy bakery.  We then returned to their home in the hills near a village outside of Zagreb.  They have their own small vineyard and a lovely renovated home overlooking the valley.

 Tina, Tate and Jack feeling the love of chocolate!

 Angus, Tina, Jack and Tate. The one time Jack wouldn't put his tongue out:)

Partial view from their glassed fronted home.

We spent the rest of the day visiting, mostly near the cozy fire.  On Sunday, we attended their village's celebration of Fasnacht (Carnival).

The entire weekend with them had been snowy.  Sunday afternoon we discovered that my train had been delayed several hours.  When I finally boarded with the help of Angus, I found my car, sharing with 5 men this time.  They all seemed harmless, although one did strip down to his bright red undies and got settled in his bed before the train even got moving.  I found it quite funny.  He was making his bed, undressing and eating a sandwich at the same time.  At one point, he laid down on his sandwich, not realizing until I pointed it out.

We got underway and after some reading, I snuggled into my sleeping bag and went to sleep.  I woke up sometime after midnight feeling very cold.  I quickly realized that most of the passengers were up and moving around, stomping their feet and blowing into their hands.  The heat had gone out on the train and they were all freezing.  Thankfully, I had brought my sleeping back along.  I put my coat on and buried myself back in my bag.  Although I was still cold for the remaining 8 hours of the trip, I was much better off than the rest of the passengers.

Thus, my adventure on the Night Train to Zagreb.

Xavier's 8th Gerburtstagfest

Xavier celebrated his 8th birthday with all the boy's in his 2nd grade class.  Todd and I were not brave enough to host last year, seeing that we are unable to communicate with these Swiss German speaking, highly energetic boys.  But this year, Isabella agreed to be our translator and assistant in games, so we felt we could manage.

The children came home from school with Xavier (remember, he goes just half days!).  Before lunch, the boys and Izzi signed their names and drew pictures on a paper flag.  We then ate, geared up and headed to the forest for a lively game of Capture the Flag.  All the 2nd grade boys were on one team, and Todd and Isabella on the other.  I documented the action in photo.

Todd and Isabella did a great job keeping the game interesting and challenging for the boys.  They had such a good time chasing them around the forest, throwing snowballs along the way.  After about 90 minutes of play, we headed back to the house for pinata-smashing, gift-opening, cake-eating and free play.

It was an extremely joyful and lively day!  Todd and I both breathed a huge sigh of relief after the last friend left.

 Pinata creation by Kim and Xavier

Everyone seeing if the sparks from the #8 candle will burn them - no pain whatsoever 

 Signing and drawing on the flag

 Capture the Flag in full-swing

Xavier lying in-wait

 Todd creating some ammo

Izzi guarding the flag 

 Leon packing the flag in snow and guarding

 Victory photo!

 Final snowball toss at Todd

 Opening presents - they spin the bottle here to see whose gift is opened

 Xavier lighting his #8 sparkler candle

Xavier enjoying the glow:)

Xavier Chatting with a Friend

I'm making an effort to record Izzi and Xavier speaking Swiss German, so that months from now, when the language is long forgotten, we can all look back and get a taste of it.

In this video, Xavier is playing Legos with his friend Dario Demenga.

Xavier Chatting on Video

School Choice

Preparations for our return to Minnesota begin...

We completed and submitted school choice cards for Minneapolis Public Schools today.  As in our move here, Isabella and Xavier starting and feeling comfortable in a new school feels like our "critical success factor" to a smooth transition. 

I'm not sure which school(s) they'll end up attending at this point (we're exploring more than one avenue), but I admire the open and positive attitude they have toward the impending change.

One step at a time:)

Post from October 2011

As we approach the end of fall break's week 2, I find myself acknowledging a presence that goes unnoticed during the busy days of school.

The weather has been sunny and warm, and we've been staying busy with fun activities - some alone, many shared with friends. But in the midst of this relaxation and fun, a subtle sadness has made its way. Maybe it's not so much sadness, but a feeling of loss for the life we left and the one to which we will soon say goodbye.

Izzi and Xavier both have been feeling sad in the evenings and struggling to fall asleep. We've seen this during breaks from school in the past, but never this strongly.

I've started tutoring the kids in several subjects to prepare them for the return to MN next school year. And although our return remains 10 months off, we all seem very aware that our time of "lasts" has begun.

Both kids have at times scolded us for making this move with them. From their point of view, they will forevermore be missing people and places dear...either in MN/Iowa or here in Ittigen.  We can't argue with that!