Face painting for Fasnacht

Yes it has been so long…again!  I have been falling into my community. This has happened to me before. First I arrive and know no one, am antsy to get involved. Well, getting involved here involves so much! Learn the language (ok, learn enough to ask where to find something, conversing seems a lifetime away), learn the culture (a never-ending but fascinating process), meet people (expats – pretty easy, Swiss – a bit tough but rewarding when it happens!), figure out our schedules (Kali has morning school daily at 7:30, although on Tuesdays she begins at 9. Afternoon school Mondays, Wednesdays, every other Friday. Oh and extra German late on Thursdays. Ian has morning school daily at 8, afternoon school Tuesdays and Thursdays. Simple, huh? Next year it will change as he goes to junior high – same school as Kali – but I don’t imagine it will be the same schedule! Then I tried fitting in my expatkochen.com blog and the events from it, doing some expat relationship coaching, and working with a caterer on jobs here and there. David’s schedule is pretty straight forward, home at 7ish usually, and traveling to Germany often, in which case he is home at 8ish, or out all week. Occasional trips to the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, even the US once and a while, at which point I practice being a single mom and reaffirm that I am not good at it, I bow to those who do it, and I don’t want to do it for more than a week at a time!

So that is the schedule, and recently I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed!  I have a Swiss friend (yea!) that I meet with periodically to practice my German and to practice her English.  She gave me a book on the history of Bettingen that was just published * and I have yet to send her a thank you.  Even finding time to meet with her can prove tough, even though we meet at a cafe very close to home.  Between planning for trips, visitors, and jobs (Expat Kochen has been asked to lead a bread making seminar for 16) it is busy.  And yet, I love all all the things I am doing.  And I love the slower pace here that I am reminded I can take.  I have for the last two days been taking care of me, doctors appointments, haircut, nesting at home.  And it works, I feel more grounded, stronger to go out again in the community, the world.  I am currently giving a class called the “Expat Experience” where we discuss what it is to be an expat here in the Basel area.  I get to meet fascinating people and hear about their stories, give them a chance to vent and move forward in this crazy adventure.  (Liestal Fasnacht below)

*Ian and friends are on the cover of the book.  It is a far away shot of the main platz so he is hardly recognizable, but he is there, part of Bettingen history!

Another Fasnacht celebration - in Liestal

We are coming up on a two week holiday; people keep asking if we are traveling and I say no – nothing planned.  And yet I love that if we want to travel it is easy.  For example we have “junior passes” for the kids here in Switzerland.  That means that anytime they are traveling by train, bus or tram with us they travel free.  At 30 Swiss Francs this is a worthy investment.  As a result, I can buy a train ticket to anywhere (or a daypass which lets me go everywhere including all busses & trams) and the kids travel along for free.  We were considering sending them to a soccer day camp.  They have attended before and it was fine, but not fabulous, and not in a great location for us.  I had a lightbulb moment when I realized that for the same price as their camp we can hop a train and get a hotel in Gruyere, where we haven’t been yet, or Locarno in Italian Switzerland, where we have been and loved it!  So we’ll see.

We did go on holiday in March – flew to Greece for some chilly time near the beach and snowy time (white out as we drove toward the city!) in Athens, then sunny for our exploration of the Parthenon, etc., luckily!

Kali & Ian - Acropolis

David & kids - Athens

Kids are great – being normal 10 – 12 year olds – too much into electronics for mama (especially the boy) but still playing cello and violin and doing really well at school, so I suppose it is all ok.  They tend to not eat much, and then wanna eat lots and I have learned that that is ok too.  They still want to travel with us, usually.  And last weekend we got them to ski with us – having our neighbors along was what got them to come I think – but hey, whatever works.  We all had a great skiing day (Ian snowboarding), sunny spring skiing with good snow (we were high enough), few people, and 1/2 price.  I want to do that every spring.  Less than 2 hours from our door – they talk about good quality of life in Switzerland and I am beginning to get it!

Here in Bettingen I am enjoying my new e-bike.  It is a regular bike with a battery attached, perfect for giving me the power assist I need to go up this hill more than once or twice a week.  Before I would come up a sweaty mess.  Now I still get exercise but can do it without needing the 1/2 hour cool down time and shower after.  I even go up and down a couple of times a day with this wonderful machine.  If I want to I can go through town at, well, not warp speed, but I can cruise!  Very handy in traffic, especially at the light heading up hill.  And get this, there are e-bike stations all over Switzerland.  So if I want to bike to another part of the country and I run out of battery power, I can go to a station and either recharge my battery or trade it for one that is already fully charged.  So organized, simple.  So Switzerland.

Come check it out.  E-bikes and more.   Consider a trip to Basel and let us play Bed and Breakfast.  I wrote about how much I like practicing having a B & B on a recent post for Expat Kochen.  See you soon perhaps?

This lovely creature was hiding from the wind when Kali put her hand near him and he crawled onto her.  Next he crawled into our hearts when she brought him home.  We photographed his beauty, then put him on the sage plant on our balcony.

We are honored to have been graced by his beauty and lightness.  Wishing you a beautiful, light day.

Whoda thunk it?, as my father used to say. I thought I liked to cook a bit growing up, (I won the Home Ec award in 8th grade) and began to enjoy it here and there in my 20’s, although work and socializing took a higher priority then. I remember my first Thanksgiving at my apartment in St. Louis, but that was just after Mother died, so she didn’t know me as a cook. I wonder about all those years of watching her cook, being exposed to foods that my friends had never tried nor thought they ever wanted to try.. Asparagus and avocados, ceviche, almond float, and so much more. I didn’t cook with her much, but must have gotten it through osmosis. And now I am reveling in food and cooking, playing , experimenting, feeding my soul as I feed my stomach.

When we moved to Switzerland I found myself with more time and less time at the same time, which of course makes no sense. With my kids in Swiss school they are at home for lunch each day and I get to plan my days around being at home with them at that time. It can feel like quite an interruption sometimes. And yet, because I am not working or home schooling in the morning, I can for the first time, cook in the morning. Putting my best time of day together with one of the things I love most to do provides great contentment, even joy.

One morning recently, in preparation for a Mexican inspired cooking night with ExpatKochen, I made white corn tortillas and roasted salsa. I was wrapped in beautiful colors, textures, tastes and smells. I rolled the dough into balls, then used my iron skillet (aka tortilla press) to flatten the dough into beautiful round tortillas, complete with the mark from the bottom of my skillet, the same skillet later used to cook the tortillas till slightly golden with tiny brown flecks. The peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic were beautiful as they went into the pan fresh and full of color, and then beautiful again as they came out softened, golden brown and sweet.

And so I cooked and shopped and planned, all in preparation to gather a lovely group of people together to share the vibrant colors and flavors inspired by Mexico.

And I got to cook in the morning.

We lucked out with a hotel in a great location, in a bit too touristy an area for us, but that was easily remedied by renting a car and exploring the rest of the island, including visiting a couple of wineries.  There are over 60 on the island, and they have their own varietals in Mallorca, delicious.

Morning coffee.Happy hour.And some beautiful seafood.

But mostly we were blown away by the vistas and the color of the water. (Which we saw from above and below, when we did a scuba diving class completely in German – that was all the guy spoke!  Luckily you use sign language when diving…)

It was warm and beachy and beautiful, and while we missed the kids, it was still too short, a good thing leaving us looking forward to the next one!

Thanks SOOOO MUCH to Erin and Erik for helping with the kids.  Looks like they fared pretty well themselves!

This beautiful photo was taken by Erin.  Check out her pix on Expat Kochen and on her blog, http://modaeagleman.blogspot.com.

Some highlights from our trip to Cinque Terre and surroundings in April.  Hiking, eating, wine drinking, hiking, sleeping, and more hiking.  One day we thought we were going to hike for 1 1/2 hours and it ended up being over 6.  :-)  Whew, we made it though and had a lovely boat taxi back to our starting point in Camogli.  Several cones of gelatto later and we were rejuvenated.  Pisa was a fun day trip.  Mostly we were amazed at the color of the water and the spectacular sights.  And we loved our little apartment.  If you have a car in the area and want to stay off the beaten path, check out the Villa Paggi Country House.  Beautiful location and lovely hosts.  Plus just up the hill is an agriturismo with amazing olive oil for sale.  When we bought our 3 liter bottle the farmer insisted that we share some homemade lemon cream liqueur with him.  :-)  We definitely are looking forward to another trip there in the near future!

Hello – I know it has been ages.  Things are getting, well, busy!  I think that’s what happens as we “settle in” a bit more.  It is all good and I have been keeping balance, not getting too busy.  Which means that sometimes I let some things (like this blog) go.  Ah well, but I have been considering plenty to write about.  One thing, how humbling it is to live in a foreign country where the language and customs can make the simplest of activities seem insurmountable.  Or how about the little essay in my head called “All Is Not Lost,” all about how most anything you loose here in Basel gets returned to you in perfect condition?  Yes, well those essays are coming.

Meanwhile I have been pouring myself into cooking and blogging about it with my dear friends at Expat Kochen.  We had a lovely Sangria tasting last night – thus the picture of pitchers.  Any interest in summertime drinks or food in general, check it out at:   http://expatkochen.blogspot.com/

I am also doing some relationship coaching, running a group/class for newcomers to Basel, and juggling life with the kids and David’s travel, while making time to go to yoga here and there, and have a weekly date with my husband.  It’s enough.  And it’s good.

Know that there is always time for visitors – we really haven’t had so many since moving here.  I hope more of you take advantage of our room and board offer soon.  Gives me a chance to practice for that Bed & Breakfast I will someday run.

 r

charity: water videos

That video was my first exposure to the project which I was impressed with its for its impact and simplicity of message.  If you’re moved too, great.  Everyone deserves clean water.

And now number two – we finally got video of Ian playing his violin on the street, something he has been doing for over a year now.  (He is 9)  Kali and I headed downtown last weekend to do some shopping and had her camera along and shot this video.  He made 150 Chf, equivalent to about $150, playing off and on for a couple of hours.  Amazing, huh?  He is getting really good at saving lots, while putting aside some $ to maybe buy a DS, a cell phone, or a trip to the U.S. by himself.  Makes me smile – perhaps he will you too.

I am sitting in our apartment looking out over Basel, thoroughly enjoying my cup of coffee.  Ian is laying on the sofa, wrapped up in our Alpaca blanket from Peru, reminders of past travels, other times.  That he wraps himself in this piece of our lives that came before we even considered him is somehow comforting to me.

I am reading Committed, by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love which you may know.  In her new book she is on a fascinating journey, having decided never to marry again, and then finding that the only way she and her love can ever enter her home country (the U.S), again, is for them to marry.  And so she studies marriage as she strives to make peace with the institution, with the whole idea.

Committed - about marriage, relationships, as seen from different perspectives, is fascinating to me.  Not quite 20 years ago I thought I wanted to get married, and yet it wasn’t happening.  About that time I enrolled in some personal development classes and began to learn a bit about myself, including the fact that I was, to some extent, pushing relationships away, the safest way to avoid failure, divorce. (I had gathered plenty of evidence of relationships that didn’t work.)  I also began to realize that I couldn’t get to the relationship I wanted until I made peace with where I was, single.

After doing that I met David almost immediately, and knew he was someone special to me, someone I wanted to spend as much time with as possible while wandering this planet.  I put no set expectations on it at first, as I was wary, and eager to just enjoy what I had without requiring more of it.  And so we agreed to see each other but not date (no long distance relationships please).  Then to date with our independence.  Then to move to the same city, to marry, have children, and well, 13+ years later here we are.

Now I find I am interested in supporting people who make the choice to be in a committed relationship, whatever its form.  And so I am training with my friend Kathy Dawson as a “relationship coach.”  She has been supporting couples for the past 18 years with her method of offering tools that couples can use to help themselves, to gain deeper intimacy in all aspects of their relationship, to remember why they got together in the first place, and to celebrate each other.  I believe that there is such fullness of experience available in a committed relationship, including tremendous joy, sorrow, growth, and and of course love.  I love people and love when people are there for each other.  And as I love putting people together, this fits for me.  I am planning classes on relationships from male and female perspectives, romance workshops, and possibly on what it is to be a trailing spouse (the partner who moves to follow the other one usually due to job opportunity).  We are quite a community of trailing spouses here in Basel, and making an international move can be an opportunity for growth, or much stress.   And so a new chapter begins.  It is something I can do here, or wherever we land on this amazing planet.

Now, back to this moment.  We are on holiday for the next week, planning to enjoy Fasnacht (Basel’s Carnival) and to ski.  We are beginning quietly.  As David and Kali get some much needed rest I have time to enjoy the beauty outside and in, to contemplate my next life steps, to be in deep appreciation of this moment.

I can catch you up on all that has been going on with us – an unexpected trip to the U.S. when David’s grandmother died, ups and downs of not really knowing the language here, living with strong, independent children in our household, etc.  But for today, I just want to thank you for sharing this moment.

It is exactly one week later – I didn’t get to posting before leaving.  Fasnacht and Skiing were great, as was staying in jail (our hotel), and one sprained wrist later we are all happy to be home.  To quote Kali, “Alles in der Welt geht gut.”

TGV/LYRIA train this time, the fast train from Paris to Basel.  Kali sits next to me, Donna, David’s mother is across.  Another wonderful 3 days in Paris.  Each time I visit I get to know my way around more.  I would say I get more comfortable, but that isn’t true because I was comfortable here the first time I arrived.  That was almost 20 years ago.  Then I knew nothing of the city, but fell in love with it as those who knew me well told me I would.  Now like then, after one day to orient myself a bit, I start to get giddy.  I think Kali understands as she woke up today squealing, “we’re in Paris!”  That is the sentiment exactly.  We are in Paris, the day is full of possibilities, what will it bring?

We ended up in Paris this time when an old friend from Cleveland told me she and her family were coming in for Christmas.  I was eager to see her and perhaps get her to consider doing some business in Basel.  So, I planned a trip for just after Christmas.  Then we found out that Donna and Fred, David’s parents, were coming for Christmas.  When I mentioned Paris to Donna she was all for it.  And so the girls went to Paris, the boys to the Alps.  I now know how to avoid the lines to the Eiffel Tower and the Musee de Orsay.  Last time we reveled in the Eiffel Tower at night, this time we arrived in daylight and went down in dark, the best of both worlds.  We found a lovely creperie and a nice seafood restaurant within moments of our hotel, I discovered how to better maneuver the Metro to get to the heart of things, and I found Julia Child’s kitchen store, E. Dehillerin, a Paris institution since 1869.  See our Expat Kochen site for more on that.  http://expatkochen.blogspot.com/

Please consider being my excuse to get more at ease in Paris.  While I don’t need to go up in the Eiffel tower again for a while, I will happily be your guide and can wander while you do!