We made it!

Unbelievable. To us, anyways. We made it all the way to Switzerland with a cranky, sick 14-month-old and a 4-year-old. Of course, many have gone before us and have traveled much further in worse conditions, but this feels like quite an accomplishment, considering how badly we thought it might go. We did ask God for traveling mercies before we left and it seems that prayer was answered. We also discovered that Gravol is a useful medication for making sleep schedules a bit more flexible.

The trip. We had nightmares of what our flight might be like if Elias didn't sleep (a very real possibility). As it turned out, the most disruptive thing was being badgered by the Zoom staff throughout the whole flight about how they recommend that children not be left to sleep on the floor. I guess we hung on the word "recommend", and made the decision that we would take full responsibility for our decision and go against their recommendation just so that the little fella could get some shut-eye. (We did pay extra for the bulkheads! What else is all that leg room for?) Enough about that. The rest of the trip was pretty unremarkable.

The house. We've been here for 24 hours now and all signs are pointing toward a great month ahead. The house is a renovated chalet, and so is quite rustic, but tastefully so. Real wood everywhere in the house and real shutters on the windows that actually swing open and shut and serve a purpose! We're at 800 m above Lac Leman (Lake Geneva to the non-Swiss) and the house sits on a steep property with lots of landscaped levels. Quite a view, of Vevey (home of Nestle International) and France across the lake. Also, there are two turtles and a cat outside to play with, along with a little swingset and a kiddie pool. Lucia's in heaven.

The hosts. We were very lucky to meet our hosts, the Weber family, who came by for a barbeque this afternoon before leaving for Victoria tomorrow morning. Serge and Corinne (the parents) speak very good English so it was easy for us to communicate, but Romain and Nathan (the boys) speak very little (but apparently they understand more than they let on). It was funny to hear Lucia asking Nathan, the younger one over an over, "how old are you?", without getting much of a response. The idea of "other" languages is still a bit strange to her. I am embarassed that we come here as unilinguals (especially as Canadians). It's high time we learn the other official language.

The food. We've sampled Swiss bread, cheese, chocolate, meat, yogurt, and beer. I am convinced all of it tastes better here than in Canada. I don't know what the secret ingredient is.

The end. (For now.)

Ciao.