Bern and the Waterpark

Last weekend, we decided to explore Bern, Switzerland's capital. Some friends of ours told us about an indoor waterpark that is attached to a mall just outside Bern. So, we figured this would serve all the wants/needs of all of us!



On Saturday, we drove 1.5 hours to the hotel. The kids wanted to go to the play area at the mall, which was good, because then Jason and I could shop. We bought our new laptop there, with it's German keyboard, so forgive me some typos if I don't catch them. Many of the keys are out of place and I have to relearn how to type. (Otherwise Iäll end up tzping like this+)



After a few hours at the mall, which by the way was a real by my standards, we had lunch then went into the city of Bern. Bern is another picturesque old town. They are famous for a few things:



1. The Zytglogge-a huge really old clock in the center of town. ...and they have all these cool fountains on the road near the Zytglogge.

2. Einstein discovered the Theory of Relativity while living in Bern. There is a mini-museum set up in the apartment he used to live in during the 1920's and 1930's.

3. The Bear Pits-According to legend, a duke who founded the town in the 1100's sent his hunters to find some game and promised to name the town after the first animal killed, which ended up being a bear (Bär). Since then, the town has been called Bärn, Bern. Another legend says that as long as there are bears living in Bern, the town will be safe from intruders and peaceful.

View of the bridge connecting the bear pits to the altstadt.

Aidan with Finn, the bear.

Finn, up close.

4. Bern is the capital of Switzerland. Here is a picture of the Swiss government building- like our White House or the Capitol. Bern is also home to all of the foreign embassies.

We spent Sunday at the waterpark. It was kind of like Great Wolf Lodge, minus the theme. It wasn't as loud either because it was separated into rooms, not one huge space. It had cool waterslides, a toddler splash area, and many pools. Some were salt water, others were really hot, one was even really cold! I visited the spa for a short massage in the morning, too.

The attached hotel was a Holiday Inn, the first in Switzerland, and was really nice. It's funny, because we stayed in a Crowne Plaza in Wiesbaden last month which is supposed to be the top line of Holdiay Inn brand hotels and it was a dump. This Holiday Inn was WAY nicer! Here are some photos of the exterior of the hotel/mall/waterpark.

It was a great way to spend an otherwise gray and rainy weekend!

More on teaching in International Schools

So after talking to my mom who pointed out what American tax payers may complain about in my story of teaching in International schools, I thought I ought to clarify a few things.

1. 1. About only teaching 1.5 hours in one day: So, yes the actual classroom teacher would onlz have contact with her students for a short period of time that one day each week. But, the kids aren't just sitting in some room watching TV and she's not twiddling her thumbs. There are multiple special classes the kids are going to: PE, music, art, pottery, maths enrichment, library...or working in their classroom garden outside, or having a German lesson. While the kids are learning these things, the classroom teacher is giving time along with her colleagues at grade level to plan for the future units. They are encouraged to collaborate and plan together. The school gives them time during the day to do this, not just a short break here and there, and at the same time. This is something we've always wished for in PCCS.
2. As for the kids' education: Personally, I think all the "specials" classes are fantastic for the kids. I have always been a proponent of teaching young kids a second language. I wanted to minor in French but my MSU advisor wouldn't approve it. She said, I'd never be able to teach a foreign language in elementary school. I think this is such a disservice to children. It is SO much harder to learn another language later in life, believe me! It's taken me 1.5 years of lessons to just pass into a basic conversational level of German. Not to mention, that having PE twice a week promotes a healthy lifestyle, and exposure to art/pottery/music has all sorts of benefits. And, the garden. At one of the schools I taught at, one of the teachers started a garden. It's such a great learning opportunity. While studying plants, you can really study plants. The kids take ownership for caring for something (other than just themselves), and they learn about life cycles, animal habitats, weather, etc.

So, yes, I am a huge fan of what I see going on at this school from the teacher and parent perspective. I definitely think US public schools are lacking in some ways, but at least I think that where they lack has potential for improvement. I do think our schools are more "child centered" than what I've heard of UK or Swiss public schools, but there is room to grow. And, I don't think it would take tons of extra funding to make some of these things happen. OK, class size is probably the most important factor and yes, that would require a lot of money, but I think that maybe there is money somewhere in the government coffers being squandered on pointless things that could be reallocated if the government really valued children. It makes me SO mad when the first cuts always seem to come from education.

That's my 2 cents and even a few more...

What is the problem??

Can someone please explain what I am missing over here? Why are people against the US health system reform? It sounds like a great plan to me, and living here in "socialist" Europe, I don't see anything wrong with it. In fact, as I've said before, one of the best things of living here is the health care. I think it will be a good thing.

Where have you been all my life?

I have learned a few things hanging around the International School that makes me realize why Aidan is doing things in first grade that most kids in PCCS are doing in third. I wonder, why did I not know about International Schools before? Teaching in this kind of school would be a dream. Low class sizes, assistant teachers, resources, funding, etc.!
There are only 14 (!) kids in the class and even more amazing, there is a FULL-TIME AIDE!!!! The assistant teacher does recess dutz, and one afternoon each week, each grade level teacher gets nearly 2 hours of release time to plan together! Every week, 2 hours, to plan, together. PCCS do you hear this??? Not to mention that the ESL teacher has taken 3 kids out for a while already today, and another parent helper is coming in for an hour and they have 2 specials today! So, by my count, in this whole day of "teaching" the teacher will actually be with the kids for 1.5 hours. Are you kidding me?? Not to mention that the teachers here get paid much more than full-time teachers back home, get $2000+ each year to spend on continuing ed/professional development, and have supplies paid for by the school, not out of their own pockets.

This is what teaching should be like. The kids here are way ahead of the kids I'm used to teaching, most probably because of the low-class size allowing for more individual attention. This school actually encourages teachers to attend conferences and such by giving them a budget. I remember once wanting to go to an MEA conference in Detroit and PCCS giving me a hard time about it. They made me not only pay for the conference, but also wanted me to pay for the sub! I have always known how many things were wrong in the American education system, and now I have proof that something better IS out there.

Yes, this is a private school with high tuition. But, don't you think this is a good example of what we should aspire to? Don't you think the legislators should see what else is going on in the world of education before deciding to cut school funding yet again? There has got to be better way to fund and run the public schools. Perhaps, let's follow an idea from Greg Mortensen (who's book Three Cups of Tea, I just read) and try spending government money on schools instead of military.

I'm just saying...

It's Madness!

March Madness that is! And, boy, is this house into it!

Aidan made Jason proud by filling out his first set of brackets this year. He really thought about the teams and has even called some upsets that no one else did (Murray State!). He likes to be the one to check the games and cross of and highlight our brackets. Based on what I've seen so far, I'm kind of wishing we'd let him get in the "pool" that we are in to win money, because I think he's going to do better than either Jason or me!

As I type, I'm watching the MSU/Maryland game. The guys barely scraped by in the first round, and we've got some injuries, but if we make it through tonight, we've got a good shot at the Final Four, thanks to Northern Iowa! I'm so happy we bought a new laptop yesterday...the Sling Box picture is so much clearer now! Just in time for the big games :)!

GO GREEN!!!!!!!

Murren Ski Weekend

Last weekend, we met Missy, Chris and Chris's family near Interlaken. We stayed in Murren, which is a car-free village. The kids and I drove to Lauterbrunnen on Thursday and parked there, then took a gondola and train up to Murren. Luckily, Missy and Chris waited for us at Lauterbrunnen so I didn't have to deal with moving 4 sets of ski gear and all our luggage on to the gondola by myself. (Jason had to work Thursday and Friday, so he met us in Murren Friday night.)

By the time we settled into our hotel, it was too late to ski or do much. We walked around the village and just had dinner. Murren isn't much as far as villages go. Very pretty and quaint, but not much in the way of shopping. We did, of course, find some fondue and raclette for dinner, though. They serve raclette differently there, though. Instead of having a grill on the table, they brought out a big plate of melted cheese. Not exactly the same fun, social experience that raclette usually is, but it was still tasty.

Friday morning, the kids went to the child care center while I skiied with the adults. All of the ski resorts have great child care centers. These are great because skiing is very tiring, especially for little ones. I'm pretty sure that Lainey's skis, helmet and boots weigh more than she does! Anyways, to preserve energy for their afternoon lessons, the kids stayed warm and cozy in the play center. They painted, played, and had snacks. I picked them up for lunch and then had to go back to the hotel to get their ski gear. That is a whole day's event all in itself. Getting 2 kids into snowsuits, ski boots, helmets, scarves, mittens, etc. and carrying their skis and hauling them uphill to the ski school took over an hour. But, they finally got there and met their teacher for the next 2 days, Addie. They had a private lesson, just the 2 of them for 2 hours. So, I got to ski some more!

I decided to go up to the Schilthorn with Missy, Chris and his dad and sons. Schilthorn was made famous in a James Bond movie "In Her Majesty's Service". I've never seen any Bond movies, but I'm going to have to watch that one now! Anyway, at the top of Schilthorn (about 10,000 feet up) there is a rotating restaurant with great views. (On Friday the weather was bad so we couldn't see anything-just fog-but I went back up with Jason on Sunday and we had awesome views! Pics are below...) While up there, I got talked into skiing down from Schilthorn with Chris and his dad and sons. Chris and his sons are expert skiers who had already done this BLACK run once before and I figured I could try it with them. But, let me tell you it was steep at the start! I almost backed out, but I figured that if I was ever going to try a black run it was going to be with a group of people who knew what they were doing and would help me along. Click the link to see a map of the ski area with Schilthorn on top! http://www.liftopia.com/ski-resort-info/images/13019.jpg

Here I am pumped up to ski down a serious mountain! I don't know why, I wasn't scared at all. This surprised me since just back in January when I did my first blue run I almost wet myself in fear. I've come a long way, baby! Anyway, I was full of adrenaline and ready to go!

I knew I wasn't a good enough skier to really do this steep of a mountain with any sort of style. So, I started by side-slipping down. This worked for a little while, but as you can't go straight down like this I eventually hit a point where I had to turn. Turning on a steep slope scared me, but I did it! Then, it was time to turn again and I had picked up some speed and wanted to slow down so I turned more uphill than normal which is how I slow myself down. Unfortunately, you can't really do this on a black run because the hill is so steep. I did slow down, but I turned too much and started skiing down backwards! So, to stop myself, I just fell down. It was a controlled fall, and was actually pretty funny. I laughed so hard and made Chris take a picture of my not-so-graceful landing:

I proceeded to do this move a few more times before getting the hang of the steepness. I was just feeling confident when Chris's dad lost control and plowed into me! It could have been a bad crash, but somehow luckily even after being knocked down by a big man and sent sliding 100 meters downhill, we were both fine and I was laughing again! A ski patrolman saw our crash, though and decided it would be a good idea to follow us the rest of the way down. Having him there boosted my confidence again and I was able to ski the rest of the way down without incident! Talk about a feeling of accomplishment! Even if I did fall a few times, I made it down a tough black run. I won't be doing a black run again, but at least I can say I did it once! Here is a picture at the bottom of the run with my guides: Mason, Brannon, and Chris. I'm feeling like a Bond girl now!

Jason met us by dinner Friday night and was able to ski on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday morning, Lainey had a one hour private lesson with Addie. She is becoming a great skier! Addie told us she's a natural and has the potenial to be a phenomenal skier someday! She took Lainey down a few blue runs and even part of a red! Lainey's only real problem is that she tires easily and doesn't want to do any of the hard parts of skiing. Addie nicknamed her "Madame" because Lainey wanted her to carry her skis on the lift and pull her along the flat parts. I'd have to say, this is an accurate nickname for our little princess! After her lesson, Jason and Aidan had a one-hour lesson with Addie. Aidan is also becoming a great skier, but he needs to focus on control. He wants to just barrel down a mountain instead of going slowly, making turns, and being in control. Addie took the guys on red runs, and they both did well! Aidan even moved up to "Blue King" level of ski ability! While the guys were in their lesson, I took Lainey on a blue run. She was acting like "Madame" and it took forever to get down because there were lots of flat parts. I think she'd do much better on something steeper! By the time we finished she was exhausted and just wanted to go back to the child center. Here she is on her first blue run!

After lunch, she went to the child center and Aidan, Jason and I set off for more skiing. The weather turned bad, but we still went on. Here is a picture of Jason and Aidan, both on their first chair lift! It was really foggy and snowing like crazy as you can see!

We had a lot of fun skiing with Aidan. I'm glad that we are all going to be able to enjoy a sport together. I think in a few years though, Jason and I are going to be left behind by our kids! He and I will have to do lots of practicing to keep up with them! Here is Aidan getting ready to go down a red:

Later in the afternoon, the weather improved and we got some great views from the top of the lifts:

Aren't the mountains gorgeous?? (And don't we look like professionals?)

On Sunday, Missy and the rest of the gang went to another part of the area and to Jungfraujoch. We had already been there with my mom and aunt, so we opted to stay in Murren another day. Lainey had had enough of skiing and chose to go to the child center all day. Aidan skied with Jason and I all day. As it was Jason's birthday and the skies were clear, I took him and Aidan up to the rotating restaurant at Schilthorn for lunch. We had amazing views of the tops of some of the tallest mountains in Switzerland!

I missed this photo op when I actually skied the Schilthorn, so I made sure to get one when I went up with Jason. This photo could be titled "oxymoron" but good skier or not- I did it!

I love this photo of the mountains with the Swiss flag flying.

Here we are for another photo op on the terrase of the 007 restaurant!

Back in town later that day, we did some wandering around and sledding. Here I am enjoying some icy cold fresh from the spring Alpine mineral water.

Jason dragged the kids around on a sled for a while, then we found a few small hills to slide down!

Last but not least, back at the hotel the kids found the play room! They recreated the Jungfrau region of mountains and trains using wooden train tracks and big Legos for mountains. Very creative and quite accurate!

I could post more pics of the weekend, but I've already put all of them on Facebook and Snapfish so take a look at those for more!

Here we are leaving Murren on the train. Photo taken by Madame Delainey.

Gorgeous view of snowy mountains as we traveled back down to Lauterbrunnen.

Already??

Lainey is already planning her wedding. Yep. She's only 4 but she knows who she wants to marry and how many kids she wants.

Sorry, Becky, but apparently Jacob has been out of sight/out of mind too long. She told me yesterday in the car, and I quote: "I was thinking about marrying Jacob, but now I've decided to marry Rufus. My little boy will ski with his daddy, who will be Rufus, and I will take my little girl to the child care center and maybe ski with them." I wonder what "Rufie" (as she calls him) has to say about that.

I suppose she could do worse. Rufus' family has multiple houses in St. Moritz. I may have a social climber on my hands!

Approved!

Just found out my second request for a third year of leave from work was granted! That's a relief. I don't have to officially be a kept woman yet!

I had made my peace with having to resign and was really okay with it, but it's nice to still have my fall-back cushion for another year. Maybe we'll be ready to come back in summer 2011 like we had originally planned. Then everything will work out fine! Or, if we end up staying longer and I DO have to resign, at least I know I'll be fine with that decision.