Thursday, August 11, 2011

My Final Weeks with the Family


After saying goodbye to some friends, it was time for a few weeks of isolation with the family. Two weeks in France. Two weeks without internet. Two weeks with a lot of French. Two weeks.

So the week started with a Monday train to Le Chaufaud. It is a very small village right on the border of Switzerland and France. I mean right on the border.  It was about a 10 minute walk to Switzerland.  It is an old house that has been in the family for generations. It was the taken by the Nazis in World War II and became their headquarters on the border (as Switzerland was a neutral country people were trying to cross to freedom).  It is also a very old house. It was the end of July and it was raining and freezing in the house. Shoes, sweaters, electric and wood fire heaters were in full use. It was just me Baby Gaga and G for the week; and a few generations of Mama C’s family.  It was such a cool experience to see four generations of a family together.  



Mama C's Dad gave me joking looks of disapproval as I would respond to the French I understood in English. He told G to only speak French with me, which she did every once in awhile, but always quickly returned to English. This is one of the many reason my French is no where close to fluency! Other than that, I went on a couple of hikes with and without the girls. 

This was a tough week. I had been hearing G say things for months about my leaving, but this week, she was telling me how she is going to have a crying, screaming fit when I leave her. She repeated that fact that I am in fact “leaving her” too many times. Each time it became more difficult for me to respond to. On top of that, Baby Gaga has reached 10 months, which is the age of becoming clingy. She would literally only go to me and her Mom. Since her Mom was back in Zurich, we spent a week attached at the hip. Lucky for me she is sleeping through the night and likes to nap a couple of time during the day.  She is as close to “my baby” as I want to be for a long time to come. But she is my baby. When I see her go only to her Mom and me, I realize that the relationship I have with her is special. I am not her Mom and she knows it, but I am second best.

After a weekend off, I headed to Hyéres, to spend a week on a vineyard on the sea with the other side of Mama C’s family. This could not have contrasted more to the cabin in the woods. There was a chef, a pool, and the sea was a short walk away. Many spent the day on the boat, diving and drinking; followed by a French meal. The attire was dressy. Champagne with apértif. Salad or cold soup, meat and vegetables, a cheese patter, and dessert. And obviously, a copious amount of wine. Rosé. Red. White. Ports. 



Most everyone spoke English this week. While most of the time it was French, Mama C’s family is international. There were Americans, French who live in the United States, and the French who live in London. Since, I have not succeeded in speaking French (comprehension only...and even that is debatable at times), Mama C’s family is extremely welcoming and happy to speak English with me. The conversations always ended up back in French, as they should, but I would throw in my own sentence in English here and there.

This was not a bad place to spend my last week with the kids. It was a bittersweet week. I am sad to say goodbye to the kids in a few days but I am glad that the job is over in so many ways. I made it through a year and I am positive I made the right decision in not sticking around for any longer.  I will have one last day/dinner with the kids before I am off to finish my travels and head home. No one is making it easy for me to leave but if goodbyes are hard then it means you made some good friends and did a good job right?

The vineyard on the way to the sea!

The beach

My beach babe

One Last Weekend..Sort of


Note: There were people dearly missed this weekend. 

After a week of 7am-9pm, 5 day work week, filled with a few play dates including bowling and glass blowing, the time had come to have our “Final Week” as the fierce and ridiculous wolf pack was spreading out around the world. While some of the wolves had left, it was the end of the road for the people who have been here since last August. Our year was up. And it has been one for the record books.  So we started off on Friday night at good ol’ Twists. As many (one could say too many) of our Friday and Saturday nights were spent over the last year. After saying hello to a few of our favorite bartenders, we headed off to a few places we have liked.  Then Nicole and I finished the night with some dancing and a sleep over at Rachel’s.



The rain washed away the idea for a hike and a few of us wondered the city and did some shopping. All along reminiscing about our favorite trips, weekends, moments. It is a bitter sweet ending. Being the “help” is coming to an end to some of us but it means that gallivanting around Europe is also coming to an end.

Saturday night was the big night out! We started with a few hours of getting ready and making a delicious dinner (which I might mention had to be gluten free, lactose free, and meat-free).  After some pictures and laughs we headed into Zurich. One last time as a wolf pack. Even though our goal was to branch out, we followed a very similar path of the night before, which is not surprising at all!


Another late night of dancing led to a slow morning and then a final day at the spa. A lovely Irish-Roman spa of cleansing and being oh so very Sex in the City, gossiping from room to room and being told to “shhhhh” each time!  I was also finally able to see the Google Building where we took pictures! Next time, the goal will be to get inside the building!



Now to get a little sentimental.  It was just one weekend; there have been dozens. There have been new girls and friends who have come and gone throughout the year. But this weekend, was the fearsome 6 that started and ended the year together. It was the last time we as a group would take on Zurich as a gang of aupairs.  I have always had a lot of girlfriends in my life and I cherish each one of the past just as I do the ones in the present. Each of these ladies are special. I was able to spend a year gallivanting around Europe, with few worries, and insignificant complaints (our first-world problems..where should we travel this week? etc).

This year is special. I look forward to thinking back on my year living in Switzerland! I look forward to thinking about our group running the streets of Europe, meeting new people, and discussing the countless cultural similarities and differences.  You ladies are absolutely amazing.  We were so lucky to have been able to have each other this year. We all brought something different to a group.  There is a closeness between us, a bond, that will never break. We will be able to call each other when we are thinking about  Not many can fall in love with their children and put up with the endless piles of laundry, tears, and lies.  We complained a bit, but our friendship blossomed and it is about so much more than that. I love each one of you so much and will never forget anyone of you. I hope to keep in touch and that just maybe, one of those reunions we have talked about will happen. And when we forget how much work children are, and how many times we contemplating not having them, I hope we can call each other when we end up with one of our own. We can laugh about the times that we had taking care of other peoples’ and then really plan that spa getaway!

I love you ladies. I am so lucky to have met you! Xoxo Sincerely yours, Wolf pack member for life.  

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

A Surprise Birthday!


Ok so it has been over a month since I have posted. I officially reached my year point but let me update you on what has happened since I reached week FIFTY-TWO!

I had been anticipating my European Birthday since I decided to make the move. Where could I go? Who will I go with? Venice? Paris? Barcelona? Greece? The options seemed endless! Since it is summer, my working hours have, for the first time, outnumbered my playtime hours. So a long weekend getaway was not an option. Plus, I have made amazing friends who I wanted to spend it with. So it was around the corner and since people’s work schedules were all over the place, we decided Switzerland was the place to be. We would have a night out on the town for the first night followed by the Montreux Jazz Festival in the French region of Switzerland. I was excited for the weekend as planned.

So my birthday celebrations started on Thursday night. My Papa B’s Dad was in town for the week and we all went out for a very nice dinner. It was a beautiful restaurant with a vista view of the lake and Zurich, surrounded by the mountains and cows of course.  We toasted champagne and they handed me a few gifts.  One of which is the Swissessity: the Longchamp. The week before I bought myself a lovely little Swatch and now only need a fondue/raclette set to complete my Swissessities! After dinner, the restaurant turned off their lights, turned on a disco ball, and started a recording of something no one could understand other than it said “Happy Birthday” somewhere in there. Then “Happy Birthday” was played and I blew out sparklers on a chocolate delight.

It was a really a great birthday dinner and what has seemed like the real mark of the beginning of the end.
Friday, my actual birthday, I woke up to work a bit and then got off around 1pm.  I met my friends in the city to begin a day by the lake with lunch and wine. However, as we were having lunch, my schedule changed. As it turns out my friends have surprised me with a ticket to the “History of Hip Hop” concert at the Jazz Festival. Nicole and I are leaving after lunch! It was quite the surprise! I was super excited!  After missing a few trains, we were on our way!

The concert was absolutely amazing! Coolio and House of Pain among other performed. Nicole and I were on stage for a bit (video below) dancing away. We were screaming and dancing. As it turns out, that is now how the Swiss enjoy concerts. Nicole and I were each given dirty looks on separate occasions for yelling at “inappropriate times” and the security guards hated us even more. We laughed it off and continued to enjoy our time standing feet from some of the amazing hip hop artists of the past! 

After the concert, we met our Couch Surfer, who took us out for a night out at the Jazz Festival. There are great clubs, free dance and music concerts, and people everywhere. It was a night to remember!

Saturday we enjoyed the city and were joined by another one of our friends. It was, dare I say it, the prettiest lake view of the year.  I can only say thank you to the amazing group I have here for ensuring that I had a wonderful European birthday! xoxo

Birthday Lunch with the Ladies

Not the actual concert but the only picture of the night

See why it is my favorite?


Friday, July 1, 2011

The Apple Man

One thing I don't think I have mentioned all year that I love about where we live, and my guess is much of Switzerland is like this, is the Apply Man. At  least that is what he is called in my  house. He is an adorable old Swiss man who comes with a cart every couple of weeks and sells whatever he has been growing. He always has eggs and apples. We bought raspberries from him yesterday. He is just too cute! And the fruit and vegetables are always delicious!

My Week in "Paradise"

My week in Saint Tropez was lovely in many ways but at times it was actually like I was actually under house arrest. The heaven I was staying in was gated and I had to ask to leave the house and schedule my coming back to ensure that someone would be home to let me in.  We were also not in Saint Tropez. We were 25km   outside of the city so I was very isolated to say the least. 

Twice, I was so bored I risked my life walking to the beach up and down a winding hill. It was in no way safe to be walked on but I was willing to put my life on the line to get a break from the kids! It was a little like being a white collar criminal. They put you up in these lovely prisons which everything you could possibly need, but at the end of the day you are still trapped, so it isn't what you want! 

In addition to feeling completely isolated, the area we were in reminded me a lot of home, which made me the most homesick I think I have ever been.  This is a good thing in some ways though, because while since being released back into society, I have adapted to back into my social life, but I am also excited to go home. I have been talking to friends about exploring San Diego in new ways! And I am returning to somewhere similar to the South of France, so it can't be all bad right?

Here are some pictures of my week! They are beautiful and I really have NOTHING to complain about. The pool was great, the temperature was high, and there were beaches! But just wait for the post after I am sent to the woods in a few weeks with  just two of the kids and the French side of the family! Talk about isolation..




My adorable Baby Gaga and I playing by the pool.



Our time at the fair



My death walk to the HEAVENLY beaches!




The dock in San Tropez



G and P

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Baptized - Barcelona Style

Last weekend, eight women ventured to spend a three/four day weekend in Barcelona! That should be enough said about our trip but I will explain a little more! We skipped the Picasso and much of the Gaudi and instead focused on the nightlife, beach, and food! 

After a short flight, we landed and met up with Shelly at the Market.  It was a wonderful place that we visited the following day. Tapas, fresh fruit, and smoothie! So much meat and seafood (much of which was still moving). 



As you will notice, there is a large gap in my pictures! I didn't carry my camera with me most of the time so I have pictures when we first arrived and then sitting on the beach on Sunday! It was raining when we got to Barcelona so we spent some time in our apartment drinking some wine and getting ready to go out. 

We wandered the city and came across some great Tapas, Sangria, and weird old men.  Then met up with a friend of a friend and all of his friends for a drink and then finally grabbed dinner. We ended up at a club called CatWalk.  The music was awesome and we danced the night away! 

After a late night we slept in and made some eggs and bacon for breakfast while we waited for Nicole to arrive. Once she got there we wandered the city a bit more, returned the the market, and enjoyed the sunshine. Anna and I headed to the police station, as we were baptized in Barcelona by being robbed.  And once we arrived at the police station we discovered that it is a great place to meet other tourists! 

After getting ready, having a fabulous birthday dinner for Anna's BIG 2-0! We surprised her with a cake and some Cava! Then we were ready for our second night out.  This time we were going to see a DJ of some sort with that friend of a friend. Instead of the DJ, we ended up seeing an AWESOME Ramones coverband. As it turned out the original drummer from the Ramones was playing and the lead singer was from the Misfits. It was another amazing night of dancing!

Sunday we headed to the beach. There was napping, some Swedish cider (absolutely delicious!), and some time in the sea. It was wonderful to be on a beach. There were people constantly wondering around selling everything from body shawls (which sounded like body shots) and my favorite man who was saying co-co-co--coa-nut. In a way that you couldn't figure it out until you saw what he was actually selling. We also decided to get some matching henna tattoos so we could remember our wonderful weekend until it is washed away!


The Birthday Girl!


We ended the weekend with a delicious meal and some more sangria.  We walked back and chatted in the apartment for the rest of the night. It was really a great weekend with some great girls! I am so glad we got to get in a big trip together before we all start to head off in different directions! 

Monday, June 20, 2011

Sometimes life doesn't seem real

My Studio apartment for the week



I really am never leaving

View from my door

The garden

The house


More of the yard

I am in St. Tropez for the week working!  I am going to ride a bike to the beach and spend the day between the sand and sea! 

Thursday, June 9, 2011

EXTREME Weekend

This weekend will go down as one of my favorite of the year. My friend Maggie from university (I am soo European now) came down from Germany to explore Zurich a bit and most importantly head up to Interlaken for the weekend. After a wonderful Canadian dinner, filled with too much sugar and a game of charades about Canada, Maggie (friend from university..again sooo European), Kathryn, Anna, and I took a train to Interlaken, a popular destination for outdoor adventures in Switzerland.

Shortly after arriving and getting to our hostel, we were on our way to go paragliding! A little terrified and really excited we were giggling our way up the mountain in a car full of people. We pick our guides and headed to our take off spot, seen above. 

After finding a few ways to release our nervous feelings, we were strapped in. My guide asked me if I can run and I said yes, but I usually don't start flying after running for a little while so I am not sure how this will go. He laughed and we started running. And by running a mean we jogged a few steps and then couldn't touch the ground any more. It was simple and absolutely amazing!

View from the sky


The entire experience was absolutely amazing! I am so glad we did it! I really want to do it again all over the world! We were proud of ourselves and headed off to have a delicious wrap and a beer in celebration! 


After we finished the first attempt of being outdoorsy of the day, we headed off to some waterfalls. Along the hike we saw a few here and there.  It was another gorgeous view in the utopia which is known as Switzerland. 

Now, we arrived at the waterfalls and were a little annoyed we had to pay to get in. However, after go up the caves that have been cut next to these waterfalls. It was unbelievable. There was talk of negative ions creating positive vibes. It is totally true. The feel in the caves was amazing and beautiful.  I also felt like it was the environment that Disneyland tries to recreate, and let me say, their effort is appreciated but it just can't compete with the real thing. 

Maggie hanging out in the "weeds"

Kathryn wanted to befriend a cow on our hike.

In the caves!



Despite the positive energy we were all experiencing, Kathryn took a little fall. There was blood but she is slowly recovering. Luckily, that was the only real injury for the weekend!

After our big day, we headed back to our tent hostel and ran into some people from Zurich (really small world). We headed out to dinner with them for some delicious Mexican food! Soooo good! I wouldn't have guessed it! Margaritas and a burrito so it was the perfect meal to end the day. We headed to the hostel's party afterwards! 

After a late night, we got up for our last sport of the weekend.  Whitewater rafting. I was more nervous about this than I was for paragliding. This time, we were a key part of the process of surviving. They kept talking about people falling off and what to do and not to panic and watch out for rocks because they can really hurt you. All the things you know but still scary to hear about. 

As it turns out, this is also not as scary as you think it is going to be.  We swam in the 5 degree water and ended in a gorgeous lake.  I am so lucky to have such amazing friends and absolutely loved this weekend...

But wait, it isn't over! After getting back into Zurich, we met up with some of the other girls (and one guy) to experience blind dining. There are a few restaurants around the world, the first one was in Zurich. It is an experience worth having if you have one by you.  You lock up your belongings when you get to the restaurant, look at the menu, and then are guided into the restaurant by your waiter.  Our waitress, Rita, was blind and they employ a mostly blind wait staff.  

After being directed to your seat, you order your drinks and food.  There were 8 of us there so we established where everyone was sitting and how far away from one another you are.  Usually your eyes will find something to focus on, but there was no way to see anything at all. You have to feel for your cup, plate, knife, and fork.  We found ourselves continuing to talk with our hands. I started to close my eyes at times just because it was easier than trying to focus. The food was okay, but it is the experience that made the dinner! 

We ended the weekend at our favorite bar, Oliver Twists with some darts and a few games of giant Jenga. It was hands down one of my favorite weekends full of overcoming fears, too many laughs, and some of the most amazing people I know!

Monday, May 16, 2011

EuroVision 2011

As I continue my year in Europe, I went to Dusseldorf, Germany this weekend to watch EuroVision Song Contest. Since I didn't know this contest existed a week ago let me explain. European countries (including Azerbaijan and Israel of course) send their best talent to the contest each year with an original song to preform.  They slowly get eliminated and then about 30 countries get to the finals.  Then each country gives 1-12 points to their top 12 countries.  It is based on text message votes from inside each country. ABBA, Celiene Dion, and Julio Iglesia have all performed at the event over the years.

Dusseldorf is a great city and was filled with people from all over Europe! There were thousands of people dancing and cheering for their countries in the arena as well as in the viewing areas outside.  We were staying with a Couch Surfer who was great at showing us around and while we were gracious guests our late arrival and sense of directions led to a few moments of confusion yet we made it through the weekend making new friends and enjoying a new city!

The winner was Azerbaijan, which means next year the competition will be held there.  Enjoy the song their song followed by Italy (2nd) and Sweden (3rd and also one of my favorites).




Wednesday, May 4, 2011

My Life..

G: Michelle I want to play with you!
Me: G, what do you want to play?
G: Let's play restaurant!!!!!!!!!!!!
Me: How about we play something else? (my mind: ANYTHING ELSE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!)
G: (very serious) Do you not like restaurant?

Two Days Later:

G: Let's play restaurant!
Me: How about you help me make REAL dinner?
G: That is not as much fun.

I have won the battle two or three times in the last few days! Let's see how much longer I can keep this going!

Monday, May 2, 2011

More Spain; More Tapas

In between exploring Madrid, Rachel and I left for a few days to explore some other cities in Spain. I have a long time friend, Ellen, who has lived in Malaga (aka by the beach) for two years. (PS. By long time friend, I mean we have known each other since we were 4!). So after staying up all night on Friday night, we ventured to the bus station to take a 6 hour night bus ride to Malaga. 

After wondering the streets and finding Ellen's apartment and a short nap we were off to the BEACH! That is right, THE BEACH! It was a perfect day outside. We sat in the sun for 7 hours! It was GLORIOUS and ended with a few uneven sunburns. Ellen lives with a few people from the area who speak very little (no) English. Ellen did a lot of translating, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I could understand of their conversation. 




After our wonderful beach day, we explored the city on Monday.  It is a really cute city.  It was Semana Santa (Holy Week) so there were people everywhere and several parades throughout the day.  It was an interesting to watch their celebrations and traditional attire.  These robes came in all sorts of colors, including white. It was slightly creepy.  These men and children were dressed and walked down the street followed by a large statue of the Virgin Mary.  We found this in Malaga, Sevilla, and Toledo, however the rain put a bit of a damper (pun intended) on the festivities after Monday.




While wondering the city, I spotted legitimate frozen yogurt! The rainy week had begun and this made up for it! There are two things I miss a lot from home, (food-wise), frozen yogurt (tart with strawberries) and Mexican food. Spain succeeded in giving me both. It was GLORIOUS. 

After Malaga, we took a morning bus to Sevilla, where we explored the city. I highly recommend this city as well.  It was an adorable city situated on a river (as most European cities are).  The Cathedral looked massive from the outside, but since there were so many festivities, we couldn't go inside.  


We did explore the Palace and took some obligatory jumping pictures (in the rain). It was a very pretty area. You could even rent a boat and go around in the water in the center of the bug square. Due to rain we abstained. 



Between Italy and Spain, I just keep finding my name written everywhere. I have also decided that taking constant pictures of these moments is also necessary! 


The Cathedral. After lunch and finding some food for the bus ride back we headed back to Madrid because it was POURING! This was the rest of Spain, however, I still loved the country. Considering my dislike for any weather other than hot and sunny, this says a lot!