Happy Swiss National Day! I’ve been in Switzerland for 15 years. I planned on staying two or three. Alas, life happens in unexpected ways. In honor of 15 years in this country, here are 15 things about Switzerland you might not know. 1. It’s Switzerland’s 733 birthday today!
A couple of weeks ago, my sister in law and her 2.5-year-old visited. As all 2.5-year-olds do when they are away from home, he came down with a high fever (40.3 Celsius, or 104.5 Fahrenheit). So, my kids’ pediatrician agreed to see him on short notice. We’ve been
Last week the New York Times ran an article, Skipping School for Cheap Flights? You Could be Fined In Germany. It begins as follows: BERLIN — While airport security officials around the world check for weapons and identification before letting passengers board a plane, the police in Germany are
So, the Evil Family is moving. We’re just moving to a different suburb of Basel, but it means a change in town. In the US, you pack up and you move. You change your driver’s license address and your car registration and all that jazz, but there’s no
Amy Alkon’s commentary on Ebonics caught my eye. She responded to an article by Michael Hobbs called “Why America Needs Ebonics Now.” I find discussion on language fascinating–especially since moving to a new country and learning a new language. Alkon says that teaching Ebonics in schools is “dooming
This week my 8 year old went to a sleepover. With 27 other children. In the school library. I admit I’m kind of jealous. It was Lesenacht–Reading Night. The kids brought their sleeping bags, pillows and a bag full of books. Oh, they also brought flashlights and the
Fasnacht is the German/Swiss equivalent of Mardi Gras. It’s supposed to be a big party before Lent begins. However, Basel has their Fasnacht the week after Ash Wednesday. And what a party it is. 3 full days and by full days I mean full days. It begins with Morgenstreich at 4:00
The Swiss are big on using reusable shopping bags. They are always for sale–about $2 for a sturdy plasticky-cloth bag and $0.30 for a paper bag. There are times when those plastic disposable bags are available, but they’ve recently started charging $0.05 for those. I read about reusable
Just because I’ve done two Swiss Saturdays in a row don’t take that as a promise that I’ll continue. This week I met with my son (grade 3) and his teachers for a parent-teacher-student conference. As a side note, I hate bringing my kids to these meetings (the
Swiss culture has hit the news in a couple of ways this week, so I thought I’d share my experiences. Keep in mind, I can’t possibly explain all Swiss culture because I don’t get all of it, but maybe a few of the things I say will make
