earthsedge

I took this pic during one of the (brief) moments Aidan was sitting still today. I think it captures his personality pretty well!

This weekend we had Friday off so we took advantage of it and spent the day in Geneva. Geneva is only about 25 minutes away by train, but that’s after a bus ride down the hill to Gland. I’ve been looking forward to this since we arrived in Switzerland; Geneva is one of the world’s influential cities and was a key place during the Protestant Reformation. We hardly did it justice in a day, but it was still fun. We strolled by the lake, walked through downtown, ate lunch in a park, went to the Museum of the Reformation, Reformation wall, and finally Maison Tavel. I was hoping to go to the Palace of the Nations, but maybe next time. Here’s some pictures from the day:

From a distance; Geneva fountain

Reformation wall

Swiss chocolate: window shopping

The flower clock

Ancient/modern city

swinging

I spent the rest of the weekend working on a major research paper that is due in June. The actual paper will be fairly narrow in what it covers, but broadly I’m studying postmodernity, Christianity, and mission in Western Europe. I’m really enjoying it, mainly because I’ve chosen to read some authors who are arguing that postmodernism is the best thing to happen to Christianity in a long time. I’m finding it’s a refreshing perspective, as theologically you end up with a far more relational understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. If I get a chance I’ll write more on some of the data I’ve found on Western Europe-it’s fascinating stuff.

On another note, Becka broke her toe this weekend! She doesn’t think it’s too bad of a break, and there’s not much that can be done but trying to stay off it. We’re thankful it wasn’t a leg!

This week was a busy one. My communications course is going well, but I don’t have much time during the week for anything but class, work, and study. We had a major project due this week, so I was relieved when Friday finally came around!

We spent Saturday in Nyon, a small city about 20 minutes from Burtigny. It’s a beautiful place-right on the lake with a perfect view of the mountains in the distance. Some pictures:

Switzerland is a beautiful country. It’s also expensive! I bought two medium cokes at McDonalds (thinking it would be cheaper than the surrounding cafes), and I think my jaw dropped when the lady told me the total: 7.80 swiss francs, which is about $6.85. Insane! I don’t think I’ll make that mistake again. But Aidan thought it was worth it:

On the other hand, chocolate is incredibly cheap here, and it’s some of the finest in the world.

On Sunday we went for a hike together as a family. It drizzled most of the day-perfect hiking weather (well, for me).  Aidan does pretty well in his pack, as long as we let him out to explore every once in a while. He’s really into rocks these days; he loves to pick them up, give them to people, and occasionally taste them!

It’s a rainy spring day in Switzerland and the weather has forced us indoors. Bad weather for Aidan who prefers to spend every waking moment outside, but perfect for writing!

Chris has settled into his communications course. His schedule is pretty full, with class in the morning and on some evenings, work in the afternoon and enough homework to fill in the remaining hours. Needless to say, he looks forward to the weekends! Although the school is busy, he’s enjoying it and we feel it’s the perfect place for us at the moment.

Aidan and I are also settling into our daily routine. The people here are great and have helped us a lot with orientation. Aidan is having a little trouble still with sleeping through the night, but each night is a little better than the last. Burtigny, where we are staying, is a small village about a half hour outside Geneva. We’re surrounded by farms on hills, each sloping further until they meet the Jura mountains. Across Lake Geneva (or “Lac Leman”) are the Alps. They are especially clear after it rains.

The other day, Aidan and I had a little adventure taking the bus into a nearby town. I got off at the wrong bus stop and discovered that asking for directions is a bit problematic when I don’t speak French and most people here don’t speak any English. So I was forced to use the few words I do know and lots of embarrassing sign language. Thankfully, people here are very patient with foreigners and I eventually found my way to the grocery store and back home again. I hope to pick up some “survival” French in the weeks to come.

I’m still trying to decide how I can help out around the base while still maintaining Aidan’s schedule. I had a meeting today about this and it was such a relief to discover that people are flexible and sensitive to our needs as a family. So whatever I end up doing, I should be a nice balance of being a mom and doing enough work to keep me sane.

Wednesday night was “Swiss Night” and we celebrated by wearing red and white and sampling food from the different regions of the country. I love that bread and cheese are staple foods…and of course there is some awesome chocolate! Here are some random facts about Switzerland that I find interesting:

• There are 4 national languages (French, German, Italian and Romansh). We are staying in the French speaking part of the country.
• All Swiss citizens have the right to challenge a law passed in Parliament or to call for a vote to amend the constitution (direct democracy).
• Recycling is free but it usually costs to have your garbage collected; as a result, Switzerland is one of the top recycling countries in the world.

Here are a few pictures from a walk around the area.