Category: Special Series

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Lessons from a Year Abroad: Normalcy

Growing up, anything out of the ordinary was “weird.” If someone did something different from me, we’d say “you’re weird.” Of course, with time it becomes clear that the vast majority of the world lives very differently from yourself, and we stop using words like “weird” to describe other cultures or life choices. Knowing there is a plethora of options in the world, we set about making our own choices and establishing our own life, and creating our own sense of what is “normal.”

What is normal depends on the eye of the beholder. You can’t just ask “What is normal?” without knowing “for whom?” And of course, most people don’t think about this question very often because the answer is almost always “well, for me.” And most people have a well-developed sense of what is normal for them in their daily lives. It’s like gravity. A set of assumptions we have about the world, which are usually confirmed by our experiences.

Of course, Einstein flipped gravity on its head. His equation for gravity (which incidentally he developed while living in Bern, Switzerland) changed many of the basic assumptions of physics up to that point.

Gμν = 8πG/c4 Tμν

This little equation says that gravity (as well as time!), which used to be considered constant, are relative to the speed at which an object is traveling. Bam! The special theory of relativity. It is somewhat mind-blowing when thinking about the ramifications of this on the universe. However, this is not intended to be a physics lesson, and here on earth, it really doesn’t affect our daily lives much. We live contentedly with Newtonian laws regarding earth’s gravity, since that’s where we are.

Living abroad was a bit like moving to an asteroid hurtling through space. Not that I’m comparing Switzerland to an asteroid. Just that all of our assumptions about what is normal were useless. It was like jumping from Newton’s gravity to Einstein’s gravity. Things just work differently here. There are different assumptions and different constants. And, like a scientist, you have to do a whole bunch of experiments to figure out the laws of this new place you are living.

Of course, it isn’t always a very scientific process. It usually just feels like making a lot of mistakes and learning from them. But, as you start to understand the underlying assumptions and rules, and make choices about how to live your life, your own sense of “normal” changes. Just like gravity, it is relative. So, I made up my own equation…

N=E*T(E-e/e)

It says that normal is relative to your current experience, how different it is from your past experiences, and the length of time you experience it. Anything can become normal with enough time for you to adjust to it. The more different the experience, the more time is required for it to impact your sense of normal, and the greater the shift will be. But just knowing that “normal” is relative and not constant, even in your own life, changes your perspective. Just as the theory of relativity opened up the secrets of the universe to physicists, the relativity of normalcy opens your mind to the world.

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It’s the Little Things – School and the Metric System

It’s been a quiet week at home, work and school. Nothing particularly exciting to report. So, it’s a perfect opportunity to examine a couple more things that make even an ordinary week here a little different than back home.

School

I was a little surprised when Emily came home from school yesterday and said that her homework was knitting. “What do you mean knitting?” To which she responded, “You know… knitting,” and pulled out a small ball of blue yarn and two knitting needles with the beginning of a small knitted square. She sat in a chair and knitted three more rows. Later, she said that, since she can knit she is sure to be a good grandma, which I find funny because neither of her grandmothers knit. This interesting form of homework came from Werken. As in America, Emily’s school has music, gym, and library. But Werken seems to be a combination of home economics, art and shop, except in elementary school. Emily’s class goes to the workshop twice a week, and she has learned to do some woodworking, painting, sewing, and now knitting. Children here continue to learn such skills throughout grade school.

Additionally, there is a day next week when Emily’s class goes to their third grade teacher for next year. One of the reasons they already know who will be in which class is that the classes stay together all the way through grade school. So, even though there are several classrooms in each grade at Emily’s school, the kids you have in your first grade class will be the same kids in your class every year for at least six years. Once I realized this, it helped to explain why it was more challenging for Emily to make friends in her second grade class. The whole class had already known each other and been together for over a year. But at this point, Emily has made her mark and has a lot of friends, and they have all said they will miss her next year when they are all together again in third grade.

Finally, I have to mention a couple of units that Emily did this year. Around Easter time, she came home with a 7-page book she had made about the creation of the world. And it was the creation story from the Bible. The one where God created the heavens and the earth, night and day, water and land, plants, animals and people all in 6 days, and then rested. There was a different artistic rendition for each of the days. With all of the debate that goes on in America about the teaching of evolution, I was very surprised by this. Then, about a month later she did a whole unit on the story of Joseph, one of the sons of Jacob from the Book of Genesis. You know, the one with the “Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Again, I was a little surprised by this. Emily goes to a public school here, but apparently the separation of Church and State isn’t something the Swiss worry about.

We have mentioned some other differences in school here in the past. And of course, as our friends back home are starting their summer vacations, we are still in school here for another 2 1/2 more weeks!

Metric System

Switzerland, along with most of Europe and the rest of the world, uses the metric system. Even though it is part of so many things in our daily lives, it has taken me a long time to adjust to this, and I still haven’t completely switched over. When I check the weather, it is in celsius, so the high today was 22ºC, which is about the same as the temperature in the “heated” pools around here. When I cook, the oven usually gets set to something between 150º-200ºC.

In cooking, there are no cups for measuring, but rather everything is in grams or deciliters. And the same is true at the grocery store. Produce and meat are sold per 100g or kilogram (and you better look closely because there’s a big difference!) Liquids are sold by the liter or deciliter at the store and in restaurants. A small soda is usually 3dl while a regular beer is 5dl.

Distances on a map are in kilometers, though without a car, I don’t deal with that much. But other measurements of length are also metric, so when we would rent skis and they asked us how tall we are, they needed it in centimeters. Incidentally, I’m about 168cm tall. And then they always needed our weight in kilograms. This is the one I actually really like since 68kg sounds so much better than the equivalent in pounds!

This isn’t really a metric thing, but they also use a 24-hour clock here rather than AM and PM. So, since it is nearly 22:00, it’s time for me to get ready for bed.

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It’s the Little Things – Mustard and Bat Caves

It’s been a while since I wrote a post in this series. The kids and I are home this week, playing and going on outings. So, I thought I would highlight a couple of things that continue to make our daily life here a little different than back home.

Mustard

I took all three kids to the grocery store this week, a feat that is even more challenging without a car and without those neat car-shaped grocery carts, which would never fit around the corners here. There are tons of little differences in the products here, starting with different brands and languages. But, there are a couple of categories I wanted to mention specifically. First, a lot of the food that we buy here is similar to what we have back home, but it is just packaged differently. Mustard and mayonnaise come in large, aluminum tooth-paste tubes. Apple sauce comes in tin cans. And juice and milk often come in rectangular cartons, like a giant juice box. There are a couple of things here that are taboo in the US like Aromat (a seasoning shaker of MSG) and saccharine tablets for sweetening coffee. The supposed health risks of these items have been debunked, but they never recovered in the US. And there are a couple of things that I just can’t find here, including baking soda and brown sugar (I’ve learned to substitute “raw cane sugar,” though it doesn’t pack the way I’m used to).

These are just a few of the many differences in food products that make grocery shopping or opening my refrigerator almost a cultural experience.

Bat Caves

Today I took the kids to a place called Papiliorama northwest of Bern. It has an outdoor petting farm and playground, and three large enclosures: butterflies, jungles, and nocturnal animals. The latter enclosure was very dark, lit only by dim blue lights. There were night sounds playing as you walk through a maze past owls, fish and other animals. We were squatted down looking at some fish when I noticed something swoop by. “Was that a bat?” I wondered to myself. And, sure enough, moments later another one swooped by just ahead of us. I didn’t say anything, as I didn’t want to scare the kids, so we just kept walking. More and more of them flew by, and James finally said something. I explained that they were just little fruit bats, and they wouldn’t hurt us. The kids seemed okay with this, and Henry repeated my explanation every time one flew by.

The trail led into another area through some of those thick plastic blinds intended to keep things from escaping. Suddenly there were even more bats flitting around – apparently the first few were just the ones that had gotten out of the enclosed area. Several bats flew so close to me, I felt the breeze as they passed. Then the path led into a cave. It was no more than 6 feet tall or across and about 15 feet long, and there were bats everywhere. They were hanging from the ceiling and swooping through at breakneck speed. I tried to keep my strong, confident mom face on, but all I could think was “You have got to be kidding me!”

The kids and I had a quick discussion about how bats can’t actually see, and the only way they don’t run into things is by sonar. Then I ducked my head down to Henry’s stroller and walked through with bats dangling above and whooshing all around. Every time I lifted my head to see where I was going, a bat would swoosh within inches of my face before turning at the last moment. I definitely felt a wing tip on my head, and I may have screamed a couple of times. Although it raised my adrenaline levels, I have to admit it was actually a pretty cool experience. And the kids loved it!

The reason I am writing about this here is that something like this would never happen in America. I’ve seen bats at the zoo in Milwaukee, but always behind glass. I’ve had access to animals up close, but not fast-moving animals in a claustrophobically confined space. It’s too scary! Or dangerous! What if someone got scratched?! They might sue! Well, the Swiss don’t seem to have these concerns. It’s not that things don’t happen. They do. I saw a kid from a field-trip group holding his arm and complaining that a bat scratched him. But they didn’t seem to mind. Scratches happen. That’s life. Besides, that kid was probably flailing his arms around, so that’s what he gets. The Swiss would never change something for everyone because of minor risks or the stupidity or carelessness of a few people. Besides, that kid, as well as all the kids who gathered around to see his scratch, learned a valuable lesson about personal responsibility…  Always keep your arms down when walking through a bat cave.

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A Quick Interlude

We will take a quick break from reporting on our Italy trip, to bring you this highly solicited message from our most recent visitor, Jeff Schwab, a.k.a. “Gramps.” We loved having him visit and, as always, love to hear his thoughts on his time in Switzerland:

I visited Joe, Sarah and the kids and now I have homework. Joe “invited” me to write for his blog. And pointed out that no previous guest had failed to write something. Even though I was taught that blogging was a sin (at least I think that I was), here goes…………..

Well, let’s get the “Switzerland was beautiful, the weather perfect, the mountains majestic, the cows contented, etc., etc.” out of the way. Why? Because it is all true and well documented long before this blog.

What has been noted, but deserves reiterating, is what great hosts Joe and Sarah are, and how fun Emily, James and Henry are to be around. Grams couldn’t make the trip, bum knee (still supporting MCW Orthopaedic Surgery), and although I missed her greatly, the trip was a smashing success.

Now what are the memorable moments? (see Sarah’s blog account for full details) Well, in no particular order:  Squinkies*, roasting cervelas by the Aare, the farm, biking to buy beer, ping pong, Team Alps, Rubigen by night, but mostly seeing everyone live and up close after almost eight months.

I thought at first I was in Lake Wobegon because Sarah is strong (bikes and walks everywhere), Joe is good looking (Grams made me say that) and the kids are clearly above average.

Emily is the official Swiss translator, gave a great fashion show complete with a Skyped Grams, skied like a champ, and warmed my heart with an early morning read of Calvin and Hobbes.

James and I hit about 1,000 ping pong balls in a row for a new personal record (as I remember). He introduced me to his own Hobbes and reintroduced me to Calvin and Hobbes; skied faster; and reminded me to stop and smell the roses (in his own inimitable fashion).

Henry was amazing; just what Joe deserved. A child without an unspoken thought. His line of the week was “Yah sure, why not”. He is a fabulous traveler, hiker and holder of Squinkies* (up to 10 in one hand). He is also an excellent jumper, especially when least expected, and thrower of rocks.

Sarah made me feel at home, almost like I was family (wait…….I am family) but it was nice and comfortable. It was fun to spend two days at the Bernese Hip Symposium with Joe. I was able see him professionally and meet his worldwide cadre of colleagues.

Friday night I was supposed to babysit. Well, I got to see Rubigen first. This is a small town one stop before Joe and Sarah’s. Instead of the recommended reading the town names when the train stops method of knowing when to get off, I used the counting stops method. It failed and I got off in Rubigen, a picturesque Swiss town usually; less so, however, in the dark while waiting 30 minutes for the next train with no way to notify Sarah and no restroom in sight. I finally made it to Munsingen, to be met by Sarah on a bike which wasn’t planned. I did get to babysit and Sarah did get to the Symposium dinner but I missed over half of “The Empire Strikes Back” and I was really looking forward to it. The rest of the night went well.

We went to the beautiful Lauterbrunnen (or something) Valley. Left our luggage unguarded (I was assured this was just fine and it was) then went and had a great time. Trains, buses, cable cars, hikes, snacks and nearly “Top of Europe” views. The next day I found out, while skiing for the first time in 10 years, that Swiss snow tastes pretty much like all snow. But the kids welcomed me to Team Alps anyway.

The week went by fast, but for me was great. Sarah pretty much captured it all on her blog report EXCEPT for my big THANK YOU to all the Swiss Schwab’s.

I also had to leave to get home to Grams and to let Joe and Sarah get ready for Italy. It is my and Grams fervent prayer that they make Pope Squinkies* so the kids have something for the train.

Thanks again for a great time with you all.

Love,

Gramps

* For those unfamiliar with Squinkies I suggest www.squinkies.com. Really. Mary Lou is online buying some more Squinkies – this might be a good stock opportunity.

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It’s the Little Things – Movies and Kissing

Last night Joe came home from work and said that our friend Lorenz wanted to go to a movie. He was going to see Mission Impossible 4, which is not really Joe’s favorite kind of movie, so instead he came home and said he would stay with the kids if I wanted to go out. Are you kidding me! It was like a miracle. In fact, I’m a little embarrassed at how much I wanted to go out! You would think seeing an American movie in an urban movie theater would be a familiar experience, but once again, it was the little things that made it a cultural experience.

Movies

Surprisingly, the concession stand wasn’t even open when we arrived a few minutes before the start of the movie. My desire for a bubbly beverage was squashed. Oh well. We walked into the theater, and he led me to our assigned row and numbered seats. Yes, there were reserved seats at the movie theater, instead of first-come-first served seating, which seemed to make a lot of sense. Then, Lorenz informed me that there would be an intermission. Really? Sure enough, right as Tom Cruise was about to jump out a window of the tallest building in India, the screen went dark and the lights came up.

Fortunately this meant I could get my drink after all. I ordered a clear soda, and got a mineral water – something I am slowing growing to appreciate. Lorenz ordered a Rivella, an extremely popular Swiss soda that comes in three color varieties. He got Red. Oh, and the drinks don’t come in giant cups with a straw and lots of ice. In fact, you almost never get ice in Switzerland. If you ask for ice in your drink at a restaurant, the waiter usually looks worried, and then you get one or two cubes in a cup. In any case, at the movie theater, they simply handed us 16 oz bottles of our bubbly beverages, and we returned to our seats for the rest of the movie.

The movie was shown in the original English, which was great for me. But, in Switzerland there is not just one set of subtitles, but two – German on top and French on the bottom. Oh, and when the characters were speaking in Russian, then there were three lines, and I had to read the middle one. Once I adjusted to this, it was no problem, and we had a great night out.

Kissing

You’ve probably seen or encountered the European custom of cheek kissing, either on screen or in person. I think of it as being very French, but it occurs in many countries. I never thought much of it, but when you are confronted with it face to face, literally, it can be a little awkward. Think about it. Where do you put your hands? Which side do you kiss first? How many kisses – 2 or 3? If you do any of these things wrong, you can end up in a really embarrassing situation with someone whose face is one inch away from yours!

Fortunately, in Switzerland there is still a lot of hand shaking. And I do mean a lot. There is a custom of shaking hands with everyone at a party or gathering when you arrive, and again before you leave. This still occurs at a lot of meetings and social gatherings, even choir practice. Though in my experience, there is a limit of about 10 people before the greetings just get too cumbersome and stop.

Cheek kissing is reserved for people who are more than passing acquaintances. In a way that makes it even more confusing. Which greeting should I do!? There are just a small handful of people who have initiated this greeting with me. And, after some slightly embarrassing trial and error, I have learned that three kisses starting to the left side (right cheek) is customary here.

Though my favorite cheek kisser is Henry. He just puts his lips to my cheek and says “mmmmaa.” And it always makes me smile, no matter how many mistakes I’ve made that day.

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It’s the Little Things – Calendars and Garbage

Today was just another normal day for us in Switzerland. In many ways, our life here is similar to what it was in America – kids go to school, Joe goes to work, there is housework, playdates, homework, shopping. And yet, there are so many little ways in which it is different. And when all the little differences are added up, it gives a picture of what it means to live in another culture and country. So, this is the first of an occasional series I call “It’s the Little Things” that will highlight some of the ways things are different here.

Advent Calendars – I’ve seen Advent calendars in America. In fact, we have one that has 24 felt characters that go onto a manger scene. But, here, Advent calendars are everywhere. Counting down from December 1st to the 24th is an important part of the Christmas season. The Brumanns, our friends from Basel, sent each of our kids an Advent calendar with paper doors that open to reveal pictures. They said their children used to have them every year and always looked forward to opening the doors. I didn’t think opening little one-inch square doors to see a picture would be that exciting, but my kids love them! They can hardly wait to open the next door. James also made another one at school with his own pictures behind each of the doors. Since today was December 1st, the kids finally got to open the first doors, and for the next 23 days, they will giddily open four doors on our Advent calendars, just like Swiss children have done for generations.

At school, the kids also have a form of an Advent calendar. There are small gifts for every school day between now and Christmas, and every day they pick the name of a student out of a bag. The lucky child gets to select a gift to open and keep.

Garbage – I know, I know… who wants to read about garbage?! But, I actually think the handling of garbage is a window into cultural values.

There are 7 categories of garbage here: plastic recyclables, paper recyclables, other recyclables, yard waste, compostable garbage, bread, and everything else. Regular garbage goes into specific mandatory municipal garbage bags that are available at the store, and are priced not just for the bags themselves, but for the volume of garbage they hold. Since garbage collection is not paid for entirely by taxes here, this is one of the ways they cover the costs while encouraging people to limit their waste.

Limiting waste is important here, and there are many ways people do this, but my favorite involves old bread. We’ve mentioned before that nearly all the bread is fresh bakery bread that only lasts for about 36 hours, which not only means that we have to buy bread just about every day, but it also means there can be a lot of rock hard bread crusts and end pieces left over. Interestingly, the bread does not mold, it just gets hard. Our landlady gave us specific instructions about what to do with all of our bread scraps: “feed them to the ducks.” So, about once a week, we go on an expedition looking for ducks on one of the creeks near our house. And today we hit the jackpot! While Emily was at school in the afternoon, James and Henry and I found about 40 ducks eager to eat our bread crumbs. So eager they were even jumping up on the steps where we were sitting. A couple times, they snatched pieces right out of James’s hands. It was the highlight of our afternoon. (Meanwhile, I gave Emily 4 Swiss Francs, and on her way home from school, she stopped in the local family-run butcher shop/market and bought a loaf of bread to bring home. I love that my 7-year-old can do that!)

There are no garbage disposals here, but throwing biodegradable food waste in the garbage is not ideal. Many people, including us, put food waste into a compost bin. Ours is outside next to our garden. Any outdoor waste that is too big for the compost bin goes in the green plastic garbage container for industrial compost that gets picked up occasionally, though I haven’t figured out exactly when. My goal has always been to fill the green container every time, as there is a lot of pruning and weeding that goes on to maintain the extensive gardens here.

In order to recycle things like glass, metal, batteries, etc. we have to haul it (by bike, of course) to a recycling station about 4 blocks from our house and sort it into the appropriate materials and colors. Plastic bottles go to a different recycling station by the grocery store. Paper must be tied up with string or put in paper bags and put out at the curb every other Monday.

Joe tells me that the the Inselspital where he works burns all of its garbage in a special
incinerator that generates power back to the hospital. No waste there!

The fact that these systems work so well here, especially the recycling and required garbage bags, is a testament to Swiss reliability, morality, and environmental consciousness. When they are told to do something, they do it. And for now, so do we.

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Q & A – The Daily Grind

Most of our posts are about our weekend excursions and interesting aspects of our life abroad. But, that’s not really representative of our daily life. That’s because our daily life isn’t nearly as fun to write about. Joe goes to work, Emily and James go to school, and Henry and I stay home and take care of everything else. But, I’ve gotten some questions about our daily life, so here’s a little Q&A. If you have any other questions about Switzerland or life abroad, feel free to send them to us.

How DO you manage without a car? Are you basically house-bound or do you and Henry get out with the bike much? I am certainly not house-bound. Henry and I have gotten very adept at getting around on the bike. Every morning during the few hours that the older kids are at school, I plunk Henry in his trailer and off we go. Without a car and with the limited time we have, we are usually limited to our town. I have about a mile radius in which I live most of my days. But, within that distance is: 3 grocery stores, butcher shop, farm where we get our milk, café with toys for kids, playgrounds, library, music class, choir practice, restaurants, walking trails, the Aare river, train station, and more. There is actually quite a bit to explore in our little town, and I’m getting to know it really well. This morning, for example, we went to the third grocery store, stopped at a bakery (my first time at both of those places), and then went to the farm for milk, potatoes and a sugar beet (not sure what I’m going to do with that last one yet!) It’s pretty cold out, but a lot of people are still biking around here. If I don’t feel like biking, I can turn Henry’s trailer into a stroller and walk. And, if the weather is much worse, there is a bus stop about a block from our house that takes me around town.

Do you have to go grocery shopping almost every day? The main items we need to buy on a regular basis are bread and milk. The bread here is all fresh, bakery bread that lasts about 36 hours before turning rock hard. And the milk we get at the farm is sold in liters, not gallons, and it isn’t pasteurized. So, I do a big grocery trip about twice a week. (“Big” being only whatever I can carry home in the back of the bike trailer.) We go to the farm every other day, and Joe often stops somewhere on his way home from work to pick up some fresh bread or other small items.

You said the kids were watching Spongebob Schweitzmer or something, so does that mean you have a TV, or were they watching online? First, in German, it’s called Spongebob Schwamkopf, which translates as “Spongebob Sponge Head” (“Spongebob Square Pants” has too many syllables in German.) Thanks to the internet and Joe’s savviness with technology, we have a whole collection of ways to watch TV. We have a regular TV that shows Swiss/German programming. The older kids like to watch Nickelodeon in German, but otherwise we really don’t use it. Then, we have several ways of watching English programming, some that are on the TV and some on our computers over the internet. Henry’s current favorite show is Dinosaur Train. Joe bought a special package from Yahoo! Sports so he can watch NFL games, especially the Packers. Sometimes it’s nice to turn on a favorite show and forget that I am in a foreign country for a while.

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Swiss Banknote Series: 1000 Franc Note

Jacob Burckhardt (1818-1897)

1000 Swiss Franc NoteFrom the SNB website:

Jacob Burckhardt decisively shaped our understanding of the development of our modern culture. He is best known for his scientifically sound and aesthetically appreciative studies of the Italian Renaissance. But Burckhardt was also a persistent and far-sighted critic of the state’s aspiration for power. Today Burckhardt is admired as a brilliant historian, seminal art historian and prophetic critic of his age. His writings in historiography are literary accomplishments as well as pioneering works that helped to establish art history as a modern academic discipline.

 

Today the banknote bearing his likeness will get you a trip up and down from Grindelwald to the Jungfraujoch for two adults, three times.

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Swiss Banknote Series: 200 Franc Note

Charles Ferdinand Ramuz (1878-1947)

200 Swiss Franc NoteInformation from Wikipedia:

Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz (September 24, 1878 – May 23, 1947) was a French-speaking Swiss writer.

He was born in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud and educated at the University of Lausanne. He taught briefly in nearby Aubonne, and then in Weimar, Germany. In 1903, he left for Paris and remained there until World War I, with frequent trips home to Switzerland. In 1903, he published Le petit village, a collection of poems.

In 1914, he returned to Switzerland, where he lived a retired life devoted to his writing.

He wrote the libretto for Igor Stravinsky’s Histoire du soldat.

He died in Pully, near Lausanne in the year 1947.

Today the note bearing his likeness will get a family of 5 (including three kids under the age of 8 and two adults with Half-Fare cards) from Füssen, Germany to Bern Switzerland on the excellent SBB rail system (with a little left over for snacks on the train).

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Swiss Banknote Series: 100 Franc Note

Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966)

100 Swiss Franc NoteAlberto Giacometti is a Swiss sculpter, painter, draughtsman, and printmaker born in the Graubünden region of Switzerland, near the Italian border in 1901. His father was an impressionist painter.

He began his arts studies in the School of Fine Arts in Geneva, but subsequently moved to France to study under Antoine Bourdelle.

Woman of Venice

He produced a number sculptures of the human form, and states he purposefully tried to sculpt the human figure not in its natural form but rather as the shadow that it casts. An example of this can be seen in the sculpture Woman of Venice (II), seen on the left.

He died in 1966 in Chur, Switzerland, of pericarditis and is buried in his home in Graubünden.

Today, the bill bearing his name will buy a mid-level mobile phone (not a smartphone) at Swisscom.