I thought it would be good to share a few more stories of our adventures here in South Korea. To start, the first night I got into Seoul was pretty stressful for me. Zurich had made a big mistake with my luggage, which I luckily caught before my flight out of Zurich but which wasn't completely fixed. They ended up NOT connecting my luggage with my next 2 flights out of Frankfurt and Beijing. I actually almost missed my flight out of Zurich because I was working with a supervisor trying to fix it. I ended up having to hurriedly say goodbye to Heidi which was really hard and didn't feel right after all our time and adventures together to just give a quick hug and fight back tears to rush through passport control. I left Zurich in the evening so as we were flying out of Zurich I looked down and could see the whole city and lake and river below me. I pointed out several places to myself to reminisce and I realized then that I was actually NOT going to be coming back. It was actually a little sad for me.
I got into Frankfurt and had less than an hour to talk to someone and see if my bags were going to be connected at least to Beijing as well as having to check back in again! And if anyone has been to Frankfurt they know that this airport is HUGE!!! I somehow managed and was able to have someone grab my bags to be put onto the flight to Beijing where I would again have to talk to someone to make sure that they made it to Seoul. This next flight was about 9 hours long but it was a redeye flight so most people fell asleep. They only showed one movie and this was only during the last hour and a half of the flight. I don't know why they did that. I really didn't like the airlines I flew on which was Air China by the way. All the Asians on the flight, which were the majority of people, were wearing those white doctor masks because of fear of getting swine flu I suppose. And they are SERIOUS about it. We all had our temperature checked at least 2 times once we landed in Beijing. We had to wait on the plane for everyone to get checked and then we had to go through a little quarantined area to fill out a health form to see if we were feeling sick. Although I had actually been really sick the week before I did NOT mention this on the health form because they for sure would have had me quarantined and I did not want that. After trying to get my bag situation figured out during the hour I had in Beijing, I was told that my bags were not going to be put on my flight to Seoul but that there were several more flights to Seoul later that night and my bag(s) would be put on one of them. I figured that was the best I could do and hopped on my last flight to Seoul. After filling out another health form and having someone make sure I wasn't carrying the swine flu, I talked to someone about my bags again. They would be here later tonight, I was told, and will be delivered to me in Anseong.
So I sat down to wait for Kaeleen who was supposed to be getting in at 7, which was 2 hours after me. I waited until 7 but no Kaeleen. So I decided to ask the airlines if by any chance my bags had arrived yet. Amazingly, one had arrived! At the same time I heard my name and Kaeleen was calling me. She had been there since a little after the time I got in and was looking for me the whole time! A little Korean man who was there to help us had had my name paiged and everything but I did not hear it. Luckily though, I had one bag and was told the other would be delivered to me in Anseong in the morning. So Kae and I hopped on a bus to Anseong, which was about 2 hours away, and eventually made it after a loooong trip. Cody met us at the bus terminal and took us home where we had something like potstickers and went to bed exhausted. I had been awake for over 36 hours and Kaeleen was somewhere near that as well. We slept a lot the next day!
The next night, Friday, we went out to dinner for our first Korean meal when Cody and Brad were done with work. It was really good! The next day was Saturday and Cody and Brad were hosting a large group of people from Chungju which is where Erin and Isaac live and work. Kaeleen and I were soooo excited to surprise Erin we could hardly wait! Finally, when they were on their way, I went outside to meet Erin and say hello to Isaac. I then told her to come put her stuff in one of the rooms in the house, which was where Kaeleen was hiding. Erin had no idea!! Cody made delicious shish kebabs and we met a lot of new people. We had to walk up a large hill where we played volleyball and badminton. Later, we hung out at the house for awhile, ordered some pizza, and ended up going out downtown for a few hours. It was a great day. Then on Sunday, we took it easy and watched the others play basketball. We went out for Chinese food in Korea, which was also really good. Then the next day Erin and Isaac had to go back to Chungju for work. It had been a great start of our trip!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Adventures in the Koreas
Korea is so fun. I am into my third week here and will be leaving next Sunday. It will be pretty hard to leave. It has been great hanging out with Cody again and my friends Erin and Isaac who are working in a nearby city. One of the most pleasant things about the trip though is that Kaeleen came in the same day I did in order to surprise Erin. It was quite impressive that we were able to keep the secret from Erin since so many knew about it except her. When Kaeleen, who was supposed to be in Portland, popped up in Cody's house to surprise Erin, it was one of the best moments ever! Erin was so shocked and confused. I was jumping up and down while Erin couldn't stop yelling and Kaeleen laughed the whole time. It was so great to be together again.
I really like so many things about this country. I can't tell you what a relief it is to be in a country who takes an interest in me again. There have been so many times here where I have said to myself or aloud "This would never happen in Switzerland". Every time Kaeleen and I would be walking around lost or looking for something, people would actually ask us if they could help us! When we were trying to find our hostel, we had a man come up to us and ask if we needed help. He then got out his own cell phone and called the hostel for us to get directions and then proceeded to walk us THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION HE WAS GOING to the hostel door! This would NEVER happen in Switzerland. We also had people come up to us and help us with the ticket machine for the subway. And at night we had several people try to get us to come have a drink with them because they like our blue eyes. People are so friendly and actually want to talk to us and ask us questions.
The food is really good here. The only thing is that I think I would get pretty tired of it if I was living here. I have been craving good bread and cheese and I have only been here a few weeks. But perhaps that is also because that was my main foods in Switzerland for the last 9 months.
Last week Kaeleen and I went to the DMZ (or Demilitarized Zone). We took a tour and rode on a bus to the border of North and South Korea. It was a little scary since there are so many tensions between the U.s. and North Korea right now. But it was very safe and there are so many rules that we have to follow that keep us safe. It was a really interesting experience. I can say that I have actually been to North Korea now. We saw a few North Korean soldiers as well as Propaganda City which is an empty "city" with unused buildings that were created just for the purpose of North Korea seeming outsiders to be a progressive country and look like a normal modern country, which of course it is not. I will post some pictures of the DMZ and that whole tour. Again, if you click on the slideshow below you can see the pictures better and slow down the show.
Some other pictures in this slideshow are from our visit to the Seoul Tower at night. It was beautiful and so so so high! There were locks all hanging onto the fence around the main viewpoint and around the tower. I don't really know the significance of these but it looked cool. Also, there were "love benches" we could sit on at the viewpoint. These benches, as you can see in the picture, were bent in the middle slightly so that the couple has to sit close together. There was a light show that was performed on the tower and loud music playing. It was really cool. The view of Seoul from the viewpoint was also amazing. We went up to this tower with some people we met who were staying at the hostel Kaeleen and I stayed in. We ended up going out with these people and some others later that night in Hongdae, a pretty hip and cool section of Seoul.
Also included in this slideshow are pictures of our Dr. Fish adventure. There are cafes here where you can order a coffee and a waffle and then spend 20 minutes sitting with your feet in a big tank of water filled with little sucker fishes. These fishes swarm to your feet and bite off the dead skin. It feels so weird. I actually was not really able to do it. I could not get both of my feet in the water, and when I finally did get one in, I could only leave it in for about 3 seconds. It was just too weird and scary for me. But Kaeleen and Cody both did it and they claimed their feet never felt better when they were done. Gah!!!
I have other stories to tell about my time in Korea as well as pictures to post but I will have to do this later!
I really like so many things about this country. I can't tell you what a relief it is to be in a country who takes an interest in me again. There have been so many times here where I have said to myself or aloud "This would never happen in Switzerland". Every time Kaeleen and I would be walking around lost or looking for something, people would actually ask us if they could help us! When we were trying to find our hostel, we had a man come up to us and ask if we needed help. He then got out his own cell phone and called the hostel for us to get directions and then proceeded to walk us THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION HE WAS GOING to the hostel door! This would NEVER happen in Switzerland. We also had people come up to us and help us with the ticket machine for the subway. And at night we had several people try to get us to come have a drink with them because they like our blue eyes. People are so friendly and actually want to talk to us and ask us questions.
The food is really good here. The only thing is that I think I would get pretty tired of it if I was living here. I have been craving good bread and cheese and I have only been here a few weeks. But perhaps that is also because that was my main foods in Switzerland for the last 9 months.
Last week Kaeleen and I went to the DMZ (or Demilitarized Zone). We took a tour and rode on a bus to the border of North and South Korea. It was a little scary since there are so many tensions between the U.s. and North Korea right now. But it was very safe and there are so many rules that we have to follow that keep us safe. It was a really interesting experience. I can say that I have actually been to North Korea now. We saw a few North Korean soldiers as well as Propaganda City which is an empty "city" with unused buildings that were created just for the purpose of North Korea seeming outsiders to be a progressive country and look like a normal modern country, which of course it is not. I will post some pictures of the DMZ and that whole tour. Again, if you click on the slideshow below you can see the pictures better and slow down the show.
Some other pictures in this slideshow are from our visit to the Seoul Tower at night. It was beautiful and so so so high! There were locks all hanging onto the fence around the main viewpoint and around the tower. I don't really know the significance of these but it looked cool. Also, there were "love benches" we could sit on at the viewpoint. These benches, as you can see in the picture, were bent in the middle slightly so that the couple has to sit close together. There was a light show that was performed on the tower and loud music playing. It was really cool. The view of Seoul from the viewpoint was also amazing. We went up to this tower with some people we met who were staying at the hostel Kaeleen and I stayed in. We ended up going out with these people and some others later that night in Hongdae, a pretty hip and cool section of Seoul.
Also included in this slideshow are pictures of our Dr. Fish adventure. There are cafes here where you can order a coffee and a waffle and then spend 20 minutes sitting with your feet in a big tank of water filled with little sucker fishes. These fishes swarm to your feet and bite off the dead skin. It feels so weird. I actually was not really able to do it. I could not get both of my feet in the water, and when I finally did get one in, I could only leave it in for about 3 seconds. It was just too weird and scary for me. But Kaeleen and Cody both did it and they claimed their feet never felt better when they were done. Gah!!!
I have other stories to tell about my time in Korea as well as pictures to post but I will have to do this later!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Princess Cake, Swedish Meatballs, and a Cheese Plate
These three food items are some of the best things that Sweden has to offer. If I have learned anything from traveling around Europe, it's that I judge countries by their food. If a country has underwhelming food, I am extremely disappointed almost to the point of regret of making the country a priority in my travels. However, I wholeheartedly give Stockholm, Sweden a two thumbs up and an A+ in the food department. For those of you who don't know what Princess Cake is, it is cake with mainly cream and a little cake. The most delectable part of this cake though is the fondent (sp) frosting. It is, I think, always green ... bright green. As for the meatballs, if you haven't been to Ikea for the meatballs, you definitely need to! I would have to say they are quite authentic. And oh my gosh! The CHEESE plate!!! I mean, I looooooove cheese. It is one reason why I chose to come to Switzerland to be an au pair. The cheese plate we had in Stockholm was so good! We almost went to the same previous restaurant the last night we were there, after our first dinner at a different restaurant, just to order their delicious cheese plate again. Oh and of course! I almost forgot to add the Cheez Doodles ... basically Cheetoh Puffs. This might sound weird to a lot of people but for someone who hasn't eaten a Cheetoh in at least nine months, it was a huge relief to crunch on some again. If all else in Stockholm had been a disaster, I think I would still call the trip a success because of the grand culinary aspects.
Unfortunately, Stockholm doesn't get higher than about 18 degrees Celsius. For those of you who don't translate this, 18 degrees is freakin cold (it's like high 60's). While we were visiting the city, it was actually sunny almost the whole four days. However, the wind coming off the sea was so chilly. One night we about froze to death walking back to our hostel from the old town. Mind you we were not expecting it to feel like January again so neither Jill, Heidi, nor I had brought many warmish clothes. I definitely could not live there. I was actually happy to return to Switzerland where the weather has been in the mid 20's!!
Our first full day in Stockholm was spent mostly walking around the city to get a feel for it and do a little shopping. Stockholm is about as expensive as, possibly even a little more than, Switzerland ... which is quite a feat. Although I loved the style there, I didn't go too crazy. That night we went out to the Ice Bar. This was super fun. I was a little hesitant at first because it was sort of expensive to pay the entrance fee which only included one drink. However, by the time we got in there, I was so glad I went. It is technically the Absolut Vodka Ice Bar so the drinks were cocktails with Absolut vodka. They were really good! And lucky enough for us, we had some guys buy us two more rounds. The ice bar was, probably needless to say, really really really cold!!! We wore these big eskimo capes and thick gloves and were still numb. The bar, walls, tables, chairs, glasses were all made of ice. It was really neat and we met some cool guys who were fun to talk to. They all worked for Sony Ericsson and told us that they lived in California but had to fly to Stockholm for a week once a month. I don't think I would like/be able to handle this much flying.
After the drinks at the ice bar we needed to warm up so we headed to a regular old bar down the block. After this we three girls headed back to the hostel (but not before stopping at a 7eleven for Cheez Doodles). Once back at the hostel we met and hung out with until really early in the morning some great people. Another cool thing about Sweden is that it's only dark for a few hours. It gets completely dark around 11pm and starts getting light around 3:30am. After staying at this hostel for two nights, we moved to our new hostel which was actually a boat. We stayed in a cabin that was made for five people but the three of us were actually the only ones in there the whole time, which is obviously really nice. I got a little seasick every time I was on the boat for long periods of time but I think I was getting used to it after the second and last night.
Another fun part of Sweden was taking a boat ride out to Skansen, an outdoor museum. There are lots of Scandinavian animals, like a zoo, but there is also an old time village where tradespeople held their shops (such as glass blowing and a bakery, etc). I loved walking around and looking at all the animals, especially the reindeer and the bears and fox. I have a great video of a fox getting mad at a mama bear and her cubs for entering his area. He is freaking out at them and the bears are just kind of like, "who is this annoying guy barking at us?" ... It was pretty funny and entertaining.
Also, below is a slideshow of some pictures I took of the trip. *I think the slideshow also includes some pics of the new place I am staying at.
This Thursday I am flying to the Netherlands to hang out in Amsterdam for two days with Heidi. I wanted to get in just one last trip before I leave and it should be lots of fun.
Unfortunately, Stockholm doesn't get higher than about 18 degrees Celsius. For those of you who don't translate this, 18 degrees is freakin cold (it's like high 60's). While we were visiting the city, it was actually sunny almost the whole four days. However, the wind coming off the sea was so chilly. One night we about froze to death walking back to our hostel from the old town. Mind you we were not expecting it to feel like January again so neither Jill, Heidi, nor I had brought many warmish clothes. I definitely could not live there. I was actually happy to return to Switzerland where the weather has been in the mid 20's!!
Our first full day in Stockholm was spent mostly walking around the city to get a feel for it and do a little shopping. Stockholm is about as expensive as, possibly even a little more than, Switzerland ... which is quite a feat. Although I loved the style there, I didn't go too crazy. That night we went out to the Ice Bar. This was super fun. I was a little hesitant at first because it was sort of expensive to pay the entrance fee which only included one drink. However, by the time we got in there, I was so glad I went. It is technically the Absolut Vodka Ice Bar so the drinks were cocktails with Absolut vodka. They were really good! And lucky enough for us, we had some guys buy us two more rounds. The ice bar was, probably needless to say, really really really cold!!! We wore these big eskimo capes and thick gloves and were still numb. The bar, walls, tables, chairs, glasses were all made of ice. It was really neat and we met some cool guys who were fun to talk to. They all worked for Sony Ericsson and told us that they lived in California but had to fly to Stockholm for a week once a month. I don't think I would like/be able to handle this much flying.
After the drinks at the ice bar we needed to warm up so we headed to a regular old bar down the block. After this we three girls headed back to the hostel (but not before stopping at a 7eleven for Cheez Doodles). Once back at the hostel we met and hung out with until really early in the morning some great people. Another cool thing about Sweden is that it's only dark for a few hours. It gets completely dark around 11pm and starts getting light around 3:30am. After staying at this hostel for two nights, we moved to our new hostel which was actually a boat. We stayed in a cabin that was made for five people but the three of us were actually the only ones in there the whole time, which is obviously really nice. I got a little seasick every time I was on the boat for long periods of time but I think I was getting used to it after the second and last night.
Another fun part of Sweden was taking a boat ride out to Skansen, an outdoor museum. There are lots of Scandinavian animals, like a zoo, but there is also an old time village where tradespeople held their shops (such as glass blowing and a bakery, etc). I loved walking around and looking at all the animals, especially the reindeer and the bears and fox. I have a great video of a fox getting mad at a mama bear and her cubs for entering his area. He is freaking out at them and the bears are just kind of like, "who is this annoying guy barking at us?" ... It was pretty funny and entertaining.
Also, below is a slideshow of some pictures I took of the trip. *I think the slideshow also includes some pics of the new place I am staying at.
This Thursday I am flying to the Netherlands to hang out in Amsterdam for two days with Heidi. I wanted to get in just one last trip before I leave and it should be lots of fun.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
A few pics of my travels with my parents before my camera died!
There were never such devoted sisters:
Abbi and Allie:
Eating lunch in a square in Thira ... basically being bums:
Ladies Night every night at our favorite restaurant on Santorini Island:
One of the only pictures I took of our one and only short night in Athens:
A Santorini port area:
Santorini beach:
So pretty:
Greek Orthodox church ... there were so many everywhere!:
Abbi learning how to walk and failing:
Great views all over the island of Santorini:
Wine tasting in Greece:
We waited for hours for this disappointing sunset:
A lone donkey hanging out near his cave by the side of the road:
Sadly I don't have any pictures of the rest of our Greek visit nor of anything of Austria or Spain.....
Abbi and Allie:
Eating lunch in a square in Thira ... basically being bums:
Ladies Night every night at our favorite restaurant on Santorini Island:
One of the only pictures I took of our one and only short night in Athens:
A Santorini port area:
Santorini beach:
So pretty:
Greek Orthodox church ... there were so many everywhere!:
Abbi learning how to walk and failing:
Great views all over the island of Santorini:
Wine tasting in Greece:
We waited for hours for this disappointing sunset:
A lone donkey hanging out near his cave by the side of the road:
Sadly I don't have any pictures of the rest of our Greek visit nor of anything of Austria or Spain.....
Monday, May 11, 2009
The End is Near
Tomorrow I am leaving for Sweden for four days with Heidi and Jill. It should be a lot of fun. Apparently one of the hostels we are staying in is a ship... like on water. I hope I don't get seasick!!
I made it through last week living in Ebertswil (I just found out that is the name of the village I'm staying in a few days ago). I really enjoy the family here. And of course their cat. I'm trying to teach Pippin to say "kitty". I know I have mentioned before, German speakers have a hard time saying my name. The dad asked me the other day if I had a nickname or shorter version that I like to go by. I told him Mere was fine and he said that he thought maybe Merry, "and then there would be Merry and Pippin." Hahaha! I thought that was so cute. I actually am pretty sure that his son is named after Pippin the hobbit.
I have been working long days but mostly I have enjoyed my time here so far. Both parents are fun to talk to and very helpful. They offer me the car and they always offer to drop me off or pick me up in places kind of far away. The mom is really sweet and easy to talk to. She used to be a midwife and I like asking her questions about that. Her daughter, Yara's, father is Morroccan and she and Yara are going to Marrakesh for a few days next week since Yara has not been very influenced by that side of her culture. Yara really likes me and wants me to stay with them forever. Compared to the seven year olds that I used to look after, she seems so mature and well behaved so I like spending time with her too.
This last weekend, Abbi came to Switzerland from Vienna to visit me. She arrived on Friday and we hung out at the family's house that night. The next day we met Heidi and Dragan in Zurich where we walked around for awhile so Abbi could see the city. Since there is really no touristy things to do in Zurich it did not take long and we went back to get ready for the night. Saturday night we went out to a few bars in Zurich and on Sunday we had a picnic near the Limmat River in Zurich. We were going to go for a boat ride around the Lake of Zurich but we found out it cost almost 25 francs each for about an hour boat trip. We decided against this and traveled to Zug where we hung out at the lake for awhile there. It was a sunny and warm weekend. Abbi left early this morning to catch a train back to Austria.
Next week I am taking a short trip to Amsterdam with Heidi. It will officially be my last traveling experience around Europe ... for now. And then in just over two weeks I will be headed to South Korea!!!
I made it through last week living in Ebertswil (I just found out that is the name of the village I'm staying in a few days ago). I really enjoy the family here. And of course their cat. I'm trying to teach Pippin to say "kitty". I know I have mentioned before, German speakers have a hard time saying my name. The dad asked me the other day if I had a nickname or shorter version that I like to go by. I told him Mere was fine and he said that he thought maybe Merry, "and then there would be Merry and Pippin." Hahaha! I thought that was so cute. I actually am pretty sure that his son is named after Pippin the hobbit.
I have been working long days but mostly I have enjoyed my time here so far. Both parents are fun to talk to and very helpful. They offer me the car and they always offer to drop me off or pick me up in places kind of far away. The mom is really sweet and easy to talk to. She used to be a midwife and I like asking her questions about that. Her daughter, Yara's, father is Morroccan and she and Yara are going to Marrakesh for a few days next week since Yara has not been very influenced by that side of her culture. Yara really likes me and wants me to stay with them forever. Compared to the seven year olds that I used to look after, she seems so mature and well behaved so I like spending time with her too.
This last weekend, Abbi came to Switzerland from Vienna to visit me. She arrived on Friday and we hung out at the family's house that night. The next day we met Heidi and Dragan in Zurich where we walked around for awhile so Abbi could see the city. Since there is really no touristy things to do in Zurich it did not take long and we went back to get ready for the night. Saturday night we went out to a few bars in Zurich and on Sunday we had a picnic near the Limmat River in Zurich. We were going to go for a boat ride around the Lake of Zurich but we found out it cost almost 25 francs each for about an hour boat trip. We decided against this and traveled to Zug where we hung out at the lake for awhile there. It was a sunny and warm weekend. Abbi left early this morning to catch a train back to Austria.
Next week I am taking a short trip to Amsterdam with Heidi. It will officially be my last traveling experience around Europe ... for now. And then in just over two weeks I will be headed to South Korea!!!
Monday, May 4, 2009
An Update for Those Who Have Been Sitting on the Edge of their Seats
I have to admit that I am disappointed that I did not do any posts for the entire month of April. And April is one of my favorite months! But I do have good reasons for the lack of posts: 1. I was traveling Europe for the first two weeks and 2. The last two weeks I didn't have internet access in my place of living. And of course you are all asking the big question, "Where the heck ARE you living?" I am still in Switzerland and I have been staying with one of the nicest families I have ever met in my life. With that said, of course you all know that they are not actually Swiss. The mother is Latvian (Ieva-pronounced Yay-vah) and the father is English (Robin). They heard that I was looking for a place to stay and they offered up their basement, practically with no strings attached. And the first 10 days I was there, they were on holiday so I had the house to myself and the cat, Simba. Oh and Amanda stayed there with me the first week because she left her family and is now back in the U.S.
Anyways, this family has 4 children and they are quite lovely. They speak English at home so I feel so much more comfortable there and I don't feel like such an intrusion, even though I really am, whereas at the previous family whom I actually worked for I felt completely out of place. I did have to watch the kids one night and they were quite rambunctious, especially 4 year old Raymond, the only boy and youngest child. Florence, Anastasia, and Rebecca range in age from 9 to 6.
However! I am not living with them anymore. I moved to a city just outside of Lucerne, to stay with another Swiss family for a week. The mom broke her foot last week and she has a 1 year old boy and 8 year old girl and another on the way. They have a typical old Swiss house with narrow and very steep stairs that she can't really maneuver on her casted foot. They are friends of Ieva and Robin's and Ieva asked me if I wanted to help them out for a little while. Having nothing else to do, I agreed and I am now stuck out in the country about an hour away from where I was previously. The parents are both wonderful but the little girl, Yara, does not speak any English. We have been getting along ok though. Pippin is a little more work and I worked about 13 hours today so I am pretty exhausted. However, I prefer them to my first Swiss family.
Next Tuesday I leave for a four day trip to Sweden with Heidi and my friend Jill. After that, I will hang out for another week or two and then fly to South Korea where I will stay with Cody and Erin and Isaac for a few weeks. AND THEN I COME HOME! Although I am disappointed that there are still countries that I have yet to visit here, I am so ready to come home. I have lived in 4 different households since I have been here and have had to put up with a lot of kids.
I will have to comment later on my trip with my parents and Abbi. Greece was great and sunny and very beautiful. Austria involved a lot of driving but we were able to see several really amazing places. Barcelona was a little disappointing because it was rainy and fairly cold but still great. Pictures will be posted later, too.
Anyways, this family has 4 children and they are quite lovely. They speak English at home so I feel so much more comfortable there and I don't feel like such an intrusion, even though I really am, whereas at the previous family whom I actually worked for I felt completely out of place. I did have to watch the kids one night and they were quite rambunctious, especially 4 year old Raymond, the only boy and youngest child. Florence, Anastasia, and Rebecca range in age from 9 to 6.
However! I am not living with them anymore. I moved to a city just outside of Lucerne, to stay with another Swiss family for a week. The mom broke her foot last week and she has a 1 year old boy and 8 year old girl and another on the way. They have a typical old Swiss house with narrow and very steep stairs that she can't really maneuver on her casted foot. They are friends of Ieva and Robin's and Ieva asked me if I wanted to help them out for a little while. Having nothing else to do, I agreed and I am now stuck out in the country about an hour away from where I was previously. The parents are both wonderful but the little girl, Yara, does not speak any English. We have been getting along ok though. Pippin is a little more work and I worked about 13 hours today so I am pretty exhausted. However, I prefer them to my first Swiss family.
Next Tuesday I leave for a four day trip to Sweden with Heidi and my friend Jill. After that, I will hang out for another week or two and then fly to South Korea where I will stay with Cody and Erin and Isaac for a few weeks. AND THEN I COME HOME! Although I am disappointed that there are still countries that I have yet to visit here, I am so ready to come home. I have lived in 4 different households since I have been here and have had to put up with a lot of kids.
I will have to comment later on my trip with my parents and Abbi. Greece was great and sunny and very beautiful. Austria involved a lot of driving but we were able to see several really amazing places. Barcelona was a little disappointing because it was rainy and fairly cold but still great. Pictures will be posted later, too.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Homeless?
Last Friday was my last day with the Bergers. I packed up all my belongings, which is definitely a lot less stuff than what I have ever had to move, cleaned my room and bathroom to perfection (parents and grandparents would be proud to see it), and took off. It was a little sad saying goodbye to the kids and to Christian, the dad, who was always really kind to me. But Jana, even in the end, proved really disappointing ... Lets just say that I left without any regrets.
I do not really have a place to live right now. I am staying in the room where Heidi usually lives. She is on vacation this week with her mother and grandma so she generously lent me her space. They are traveling around Switzerland, and then to Madrid and Paris. Her mom and grandma arrived this last Friday and I went with Heidi to pick them up from the airport after she picked me up from my old house. Of course, everyone was really happy to see each other and it made me that much more excited to go to Greece where I will see my parents for the first time in seven months. On Saturday, I helped with the touring of Zurich for the benefit of Heidis mom and grandma. Unfortunately the weather was horrible, it rained all day. We walked around the Hauptbahnhof and showed them the old town. We went to eat at one of our favorite restaurants, which is called Tibits. Really though, one day is enough to see Zurich ... it is not exactly the most hopping/touristy city, even in great weather.
As we were about to leave Zurich to head back to Gossau, we made one last stop in a Swiss watch store in the Hauptbahnhof. As we were looking around, we saw this man walking across a section of the HB. All of a sudden, he just falls over-collapses! He fell flat on his face! We still are not sure if he just fainted or had a seizure or was on something or whatever else. We did not know what to do but tons of other people crowded around the man, trying to see if he was ok. After a terrifying minute, the man rolled over and tried to get up. The crowd was trying to help him because he obviously was not ok. Since he fell on his face, he had several gashes right above his eyebrow and near his nose and mouth. It was horrible and for a minute I thought I would be sick after seeing him bleeding. However, the man did not want anyone to help him. He just got up and pushed people off him and tried walking, or rather stumbling, away. I do not think he knew where he was going because he just kind of walked around in a circle for a minute, brushing off people who were trying to get him to stop and sit down and wait for a paramedic or something. The last we saw of him then, he was walking away as fast as he could in the opposite direction he had been originally going. Several people followed him to make sure he was ok, I think and I saw some people on their cell phones, apparently calling security or the police to come quickly.
Well, after awhile, we decided to catch our train back to the little town of Gossau. After a train ride into Wetzikon, we have to get on a bus for a ten minute ride to our stop. Well, we all got onto the front of the bus and all of a sudden, who do we see? Yep, the man who fell in the HB! This is crazy considering how unlikely it is that he would be on that same bus to that same small town at that same exact time as us, who actually saw him fall! He was sitting in the very back of the bus so we could not see him well but we kept stealing glances back at him to see if he had gotten himself cleaned up or if he was still acting really weird. As we got off at our stop, we waited for the bus to pull away before walking to the house so that we could see a close up of the man one last time. We looked and we noticed that his cuts looked like he, or someone else, had cleaned them up. I was really glad. I had actually been really worried about him and it was nice to know that he was ok.
Well, tomorrow morning I am waking up really early to head to the Flughafen, or airport. I am catching my flight to Athens to see my parents and to meet up with Abbi who is already there. I have to fly up to Dusseldorf first and I have a two hour layover there so I am planning on meeting Ali for awhile during my wait. Just another thing to look forward to!
I do not really have a place to live right now. I am staying in the room where Heidi usually lives. She is on vacation this week with her mother and grandma so she generously lent me her space. They are traveling around Switzerland, and then to Madrid and Paris. Her mom and grandma arrived this last Friday and I went with Heidi to pick them up from the airport after she picked me up from my old house. Of course, everyone was really happy to see each other and it made me that much more excited to go to Greece where I will see my parents for the first time in seven months. On Saturday, I helped with the touring of Zurich for the benefit of Heidis mom and grandma. Unfortunately the weather was horrible, it rained all day. We walked around the Hauptbahnhof and showed them the old town. We went to eat at one of our favorite restaurants, which is called Tibits. Really though, one day is enough to see Zurich ... it is not exactly the most hopping/touristy city, even in great weather.
As we were about to leave Zurich to head back to Gossau, we made one last stop in a Swiss watch store in the Hauptbahnhof. As we were looking around, we saw this man walking across a section of the HB. All of a sudden, he just falls over-collapses! He fell flat on his face! We still are not sure if he just fainted or had a seizure or was on something or whatever else. We did not know what to do but tons of other people crowded around the man, trying to see if he was ok. After a terrifying minute, the man rolled over and tried to get up. The crowd was trying to help him because he obviously was not ok. Since he fell on his face, he had several gashes right above his eyebrow and near his nose and mouth. It was horrible and for a minute I thought I would be sick after seeing him bleeding. However, the man did not want anyone to help him. He just got up and pushed people off him and tried walking, or rather stumbling, away. I do not think he knew where he was going because he just kind of walked around in a circle for a minute, brushing off people who were trying to get him to stop and sit down and wait for a paramedic or something. The last we saw of him then, he was walking away as fast as he could in the opposite direction he had been originally going. Several people followed him to make sure he was ok, I think and I saw some people on their cell phones, apparently calling security or the police to come quickly.
Well, after awhile, we decided to catch our train back to the little town of Gossau. After a train ride into Wetzikon, we have to get on a bus for a ten minute ride to our stop. Well, we all got onto the front of the bus and all of a sudden, who do we see? Yep, the man who fell in the HB! This is crazy considering how unlikely it is that he would be on that same bus to that same small town at that same exact time as us, who actually saw him fall! He was sitting in the very back of the bus so we could not see him well but we kept stealing glances back at him to see if he had gotten himself cleaned up or if he was still acting really weird. As we got off at our stop, we waited for the bus to pull away before walking to the house so that we could see a close up of the man one last time. We looked and we noticed that his cuts looked like he, or someone else, had cleaned them up. I was really glad. I had actually been really worried about him and it was nice to know that he was ok.
Well, tomorrow morning I am waking up really early to head to the Flughafen, or airport. I am catching my flight to Athens to see my parents and to meet up with Abbi who is already there. I have to fly up to Dusseldorf first and I have a two hour layover there so I am planning on meeting Ali for awhile during my wait. Just another thing to look forward to!
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