Mon Aventure

Today is Friday, March 26, and there remains exactly one week until we move into our new apartment.  Perhaps next week I'll have photos of the apartment for you.

It's a busy and exciting time for us.  In one week we move into our new (and more permanent) apartment and in 2 weeks I will be going on a mission trip to Lebanon while Chris is putting in long hours at work.  I'm buying head scarves and other unique items for this trip.  I'll be traveling with 4 individuals.  Among other things, our focus will be to distribute food and clothing to those in need.  I could not be more excited about this trip.  I've never been on a mission trip of this sort before and it's a dream come true for me.  When my sister and I were little we had certain prayers we repeated every night.  One of our repeated prayers went something like this... "Please help all the little boys and girls have food and toys and clothes..."  (Said in the cutest of munchkin voices.)  Well, at 31 years old I finally have the opportunity to visit some of those little boys and girls in person and distribute the "food and toys and clothes."  Like I said... it's a small part of my dream come true.

Trust me.  If the group I'm traveling with permits it, I will have pictures to show you when I return.

In the meantime, let me catch you up on the last 3 weeks...

Two weekends ago Chris and I went skiing for the second time since moving to Europe.  This time we borrowed a friend's car and went to Verbier, Switzerland.  We can now say we've skiied in the French Alps AND the Swiss Alps.  It was a breathtakingly beautiful day.

At one point Chris and I accidently found ourselves on a double black diamond trail.  There's only one other type of trail harder than the one we were on and that would be a narrower trail.  Thankfully, this trail was wide.  I can't really say I "skiied" down this trail.  I slid down the trail sideways and focused on surviving it.  In spite of the lack of real skiing, I was out of breath and my legs were on fire.  I stopped every 20 feet or so.  It took an eternity to get to the bottom.  I wish I'd taken a picture of this particular trail for you.  It was steep and bumpy. (The one pictured above was VERY easy in comparison.)  When we reached the bottom Chris told me to look back and see what we accomplished.  We survived Mt. Fort without taking our skis off and we were proud of our accomplishment.  From the bottom it looked like a cliff.  It wasn't nearly as hard for Chris as it was for me.  Nonetheless, we were both impressed with what we'd done.  Actually, at that point he was impressed and I was irritated.  If I hadn't been out of breath, emotional and close to tears I might have had the presence of mind to take a picture for you at that moment.


At one point during the day we rode a cable car looking similar to this one.  I was so excited.  I'd always wanted to ride a real cable car instead of chair lifts out in cold, open air. 

From now on it's chair lifts and 4 -6 person gondolas for me.  The insane cable car operators manage to squeeze 100 + people on one cable car... all standing up, holding our skis, tips of our skis and other peoples skis in our faces along with your neighbor's bad breath.  Incredibly clausterphobic.  What if the cable car broke down and stopped for repair for several hours?  What if mass panic broke out?

No thanks. 

Fortunately there are options.  It was a gorgeous day and we opted for other modes of transportation the remainder of the day.

We returned home tired, happy and VERY sore.

Last weekend we took a quick, last minute trip to Atlanta and back.  Our newly finalized visas had to be stamped by the Swiss Consulate downtown.  Apparently "quick trips" across the ocean are now a commonplace affair for me, but I don't think our bodies are intended to do this on a regular basis.  Not unless we take several days to recover at the end of every trip.  I have that luxury.  Chris doesn't.  I don't know how he does it.

After getting our visas stamped, our seemingly silly errand turned into a special visit to Athens, GA (an hour from Atlanta) to visit my sister, Kellie, who is attending UGA.  We attended her vocal and theatrical performance in an opera called The Merry Widow.  We decorated the driveway with chalk for Easter, Chris made dinner for us and we baked cookies.  It was a wonderful girlie time.  Chris was a chum to tag along.  In truth, he desperately needed the down time from work.  While Kellie and I were "playing," he was reading or watching March Madness.  He misses American sports on TV.

Speaking of missing the U.S... I truly didn't think I was missing my homeland at all.  I was having so much fun discovering Europe.  One step inside Krogers, Target and Michaels and I was in heaven.  I had a list of things to stock up on... things that are painfully expensive or can't be found here, and our U.S. friends who live in Europe put in their own requests as well.  My most precious purchases were brown sugar and crisco so I can make soft, chewy, real American cookies!  Who would have thought they wouldn't have those over here?  I guess they're so focused on the pastries, they've missed the cookies.

Anyway, I stepped into those enormous, big box stores and breathed a sigh of relief and contentment.  I'm amazed by this.  I really didn't think I gave three toots about these stores.  And deep down, I don't.  But I guess it's the familiar that was so relaxing.  To be able to shop with ease, everything written in my own language, navigating a store layout I have memorized, and finally... not subconciously worried that at any moment I might break a law or cultural faux pas I knew nothing about.

I left the U.S. and my sister a little depressed.  It was harder to say goodbye than I expected.  I miss my sister and adventures are tiring.  I miss my home in the U.S. and I suppose this is a good thing.  Someday, when I return, I'll be glad to return.  For now, I'm content to be back in Switzerland, enjoying the adventure.  It took a few days and a few good nights sleep, but I'm back in my Europe routine.

Returning, Spring has fully come to Geneva in the mere 5 days we were gone.  Delicious.  I open my windows every day now.  It's 20 degrees warmer than last month.  It still rains, but the sun is out more often and the air smells like things are getting ready to bloom.

Now I'm off to watch re-runs of MASH on my laptop with Chris, cozy this evening in our hotel apartment.  Time to rest.  The next few weeks are going to be busy.