Feb

26

Flu Attack

Filed Under Education & Campus Scene, Health | 8 Comments


I’ve been suffering from the dreaded flu for two weeks now. It’s not funny.

This being so, I’ve been unproductive. I’m really so behind now in my German courses (I’ve missed two two-hour classes already), journalistic writing (I’ve gathered the data already, but haven’t written a single cohesive paragraph yet), online schooling (I need to catch up on the kilometric reading assignments), and in my missions report writing (this one’s so long overdue).

On top of these, our home is still a mess, and laundry work is just around the corner.

I need help. I need Panadol (a paracetamol brand). I hope this will take away the headache, the joint pains, and the fever.

Funny, I just had a flu vaccination a week before I got sick. I guess I had it way too late. My Swiss GP did say that I should have had the shot in October. Oh well.

Let’s hope that I will wake up tomorrow morning feeling well and rejuvenated — ready to face life’s challenges slowly but surely.

*****

FIVE THINGS TO BE HAPPY ABOUT:

1.) Chicken soup
2.) An uninterrupted bedrest
3.) The saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
4.) Getting well
5.) Applying Pulmex on the chest

Feb

16

Four Years

Filed Under Family & Friends, Migrant Life, Society & Culture, Travel/People & Places | 16 Comments


Today, I mark my fourth year in Switzerland. So come celebrate it with me. Let’s do the chicken dance!

Four years ago, I arrived in this strange land with my Compaq Presario 700 laptop, two Canon analog cameras, Switzerland guide books, wedding invitations, a baggage full of rags (otherwise known as “clothes”), and a brand-new “Magic Singalong Video Karaoke Microphone” that came with four song chips. I also had with me a big Duty Free bag containing a windmill-shaped musical lamp bought at the Schipol Airport during my layover in Amsterdam. Why I bought this lamp remains a mystery to this day. Maybe I had hoped it would help enlighten me as I start a new life in Switzerland.

My other stuff (i.e. my books, videos, electronic items, reclining chair, handicrafts, and my M&M chocolate candy dispenser), which comprised around 75 percent of my material possessions, were shipped to Switzerland by the freight company a few days before The Big Move.

The day was fairly ordinary; nothing special really. I was met at the airport by my husband (then my fiance), together with my Mom and older brother who had wanted to fly Swiss from Manila a day ahead of me (on Valentine’s Day to be precise), while I had opted to fly KLM solo on the 15th. (My Dad couldn’t travel to Switzerland anymore due to his frail health condition, and my sister was left behind to take care of him. Meanwhile, my younger brother and his family were in the US at that time.)

This I clearly remember, though: meeting a Zurich-based Swiss engineer named Urs aboard the plane on the 16th of February during my connecting flight from Amsterdam to Zurich. He was my seatmate who tried to strike a conversation with me by remarking, “Nice toy you have there.” By “toy,” he meant the plastic windmill lamp that I had struggled to put inside the overhead compartment. He was nice. I told him later on that his three-letter name was rather unique. (I would later learn that Urs is a common name in Switzerland.)

We had a pleasant conversation about steel pipes (a ubiquitous element in his profession), the German language, bi-cultural marriages (I learned in the middle of the conversation that he was married to a woman from Pakistan), and about my future which, I told him nonchalantly, looked quite challenging in many ways. He seemed to understand my statement about my so-called future and kept diplomatically quiet. When the plane landed, I suddenly looked worried about my handcarry bags, weighing around 30 kilos or more, and that was the time he reassured me in a calm manner: “Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”

And he did, up until I reached the exit of the airport’s arrival section where I spontaneously gave Urs, my “Swiss escort,” an embroidered pencil case made in the Philippines. It was my simple way of expressing my appreciation to him for his unsolicited and unexpected assistance. He accepted my spur-of-the-moment gift graciously. We shook hands, and he genuinely wished me well on my journey into the unknown. We then parted ways.

So, I had a good start, thanks to Urs, the kind-hearted engineer from Zurich. What followed next is another story of a complicated nature. Those of you who are already familiar with this weblog, which is sometimes spiced up with personal stories of joy as well as of pain, don’t even need a detailed explanation. Not anymore.

In the meantime, indulge me: let’s do the chicken dance and hope for good days ahead.

(Note: For musical accompaniment and instructions on how to do the chicken dance, click here.)

*****

FIVE THINGS TO BE HAPPY ABOUT:

1.) Reliable movers
2.) Guide books
3.) Talking with a nice person
4.) Positive thoughts
5.) Duty Free shopping

Feb

11

Sledding Adventure

Filed Under Family & Friends, Life & Leisure, Sports, Travel/People & Places | 7 Comments


And so, big sis got her wish: we went sledding two weeks ago in a wonderful place called Weissenstein, a Jura mountain situated near the old town of Solothurn, armed with the traditional wooden Davos sled for two and a plastic snow disk (a FUN-UFO snow slider) designed for the daring sledder.

It was a unique experience to go up the mountain via a chairlift ride which costs CHF 7.00/USD 5.60 (one-way) or CHF 10.50/USD 8.40 (two-way) if one has an SBB GA or a half-fare railcard. Those who don’t like to slide down back to Oberdorf, where the chairlift station is located, usually opt to buy the two-way ticket. That would be us inexperienced sledders (my husband not included) who hail from sunny, snow-free Philippines.

My sister and I were giddy with anticipation as the chairlift took us to our destination, past a scenic view of Solothurn with the Bernese Alps in the background. It was mighty cold up there on the aerial lift, and we surely regretted not having taken a thick blanket at the Oberdorf station where blankets had been made readily available for all chairlift passengers. We had seriously thought we had more tolerance towards the biting cold than the Swiss snow sports lovers whom we saw grabbing a blanket or two for winter protection.

Upon reaching our destination, we went sledding right away on a not-so-steep decline. The Davos sled would always get stuck in fresh snow, while the snow disk, which I call “the plate,” had no problem with “stucktitis” but was very hard to control; it would spin us around amid the speedy travel downhill. That part was a bit scary.

Feeling cold after being exposed to the arctic wind, we had a snack break at the nearby mountain restaurant where my husband and I ordered a hot mug of Caotina chocolate drink to go with a generous serving of apple pie, while my sister went for a hot, tasty bowl of goulage.

Due to our stopover at the restaurant, we missed the last chairlift trip back to Oberdorf. So we had no choice but to sled back to the station. It went downhill from there — literally and figuratively.

Once, I fell off the sled and landed badly on the edge of the winding sled run as I tried to escape death. Twice, I slipped and fell hard on the icy road, almost hitting my head, while running after my husband, who was speeding away downhill aboard the spinning FUN-UFO disk, with total disregard for his safety. Thrice, I nearly got hit by a speeding sled behind us (Achtung! — meaning “Watch out!” — is a good German word). And countless times, I slammed into some mountainside boulders. Now I know: if ever I intend to have a career shift someday, I can’t work as a professional stuntwoman.

But the overall sled experience was dangerously fun.

The lower part of the southern sled run, normally a mountain road (we spotted a car sliding down the icy mountain road at high speed; the driver, I thought, had a death wish), was partly icy and partly bare. Because of this, we had to travel back to Oberdorf on foot the rest of the time. The moonlight guided us in the otherwise pitch dark road. By the time we reached the carpark, I was already exhausted and bruised all over. This notwithstanding, we laughed our way back home. (Backgrounder: My family is so much into black humor.)

Only later did we read the label on our German-made FUN-UFO snow disk which reads: “Use the FUN-UFO with head-, knee-, and elbowpads and only on a dear (sic) snow area. Avoid hard ground.” Without knowing it, we completely disregarded this very important warning.

We would like to go back to Weissenstein as soon as there will be enough snow for sledding (sometime in spring?). Maybe we should be extra protected next time. A helmet and a pair of knee pads as well as elbow pads for each one of us will be a good investment.

My sister, meanwhile, is enjoying the spring-like weather this winter.

(Note: Click here to view my Weissenstein photo set.)

*****

FIVE THINGS TO BE HAPPY ABOUT:

1.) Chairlifts
2.) Having winter fun on a Davos sledge
3.) Laughter
4.) God’s protection
5.) Swiss carnival season

Next Page →