My First Weekend

My host-father left for the weekend to meet up with the rest of the family so I have been left on my own for the weekend.  One of the previous aupair's friend's took me around Zurich on Friday . We ate kabobs by the river.  She showed me where the aupairs meet on Wednesdays so I will go to that next week and hopefully meet some people.  There are lots of little streets and cobblestone walkways with shops (pictures to come next time I go into the city).

Saturday was Zurich's Street Parade. It is one of the largest Street Parades in the world. Even though the forecast was rain they estimated about 600,000 people would be on the streets from 1pm-midnight. I met up with the girl from Friday and a few of her friends. It was pretty epic! There were thousands of people and "Love Mobiles" with different music and themes. In addition, there were a bunch of stationary stages throughout with other DJs.  People were dressed up in all sorts of costumes.  The group of people I went with did an 80s work out theme.

There are a couple of pictures below but they aren't very good but you can see a couple of the Love Mobiles and then the immense amount of people.

The family's road trip back from France started late so it looks like I will be meeting them in the morning!

Best described as the jungle gym 15 years later. 

My First Exploration!

I wandered around Thalwil for a few hours today. It is

gorgeous and very hilly! Below are some pictures. I walked down to the lake which is very large! I will be going into Zurich (about 15 min away or so) tomorrow with one of the previous aupair's friend's to get a little bit of a tour!

This was about a block from my house!

A clock tower by the lake!

 I made it to the lake!!! It was about a 20-30 minute walk down hill from my house! The walk back was a great work out! Looking forward to more of those to come!

Rumor has it that Tina Turner lives on that side of the lake!

My travel book talked about cow festivals and things related to cows. From what I could tell, this was just the front of someone's home! Awesome is really all I can say!

Pictures of the House!

I have been in Thalwil, Switzerland for 2 days now. I had a very ambitious plan for my first full day yesterday.  I was going to explore the area and unpack. Instead, I woke up at 3:30am and was exhausted for the remainder of the day. I did, however, get unpacked and put up pictures around my room. The rest of my day included Skyping and napping.  When my host father got home from work, we got my public transportation cards and did some grocery shopping. He made us dinner and we had some lovely conversation.

This morning I did take some pictures of the house and will take more of area later this afternoon.  I just took pictures of the kitchen, living room, backyard and my bedroom.  I am hoping to make it to the store to pick up a few things and then wander a little. Unfortunately, it is raining out.  I still have my Southern California mentality that you don't need to do anything when it is raining.  Unfortunately this is not the case since rain is extremely common in most other places around the world.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures! Love and miss you =)

Thalwil

I am sitting in my new bedroom in the canton of Thalwil, which is just a few kilometers outside of Zurich.  I got a driving tour of both areas last night when Bruce (my house dad) picked me up from the airport. The city looks small but very clean as everyone said. Zurich has a big lake that extends out into the villages nearby. There are also 2 rivers that flow out of the lake through the city.

Thalwil is very quaint. There is a big park within walking distance. I hope to explore it later today. There are some cute shops and a Starbucks which I am told is where expats hang out often. I am looking forward to exploring everything in the next couple of days.

The previous aupair left me a few numbers to call so I will call them later today and hopefully meet up with them this week as well. There is a huge street fair on Saturday which I am told I have to go to! The whole family will be out of town this weekend so I have a lot of time to myself, which should be interesting.  I will meet them on Sunday night and then we have Monday and Tuesday to play and get to know each other and they start school on Wednesday!

I will take and post some pictures later today but now I am going to try to go back to sleep!

The Trip to Zurich

Hello Everyone!!!

I have not quite made it to Zurich yet, but I am sitting in Dusseldorf, Germany with a free internet connection so I thought I would give a little update! I am super excited to finally be starting this year. I have been talking about it for months and it is just about time to start!  I think I am still a little overwhelmed and unaware of the fact that I just moved to Switzerland for the year.

I was able to spend a month in California with family and friends which was great! Leaving home is never easy, no matter how many times I do it. I miss everyone already but am so grateful for the opportunity to do something like this.

Bruce, my host-dad, will be picking me up from the airport tonight. The kids are in France with their Mom visiting their grandfather.  I will have a few days to get settled in my room and adjust to the time difference before I meet the kids and start my job!

That is all for now!!!