James

October 5, 2011March 31, 2013

Post from Grandma and Grandpa

My parents visited us for a week at the end of September, and we asked them to share their thoughts. Here is what they said:

They are doing great. Sarah, Joe, Emily, James and Henry have adjusted well to their new life in Switzerland and are enjoying it immensely. In short form, that is our assessment from being there for a recent week. For the longer story, read on.

Emily and James have made friends with, among others, four kids from a good family across the street. After school, they are out playing soccer or hockey, riding their bikes or secretly spying on the neighborhood while hiding in their tree fort. It makes a grandparent’s heart swell with glee to hear them chatting away in German as if it is the normal thing American kids do.

We each walked James to school on different days. Walking along hand in hand, we chatted away and stopped to greet the neighborhood black cat as is the morning ritual. Nothing superstitious about this kid. As all the kids were funneling into the building, he ran off to excitedly tell his friends, in German of course, that his Oma/Opa was with him. James is enjoying his half day kindergarten.

Sarah and Judy with Emily nearby were having a conversation about careers and jobs. Overhearing this, Emily piped in: “Kids have a job too. Our job is to go to school and learn as much as we can so we can grow up and be good adults. Parents’ job is to have a house for us, feed us and buy clothes for us.” Judy asked: “What is the job of a grandparent?” Emily quickly replied: “Your job is to love us and care about us.” Emily is doing very well at school, at home and in the neighborhood. She is also the backup German speaker when Mom and Dad run into problems with the language.

Henry’s German is limited, but he knows “spielplatz” (playground) and “dampfbahn” (a miniature train). He, however, speaks the universal language of an uninhibited, gregarious two year old. On the bus or the train, he sits with a family member and chats away, sometimes being engaged with German speaking riders. Whether young or old, those who have been near him leave with smiles on their faces.

Sarah is a gourmet chef of Swiss food. We tasted much of the traditional Swiss fare and thoroughly enjoyed it. She also orchestrated our travels to the Aare River including a raft trip with everyone but Oma and Henry; a bike ride with Emily and James to a neighboring town with the Jungfrau in the background; a city visit to Bern, and our last night at the oldest restaurant in Europe still standing (1371).

Joe seems more relaxed than he has been in the last several years. He enjoys his work at the hospital, orchestrating travels for the family and, of course, watching and cheering the Packers. Ok, he is not more relaxed about the latter.

All in all, Switzerland is a beautiful country and Sarah and Joe are A-Plus Hosts. We say “Thank You” for a truly memorable visit.

Oma and Opa

September 22, 2011March 31, 2013

Grandma and Grandpa Brezinski arrived in Munsingen on Tuesday, after a packed 15-day tour through Switzerland. They’ve seen many areas that we haven’t even been to yet. Now they are happy to slow down their pace a bit and play with their grandchildren. And, their grandchildren are thrilled to have them here as well!

We have had a few beautiful days for them to get to know our little Swiss town. We haven’t gone very far, but they have been to the grocery store, where they stocked up on Swiss chocolate. Grandpa walked with James to school this morning. We took them to see the Aare river and our local creeks. And grandpa joined Emily, James and me for a beautiful bike ride toward the mountains with fantastic scenery. We’ve also spent a lot of time in our backyard kicking a soccer ball, playing ping-pong, and watching Henry entertain himself with the gnomes. In the next couple of days we have bigger plans to take them out of town. But, all that really matters is that we are together for what will probably be their only visit for the year.

Being away from family is definitely one of the most challenging things about this whole adventure. Skype is great, and all (although my parents don’t have a web cam, and opt for good old fashioned phone conversations). But it isn’t the same as being there. They will miss a lot of milestones for our kids during the year, and we will miss a lot back home too. It’s a small price to pay for the experience of living abroad, and we certainly aren’t the only people in this situation. However, it is really nice to have family here with us, at least for a few more days!

September 19, 2011

Rain, rain go away

Well, I was supposed to be writing a post about our wonderful weekend in the mountains. We had it all planned out, reservations made, suitcases (almost) packed. But, the weather forecast got worse and worse. It said rain all weekend and no visibility, so we canceled our plans at the last minute and stayed home. Now the most exciting things I can report from the weekend are a trip to a mall (and let me tell you that malls are not a cultural experience. A mall is a mall is a mall.) We also watched the Packers game live on Sunday night, which was noon in the US. Woo hoo!

Monday morning it was still raining. Henry and I went to our music class, and I arrived from our bike ride cold and pretty wet. Music class is all in Swiss German. I’ve learned most of the melodies and some of the sounds/words. But mostly I am singing gibberish and following whatever the other parents do. Fortunately, in a toddler music class, this is not too difficult.

By noon, we had stopped at the grocery store and come home soggy just in time for Emily and James to walk in from school also soaked. I understand that this kind of weather is commonplace in Swtizerland, so we have to get better at this! On the bright side, the forecast is much better starting tomorrow — both for the weather and for our plans.

September 15, 2011March 31, 2013

Playground Fun

Recently, the kids and I went once again to the local playground or “Spielplatz,” and I realized that playgrounds are another expression of cultural differences. Some friends of ours who are doing a fellowship in California posted a picture on their blog of a great playground on Venice beach. It is a large version of a standard American playground, made mostly of plastic, with bars that are the required width so no one will fall off. Things like merry-go-rounds and see-saws have all but disappeared from American playgrounds, presumably because it was too dangerous for kids.

Here, going to a playground is like going back several decades in a time machine. They are all made mostly of wood, rope, and metal. There is always a stand-alone slide and a sandbox. If you are lucky there will also be one or more of the following: swings, a see-saw, a zip line (James’s favorite), a merry-go-round, rocking horse, and something I call the spinning rope of death. The last one is like a giant rope ladder with rope swings attached to it that is wrapped around a pole. Adults or older kids run around spinning it as fast as they can and try not to get hit by the kids who are clinging to the ropes for dear life. The kids think this is a blast!

Another thing I’ve noticed is that there are no training wheels here. I realize my children were very late to learn to ride two-wheel bikes. But, I haven’t seen any training wheels at all here. In fact, come to think of it, I haven’t seen any tricycles either. Even little kids who are 2 or 3 years old ride on “first bikes” that are like mini-two-wheelers with no pedals. They push themselves along with their feet, learning first to balance before learning to pedal.

As I’ve mentioned before, ALL of the kids either walk, bike or scooter to school by themselves from Kindergarten on. I’ve even seen entire classes of kids riding their bikes behind their teacher to go on a field trip. Not to generalize too much, but there seems to be a little less coddling of kids here than is typical in America. Here’s some shots of my kids flinging themselves around at the Spielplatz and having a blast.

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September 11, 2011March 31, 2013

What a weekend

We didn’t leave the country (like two weeks ago) or go up to the mountains (that’s next weekend), but we squeezed a lot into the last couple of days. It started on Friday afternoon when I took the kids to Europe’s “World of Dinosaurs.” It’s a collection of life-sized dinosaurs in an outdoor setting that happens to be one town over from us right now. We biked there and enjoyed getting up close and personal with dinosaurs, and even being paleontologists for a while.

On Saturday we spent the day in Bern. Grandma and Grandpa Brezinski are on a 15-day tour of Switzerland. Saturday was their day in Bern, so we met up with them and their group for a tour of the city and a nice lunch outside the Bundeshaus (the Swiss capitol building). Unbeknownst to me, there are several outdoor markets in Bern on Saturdays, and there was also a large political rally going on right on the Bundesplatz. So, the visit was a bit chaotic and too short, but it was wonderful to see my parents here in Bern. (We will welcome them to our home in 9 days after their tour.)

It was a hot day, so after lunch we parted ways and I took Emily and James to the Marzilibad, the outdoor public pool complex in Bern. It is a beautiful setting, and we had a great time splashing in the pools to cool down. I’m not sure why, but it seems like none of the pools in Switzerland are heated. The weather here isn’t exactly tropical, so the water is FREEZING! I can understand the Aare river being cold since it flows from a glacier, but the kiddie pool should be warmer than 70 degrees! But we had fun alternately chattering in the pool and laying in the sun.

Sunday, we stayed in Münsingen for a family day. It was a clear morning, so we hopped on our bikes and went on another family bike ride. We rode on the bike path between Münsingen and Thun with a gorgeous view of the mountains ahead of us. All together we rode about 5 miles and got passed by many more serious bikers than ourselves. But it was beautiful and, for us, quite an accomplishment.

In the afternoon, we went to see the Dampfbahn Aaretal, the local mini train run by a club of train enthusiasts. There are a couple of small-scale authentic steam engines, and the kids got to ride the trains around the fairly extensive track. Henry, our biggest train fan, loved it! The rest of us thought it was pretty cool too.

I’m a little sore, pretty tan, and very tired! Also grateful to have new and exciting things to experience with our family. Check out more pictures from the weekend in our gallery.

September 8, 2011March 31, 2013

Life without a car

I haven’t owned a bike for 12 years. I had one in college, but I rode it so infrequently that it rusted to the bike rack, had the wheel stolen, and was eventually cut off and hauled away, presumably by the Evanston police authority. Much to my father’s dismay, biking was just never really my thing. Even when I didn’t have a car, I preferred to walk and/or take public transportation.

Now, I find myself again in a town with excellent public transportation and no car. But this time, I have a 2-year-old with me all the time, and I have to do grocery shopping for a family of 5. On top of that, Swiss people are big bike-riders. There are literally hundreds of bikes parked near the Münsingen train station, and many hundreds more in the city of Bern. Needless to say, after our first week here, I got a bike and shortly after that a trailer for Henry to ride in.

The bike is a cheap (by Swiss standards), used bike that Joe calls the “Peewee Herman bike.” It squeaks when I pedal, the front brake shrieks like a banshee so I try to only use the back brake, and it has only two gears (down from at least three that it used to have). It also has a front headlight that is powered by the wheels, so when it is engaged, it makes a whirring sound like a quiet electric sander. Lets just say, you can hear me coming!

After the first trip I made to the grocery store, I was actually sore. It was a literal “pain in the butt.” The next day I got back on the bike and I thought, “You have got to be kidding me!” Ouch! But, Joe assured me that the pain would eventually go away. Henry also took some time adjusting to his new mode of transportation. He would struggle getting in and out, and whine and cry during the rides, especially the first couple of times I put groceries next to him in the trailer. But, I pressed on.

I have to admit, that it is good exercise. We happen to live at the lowest point in town, near the river. So, going anywhere is slightly up hill. But, coming back home is a breeze. This is great when I’ve got a trailer with a 40-pound child and another 50 pounds of groceries, and I barely have to pedal to get them home. However, it’s not so great when I show up for music class or church sweaty and out of breath like I just came from the gym.

As we mentioned before, the kids got bikes and learned to ride them without training wheels in just a couple of days. Now they are experts, just like the other Swiss kids. I have ridden all around town with Henry in tow and Emily and James following behind. This includes riding on roads with cars and crossing bridges to get to the grocery store, train station, swimming pool, dentist, playground, etc. Not, that we haven’t had our share of mishaps (The scrapes and bruises on James’s legs were proof of that for a couple of weeks), but all in all we get around really well. Fortunately, bikers (and pedestrians) in Switzerland have the right-of-way most of the time. Because there are so many bikes, it is a high priority, so cars have to wait for bikes at intersections, even wait to pass a bike on a narrow road.

Joe finally got his bike this week. His is another cheap, used bike that didn’t even work when we got it. Fortunately, Joe has become quite the bike mechanic. After replacing the chain and the tires and tuning it up a bit, he rode it to the train station this morning with all the other business commuters riding bikes in suits with their briefcases strapped to the back. And, last night we went on our first official family bike ride. Even though I didn’t have a bike in Milwaukee, and Emily and James could never really get very far, this is something I’ve always wanted to do. And last night, we finally did it! We took the whole family to the edge of town, past many swiss style homes, and by an open field with a beautiful view of the mountains, trains rushing by and even a few cows and sheep.

I have to admit, I actually enjoy getting on my bike now. I won’t be doing long distances any time soon (sorry dad!), but it is no longer a pain in the butt, literally or figuratively. Even Henry has learned to enjoy his new ride. Most of the time, when we pull into our driveway and I get off the bike he says, “That was a great ride, mom!”

September 2, 2011March 31, 2013

Making Friends

Emily went to her first birthday party this week. Emily and James have had friends here in Switzerland since the day we arrived. There were kids playing outside on our street, and instantly they became friends. They speak German to the other kids, though not at a very high level. But it doesn’t really matter… they’re kids. They just ride bikes together, or play with toys, and *bang* they’ve made a friend.

And now they both go to school where there are plenty of other kids to play with and befriend, so that after only two weeks, Emily was invited to a party.

With adults, it’s completely different. Once you are out of college, making friends, even in my home country, isn’t easy. And Swiss people are notorious for sticking with their childhood friends. Introducing any new friends to their social group takes an extremely long time (i.e. longer than the year we are here). On top of that, the language barrier is a much bigger deal for adults. I can get along in a conversation okay, but I get lost fairly quickly once we are past the basic introductions. And, with adults, talking is extremely important if you want to get to know someone. There is no playing or school-like environment that brings people together. Adults don’t really *do* much, except sit around and talk. So, if you can’t talk very well, it’s kind of a problem.

The other night, Joe and I were watching Seinfeld and there was a bit about this very topic. It was good to laugh about it. But seriously, I’m not sure we’ll get invited to anything the entire year – at least not by anyone who doesn’t speak English.

August 26, 2011March 31, 2013

It’s the little things

Looking back on the past couple of weeks of school, work, and life, it’s hard to come up with any big things to write about. But, a few of the little updates are…

Emily lost two (yes two!) more teeth in the past couple weeks. It turns out the tooth fairy also comes to Switzerland. Emily’s smile looks like a checkerboard. James, who is 6 years old and hasn’t lost any teeth yet, is quite jealous. We tried to explain to him that Emily doesn’t have many more teeth to lose, whereas he has a goldmine in his mouth that is sure to start paying off at some point.

Henry no longer needs his precious nookie. The plan, as recommended by our dentist, was to poke a hole in it and gradually make it bigger until its functionaly was lost and he gave it up on his own. Joe didn’t quite catch the gradual concept, and basically mutilated it right off the bat. It caused a couple of painful bedtimes, but it worked. It’s yet another thing that shows what a big boy Henry is becoming.

We got library cards at the local library. The kids were starved for new books after a month of reading the small selection we brought from home. The collection of English books is pretty sparse (even in the “big” library in Bern), but we immediately maxed out our limit of books we can check out. Emily was thrilled to find quite a few new “Rainbow Magic” fairy books, even though they are in German. I am still impressed that she can read chapter books in two different languages!

We attended some community events, including a festival at the swimming complex, a 5K run (didn’t run, just watched), and a marching band parade. I also found the Catholic church, though the mass was in Swiss German, so I only understood about 50% of what was said.

So why write about the little things? You know how, when you see other people’s kids only occasionally, they seem to grow so much? Yet, when you see your own kids (and yourself) everyday, its a lot harder to perceive the growth. It’s all the little things everyday that are adding up to big changes.

August 16, 2011December 13, 2012

Back to School

Today was the first day of school for Emily and James. I got to accompany Emily to school for the first period of the day. The classroom had small desks with students’ names on them, hooks out in the hall for jackets, a chalkboard at the front, and generally could have been mistaken for any elementary school classroom in America, or anywhere else. However, there are a lot of differences, some small and some huge, between school here and what we are used to back home.

For starters, the calendar is very different. With a short, 6-week summer break, school starts in mid-August and goes through the first week of July. But, there are several long breaks throughout the year: fall break (3 weeks), winter break (2 weeks), sport break (1 week to go skiing), spring break (2 weeks), and Whitsun week.

The grade levels are different, too. Last year, Emily was in 1st grade and James was in Kindergarten (K5). Here kids don’t start in elementary school until they are 7, so Emily is in 1st grade again and James is in Kindergarten again at a completely different school dedicated to Kindergarten. There isn’t much academic learning in Kindergarten here, mostly just playing and working on social skills. So, the curriculum is going to be fairly easy compared to what the kids have done back home. However, since everything is in German, including talking to their friends, their brains are constantly on overdrive and they are sure to learn a ton outside of the curriculum itself.

There are no school buses in Switzerland. Children have to get to school on their own, and in a small town like Münsingen, that means walking. So, there are throngs of kids walking the streets in the morning without supervision. In fact, James and all the kindergarteners were given reflective sashes to wear while walking to school and Emily was given a bright yellow hat that says, “Back to School! Watch Out for Kids!”

There are no school lunches in Switzerland either, so all of the kids walk back home at 11:50am for lunch. And then, depending on their age, they walk back to school again by 1:30pm for the afternoon periods. However, in Kindergarten and 1st grade, school is only mandatory from 8:20-11:50am. Emily and James both go back to school on Tuesday afternoons, and Emily goes back every other Monday. But, that means my kids are home all afternoon 3-4 days a week!

Then there are all the small, interesting differences that I started noticing when I went shopping for school supplies last week. The primary item Emily needed as far as school supplies I am used to is called an “Etui.” It is a small, highly regulated zipper container with pencils, eraser, sharpener, colored pencils, ruler, markers, ink, and a few other things. All the kids have one that they use from 1st grade through high school. Then, there were some other things on the list, including a toothbrush, water bottle, “house shoes,” black ballet-style slippers, and a gym bag with gym clothes. We bought everything not knowing exactly how it would all be used, especially the odd assortment of shoes.

On the first day of school, we learned that children do not wear “outside shoes” into the classroom. They change into their “house shoes,” which are usually slipper-like shoes with rubber soles that are kept at school. Also, they change into gym clothes (even in 1st grade!) and they don’t wear tennis shoes for gym, but rather special black slippers. And, every other week for gym, Emily gets to go swimming!

All of these differences are neither good nor bad, they are just different. My only hope is that my kids have a good year and, as I wrote on Emily’s “school spiral project” this morning, “I hope you learn a lot, make many friends, and have fun!”

August 6, 2011

Living and Learning

In our first five days, we haven’t gone further than a couple of kilometers from our house. The reasons (or excuses) are that I haven’t gotten my train pass yet because it requires passport pictures, which I also haven’t gotten yet. Also, the train station is just far enough away to make it a challenging, though doable, walk with all the kids. Ideally we would all have bikes by now, which is how everyone gets around here, but the bike store is closed until next week because the owner is on vacation, and Emily and James don’t know how to ride bikes without training wheels anyway. So, at this rate, we won’t be going anywhere for several more weeks.

Fortunately, within our very small radius, there are two creeks, a swimming complex, the kids schools, and several neighborhood families with kids. Also, our shipment from America came, so the kids have at least a few more toys to play with. After over a month with just the items in their backpacks, it was like Christmas in August.

Our first week in Switzerland has been a balancing act of failure and success. If you define failure as doing something wrong, then that happens several times a day. In fact, the first time we do anything, we inevitably do it wrong. For example, every time we go to the grocery store, which Joe and I have been taking turns doing each day, we do something wrong: going through the express lane with way too many items, bringing up more items than I had the cash for (they don’t take our credit card), not having the right coin to unlock the grocery cart, etc. (Incidently, since we don’t have bikes yet, we also have to carry all of our groceries home over a kilometer in our backpack and grocery sacks, which makes me feel like I did a 250 rod portage in the Boundary Waters!)

We have also failed to get Swiss phones, internet access, or a bank account, some of which require a residence permit that is going to take a couple of weeks to secure. I got lost with all three kids trying to walk to a nearby playground. Oh, and I fried my hair straightener by plugging it into the wrong electrical converter.

Compared to our failures, our successes seem trivial. But you have to count all the small accomplishments that we take for granted back home. Like understanding a conversation with neighbors on the street (check), cooking a meal with no recognizable measuring tools and instructions in a different language (check), and figuring out the school supply lists (check).

The kids start school a week from monday(!) and it feels like we won’t have done anything. But, then again, we have moved to a new country, and I guess that counts for something.

Tag: James