(Retroactive to yesterday at the airport, when I couldnt get internet...)
Halfway home, at the airport in Philly. It’s ten pm in Basel, and I’m running on about 4 hours of sleep, and let me tell you, I am pooped! Carrying my luggage has been a workout. So I’m sipping some cheap black coffee (uggh) and enjoying talking to strangers and understanding every word they say! Oh, and speaking of strangers…I made a couple friends. I shared the middle row on my last flight with two guys a little younger than me from Zurich who are heading for California to stay with a host family and study English for two months. As usual with Swiss folk, we mostly talked English, but we did make a fairly valiant effort at practicing my German too. Now, I’m starting to think I ought to make better use of my foreign accent. They couldn’t get over my charming pronunciation and kept asking me to “say ‘schlaf gut’ again” or “say ‘spreche,’” and then “Awwh, it’s so cute. We like it.” Anyway, umm, Mom and Dad? I might have kind of invited them to come visit in Oregon. Hope you don’t mind. They seem nice…and it’s just like when we used to have Japanese students come…we didn’t know them either, and that always worked out ok. :D And I couldn’t stand the thought of MORE Swiss going to Cali and missing out on the Great Northwest.
Sooo…let’s see..what else is going on? I considered buying a coo coo clock on a whim at the airport. It’s on my list of things to buy before I move away from Switzerland, but it’s a good thing I didn’t buy one today cuz my hands are kinda full as it is, especially since my bag broke and it requires near full attention to keep everything with me. I’ve also been thinking it’s a good thing I’m getting this travel bug worked out of my system while I’m young and chipper, because I’ve been watching some of the older people travel and it looks a lot harder at 60+.
Ok, that’s all for now! More later.
Aw, there we go again with the cuckcoo clocks...
ReplyDeleteJust for your information: cuckoo clocks have nothing to do with Switzerland; they are made in the Black Forest in Germany!
Hehe, always so hilarious.
Cuckoo clocks are NOT Swiss!
ReplyDeleteHa! I knew that would get a couple of you worked up. :) I'm fully aware coo coo clocks aren't Swiss, so don't get your undies in a bundle. I just meant I like them, and can buy one in the vicinity. That's all. But nice to know you two are reading my blog this week!
ReplyDeleteStephan, I'm especially glad to hear the typhoon diverted and the Stephetc. club isn't at risk of losing its head of State. It just wouldn't be the same without you.
Have you considered taking a role of Duct tape with ya? It help me on numerous occasions, at least it helped till I got new cases.
ReplyDeleteDuct tape would have helped, yes. but the real problem was my "bag" was literally a paper bag with a good ten pounds of stuff in it. I was kinda asking for trouble.
ReplyDeleteI suspect, dear daughter, that the traveling bug doesn't really disappear just because one gets older. It may hibernate at times during your life, but, in your case at least, I imagine it will be ready to spring forth to take advantage of opportunities that arise in your future. Glad to have you home for the month!!! I do think you ought to get a cookoo clock if your budget allows. Little kids love them, even if husbands/daddys don't. :)
ReplyDeletewhat?!! Dad didn't like the coo coo clock?! I feel disillusionment settling over me like a thick darkness...
ReplyDeleteI like cuckoo clocks just fine, thank you!
ReplyDeleteNo clouds needed here-- I develop all the dark clouds locally, and it is a closed economy...
Dad