It's Real...

I'm in Switzerland. I work here. I live here. Wow. It hasn't hit me yet. I have just barely had a moment to sit and internalize it. For that past week, it has been a whirlwind of ups and downs.

Last Thursday, Fabio arrived back in Seattle from his week in Switzerland. He found us a furnished apartment in Zug, got bank accounts, train passes, cell phones...basically got everything set up for our arrival. The one downer was that he had taken 3 suitcases full of stuff we wanted moved with him. He brought two (one inside the other) back. American Airlines lost them during his layover at JFK. This was not good because those were the only suitcases we had (that were not carry-on sized). In the meantime, Fabio and I were leaving Friday for Los Angeles and Las Vegas to tour with his parents. This means, no suitcases to pack with, no GPS, camera, cell phone charger and other essentials that were in the suitcase. American Airlines did give us a suitcase after I went in and gave them a piece of my mind, and we decided to make the best of our 4 days with his parents.

We spent one and a half days in LA doing various LA stuff. His parents especially loved Beverly Hills. His mom wanted a picture of everything that said "Beverly Hills" or "Hollywood". It was cute. We drove to Las Vegas on Sunday and stayed at the Monte Carlo. We had a great view of the strip and his parents had a blast shopping and playing the slot machines. I think the phrase, "Madooooooooooooooona!" was expressed hundreds of times in the course of our 4 day tour. It's now my favorite expression.

On Tuesday I flew to Switzerland...all alone. It wasn't that bad though. We had to stop in Iceland to refuel which was super sweet. I now want to visit there! It was so rugged and green and quaint looking from the air. I arrived in Switzerland yesterday (Wednesday) and the school director picked me up from the airport. Thank goodness I didn't have to lug my two suitcases and carry-ons on the train all by myself! We visited the school in Zug (which is the "mother" school), and I was able to meet some VERY kind, generous and sincere people. We then drove to Luzern where we walked around the school where I'll be teaching. (The director forgot his keys so we couldn't go in). It was breathtaking! I mean, I know you've all seen the pictures on the blog, but to be there in person, it literally took my breath away. The view from the back is stunning. You can hear the sounds of the lake and see boats in the distance. The mountains shooting up from the lake are a stark green. The water is a blue you cannot imagine unless you see it with your eyes. Martin (the director) pointed to where my room will be and it is on the top floor facing the lake. Sweet.

He dropped me off at our apartment in the absolute most charming neighborhood in all of Switzerland. I made calls to Fabio and my parents and then crashed. I slept a good 8 hours, but when my alarm went off at 6am this morning, my body was FIGHTING it! My head was pounding and I felt very nautious. However, I didn't have the luxury of staying in bed, which is what I would have preferred. I had to get up and go to a new teacher meeting at the school in Zug. I was able to find my way to the train station, take the train to Baar, get off, find the bus and take it to the school. There were 3 other teachers on the bus, one I had met before and two I hadn't. This was the beginning of meeting some of the nicest people I've EVER met. There were about 15 new "primary" school teachers, and every single one of them introduced themselves to me, asked me questions about myself, told me how impressed they were that I would come in a day after my flight from the U.S. I met a few girls from the U.S. but most of them were from the U.K. I can see myself becoming friends with many of them, but the sad news is, they all work at the school in Zug (which is 750 students large!) and I work in Luzern (84 students large), so I won't be seeing too much of them, although some of them live in Zug, so hopefully we'll form enough of a bond in the next few days of teacher inservice to warrant getting together after Fabio and I move to Zug in September. Anyway, the day was lovely, and I already feel really lucky to be working with such a great group of people. I still have yet to meet most of my co-workers in Luzern, but I have no doubt they will be just as fabulous as the Zug teachers.

OK, so I just got back to my apartment a few hours ago. I had to find my way to the registration office to register myself in Canton Luzern. Then I ran to the Migros store (kind of like a mini-Target) before it closed at 5:00. I stopped to eat a kabob on the street and headed home. I am EXHAUSTED and cannot wait to crash.

I was able to explore a little bit today while I was running my errands. There are no words for how wonderful this little city is. The narrow cobblestone streets, the array of different shops, the fountains everywhere are just the beginning of it's charm. I can't wait to get out and explore, without feeling tired or feeling like I have to find a certain place. I just want to wander. OH-perk #1 about living in Switzerland, there are like 50+ H&M (cutest, trendiest clothes) locations in the country, 2 of which are in Luzern, and one of which is a block from my apartment. I popped in there on my way to Migros, and there were like, oh, 100 things that I wanted to buy because there were all super cute and super cheap. Oh, but willpower won over me...for now.

Sorry there are absolutely no pictures to post. The bad part of all this is that our suitcases (including our camera) didn't make it to us until my very last day in Las Vegas. After hours on the phone and at LAX, American Airlines delivered the suitcases to our hotel in LA...after we had left. We decided to just FedEx it to our hotel in Las Vegas since American Airlines had proven themselves to be complete idiots when it comes to bag handling. We were so excited that the bags made it right before I left. Then, we opened the bag. ALL our electronics were gone. Camera (hence, no pictures), GPS, Fabio's bluetooth. LOSERS! Anyway, I won't bore you with the details, but needless to say, Fabio is set on revenge. Although there is no hope to get any money from American, there is TSA, FedEx, our renter's insurance, and if Fabio can arrange it, he wants to take AA to small claims court. Ah-my lawyer husband.

I have a three day weekend since tomorrow is a Catholic holiday (Luzern is a Catholic canton which means, no work!), so I'll start my exploring then. Since we have passes to any and all Swiss public transportation, Switzerland is at my fingertips! I can't go anywhere super cool without Fabio, but I'm sure I can find a semi-cool place to wander alone.

OK, this post was super long, scattered and maybe a little confusing, but I think that's pretty good from a girl who has been suffering from jet lag all day long! I'm impressed that I'm still awake!

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