Of Freetime and Freitag

Several people have noticed that I don't seem to be writing blogs very regularly anymore. Looking back over the last blog I noticed a number of spelling and grammar errors as well. Perhaps this is all symptomatic of life here these days. The immigration problems seem to be a kind of turning point for us: we have two more months to stay here but are beginning to look toward home and reentering our lives there. Nicolas talks about California constantly and Markus has developed a real longing to return to his job and bike. For me, it is time outside of motherhood that I crave. We never got around to enrolling the kids into day care and the twice-weekly playgroup that Nicolas has been attending ends this week. This means that I get only an hour or two a week without kids unless I carefully schedule time. So I am looking forward to work and the feeling of accomplishment that goes along with a job, but also to workout and other alone time while the kids have a babysitter. Friends at work will be surprised to hear this, but I read the updates about summer orientation almost longingly!

That said, I must also admit that some of the loss of excitement around here can be attributed to really settling into Zurich. We have established a really normal rhythm to our days, albeit a slow and sometimes frustrating one. The idiosyncracies of life in Switzerland aren't so novel now, and we mostly know what to do. The next two months should be really fun. We are expecting visits from Markus' extended family, as well as a visit to friends around Germany and Denmark in the next couple of months.

We have also made some really great friends here with a Danish family. They have a boy the same age as Nicolas and a girl who is two like Timo. We have been meeting at various playgrounds and riding the trains and boats with them. The kids share no common language, but that doesn't really seem to be a problem. For Nicolas this is an opportunity to push and shout and chase around, which is apparently what boys really like to do. For Timo, it is someone his size from whom to steal toys. So we see quite a lot of them. The mom, Christina, has given up an academic career in Aarhus for full time motherhood here, so we also have lots in common. Best of all, they will be visiting in California in October, so we will get a chance to show them all around there.

Christina is really into the cool bags made here. Certainly, as Swiss exports go, this one is even cooler than Swatch (which is still alive and fashionable here, although I don't remember them being much sought after in the US since the early 90s.) Freitag bags are made with recycled tarp covers from Cargo trucks (what do we call lorries, anyway?) The straps are mostly recycled seat belts and the edging is made of recycled bike innertubes. They are clearly the its-it in bag. The store is made of stacked containers (like the kind that ride on the wheels of semi-trucks.) Christina keeps trying to lure me there, but I have so far resisted...in part because I am afraid to be sucked into a love-affair with these bags (as she has been) and that could cost a fortune. Eventually I will get there (without kids I hope) and then perhaps I will also become the very cool owner of a grungy plastic messenger bag...(Markus still owes me a present for my 40th :)

Well, next week begins our vacation to Denmark, so I will send more updates as the adventures continue!