Well hello again! I'm back from my Swift Swiss adventure, but if you'd like to come along, I'd like to take you on the rest of the trip with me (partly because I know a few people who will be very upset if I don't!).
Tuesday morning, Francie and I enjoyed another authentic Swiss breakfast--their bread is just different over here. Ist wunderbar! (It's wonderful!) I've hear it said that European bread is a good description of their people. Hard on the outside, but not crusty; soft and inviting once you break through to the inside. =) I like it! And put some homemade quitten (quince in English) jelly with it, or honey, mmm!
Francie and I cleaned up from breakfast and I got all my stuff together, and we headed over to the church building to do some work. On the way to the car, Francie gave me one of the greatest compliments she could have given. She said I'm already part of this family in Basel--it's like I never left this summer. :) It's a wonderful feeling to have true acceptance and love from anyone, but especially from these people who have such strong faith and convictions. Being a Christian is rewarding in so many ways, but especially in the fact that you have family everywhere you go as long as you have people there with the same faith.
And we were off! Holger was already there at the church (he can take the tram--I love public transportation!), so we gave our greetings and started cleaning. It only took us about half the time since Francie and I were working together. :) When we finished, she took me over to the Nagalis' apartment--Markus and Marianne, and they have to adopted little girls, Rahel (9) and Chayanne (7). The girls got home from school and Markus came home from work (again with the family meal time thing), and Vera, another woman from church, came over as well. It was so nice to get to know them all better. It amazes me how much they all wanted to have me in their homes and get to know me. They helped me with my Swiss-German and tried their best to talk to me in English--the language "barrier" was more of a language "bridge" the whole time I was in Switzerland. =)
After lunch, Marianne, Vera, and I had a Bible study. Apparently Vera and Marianne do this regularly, and it encouraged me to be part of it! We studied James 5 and prayed together in English and German, and I got just as much out of a bilingual study as I could have gotten out of a single-language study. I love it!
And then I found out the girls had the rest of the afternoon all planned out! The girls had the rest of the day off from school and wanted to play games with their mom, Vera, and me. We played a couple of different things, but the most educational one for me was Uno--I got to lear my Swiss-German numbers! =) Kind of. I tried! Vera had to leave after that to get back home by train, and so the rest of us went for a walk to get some fresh air and exercise. These people know the importance of fresh air! I don't think there was one day when we didn't deliberately take a walk!
And then it was time for my next trip--to the Minder family's home! Markus and Barbara Minder have three kids: Joel and Tobias (19 and 17) who came to visit me with Chris and Ben Steinhauer in DC in August, and Judith, who's 13. Barbara and Judith came to pick me up and take me home with them.Judith was gracious enough to share her room with me--her mom said she was so excited to have another girl in the house... that made me feel pretty good! Simona came over, which made girltime even better because she could translate for Judith and me. =) Supper that night was really good--pumpkin soup, lasagna, salad, and cookies for dessert--but it was SO much! If the amount of food served is any indication of how welcome someone wants you to feel, I can safely say I don't know if they ever wanted me to leave!
Joel had to leave after supper, and Barbara had to go to a violin lesson (which I think is so cool!), but the rest of us stayed and talked for a while. I'm SO glad their English is better than my German--and I'm even more thankful that they're all willing to help me learn! Tobias and Judith were interested to see some pictures from the shuttle launch I got to see in May, and by the time we got done talking about all that, it was time to shower and hit the hay!
Judith got up and left at 6:45 Wednesday morning, but I didn't even hear her! I totally thought it was still the middle of the night when I finally got up to go to the bathroom because the room was so dark. I was afraid I'd wake up Judith, but much to my surprise, she was already gone and it was nearly 9:00! They said I could sleep in... and it sure felt good to do so! After breakfast and coffee (of course!), Barbara and I talked for a while. These people are so wonderful! She had to run some errands later that morning, so I got to read and write a little before lunch, and then you know what Barbara suggested? Naptime! Haha. She said it must be exhausting to be moving so much, and today needed to be a day to rest. What a relief! =) I'm all up for going and doing and seeing, but she was right--it was exhausting, especially being on the lagging side of jetlag!
Judith had gone back to school for the afternoon, so Barbara and I got to bake! We made lemon-raisin sugar cookies (apparently a traditional Swiss winter cookie) and--are you ready for this?--Zweitschewaie! haha. I'm sure I misspelled that, but it's pronounced "Shwatch-ka-vi-ya". It's a plum tart! I took pictures of the process while we made it, so I'll be posting those soon!
Judith got home while the cookies were baking, so while she studied and made sure the cookies didn't burn, Barbara and I took a walk. Again with the value in fresh air! =) And she paid me one of the best compliments... she said she was amazed at how much I can walk as an American! hahaha.
Cookies baked, tart in the oven, Barbara getting things done around the house... it was time to help Judith study for her English test! And you know what? It was fun! I could make her laugh, and I think it gave her some confidence when she was able to help me pronounce things correctly in German.
And you know what we had for supper that night? The plum tart with whipped cream and chocolate milk! It was like having dessert for supper. =) And I got to help make it! We left for church right after supper, and again, I am endlessly encouraged by their commitment to the Lord. Some people take the train an hour or more (one way!) just to make it to church on Wednesday nights, and they do it happily--with absolute joy in their hearts. Going to church for them seems to be like going to a safe place where you know the people love you and want to know your spiritual walk is going well; and if it's not, they want to encourage and help each other!
And for my next resting place--on to the Steinhauers' place! The house that never rests! =)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
The Black Forest... where Santa Clause really lives! ;)
Guten Morgen--Good morning! I hope you've all had a fabulous Thanksgiving and you are not uncomfortably full two days later. =)
Monday was... a Deutschland (Germany) adventure! I was still at Holger and Francie Kock's home, and I thought it would be cool to go to Germany with them, since Holger is from Northern Germany. We ate breakfast together (the kids had already left for school), which consisted of the typical European breakfast of Brött (bread) with jelly and hönig (honey), cheese (their brie is unbelievably delicious! And I don't even really like cheese!), jogurt (yogurt), fruit, and coffee! And when we finished breakfast we headed out to the famous Black Forest (like the German Chocolate Black Forest cake, of course). According to German tradition, Santa comes from the Black Forest. He makes toys there, and he takes the naughty children there and hides them! Ah! I tried to behave extra ''gut'' (good) while I was there!
If you're wondering (as I was also wondering) where the Black Forest got its name, here's the story!
''Long ago when the Romans came through and ruled the land here, they used all the trees until there were none left. So when they replanted, they chose evergreens, which are the fastest growing species of tree. These dark green trees are so dense that, especially in summer, NO light gets through--making it very dark! The forest is 100 km wide and 180 km long (about 60 x 110 miles), and if someone got lost there, they were a goner!'' Now, there are villages and Catholic cathedrals there, and of course there are many hotels, spas, and ski resorts here. And not surprisingly, the logging industry is a pretty big deal there. ;)
And that's the story of the black forest! Another interesting tid bit of info from Whit--the houses in the Black Forest are mostly made of wood and are beautiful. They're intricately carved and decorated and just really huge, and their roofs are characteristically oversized. Why, you may wonder? Because when it snows and gets so very cold there, the snow acts as added insulation. The larger your roof, the more insulated your house is. =)
And then we went home for lunch! I like the system they have here at the schools. The kids go to class in the morning, and they all pretty much live close enough to come home at lunch, then be back in time for afternoon classes. Holger and Francie like this, too, because since they can have lunch with their kids, they can also keep up with how they're doing throughout the day. I like it because that makes for a much healthier family situation as opposed to the kids being at school all day and only seeing the parents when they get up and before bed. Consistently having family meal time is good for lots of reasons, and to be able to have it at each meal ist wunderbar (is wonderful)!
That afternoon, we got to relax! I talked with Francie and Holger and caught up on my journal writing for a while, then I took a fabulous nap! =) Luckily Francie came in to wake me up a little before 3:00... I dreamt during said nap that I slept until 8:50 that night, not only missing a good part of the day, but I also couldn't sleep that night! That was more of a nightmare than a dream. =)
But as I said, Francie came and woke me up. It was time to head to the historical countryside of Arlesheim! We walked passed the cutest little houses--some older than all of America as a nation! People actually still live in them, too. So cute! Water power is a big deal here, and they use the creeks around to grind millstones and work on their farms. We came upon this garden that was really a manmade mountain park area. There is a story about a hermit who lives in a shack up there, and children cam go visit him! When you put a coin in his hand, he moves and stuff--obviously, kids of every nationality are easily amused and enjoy a good robot! ;)
The little mountain is so pretty, and it's in a lovely place overlooking the village of Arlesheim. And guess what... there's also a CASTLE next to it! It's a real one with a tower and made of stone and it sits on a hill and everything. I kept waiting for Rapunzel to let down her hair!
We walked around the little manmade lakes there and watched the ducks and fish swim around. It was overcast and cool-ish, but we were warm enough. =) Francie and I walked around Arlesheim as the sun was going down (around 4:45 pm around here right now), and I have to say I absolutely felt like I was in a fairytale! Cobblestone streets, cute little houses, it's great!
Then came my favorite thing about going to a foreign country... a trip to the grocery! We got some things to use for supper--an authentic German meal to top off the day, complete with Black Forest Cake!
Funny story... while supper was cooking, Francie was helping Hendrick (their 7th grade son) with his French homework. I was sitting across the room writing in my journal or reading or something, and suddenly Francie wanted to tell me something. I heard her speak and I knew she was talking to me, but I had no idea what she said! I thought I'd done something wrong because she sounded urgent, and we just looked at each other funny. She turned to Hendrick and asked why I was giving her a puzzled look, and then she realized she had spoken in French! That's the downside of speaking so many languages... they get mixed up in the brain often! haha. That happened frequently on my trip here. People would get languages mixed up talking to each other and translating for me and switching languages in the conversation--wow! We laughed about that for a while. =)
And for supper, we had Knödel (a bread and potato dumpling as big as my fist!), ''blue'' cabbage (the purple stuff we Americans call red cabbage), smoked pork, and brown sauce--and of course, the Black Forest cake! Chocolate, chocolate mousse, cherry filling, and whipped cream. Wow! Simona came over, too. This church is really like a family. They are absolutely there for each other, and they honestly love each other as a Christian family should. It's such an encouragement to me.
After a long talk with Simona and Francie, it was time for bed for sure! Coming up for Tuesday... lunch at the Nägelis' house, playing games with their daughters, and spending the night next door to a castle! Stay tuned. =)
Love and miss you all!
Quick Whit
Monday was... a Deutschland (Germany) adventure! I was still at Holger and Francie Kock's home, and I thought it would be cool to go to Germany with them, since Holger is from Northern Germany. We ate breakfast together (the kids had already left for school), which consisted of the typical European breakfast of Brött (bread) with jelly and hönig (honey), cheese (their brie is unbelievably delicious! And I don't even really like cheese!), jogurt (yogurt), fruit, and coffee! And when we finished breakfast we headed out to the famous Black Forest (like the German Chocolate Black Forest cake, of course). According to German tradition, Santa comes from the Black Forest. He makes toys there, and he takes the naughty children there and hides them! Ah! I tried to behave extra ''gut'' (good) while I was there!
If you're wondering (as I was also wondering) where the Black Forest got its name, here's the story!
''Long ago when the Romans came through and ruled the land here, they used all the trees until there were none left. So when they replanted, they chose evergreens, which are the fastest growing species of tree. These dark green trees are so dense that, especially in summer, NO light gets through--making it very dark! The forest is 100 km wide and 180 km long (about 60 x 110 miles), and if someone got lost there, they were a goner!'' Now, there are villages and Catholic cathedrals there, and of course there are many hotels, spas, and ski resorts here. And not surprisingly, the logging industry is a pretty big deal there. ;)
And that's the story of the black forest! Another interesting tid bit of info from Whit--the houses in the Black Forest are mostly made of wood and are beautiful. They're intricately carved and decorated and just really huge, and their roofs are characteristically oversized. Why, you may wonder? Because when it snows and gets so very cold there, the snow acts as added insulation. The larger your roof, the more insulated your house is. =)
And then we went home for lunch! I like the system they have here at the schools. The kids go to class in the morning, and they all pretty much live close enough to come home at lunch, then be back in time for afternoon classes. Holger and Francie like this, too, because since they can have lunch with their kids, they can also keep up with how they're doing throughout the day. I like it because that makes for a much healthier family situation as opposed to the kids being at school all day and only seeing the parents when they get up and before bed. Consistently having family meal time is good for lots of reasons, and to be able to have it at each meal ist wunderbar (is wonderful)!
That afternoon, we got to relax! I talked with Francie and Holger and caught up on my journal writing for a while, then I took a fabulous nap! =) Luckily Francie came in to wake me up a little before 3:00... I dreamt during said nap that I slept until 8:50 that night, not only missing a good part of the day, but I also couldn't sleep that night! That was more of a nightmare than a dream. =)
But as I said, Francie came and woke me up. It was time to head to the historical countryside of Arlesheim! We walked passed the cutest little houses--some older than all of America as a nation! People actually still live in them, too. So cute! Water power is a big deal here, and they use the creeks around to grind millstones and work on their farms. We came upon this garden that was really a manmade mountain park area. There is a story about a hermit who lives in a shack up there, and children cam go visit him! When you put a coin in his hand, he moves and stuff--obviously, kids of every nationality are easily amused and enjoy a good robot! ;)
The little mountain is so pretty, and it's in a lovely place overlooking the village of Arlesheim. And guess what... there's also a CASTLE next to it! It's a real one with a tower and made of stone and it sits on a hill and everything. I kept waiting for Rapunzel to let down her hair!
We walked around the little manmade lakes there and watched the ducks and fish swim around. It was overcast and cool-ish, but we were warm enough. =) Francie and I walked around Arlesheim as the sun was going down (around 4:45 pm around here right now), and I have to say I absolutely felt like I was in a fairytale! Cobblestone streets, cute little houses, it's great!
Then came my favorite thing about going to a foreign country... a trip to the grocery! We got some things to use for supper--an authentic German meal to top off the day, complete with Black Forest Cake!
Funny story... while supper was cooking, Francie was helping Hendrick (their 7th grade son) with his French homework. I was sitting across the room writing in my journal or reading or something, and suddenly Francie wanted to tell me something. I heard her speak and I knew she was talking to me, but I had no idea what she said! I thought I'd done something wrong because she sounded urgent, and we just looked at each other funny. She turned to Hendrick and asked why I was giving her a puzzled look, and then she realized she had spoken in French! That's the downside of speaking so many languages... they get mixed up in the brain often! haha. That happened frequently on my trip here. People would get languages mixed up talking to each other and translating for me and switching languages in the conversation--wow! We laughed about that for a while. =)
And for supper, we had Knödel (a bread and potato dumpling as big as my fist!), ''blue'' cabbage (the purple stuff we Americans call red cabbage), smoked pork, and brown sauce--and of course, the Black Forest cake! Chocolate, chocolate mousse, cherry filling, and whipped cream. Wow! Simona came over, too. This church is really like a family. They are absolutely there for each other, and they honestly love each other as a Christian family should. It's such an encouragement to me.
After a long talk with Simona and Francie, it was time for bed for sure! Coming up for Tuesday... lunch at the Nägelis' house, playing games with their daughters, and spending the night next door to a castle! Stay tuned. =)
Love and miss you all!
Quick Whit
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
I like liverwurst!
Guten Morgen! (Good morning!) =)
Whew! These Swiss know how to eat and how to keep an American busy! =)
Where did we leave off? Saturday afternoon, Simona and I watched a movie and made supper that night to have with the boys. Her kitchen is SO big compared to mine back home! We both fit with room to work and room to spare. =) Definitely not a ''one butt kitchen''. ;)
Ben, Chris, and Tobias got there just as we were finishing up cooking, and they brought us flowers and cookies! These Swiss folks know how to make an entrance. ;) Supper was ''wunderbar'', and we had fun talking in English AND German (mostly in English for me, but not entirely!). After supper and dessert (they liked the chocolate nasties!), we watched Black Hawk Down (with Deutsch subtitles). I tell you what, living in DC has really raised my military awareness and appreciation. And it's given me a different perspective when traveling, too.
And then it was Sonntag--Sunday! I love that they all come together for breakfast before church starts, and they all help get things ready--set the table, put out the bread and jams/jellies/honey, thex take turns bringing the meats and cheeses, etc. It all goes very fast and there's so much fellowship wen everyone works together like that. They're such a close family.
And church time! Since Ben translated for me on Friday, I asked Chris if he'd translate this time. Even though I don't understand all the words, I can catch a few, and I get the most important parts when someone can translate for me. It actually kind of helps me pay more attention when I hear it in a different language. And I can at the very least follow along in my English Bible while they read in Deutsch. =) And the singing! Music is absolutely universal. I can certainly hum along with the songs, and it's actually been very helpful in finding out the meaning of words and with sentence structure. Some of the tunes are familiar, so I can sing along in English, which is also pretty interesting to do while everyone else sings the same words in German. =)
Oh, and I don't know if they did this for me or what, but I was SO thankful when we took the Lord's Supper and I discovered they had used GRAPE JUICE instead of WINE!!!!! Whew! What a delicious relief. =)
And after church, in keeping with the church of Christ everywhere, we ate again! This time it was lasagne--wow. Their cheese and cream and all that are all so much better here! And of course there was dessert. Whew. I need to get back into my running shoes when I get home. But for now, I'm just enjoying it! =)
Next stop, Holger and Francie's house! They have two kids, Hendrick who's 13 and Kerstin who's 11. They're good kids, and it was so cool to hear them talk so fast in their language! I love it. We took a walk around their little village of Arlesheim (arles-heim, no ''sh'' in the middle). There are fewer than 10,000 people living there, so it's officially still a ''village'' and not a town or city, and the village wants to keep it like that. =)
They took me to a big, beautiful cathedral close to their house--Catholic churches are so big and beautiful, but they're always cold and empty. That's just my observation. And after that, we went over to this Anthropophysical community--they don't believe in right angles, not even on their buildings, and they're vegetarians. Their main interest and livlihood comes from astrology and biology. Interesting.
When we got back home, the kids did their homework and Francie and I talked over deliciously hot tea. =) Their apartment is beautiful! Francie and I talked about our faith and how it's different here than in America. Her family is still all Catholic. It's so interesting to hear everyone's story here. They just truly have to live their faith every day, everywhere they go. It amazes me. That's why they're so close as a church family, too--they are each other's family.
When the kids finished their homework, I got a little German lesson while we played Rummykube--AH! Numbers! It was actually really fun, though! I wish I'd played it when I was growing up; I think it really would have helped me with my math skills! Oh well. I think I turned out ok. =)
Suppertime! We had the traditional Swiss meal of bread, cheese, coldcuts, and vegetables with sour cream dip. And you know what I discovered? I like liverwurst! Haha. I ate it because I didn't know what it was, then Francie kind of looked at me funny and said, ''That is liverwurst.'' I liked it! Haha. =)
And then it was shower time, and then it was bedtime! Whew. Still feeling the effects of the jetlag, but not too bad. =)
Next time--a trip to the Black forrest and a TRUE German meal! Stay tuned!
Quick Whit
Whew! These Swiss know how to eat and how to keep an American busy! =)
Where did we leave off? Saturday afternoon, Simona and I watched a movie and made supper that night to have with the boys. Her kitchen is SO big compared to mine back home! We both fit with room to work and room to spare. =) Definitely not a ''one butt kitchen''. ;)
Ben, Chris, and Tobias got there just as we were finishing up cooking, and they brought us flowers and cookies! These Swiss folks know how to make an entrance. ;) Supper was ''wunderbar'', and we had fun talking in English AND German (mostly in English for me, but not entirely!). After supper and dessert (they liked the chocolate nasties!), we watched Black Hawk Down (with Deutsch subtitles). I tell you what, living in DC has really raised my military awareness and appreciation. And it's given me a different perspective when traveling, too.
And then it was Sonntag--Sunday! I love that they all come together for breakfast before church starts, and they all help get things ready--set the table, put out the bread and jams/jellies/honey, thex take turns bringing the meats and cheeses, etc. It all goes very fast and there's so much fellowship wen everyone works together like that. They're such a close family.
And church time! Since Ben translated for me on Friday, I asked Chris if he'd translate this time. Even though I don't understand all the words, I can catch a few, and I get the most important parts when someone can translate for me. It actually kind of helps me pay more attention when I hear it in a different language. And I can at the very least follow along in my English Bible while they read in Deutsch. =) And the singing! Music is absolutely universal. I can certainly hum along with the songs, and it's actually been very helpful in finding out the meaning of words and with sentence structure. Some of the tunes are familiar, so I can sing along in English, which is also pretty interesting to do while everyone else sings the same words in German. =)
Oh, and I don't know if they did this for me or what, but I was SO thankful when we took the Lord's Supper and I discovered they had used GRAPE JUICE instead of WINE!!!!! Whew! What a delicious relief. =)
And after church, in keeping with the church of Christ everywhere, we ate again! This time it was lasagne--wow. Their cheese and cream and all that are all so much better here! And of course there was dessert. Whew. I need to get back into my running shoes when I get home. But for now, I'm just enjoying it! =)
Next stop, Holger and Francie's house! They have two kids, Hendrick who's 13 and Kerstin who's 11. They're good kids, and it was so cool to hear them talk so fast in their language! I love it. We took a walk around their little village of Arlesheim (arles-heim, no ''sh'' in the middle). There are fewer than 10,000 people living there, so it's officially still a ''village'' and not a town or city, and the village wants to keep it like that. =)
They took me to a big, beautiful cathedral close to their house--Catholic churches are so big and beautiful, but they're always cold and empty. That's just my observation. And after that, we went over to this Anthropophysical community--they don't believe in right angles, not even on their buildings, and they're vegetarians. Their main interest and livlihood comes from astrology and biology. Interesting.
When we got back home, the kids did their homework and Francie and I talked over deliciously hot tea. =) Their apartment is beautiful! Francie and I talked about our faith and how it's different here than in America. Her family is still all Catholic. It's so interesting to hear everyone's story here. They just truly have to live their faith every day, everywhere they go. It amazes me. That's why they're so close as a church family, too--they are each other's family.
When the kids finished their homework, I got a little German lesson while we played Rummykube--AH! Numbers! It was actually really fun, though! I wish I'd played it when I was growing up; I think it really would have helped me with my math skills! Oh well. I think I turned out ok. =)
Suppertime! We had the traditional Swiss meal of bread, cheese, coldcuts, and vegetables with sour cream dip. And you know what I discovered? I like liverwurst! Haha. I ate it because I didn't know what it was, then Francie kind of looked at me funny and said, ''That is liverwurst.'' I liked it! Haha. =)
And then it was shower time, and then it was bedtime! Whew. Still feeling the effects of the jetlag, but not too bad. =)
Next time--a trip to the Black forrest and a TRUE German meal! Stay tuned!
Quick Whit
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Greetings from the land flowing with cheese and chocolate!!!
Guten Tag! What a busy couple of days it's been getting here! Shannon and Elijah (the baby!) dropped me off at the Dulles airport Thursday afternoon, and I was on my way! The plan ride was over night and a little less than 8 hours, so I slept off and on as much as I could--which wasn't very much! Thankfully I had a window seat because flying over Europe before dawn was amazing! I got to see several larger cities all lit up at night, including Paris!
When I arrived at the Zürich airport, I got through customs fairly quickly and met up with Ben and Chris Steinhauer just outside the baggage claim. They were very glad to see me--and I was excited to see them as well!--and they treated me to Starbucks, which is exactly what I needed! Et wast wünderbar! Haha.
Dan Steinhauer met us there and took me home with him while the boys went on to work. It was so good to talk to him on the way home! He gave me all the news on my family here in Basel, and he said it would be interesting to see if ''Grandma Moses'' (his mother-in-law) would recognize me.
Once we got home, I hugged Margrit Steinhauer and received such a warm greeting! It was like I never left. I went in to see Grandma and giver her a quick punch in the arm (a sign of sure affection!), and sure enough she DID remember me! We had such a good time catching up, even though we absolutely can't speak the same language. =)
Nap time! I think the melatonin I took when I got on the plane worked a little too well--I was exhausted the whole day! After an hour nap or so, the four of us piled into the car and headed to church. We stopped on teh way to pick up some bread for one of the ladies at church who had ordered it for a potluck after church that night, and Dan told me it cost 150 Swiss Fracs--which is over 150 US dollars! Everything is more expensive in Switzerland, and that just give you an idea!
We are lunch with some others from the church that day, which was home made chicken cordon bleu, peas, roasted herbed potatos, and salad, with cookies for dessert! Whew. I'm glad the Swiss walk a lot. =) It was so nice catching up with Holger and Nicolas and Rasanna, who had joined us for lunch. They are such an encouragement to me in their faith and dedication to living the way God requires.
After lunch, Margrit went to run errands and the others needed to get some things done before their special meeting that night, but Grandma and I had the best idea--we took a nap! =) Love it!
When we woke up, I helped Grandma take her medicine while Margrit took her own nap, and the two of us sat together reading and keeping each other company. Once Margrit got up and people started arriving, everyone helped everyone else get their food prepared and get everything ready for church that night. There were several visitors, which is a HUGE deal for a church here in Switzerland. Talking to people about God and Christianity is very difficult here because it's such a personal topic. The Swiss have everything--they don't think they need God at all.
The lesson last night was great. Ben translated for me, and I was amazed at how much I actually understood on my own! The lesson was about joy and how God is the source of all true joy in our lives. Marcus, one of the men at the church, gave the lesson, and he did such a good job! The men at this church are such a fantastic example of Godly men. I wish you could all come meet them!
After the lesson, everyone ate and talked, and I got to talk with and hug my dear Swiss family. They were as excited about me coming as I was to come visit! My friend Simona is hosting me right now at her apartment. It's been so nice to catch up in person! Facebook is great, but real conversation is SO much better! She let me sleep till 11:00 this morning (and I would have slept longer, so I'm glad she woke me!), then I showered and we ate breakfast--whew! I feel so much more alert now! We went out to run some errands and go to the grocery store, and now we're back at her place about to watch a movie. Ben, Chris, and Tobias are coming to eat supper with us here tonight, and I'm making ''nasty brownies'' for dessert--yum! (haha, they're actually amazing, not gross. ;))
More updates to come as I can write them! Iäm staying with Simona again tonight, then Iäll be at Holger and Francie Kock's Sunday and Monday night, at the Minders' Tuesday night, at Vreni and Jürg's farm on Wednesday, and then I'll be at the Steinhauers' the rest of the week--whew! I'm loving every minute and trying to learn as much as possible.
Tschüss!! (See you later!!)
Adventure Whit
When I arrived at the Zürich airport, I got through customs fairly quickly and met up with Ben and Chris Steinhauer just outside the baggage claim. They were very glad to see me--and I was excited to see them as well!--and they treated me to Starbucks, which is exactly what I needed! Et wast wünderbar! Haha.
Dan Steinhauer met us there and took me home with him while the boys went on to work. It was so good to talk to him on the way home! He gave me all the news on my family here in Basel, and he said it would be interesting to see if ''Grandma Moses'' (his mother-in-law) would recognize me.
Once we got home, I hugged Margrit Steinhauer and received such a warm greeting! It was like I never left. I went in to see Grandma and giver her a quick punch in the arm (a sign of sure affection!), and sure enough she DID remember me! We had such a good time catching up, even though we absolutely can't speak the same language. =)
Nap time! I think the melatonin I took when I got on the plane worked a little too well--I was exhausted the whole day! After an hour nap or so, the four of us piled into the car and headed to church. We stopped on teh way to pick up some bread for one of the ladies at church who had ordered it for a potluck after church that night, and Dan told me it cost 150 Swiss Fracs--which is over 150 US dollars! Everything is more expensive in Switzerland, and that just give you an idea!
We are lunch with some others from the church that day, which was home made chicken cordon bleu, peas, roasted herbed potatos, and salad, with cookies for dessert! Whew. I'm glad the Swiss walk a lot. =) It was so nice catching up with Holger and Nicolas and Rasanna, who had joined us for lunch. They are such an encouragement to me in their faith and dedication to living the way God requires.
After lunch, Margrit went to run errands and the others needed to get some things done before their special meeting that night, but Grandma and I had the best idea--we took a nap! =) Love it!
When we woke up, I helped Grandma take her medicine while Margrit took her own nap, and the two of us sat together reading and keeping each other company. Once Margrit got up and people started arriving, everyone helped everyone else get their food prepared and get everything ready for church that night. There were several visitors, which is a HUGE deal for a church here in Switzerland. Talking to people about God and Christianity is very difficult here because it's such a personal topic. The Swiss have everything--they don't think they need God at all.
The lesson last night was great. Ben translated for me, and I was amazed at how much I actually understood on my own! The lesson was about joy and how God is the source of all true joy in our lives. Marcus, one of the men at the church, gave the lesson, and he did such a good job! The men at this church are such a fantastic example of Godly men. I wish you could all come meet them!
After the lesson, everyone ate and talked, and I got to talk with and hug my dear Swiss family. They were as excited about me coming as I was to come visit! My friend Simona is hosting me right now at her apartment. It's been so nice to catch up in person! Facebook is great, but real conversation is SO much better! She let me sleep till 11:00 this morning (and I would have slept longer, so I'm glad she woke me!), then I showered and we ate breakfast--whew! I feel so much more alert now! We went out to run some errands and go to the grocery store, and now we're back at her place about to watch a movie. Ben, Chris, and Tobias are coming to eat supper with us here tonight, and I'm making ''nasty brownies'' for dessert--yum! (haha, they're actually amazing, not gross. ;))
More updates to come as I can write them! Iäm staying with Simona again tonight, then Iäll be at Holger and Francie Kock's Sunday and Monday night, at the Minders' Tuesday night, at Vreni and Jürg's farm on Wednesday, and then I'll be at the Steinhauers' the rest of the week--whew! I'm loving every minute and trying to learn as much as possible.
Tschüss!! (See you later!!)
Adventure Whit
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