The longer
The Frau lives in Switzerland, the more she realizes how disappointing the rest
of the world is going to be if she ever leaves.
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| Toddler-friendly (and boat-friendly) playground in Twann. |
She came to
this realization when stepping off the train in Twann on Sunday, only to view
the most picturesque playground she has ever seen. It was literally right on
Lake Biel. It had picnic tables and sand and a slide that was actually
toddler-sized. Trains cut through the vineyards above the park. Bikes rode by
next to the park. Ducks quacked. If that weren’t enough, as Toddler M was
swinging, a classic Swiss boat pulled up, right next to the playground.
A pristine
white boat with a Swiss flag pulled up to the playground. Yes. Even Toddler M
had to turn in her swing to take in such a sight.
The day
continued all perfect and Switzerland-like from there. A stroller-friendly hike up into the
vineyards from Twann to Ligerz and back along the lake. Ice cream. More fun at the park in
Twann.
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| Ligerz, Switzerland |
It was such
a perfect day that Toddler M sang almost the entire train ride back to Baden.
American nursery songs. Swiss songs from Krippe.
A Swiss woman even hummed along with Toddler M as she sang one of the Swiss
songs. Interaction. Yes. It is possible.
Oh
yodelers, The Frau sometimes feels like she’s been on an eight-year date with
someone that’s too good for her. Someone that her mere American mortal-ness with
her messy apartment and geraniums that fail to cascade properly doesn’t
deserve.
But it's only a matter of time, yodelers, before something goes wrong that you'll also hear about in this very space. Because like most expats, The Frau has a love-hate affair with her adopted
country. It’s only normal, isn’t it? But the love affair days are what make
being a foreigner here all worth it. Oder?
5 comments:
Oh how I envy you! For as long as I can remember I wanted to move to my Grandparents home country! Thank you for such a wonderful Blog, it will have to hold me over until I can get over there some day!
Hi Virginia, Hope you can live here someday. Or at least just visit!
I know about those perfect Swiss days. And the messy apartment, too. That was me, all right.
I am in no means a professor but I have been a student for... Well evermore. I also do not seem to have any issues with learning. And to be honest I study very minimally because once I read something I can easily recall the key points, which is what the Canadian system really is asking for. The key idea rather than the small facts. I think it falls down to two to three elements:
1. Passion- It is easier to focus and learn on something you are interested in. I saw this in myself mainly. I can read/learn for about an hour to two without any troubles while I could hardly look at the paper for 10 minutes in math-related tasks.
2. Method- While this is more of a college thing; not all people learn the same way. Some people are a chart, some physical, some reading, and some writing. We have a mixture of all of the above. Some lessons are heavier in other aspects. It is hard to clarify but I think I made my point.
3. Dedication- Now I do not learn much, But someone who sits down and lessons an hour a day will be able to learn faster than someone who sits down and learns once a week. It is about control and how your mental state is ready to learn.
and of course, there’s all else such as stress, the amount of sound in a room, a Smartphone, friends or lack thereof, a social life, control, hunger, that show someone loves to watch every Tuesday afternoon and the room warmth all are small factors. You get to coast until you are in a situation challenging enough to make you learn harder. Probably, you will go pretty far if you try. If it’s easy, you just haven’t met you are likely yet. Take harder classes when you can, you will learn more.
Nice share thanks for posting
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