Diary: 12/30/2001

Dear friends and family:

This marks our finally note home for 2001. The week has been filled with

Monday and Tuesday were difficult to fill. If Switzerland "shuts down" on Sundays, then they roll up the sidewalks and move to another country for Christmas day. On Monday we stocked up on food and then walked around the old area of Vevey.

On Tuesday Leon, Michael and Heather abandoned everyone else for the cinema event of the year: The Lord of the Rings. Heather still insists that Harry Potter was a better movie. Leon, on the other hand, believes it was the best movie he has ever seen. Michael thought "it was a pretty good movie". Leon agreed to drive him back home anyway.

On Wednesday we visited the Castle of Chillon, right out of a fairy-tale. It was built onto Lake Geneva around 1000 ACE, and was restored around 1937. It is now a museum, party hall, historic site, and even apartment building (for the keepers). It is also in desperate need of central heating. It was bitter cold the day we visited, and the hot soup and fondue we had for lunch once we left was all the more welcome.

On Thursday we drove about an hour north to the village of Gruyere. Yes, that's where they make the cheese. Again we were struck by the relative normalcy of places like this. In America, many places like this would be sterilized into a historical village that is devoid of any modern life; or "disney-fied" into a character of the place it actually was. In this case, Gruyere is indeed a tourist location and sports a larger-than-usual number of restaurants. But each building has a set of apartments where real people actually live; a post office that is the same as any other village around here; and all the other amenities needed to support daily life. It just so happens that "life" in this case exists in a fortified castle structure with a 360 degree view of the Alps.

It had been snowing regularly all week, so on Friday Michael got to experience the Swiss Alps first hand. Luca, a co-worker of Leon's went up for a day of snowboarding and graciously offered to take Michael along. Without going into deep details, Michael quickly noted that there a few differences of scale between the ski slopes in Cleveland and those in Switzerland. We'll leave it to your imagination to fill in the blanks. However, Michael safely returned home with all his bones in the same shape as when he left.

Saturday dawned wet and stayed that way all day. We had planned to drive to Geneva and look around, but after 10 minutes there we realized it was much too wet for anything of the kind. We drove around the city for a little bit, and then crossed the border into France to go to a shopping area that Debbie knew about. Yes, we have done our fair share of Mall-hopping. You can take the American out of the US, but....

Sunday was bright and sunny, just the kind of day we needed to take another trip to France. This time, we went to a beautiful little village named Annecy. It's about 2 hours from the house, but was worth the drive. We timed our visit to coincide with the weekly market, and walked around the old buildings looking for bargains. It reminded us all of the town in Belgium named "Bruge" - canals and bridges separate different parts of the old part of the town, and the architecture in some cases is hundreds of years old.

In actuality, the whole week has seen a fair share of shopping - either for new foods we bring to the table in the evening or for interesting things to bring home. We are sure that Alison and Michael will leave with heavier bags than when they came!

This week we know that Monday and Tuesday will again be relatively quiet. On Wednesday we've planned a day trip to Milan (3 hours by train). Beyond that, we're just keeping our options open.

We hope that everyone reading this has a happy, healthy, and safe new year.

Love
Debbie, Leon, Heather, Isabelle, and Joram
(and Alison and Michael)

Diary: 12/23/2001

Dear Friends and Family:

It has been quite a week. We don't need to have any more "excitement" for some time.

The end of the story is that Joram is fine. (Don't you love stories that have to start at the end?).
Beginning of the story is that he was standing on a chair, the chair fell and his leg was caught between it and the floor. He couldn't stand up and was crying uncontrollably. Leon rushed ohm, we took him to the hospital (good thing we knew where it was!), and the doctors looked at him quickly.

In the end, he was back up and around (and climbing the kitchen chairs again) 2 days later. There was never any bruising, swelling, or visual indication of anything wrong. The doctors (who aren't as threatened by the thought of lawsuits as in the US) didn't take an x-ray. With experience now behind us we know it was the right choice. But it was very hard to feel good about the situation at the time. What if everyone was wrong? What if he needed a cast? What if what if what if what if.

As mentioned before, Nancy left Monday morning, and we had 2 days to straighten up before Alison and Michael arrived. Of course, Joram's impression of Evel Kinevel put a serious dent in our ability to focus on housework!

On Wednesday, Alison and Michael arrived without a hitch. The day was pretty quiet, as they were jet-lagged, so we didn't do much more than help them unpack and eat some dinner.

Leon was still working the rest of the week, but the girls were off for the winter break. So Thursday everyone (sans Leon) went down to a Christmas market in Montreaux to snoop around and see what kinds of neat things they could find. Nothing much was there, but they had a great time walking around.

On Friday they spent the day doing house-type stuff - shopping for the weekend, getting settled, etc. Leon finished the last of his work responsibilities early and came home. That night, Leon's boss Francisco came over with his wife and daughter and everyone had a very filling evening.

Saturday dawned white - it was snowing for only the second time this year. We decided to go down to one of the weekly markets - located in the heart of Lausanne in an area known as Place St. Francois. This market covers several sloping cobbled streets, and takes you past some wonderful architecture. Everyone managed to find something that was useful, interesting, or both.

After that, we went driving on the "Adato Historical Tour" - a drive-by of some of the places we have stayed or which was important in some way.

By the time we finished, everyone was pretty wiped out and it was time to get home and get ready for dinner. The rest of the day we spent by the fire, roasting marshmellows (Debbie managed to fling one across the room. "It was on fire" is her reasoning. We're sure the fire marshals will be impressed with that excuse) eating good food, and just catching up.

On Sunday, we were ready to do something more substantial. It was a fairly clear day, so we took a funicular from Montreaux up to Roches de Nayes - about an hour trip. The views were breathtaking as we ascended over the lake, right up until we got to the top. Then a cloud enveloped us, so that we had zero visibility. How the skiers managed to avoid falling off the edge of the mountain is a mystery to us all.

We had a quick snack and came back down, snapping pictures once we were out of the clouds again. Then we had a liesurly drive home and got ready for dinner (an appropriately Swiss meal of cheeses, bread, and fondue) and spent another night gabbing by the fire..

For the coming week, we are really playing each day as it comes. We know we want to get to Gruyere, Milan, Geneva, and a French village named Anisee. We also have some nearby things we want to check out. Michael also has definite plans to go snowboarding with Luca, one of Leon's workmates. (Debbie and Alison insist on adding "cute, Italian, drummer in a rock band" for those who need a better visual image). But we'll have to see how everything falls together by the end of the week.

We hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season, and that it is a chance to relax, recharge, and prepare for the coming year.
Love
Debbie, Leon, Heather, Isabelle, and Joram (and Alison and Michael).

Diary: 12/16/2001

Dear friends and family

!!IMPORTANT NEWS!!
Before we return to your regularly scheduled diary entry, we wanted you to know that Debbie and Joram are coming to Cleveland from January 23 through January 30 (yes, that's 2002). There is an ophthalmic seminar being given, and Debbie decided it was a good opportunity to combine continuing education with pleasure. The seminar is on Sunday, January 27. All other days are open. Please mark your calendars now and start making plans. As always, email should be sent to Leon (leon.adato@nestle.com) for prompt service.

OK. Back to real life....
Appologies are due as I cut short my description of last week, leaving out some of Sunday's events. That was a grave error, as I missed some excellent moments.

In the late afternoon, we traveled to the house of some friends, about half an hour away. They are from Solon, too, and with their greater experience, they have been helping us out with our adjustments to Swiss life. There we were treated to two very Swiss dishes - fondue and "raclette". Fondue should be familiar to everyone, except that there are special mixes here that are used, and the taste is very different from the "beer and cheddar" that we are used to having in the US.

Raclette is hard to describe. It is made on a small grill, where you melt squares of cheese and then pour it over small boiled potatoes. You also grill different meats (sausage, chicken, etc) and vegetables to eat along with cheese-potatoe mix.

In all, it was a very filling evening, and between the food, the wine, and the company we had a hard time forcing ourselves to leave.

On Monday we made another round of acquisitions, courtesy of an expat family leaving for the US. Beneffiting from their departure, we picked up a freezer, raclette grill (yes, we are hooked), gas grill (for when warmer weather returns), and a few swiss-to-us power converters.

On Tuesday night Heather and Isabelle had their winter program at school. The performance was wonderful, and you could tell all the kids had worked extremely hard to put the show together. Of course, none of the teachers or parents did anything at all. (grin). But evening was a lot of fun, both for the folks on stage and the family in the audience.

Thursday came and Debbie and Nancy made a foray into the wilds of France again. There are limits on the amount of stuff you can bring back across the border (1 lb of fresh meat per person, 2 bottles of wine per adult, 2 liters of milk per person, etc) so it was important to use Nancy to our full advantage while she was here! This also gave us the chance to bring back stuff to fill up that new freezer!

We had our first snow on Thursday night - driving was an interesting adventure. It wasn't enough to make a Clevelander worry, but we didn't know how the city services would hold up. It turns out that there was a small delay in the salt trucks, but by morning everything was clear. It's just bitter cold right now (-13 celsius, or +9 farenheit).

Saturday we met up with some friends and went up a funicular - a kind of train that can handle 45+ degree angles. It was a foggy day, so the view was less than spectacular, but the company was great and the kids had an exciting time.

On Sunday evening we went down to the synagogue in Lausanne. Leon had met up with another gentleman at Nestle, and there is apparently a deep and thriving Jewish community in Lausanne that we weren't able to find up until now. We were introduced to families that more closely match our level of observance, and we also found out about programs like after-school Hebrew lessons, weekend programs, etc.

This week we also discovered another quaint little Swiss custom - speeding tickets by mail. Remember, the key here is efficiency. It is inefficient to have police tied up watching cars all day. Much better to have cameras placed everywhere - at each stoplight, on highway lamp posts, etc. All set with motion detection equipment and other technical paraphenalia. When you are going too fast, or moving through a red light - click! We received a ticket for 40 swiss francs (roughly $25.00). Our crime? Going 57 kilometers in a 50km zone. That's about 4 miles per hour over the limit. Needless to say, we are watching our speed VERY closely now.

We wanted to let everyone know that Debbie hasn't had a chance to check her personal email since we moved into the house - we are getting to bed around 11:00pm and getting up at 5:45am, with lots to do in-between. We are still waiting for the full internet connection, and then she will be able to fill her quieter moments checking stuff out online. For the moment, Leon is printing out emails and she is avidly reading them, she's just not finding a chance to reply like she had a month ago. Be patient and things will calm down, we are sure.

Some people have asked for more details on how the kids are doing, so here goes:

Heather has been improving her math skills by leaps and bounds. We have to work very hard on our math facts to keep those skills sharp. But when she is able to focus and think clearly, the new skills like division, fractions, and decimal math are all coming quickly. It's those moments when she can't focus or doesn't take the time to think clearly that still trip her up. With so much to do, Heather's French is coming slowly. There is also the fact that, in her grade, French class is divided between "beginners" (kids like Heather who have just arrived) and "advanced" (kids with one French-speaking parent, or those who have been here a while). So she is less exposed to her peers speaking French than we had hoped. Socially, Heather is in the thick of things as she always has been. Her circle of friends is as big as her class, and she runs out of days in the week before she runs out of people who want to come over or have her over their house.

Isabelle is has hit a growth spurt, and is now suffering a bit from the fact that you can't find "Winnie the Pooh" cloths in her size. Her solution is to keep wearing the old stuff, even if there are holes in the elbows and knees and seat and the legs stop 3 inches above her ankle. Debbie's solution was to buy some fabric and sew Pooh onto some new pants, which were presented to her this week for Chanukah. School for her has been a constant adventure. She is reading with a vigor that only comes from watching her big sister and wanting to be just like her. No concept seems to baffle her for very long. Being younger, French is coming easily and she is acquiring a nice accent as well as the words. Her grade is also taught together, regardless of level, so she has more role models to work from. Like Heather, she is also having a great time socially. There are birthday parties almost every week, and the tendency is for all the kids from the class to be invited. So she has a very
active social calendar.

Joram is no longer a baby, and is every inch a toddler on the move. Being in Switzerland, he understands that mountainclimbing is a way of life and so he attempts to scale any handy obstacle - the steps to the basement, the kitchen table, the highchair, the bookshelves, etc. He is a very animated speaker, using his hands and gesturing wildly. It's a pity nobody has a clue what he is saying. He is using sign language consistantly for the important things - more, finish, drink - but everything else is a guessing game. He has a great time shaking his head "no" when we guess wrong, and nodding vigorously when we finally figure out what it is he's trying to ask for. Knowing what happens when children begin to talk, we are happy to keep him doing his Harpo act for a little longer.

For the coming week, we will have some tear-filled farewells on Monday when Nancy returns to the US (she probably needs a vacation from this vacation after all the running around we did!). Then we have to clean up the house and get ready for our friends Alison and Michael, who arrive on Wednesday. The girls have only half a day of school that day also, so the rest of the week is going to be filled with sights, activities, and everything we can do to avoid the work in the house.

Love
Debbie, Leon, Heather, Isabelle, and Joram

Diary: 12/9/2001

Dear friends and family

Generally, this was a better week than we have seen in a while. Things are not what we would call 100% normal yet, but on the way up.

First, this past Monday shall henceforth be remembered as "Debbie is not crazy day". The owner of the house, plus a representative from the management company, plus about 300 contractors all descended on the house at 8:30am to go over the things we've found to be broken, inadequate, or just plain weird. Many of the things we thought were just quirky Swiss issues, but it turns out that they are more than that. Included in the list of items soon to be fixed are:

• the range top that takes over an hour to boil a pot of water
• the dryer that needs to run 2 or 3 times to dry the cloths
• replacing the (butt-ugly) wallpaper in 3 rooms
• fixing up a banister wobbly banister

Also on Monday, we "arrived" in the village. In parts of Europe, it is necessary to announce your arrival when you move from place to place. You go to the community center and answer a slew of incredibly personal questions, which are copied down by a vaguely disinterested clerk and then sent to Zurich for storage. At least, that's our perception of the process. Why do they need to know Debbie's Mother's maiden name? Beats the heck out of me, but we won't get proper garbage service until we tell them.

Last year, about 30 people from the Neslte-Switzerland research and development center were transferred to Solon. We can only imagine the confusion they encountered when they dutifully showed up at the community center, telling the receptionist "I'm here! I am a protestant. My father's name was Jean-Claud. " etc.

Some of you have asked how French lessons are coming along. The reality is that we haven't had a chance to start them up again since we've arrived here - just too much stress and work until now. However, we are going to begin lessons after the New Year and we hope our survival skills will improve along with that effort.

In the meanwhile, Leon's co-workers have been teaching him important French phrases. They include:
* Tu est vache avec moi ("you is cow with me", meaning you are giving me a hard time)
* C'est y pas beau ca ("It is not there beautiful that", meaning "way cool")
* @+ (used in email, an abbreviation for "a plus", which is in itself an abbreviation for "a plus tard". Meaning "later" or "see you later")

This being a high-stress work environment, they are teaching Leon other words and phrases as well, but they are not reprintable here.

But the high point of the week had to be Nancy's arrival. The anticipation nearly killed the girls, but somehow they made it to Thursday. She arrived around noon, and her bags (Santa would be proud of the amount she had packed into such a small space) were slightly delayed but made it eventually as well. After locking herself in the guest room to sort through the things she brought far from small prying eyes, she emerged with several valuable items: peanut butter, boxed brownie mix, and marshmallow fluff among them.

On Friday, Debbie and Nancy, along with a few school Mom's went over to the Montreaux Christmass Market, and spent way too much money but had a good time.

Saturday, Leon and Heather went out hunting for ski equipment. Here again they learned important French phrases: "moins chere" (less expensive) and "plus chere" (more expensive). 500 francs later they understood the difference. But Heather is now completely outfitted to be a ski-bunny in training.

Sunday morning dawned clear and bright and... oily. The grease was flying as several batches of latkes were made, and then as a round of french toast was made up for the now starving crowd. After wolfing down a fair share of both, everyone sat around expectantly waiting for the festivities to begin. To make a long story short, Chanukah arrived loudly and with great gusto. when the smoke (and the wrapping paper) cleared, many wishes had been fulfilled. We can't imagine what the rest of the week will hold in store. Probably just socks and pencils.

Speaking of the coming week, there is a variety of things in store for us. We found an American family returning home, so we are going on Monday night to pillage their house for useful stuff (freezer, grill, etc). On Tuesday night the school is putting on their winter program. And so on. But that's the subject of another email...

Diary: 12/2/2001

Dear friends and family:

This note marks our 3rd month here, and so it is a good time to take stock of where we are, how far we have come, and even how far we have yet to go.

While we would like to report that we are thriving, that everything is wonderful, that would be a lie. It would also be a lie to say that we are miserable, and that we spend each and every moment weeping in despair.

The reality is somewhere in-between those two extremes. It has been a hard time, to be sure. Every task, no matter how small or mundane, requires enormous amounts of energy, thought, and time. Some of this is normal for any move. Some is normal for any move when you are going to a completely new location (without language or culture differences). And some of this is absolutely related to language and culture changes. The 3 together are what has made this move so much more complex than anything we've ever attempted before.

When the dryer breaks, how do you call the repairman when you cannot find a yellow pages; when the yellow pages is sorted by village rather than by profession; when the person answering the phone speaks a different language? At home, just calling the repairman and scheduling the time to come out was a chore. But these new elements make the task a world unto itself.

The answer often lies in friends and coworkers. We were never people who were able to easily ask for help. It was against our nature and (for the most part) rarely a need. But we are learning! What is the name of a good repair person? Will you call them for me? etc.

So where are we in the new house? Well, we have the bedrooms unpacked and organized, including building 6 new wardrobes since houses here don't come with closets. The bathrooms are all set up and the extra toiletries are in a cupboard in the basement. Ditto all the food and dishes in the kitchen. We've hung ceiling lights in all the rooms so we can remove the floor lamps (houses in Switzerland do not need to come with any lighting fixtures - not even a bare bulb on a wire!). The satellite dish is FINALLY set up!!! Deepest and most heartfelt thanks needs to be given to Paul Saunders, Rory Nazareth, and Chris Ayres, without whom we would be lost upon the uncharted seas of satellite minutia. With the satellite in place, we finally can get some English channels, catch up on the news, and even let the kids watch Disney, Discover, and "that cooking show" again.

What is left to do?
We have been extremely blessed with Tupperware, and it our organization of it needs to be... refined a little. We have room in the kitchen and room in the basement, but we need to optimize each. The guest room needs to be organized. The office area and all the computer equipment needs to be arranged so that the grownups have a workable space. We need to do the same for the girls' desks. Once the DSL line is in place, we need to get the home network running. After that, we are down to the normal "hanging pictures and re-arranging furniture" tasks that haunt every new move for months after it is technically finished.

Of course, the big excitement for the coming week is that Debbie's Mom arrives on Thursday. We are already making our plans for each day, visiting markets, seeing sites, and generally showing off the country. We're also getting ready for Chanukah - putting up decorations, making sure we can find all the important items, etc.

As always, we hope that this letter finds everyone in good health and better spirits. Take care and write soon.
Love
Debbie, Leon, Heather, Isabelle, and Joram

Diary: 11/25/2001

We realize that some of you are living in Switzerland vicariously through these emails. In the spirit of sharing more of that experience, I would welcome you to reproduce the move-in process we've been going through. It is extremely educational and even amusing (for those watching). Follow these easy steps:

******
First, obtain one live cranky gorilla.

Now put the gorilla in your house along with several hundred boxes and ask the gorilla to pack all your stuff into the boxes. You might have to entice the gorilla with food, alcohol, etc. (Do not be fooled into thinking that regular moving companies do not work the same way!).

After 2 days, take all the boxes out of your house. Take all the stuff the gorilla forgot to pack and throw it away.

Close off enough rooms in your house so that you now have half the space you did before.

Remove all closets in the remaining rooms.

Remove all cupboards except those in the kitchen.

In the kitchen, remove 1/3 of the cubpboards, block off half your oven, and only use the top 3 shelves in your refrigerator.

Play "slappy face" with the gorilla for 3 minutes. This will simulate the process of forgetting what stuff you packed and what stuff you left in storage.

Send the gorilla back to wherever you found it.

Bring all the boxes back into your "new" house and unpack them.
******

All joking aside, this was one of the hardest weeks yet for us. Unpacking often meant reminiscing as well, and it was hard not to feel regret for the things we had given up to be here. On top of that was the logistical issue of where to squeeze everything. Things that could not be placed had to be repacked and stored away, which was also a difficult process. And then there was the problem of the items that either came unwanted, did not come, or some parts came and others did not.

On top of that, the dryer is still not working reliably (although repaires are being made and we hope to have it back in order by Tuesday).

And finally we were working as we always do to make a "normal", consistant, stable environment for the kids. This takes time as much as any other task, and that meant time lost from the necessary process of settling the house.

Through it all, the people here - Leon's coworkers and the familes we met at school - have been overwhelmingly supportive. Coming to help move the larger items, helping to set up equipment, and picking up the girls so they had some play time in the midst of all this chaos.

We also spent a lot of time this week cooking - there were thanksgiving celebrations on both Thursday and Saturday, and dishes had to be prepared for each. It took time away from unpacking, but it was also nice to spend that time with other expats and talk, relax, etc.

On Saturday, Leon went out and purchased a satelite TV system. It seems that this is going to be the only way for us to receive English-language TV. Cable is in the area, but it hasn't been run to our house and would cost over 3,000 francs to get it there. It is actually easier and simpler to use a satelite. Go figure.

By the end of the week, we had almost everything out of boxes (and some things back into boxes!), and several rooms were pretty much finished. This week we will spend time getting the last items in place, and hopefully even doing the "little" things like hanging pictures. It's taken a lot of work, but we're getting there!

Love,
Debbie, Leon, Heather, Isabelle, and Joram

Diary: 11/18/2001

Dear friends and family:

Although exhaustion competes with my natural desire to keep talking, Debbie has asked that I try to make the extra effort and get this email out, as we haven't had a chance to communicate with anyone for a few days. So here is the whole sordid affair, starting on Sunday night as we packed for the move:

From the "honey, where'd I put my brain" files: While we moved in on Nov 12, we didn't officially take ownership until Dec 1. This meant that we had to pay the previuos tenents for the balance of November - a sum of about 1800 swiss francs. Added to that was the cost of some of the things we bought from the owners, like the lawnmower, swingset, etc. All together, it came to 2390 swiss francs, or $1466. We had the money ready to go, in an envelope marked with the family's name. We had to give cash because checks are virtually unheard of here.

Debbie gave the envelope to Leon for safekeeping. This, of course, was a mistake.

Picture the scene at 9:30pm Sunday night, Leon and Debbie frantically searching through every concievable location for this envelope full of cash. We unpacked nearly every box Leon had so neatly packed over the last 2 days. We went through the garbage (did we mention there are no dispose-alls here?), we looked under beds and inside drawers.

Sparing you the ugly details, it turns out that the envelope was in the box packed specifically with the things we would need the instant we walked into the house: towels, food for Joram, cleaning supplies, a wad of cash, etc. Right where Leon knew we'd need it. And had no recollection of ever putting it there. It just goes to show you that if Leon says "I am going to put this someplace clever" you should be very very very very worried.

On Monday, we arrived for the "etat de lieu". This is basically the Spanish Inquisition with a white glove test thrown in for spice. And it's less fun for everyone, including the Inquisitor, who probably isn't paid nearly enough to check under someone else's toilet to make sure it has been cleaned to the "Swiss Standard". Every doorknob, every faucet, every switch and plug and receptacle is tested, checked for cleanliness, and any problems, real or imagined, are charged back to the owner (or previous tenant). It is a 2 hour recrimination of everything you have ever done, eaten, or said in the house since the day you moved in. As you might imagine, the Swiss love this sort of thing.

Having survived that, we began to move in and find all the things that the Inquisition missed. Like the washing machine that didn't work (they never actually ran a load, just made sure it was present. They also didn't do a carbon argon date test, because the machine was built somewhere around the pliestoscene era.). In any case, our stuff from the temporary apartment was brought up on Monday, and we had it basically arranged by that night.

Tuesday morning, the truck arrived with our things from the US. The blessed "boat shipment", the boxes we had all been waiting for. We unloaded it and began to organize. Only to have another, bigger truck come. We had lots of stuff. Lots and lots and lots and lots of stuff. We began to worry whether the house foundation would hold up.

The deluge ended around 2:00, and we started the first feable attempts at organizing. That's when we realized that the packing company from the U.S. had not done the stellar job we were hoping for. Not much was broken, but we have several items that we really never intended to bring. Like our good glass dinnerware (service for 24), lazy-boy reclining chair, toaster oven, electric grill, and the 3/4 empty jar of peanut butter.

However, we were finally able to sleep the night in our beds, something we hadn't done in over 4 months.

Of course, "sleep" was a euphamism for "lay in our bed listening to the new house sounds, jumping at everything". And there was lots to jump at. A strong windstorm had arrived to welcome us into the house, and we discovered every loose shutter, every drafty window, etc as the winds whipped around us and moved everything that wasn't tied down.

On Wednesday, we spent most of the time just shoving boxes around into the right place to start unpacking. Leon made a run to the hardware store to pick up several items that we either forgot or which didn't make it (it's probably in long-term storage instead of that peanut butter jar. It all works out in the cosmic balance). A friend of ours came over and she and Debbie made a very productive start of organizing the food we had shipped over. Yes food. We were aware that Switzerland had grocery stores (at least one or two), but we also knew there were things we wanted. And finally, what else were we going to do with all the stuff from the old house, put it in storage? Remember, we packed the house in just one week, so there wasn't time to have the Last Big Pot Luck Supper and please-take-our-stuff Raffle we had hoped for.

Thursday morning we really had no time to think about the house. After dropping the girls at school, we had to lock up, clean up, and pack up for our trip to London! We picked up the girls around noon and headed out for the airport. The flight was basically uneventful (although you should never fly an airline named "easyjet" if you are looking for luxury travel!)

Even with an hour difference, we still arrived relatively late in the day. We made it from the airport to the train station near where we were staying, and then the short walk to the actual bed and breakfast. This was a shabby, but servicable place that had a room big enough for all of us to fit comfortably as long as everybody didn't try to walk around at the same time.

There are a couple of things that must be stated about London, which made this trip worthwhile regardless of anything else we experienced: Starbuck's cafe mocha. Bangers and mash. Spotted dick. Fried eggs. Starbuck's cafe mocha. Everyone speaking English. A proper, well-organized subway system. Starbuck's cafe mocha.

The "everyone speaking English" cannot be over-emphasized. Leon was walking down the street asking questions of strangers just because he could (not as bad as "do you have prince albert in a can", but along the lines of "that street over there, is that St. George's Drive?", "how far to Big Ben", etc).

On Friday morning, we set out for Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. The crowds were amazing (in some cases more amazing to watch than the actual guard). Then there was the part where the Royal Band started playing a medley of show tunes (I've got rhythm, someone to watch over me, etc). Not what we had imagined, but fun none the less.

As impressive as it all was, the kids (and some of the adults) were more impressed seeing the Harry Potter advertisement on the entire side of a double-decker bus. It sort of put our reason for being there into perspective.

Speaking of the Harry Potter movie, it was a great experience. In the end, it wasn't so different from the experience everyone had in the U.S. - we went to a cineplex in a mall and watched it with a million screaming schoolkids around us. There were a few minor differences, perhaps. Whenever Snape came on screen, all the kids hissed at him. And there were comments of "I'm going to try that tomorrow" when Harry walked through the wall at King's Cross Station. But otherwise, the movie ran the same everywhere.

As to our opinions of the movie, they are all relatively positive. Leon thought it was a good solid attempt to bring a book to life. Heather and Isabelle thought it was the best movie ever. Joram thought that standing on a squishy chair, being hand-fed popcorn by Mommy, and running up and down a long ramp for 2 hours straight while watching big pictures is a great idea and he's willing to try it again any time. Debbie is just waiting for the movie to come to video so she can actually watch it.

We woke up the next day and went to the Portobello Market, which is a weekly antique fair on (you guessed it) Portobello street, and then took a quick run to Picadilly Circus just to say we were there. Then it was time to get back to the airport.

The home trip was fine, and we were back in our own beds again!

Sunday was very hard for us all. Heather had to wade through a pile of homework, which was never fun. Isabelle had to deal with having nobody really to play with. And Leon and Debbie were coping both with the reality of unpacking a house (again), trying to make a home, and another wave of culture shock. We also discovered that the cloths dryer didn't work (we had replaced the washing machine but we still couldn't get our laundry done - very frustrating!) and we have much much more to deal with this coming week, we are sure. By the end of the day, we had unpacked many boxes, arranged the family room area, and started to get a grip on the items we still need (cabinets for the bathrooms, more light bulbs, etc).

This week we expect to be equally busy, as we are going to be continuing to unpack, build furniture, arranged, unbox, rebox, move, and settle. Oh, and then there is Thanksgiving!

Actually, turkey-day will be a welcome break. Another American family is having us over on Thursday, and then all of the expatriates are invited to a Nestle-organized event on Saturday.

But that's a story for the next letter.

Please take care of yourselves, and have a happy and healthy week.

Love
Debbie, Leon, Heather, Isabelle, and Joram

Diary: 11/11/2001

Dear friends and family:

While it was a relatively slow week, we cannot express the excitement that we are feeling at this moment. The cars have been packed for a day and a half now, most of our cloths are in suitcases, and we are literally counting down the hours until the movers arrive. Tomorrow we start moving into the new house!

While we won't be able to sleep there Monday night (the boat shipment with all our furniture arrives Tuesday) we will still be in process, and that is much better than just marking time like we have been for 2 months. Wish us luck.

It also means that we might not be as responsive via email as we are normally. Leon is taking the entire week off, so instant email replies will not be happening.

Of course, we've pre-ordered the cablemodem connection, so once everything is in place we will have MORE connectivity and Leon can start updating the web site with pictures, stories, and maybe even some movie clips.

On top of all that excitement, next Friday marks the official opening of the Harry Potter movie. We will be flying to London on Thursday afternoon, we'll catch the changing of the guard (one of Debbie's lifelong dreams to see), and then watch the movie. Saturday we'll find something to do (grin) and fly home in the evening and.... unpack some more, we're sure.

Either it will be a welcome break in the unpacking process and we will return refreshed and invigorated, or else it will send us over the edge and we'll be formally institutionalized by Monday the week after. We'll let you know either way.

For those who missed it, here is our new contact information:

Adato Family
Chemin de l'Orme 14
1054 Morrens
Switzerland

Our new home phone number is 41-21-731-2328

For those who are interested, "Morrens" is pronounced "Mo-ron". Yes, we live in the village of Morons. Somehow it seems all too appropriate to be funny.

The weather here has turned colder, hovering around the freezing point. We had a quick snowfall on Friday, but it passed just as quickly and there is really nothing left to show for it.

The kids are being their usual wonderful selves. They are also very excited to be in a place that has room to play, run around, and get away from Mom and Dad!

Joram has started a growth and development spurt. He is walking much more, much further, and with greater stability than even last week. His babbling has increased, and he shows a lot more signs of understanding what is said to him. Please note that "understanding" and "obeying" are two entirely different words and should not be mixed. Just because Joram understands "come over here" does not stop him from giggling and running away. (ok, perhaps that's an overly athletic description. "dodders and careens from wall to wall" is more accurate). Debbie feels that this is a direct indication of Leon's DNA and bears no resemblance to her genome.

In any case, things are just moving along. Expect a long letter next week as Leon gives a frame-by-frame recount of the HP movie, plus the move highlights, plus whatever other insanity happens to catch us along the way.

As always, we hope this letter finds everyone in good health and spirits.
Take care.
Love
Debbie, Leon, Heather, Isabelle, and Joram

Diary: 11/4/2001

Dear friends and family:

We knew that this week would not have a lot of major news in it, so we've taken a moment to being the official "Adato FAQ". "FAQ" stands for "Frequently Asked Questions". Here goes:

Q) Why can't you send or post some pictures?
A) Because we are living in a temporary apartment and the only link we have to the world is one measly laptop. We had figured on being into our permanent place (with all Leon's equipment) much sooner than this. The scanner, digital camera reader, and other technical froo-froo is all locked up in the boat shipment. Nobody is more sorry than we are. But rest assured that, as soon as we are in the house and unpacked, the pictures will start flowing!

Q) When can we email the kids
A) Once we are in the house and the network is set up, the girls will have a computer of their own to work with. At that point we'll set up some easy email access and we'll let everyone know the addresses.

Q) We want to hear from Debbie
A) you do she is right next to leon as we write every note but leon preferrs to do the writing because if he didnt then everything would look like this because debbie doesnt like to be bothered with silly things like punctuation or captial letters or stuff like that so when you get a letter from her it will always be one long sentence so to save everyone a little bit of eyesight leon edits everything and adds the boring stuff also that means that when you read the letter you dont have the urge to yell BREATH at the computer

Q) Swiss jokes
A) Yes, we have a Swiss Army Knife. And we eat Swiss cheese. We would drink Swissmiss cocoa for a joke, but honestly Debbie's doctored-up Nestle cocoa is much better. We have been given or at least considered all those things with "Swiss" in the name. Our deepst thanks to the Rob and family for outfitting us with most of that stuff (and a few things we never thought of, like Little Debbie Swiss Rolls) before we left. The one exception would be liederhosen. At no time will you see the male members of the Adato Tribe dressed up like Peter Pan after his tights were shrunk in the wash. It's just not happening.

Q) Do you get American TV shows
A) yes and no. We get lots of news - mostly CNN and MSNBC. Once we are in the house we could get a satelite dish and pick up regular US programming like ER and that new Star Trek show. But on regular cable, it's not going to happen. As for sports, we never watched much of it to begin with. I know that is blasphemy to the ears of some of you. Please try to find it in your heart to forgive. Aside from that, there are reruns of US shows, dubbed over in French or German. All in all this is not satisfying entertainment fare.

Q) Ok, so what's the big deal with Baking Soda
A) In Leon's very limited understanding, most of the baking Debbie creates (tollhouse cookies, etc) requires it as a key ingredient. Here, people don't use it as much because cakes and pastry is not a big deal. Things tend to be more flat (crepes, pies, etc). So you can only get baking soda (bicarbonate de soda, in French) in small packets that are meant for people with upset tummies, not perfectly good tummies they want to upset by eating the equivalent of an entire Sarah Lee pound cake.

Q) What do you miss most
A) Everything. Especially you. Please ease our emotional pain by coming to visit. Soon.
*******
There you have it, the very first installment of the "Adato FAQ".

In other news, Halloween was a great success. We can't say that we visited a ton of houses, but Isabelle had a birthday party which was extremely festive, and then the girls and several friends went to an apartment block and went door to door for about an hour. Between that and last Sunday's party, we were pretty satisfied with the holiday. The only real shortcoming was the total lack of pumpkins. Normally Leon buys 5 or 6 (or 10) of them and has a fun old time baking the seeds. This year we are seedless. Next year, however, is a chance to make up for lost time.

Aside from that, Thursday and Friday were exciting because Leon had the day off, but the girls were in school. This meant the time could be spent shopping for all those things we needed for the new house but didn't have. Like 7 wardrobes, a microwave, a vacuum cleaner, a toaster oven, and a television. While we were at it, we picked up a new hair dryer, a cordless phone, and an answering machine. Yes, we said 7 (s-e-v-e-n, appears between 6 and 8) wardrobes. It seems that in this country, houses don't come with closets, you have to bring your own.

We spent Saturday cleaning house (for the last time here!!!), and doing some shopping. In the process, we discovered another "quaint quirk" about living in Switzerland. Bank cards are used like debit cards here, with the money directly withdrawn from your account. This is a major means of payment around here, and you can use them to pay for parking, groceries, bus fare, and even use them in some pop machines. This week we discovered that there is a limit - 2,000 per month. Period. When you hit the limit, you are out of luck. You can't even use the card to withdraw money from the bank machine. Leon was out of luck at the grocery store. Of course, at the time we didn't know it, so it just seemed like we were out of money. Talk about panic! It's still not fun, since we have to carry around a boatload of cash for the rest of the month, but at last we aren't out of money.

Today we spent time with some friends, eating pancakes and watching the kids run around.

This coming week, Leon is in a training class during work, and Debbie has about 900 meetings to go to (PTA, Year 2 Moms, American Women's Club, etc). On top of that we are spending a lot of time just getting ready for the move next week.

Diary: 10/28/2001

Dear friends and family:

It was a relatively quiet week, compared to tromping around Disney, but we still had plenty of little things going on that are worth mentioning.

Just as a reminder, Leon's car is bright (banana) yellow. It should also be pointed out that official post-office vehicles are yellow as well, but (usually) sport a red plus and the word "post" on the side, font, back, etc. However, the absence of the red markings didn't stop someone this week from flagging Leon to the side of the road and trying to hand him his mail. "Vous etez la post?" (You are the postman) he asked. It took a great deal of strength for Leon to contain the laughter until he had driven a little further down the road. Of course, Debbie is keeping the joke going. Every time we turn the corner to our apartment, she comments "Oh look, the mail is here!".

While it may sound trivial, another exciting event this week was the opening of the largest shopping mart in Switzerland. This has been a much-anticipated event for some time. In fact, the traffic was so bad, that they closed a major road and used it for parking. Debbie was there early in the day and made some amazing finds, like a box of baking powder. OK, so perhaps our perspective on life has become a little twisted, that a box of baking powder would cause euphoria.

On Wednesday we picked up some furniture for the new house. Not without risk and danger was this endeavor, however. First of all, there is no "U-Haul" around here. We ended up renting a moving truck from "Joes truck on the street" company. We are not making this up. There's this guy (OK, his name is Boudin, not Joe) and he has a truck. You call him on his cell phone, reserve a time, and meet him on this street. You give him cash, he gives you keys, and you drive away with a truck. He trusts you to bring back the truck and you trust him not to ambush you with 3 of his friends.

Did we mention that this is a stick-shift truck? Neither did he. He also forgot the part about "no power steering". So through the (narrow) streets of Swiss villages, up and down hills Leon went.

A couple of friends had graciously offered to help out, so the actual move only took 3 hours. Then Debbie fed everyone a great meal, and we called it a night around midnight.

Also on Wednesday, Heather and Isabelle had their "Vesting" ceremony. This was very nice, and the girls seem very exciting to be part of a troup again.

On Friday, Heather took a field trip to Bern (about an hour away). This is the capital of Switzerland (nope, it's not Geneva *or* Zurich) and has some wonderful buildings, museums, and markets. There are also , according to Heather, bears. Real live living-in-a-bear-pit bears that are fed solely by school field trips, who are told to bring carrots and apples by the bushel. If you ask Heather about the field trip, you will most likely hear a chew-by-chew description of what the bears ate. Oh, and you'll also hear about the taxi-dermist, and all the "real-life dead stuffed animails" you can find in the museum.

Aside from those items, we are getting ready for Halloween. Today we had a carnival at school, and this week there are various events hosted by women's clubs and private groups.

Today we also discovered that Joram is cutting a couple of molars, which means that his (and our) days are filled with joy and happiness. As long as we keep him medicated.

Next week we are just trying to get ready for this next move. Thursday and Friday are small holidays, and Leon is off from work, so we plan to take advantage of the time and pick up those items we still need for the house (TV, wardrobes, microwave, vacuum, etc).

Please keep the email coming. It is great to stay up with everyone's doings. We are also waiting for people to start making reservations at Chez Adato. If you have plans to come out here, let us know so we can start getting excited.

Diary: 10/20/2001

Well, we are home, safe and sound, and ready to tell-all about our first European trip.

As we said in the last email, Disneyland Paris was wonderful. Everyone was very friendly, including the other guests, and there were lots of English-speaking staff (although this was not universal, which we thought was appropriate).

The Park was decked out for Halloween, and there were two parades every day - one for Halloween and the "regular" one with the Disney characters. The entire "Frontierland" part of the park (where the haunted mansion is found) was re-named "HalloweenTown" and completely redecorated and rethemed as an old-west ghost town.

On one of the days, we took 2 hours to get a detailed tour of the park, which gave us some insights we might have missed (the Sleeping Beauty castle in Paris is the only one painted pink; if you listen to the old fashioned phones on mainstreet you can hear people gossiping; etc.)

We had 7 full days to explore the park, and although the guide books say you can "do" the park in 2 or 3 days, this was much better. We had time to go through each of the areas, ride things 4 or 5 times if we wanted, spend time just hanging out and watching people, etc.

Oh, and Joram learned to walk.

There was a "Mulan Show" put on by a Chinese acrobatic troupe that was phenominal, and we ended up seeing it 5 times (it was also located in one of the less-expensive eating areas, which didn't hurt).

As mentioned in last week's note, "It's a small world" was closed. But we found out on our tour that this is due to the re-decorating for the Christmass holiday, not because of any special curse/blessing on Leon.

One of the new gimmicks the park has is trading pins. You can buy these little pins (disney characters, logos for each of the park areas, etc) and then go up to any employee and trade with them. Each employee gets a set of pins each morning, some with real collectors-item pins on them, and they go through their day trading with all the guests. It sounds hokey, but it was really great. From our perspective, it served 2 purposes:
1) It put the kids in contact with ALL the park employees (and vice-versa). The folks sweeping trash were just as important as the people working the desk at "City Hall" or doing guided tours.

2) During those odd moments when you had nothing to do (or nothing to do yet because you were waiting for a show to open up) the kids were still very occupied trying to find employees to trade with.

We stayed at the Cheyanne, which is the second-cheapest hotel in the park. It served our purpose, and the rooms automatically came with bunkbeds and a queen bed (and a crib on request), so we didn't need an extra room. However the staff was the least enthusiastic of anyone we had met, and the crowds of people staying there frequently acted like manners were unimportant if you weren't in the park. We are still debating whether we would go back there again or spend more on a higher-end room.

One thing we will do again is visit the actual Disney Hotel for dinner! We splurged on Thursday night and checked out their buffet. It was $40 an adult, but it was an all-you-can-eat extravaganza with food that was excellent and non-stop visits by the disney characters. We were afraid that the girls would end up missing dinner, but even that aspect was handled well. The characters visited each table, and "encouraged" the more excited kids to wait until they came around. In this way you got a personal chance for pictures and interaction, and you could eat your meal in relative peace.

There were some low-points to our trip, and we would be remiss in our narrative if we didn't cover it at least a little.

First of all, after Tuesday Leon avoided all trees. Apparently "Disney Magic" does not extend to the digestive tract of the park birds. While waiting to get on the Peter Pan ride (for the 4th time), a rude avian attack fell onto Leon's head. In addition to being disgusting, it made Leon the butt (pun intended) of Debbie's jokes for the rest of the day. Leon is considering writing a letter of complaint and demanding restitution. Although it is unclear what kind of restitution one would get from bird-poop. Even now, days later, reading this paragraph sends Debbie into fits of laughter. Life at home may never be the same. On the plus side, the kids never figured out what Mommy was laughing about. And we'll all keep it that way, right folks?

On a more serious note, after a hard day of pin-trading Friday, Isabelle lost her set of pins 15 minutes before the park closed. Of course, she had finally managed to trade herself into the perfect set of Pooh-themed pins. While we placed a "lost and found" report, Debbie and Leon ended up buying a new set.

The worst point in the trip came at the very end. This comes down to Leon's math skills and both of our inexperience with the military time that Europe seems to run on. One more time for Leon's benefit: "20:42" is NOT "10:42pm"!!! But we thought it was, so we showed up at the train station 2 hours late, and life became very tense.

In the end, everything worked out OK. It was just stressful. We returned to the hotel and got a room (we were lucky it was the "low" season and things weren't very busy) and tried to get some sleep. The girls were exhausted (we had kept them up until 11:00pm at this point!), but the adults had a hard time sleeping. It is one thing to know that, by hook or by crook, you can get yourself home. It is another to feel good enough to sleep when you have no idea when or how you will actually get there.

In the morning, Leon ran down to the train station at 6:30am, and got another train back to Geneva at 7:45am. That meant Leon had to race back to the hotel, wake everyone else up, franticly re-pack and then get to the train station. Which we did, with 5 minutes to spare. Ultimately, we breathed a collective sigh of relief at 2:00pm, when we arrived back at the apartment.

We've spent the rest of our weekend restocking the fridge, cleaning up a bit, doing mounds of laundry, and just de-compressing.

Joram also used his first repeatable, deliberate word with meaning today (Sunday). It was "more" and it was in sign language. And he was asking for more Macaroni and Cheese.

Many people have asked us how things are going here in regard being "Americans Abroad", in regard to the safety of travel, etc. So we thought we'd take a moment and give our perspective.

In a nutshell, things here in Switzerland are very calm and very quiet. While the news does talk about the war on terror, it is not the only story, and is not even the first story. As Americans, we do not feel like we are at risk here in any way (except trying to drive with the other crazy people on the roads here).

In France, the atmosphere was a little bit more tense. There had been rumors of an attack on "a US landmark" on October 18, which could have been Disney. In the park, security had been increased recently, but it was far from noticable to us. Only the park staff could point out the plain-cloths guards, or the changes that had been made.

We know that this is neither the mood or feeling in the US, and we regret every day that we can't be there in person to help out in some way.

Our plans for this week are relatively low-key. On Wednesday the girls have a "Vesting" ceremony for girlscouts, and Heather has a field trip to Berne (a couple of hours away). But otherwise things are quiet. We are slowly decorating for Halloween, mostly with home-made decorations courtesy of H & I Designs, Inc. We believe now that we'll get into the house in Morrens on November 12, which will be a huge thrill for us. So we are making lists of what we need to buy, and are slowly collecting ourselves for the next big push. In our mind's eye we are visualizing ourselves on our couches in front of the fireplace, sipping sweet wine, looking out the windows onto starlit farmlands. Right now this image keeps us going.

As always, we'll keep you all posted.
Love,
Debbie, Leon, Heather, Isabelle, and Joram

Diary: 10/14/2001

Dear Friends and Family,

Sorry for the delay on this week's note. We're high atop Disneyland Paris right now, and had a hard time getting the computer stuff to work. Actually, most evenings we were just too tired to even thing about it.

Last week was actually week was pretty slow. We are still not sure whether we will move into the house in Morrens on the 12 or 19 (it depends on how fast the current tenants can get in a cleaning company), but we know that every day the temporary apartment seems smaller and smaller. As with last week, Debbie is making an effort to get out at least once a week and find something she has wanted to see - there is another US Mom who feels "terminally lost", and the two of them venture the wilds of Lausanne together.

Between that and school-based functions - each grade has a coffee morning for parents once a month, so that's two meetings a month right there - plus party planning, etc, and she is driving around quite a bit.

The girls are flourishing at school. Heather is conquering long division, has improved her penmanship (the teacher runs sessions on calligraphy, but only to the children with good writing), and is digesting French. Not much is coming out yet, but you can see it in there, processing. Isabelle is busy getting a jump on reading and writing, with a little math thrown in. She is also digesting French, but we are hearing more of it come out and our Swiss friends tell us that what she says, she says clearly and with a perfect accent. Both girls are maintaining the tradition (started by Heather) of nearly perfect scores on all spelling tests. They both also continue the tradition of NEVER using that skill when they actually write. Hmmmm.

Joram is also doing well. He's still not really walking, but we're getting steps in between crawls. And he is able to get up to a stand without pulling up. He is very proud of this accomplishment, and usually gets very excited, waves his hands, and falls flat on his tuchas again. This does not usually bother him though.

Leon's work has finally moved into the next phase of development, which is a relief. He had been stuck in the never-ending Quality Assurance test, but everything that was designed starting back in February has finally been approved, and now his group can start building a new team and designing the sequel.

So the week was slow, nothing much noteworthy. Then on Saturday morning we woke the kids at 6:00am, shuttled them off to the car, and drove an hour to Geneva. From there we parked the car at the airport (long term parking) and took a shuttle to the train station. From there we got onto a Thalys train. At this point, the kids were thoroughly confused about where we were going and what we were doing. Heather guessed we were flying to Florida to see Memah (who was herself visiting all the family down there). Isabelle guessed we were going to London (until we reminded her that was next month).

So we had to drop some hints. The first hint was that we packed their Pooh Ears. For those who haven't see them, these are the equivalent of Mickey Mouse ears but are much cuter and, well, Pooh!

The second hint were two large chocolate Mickeys. At this point the children were making the rest of the train car stare (they were screaming), so the chocolate was a good way to quiet them down. Except for Joram, who started screaming because he wanted the chocolate too.

No, we didn't.

Yes, we are evil. Anyone who would like to call 696-KIDS may do so, since we are safely out of the country.

We arrived at the Disneyland complex under sunny skies and 70 degree weather (good thing we brought our winter coats!). After checking into the hotel, we raced over to the park and got into the swing of things watching the parade down main street. For those who want to think that there is something wrong with this park, or that it somehow is deficient because it's in Europe, we want to tell you here and now that this is the real deal. And for those who would like to believe that this is somehow an island of the USA amid Parisian France, you are also wrong. The park is extremely international, with very little information strictly in English, and nearly everything translated into 5 languages. This is Disney, folks, with a capital "D". The buildings are all solid, everything has a pastel wash over it that makes it look hyper-real, all the employees are friendly, and you have to work very hard to find something out of place or sub-standard. You can say all you want about it as
a choice for a vacation - no it is not scuba diving in Australia, or walking through a village in northern China, or even eating Fondue in a chalet in Switzerland. But if you have 3 small kids, you are guaranteed to get more "parent points" for this trip than any of the others combined.

Now for those who want to complain that the entire thing is too close to Paris.... I can't help you. The only thing I can say is that Hitler couldn't tear down the city, chances are good that Disney won't either.

Our high points so far have been:
* Seeing the set of the Pooh show. The show closed on September 30, but the set is still up and the kids got to ran around the Hundred Acre Wood. Isabelle walked as if she was in a dream come true.
* Walking through the replica of the "Nautilus". Ditto Isabelle's reaction, but this time for Leon.
* Meeting Pooh. It had to happen sooner or later, and today we caught up with the big guy himself. Yes, pictures were taken. We will make many copies.
* Finding the dragon underneath the Enchanted castle. Very nice ambiance and a well done display. It didn't hurt that to get to it, you walked through the only shop selling replica swords. Which was another high point (no pun intended).

Since we still have a few more days to go, it's hard to describe all the experiences in summary. So I'm just going to run down a few other items that we've noticed so far:
* In the two times Leon has been to a Disney theme park, "It's a Small World" has been closed both times. We believe it is a sign from God. In Debbie's opinion, this is a bad sign and she really feels sorry for Leon. In Leon's opinion, it is a sign that, despite all his failings, God still has a blessing or two to send his way.
* It is possible to find affordable meals, and they are not charging $4.00 for a cup of Pepsi.
* After walking in the park all day, nobody cares what the hotel looks like, we all just collapse from exhaustion.

We'll check in next week and let you know how it all turned out. Our return is set for Friday night, and then we are just decompressing, doing laundry, shopping, and keeping quiet until the week after.

Take care, and we hope everyone is well.
Debbie, Leon, Heather, Isabelle, and Joram (and Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, and the rest of the Gang)

Diary: 10/7/2001

Dear friends and family,

This was a slower week, a quieter week. There were less major events, but also less "extremes" - including the lows.

On Monday we went back to the house to take some measurements. We also used the time to capture the place with the video camera. We're pretty sure our stuff from the US will fit, but we also know that we'll need lots of closets. Unlike houses in the US, there are no built-in closets whatsoever! If you have a chance to buy stock in Ikea, now is the time because once we go shopping they can close their doors for the year!

We also had a chance to drive around the immediate area. We found a small playground within walking distance, which overlooks the surrounding countryside. As opposed to where we are now, which is very urban, Morrens is extremely pastoral. You can see (and hear, but hopefully not smell) cows grazing nearby. Morrens is also located relatively low - 718 meters above sea level. Just to give an idea, it hasn't snowed down any further than 2000 meters up the mountains yet. We're not sure when it will snow near us, or how much to expect. One couple from Chicago said "it's nothing", but the natives around here talk about winter tires, chains, and slipping and sliding. I guess we'll just have to see.

Another exciting even that registers on the "normalcy" scale happened this week - Isabelle lost a tooth. We are all happy to report that the International Corps of Tooth Fairys were able to locate us. They were apparently baffled with the exchange rates, however, and Isbelle walked away with a whopping 5 swiss francs and 1 US dollar.

Debbie spent a few of her days this week driving around with friends, trying (successfully) to find various shops or locations. On Friday a large group traveled past Geneva into France. This visit proved once and for all that things are waaaaaay cheaper over there - sometimes as much as a quarter of the cost.

Saturday is our wash day, so while Debbie and Joram shlepped 5 loads up and down steps, Leon and the girls went out and ran errands in the morning. Then we all spent the day making runs from school to the house, timing each route and trying to find the fastest/easiest/simplest one.

Sunday dawned wet and stormy and we worried that it would be another "blah" day. It took a long time to get moving but we finally decided to test another route from school to the new house. It turned out to be the fastest yet - just under 20 minutes. Granted, that's with Sunday traffic, but we'll find a few shortcuts along the way as we get more familiar with the surroundings.

We also took time to drive around the village of Morrens (not much. Don't blink or you'll miss it). And also find the closest shopping.

By the time we finished all that, the sun had broken through the clouds and things were warming up. We headed down to the lake again, to a park that had a min-train for the kids plus a nice play area. The kids burned off some energy until 4:00 when we met another family and headed up to the house of a couple who was moving back to the states, and selling all their good stuff. We were the vultures. It turns out that this couple is moving out and selling their house to the family that currently lives in our future house in Morrens! How weird is that?!? On top of it, the woman grew up in Shaker heights. In the end, we got a great deal on a bunch of stuff we needed like bookshelves, armoires, and more.

All in all, a nice way to wrap up the week.

This week should also be relatively quiet. We are getting ready for next week, when the girls are on vacation and we've decided to check out EuroDisney. If anyone calls, please don't say anything, as we haven't told them yet and probably won't until we're on the train! In any case, we'll have to spend a little time packing and preparing for that trip out.

It's been great hearing from everyone on the various goings-on back home. You are always in our hearts and never far from our thoughts.
Love
Debbie, Leon, Heather, Isabelle, and Joram

Diary: 9/30/2001

Dear friends and family:

Friday marked the end of our first month here. On the one hand, it has been a very rough month for us. On the other, we are improving steadily in many aspects and finally beginning to find "the good stuff".

On Monday, we heard that the house we saw last week is ours for sure. For those interested in finding it on a map, (or maybe sending us mail after we move in) it is :
Chemin de L'Orme 14
1054 Morrens

While our contract states the move-in date is December 1, we have spoken to the current tenents and they are moving out at the beginning of November. This means that we can be in by the middle of November, latest. It is still a long time to wait, and we are not looking forward to the next month, but it is now with the knowledge that there is an end in sight.

We have also begun planning our "big" trips, which was one of the main reasons for coming out here in the first place. In October, the girls have a week off so we decided to go someplace close, someplace fun, and someplace we were guarenteed to find things for the kids to do. Yes, people, we are in Switzerland, just 2 hours from the pastoral farmlands of France, the hearty beer houses of Germany, and the balmy coasts of Italy. But we're going to .... EURODISNEY!!

In November, there is just one place we could possibly imagine going. November 16 heralds the opening of the Harry Potter movie, so we will be in London that weekend. We'll take in the show, hop a train to King's Cross Station, try to find Diagon Alley and.. oh yeah... maybe stop at the Palace, Big Ben, Picadilly Circus, and Madam Trouseau's. Seriously, we have been told that England is a great place to escape to when you just can't stand another minute of non-English. So we are using this trip just to get a sense of costs, travel times, etc. We know that we will be back later to make a more thorough investigation.

Finally, in December we are going to plan to head south to Debbie's birthplace. We will probably swing through Barcelona, Madrid, and Seville for a week or so during the winter holidays.

Yom Kippur for us was quiet, but not as difficult as last week's Rosh Hashana. We decided that a quiet service at home was the best choice for everyone, rather than mad rushes and hour-long drives to unfamiliar synagogues. Instead we had some time for quiet reflection and a chance to talk about our hopes and concerns for the coming year, and to put some closure on the one just past.

This week also saw the completion of Debbie's "Living in Lausanne" courses. She has made a couple of good friends during the course, and also gathered a large list of contacts for specific issues (people who live up near the new house, playgroup contacts, French instructors, etc). All in all it was a very worthwhile course, and we think it has gone a long way to helping us continue in our transition.

On Saturday, the cows came home. No really, they really came home. This weekend marks the beginning of the colder season up in the higher grazing areas, so the cows are herded down to lower pasture for winter. This is done with great pomp and ceremony in many villages, and we drove up to one (Charmey) for the festival. Every so often cowherders dressed in traditional costume came through with cattle (and sheep, donkeys, goats, etc) The animals got all dressed up too - with floral arrangements in their horns, enormous cowbells around their necks, and a festive gleam in their eye. On top of this, there were alpine horn-blowers (I'm not sure if you call that a band, a chorus, or something else), yodelers, and choirs. In the village streets you were able to buy some of the local cheeses, meats, and crafts like lace and wood-toys. The kids had a great time, the food was wonderful, and the atmosphere was very... well, Swiss. The only person who was disappointed was Isabelle, who t
hought there should have been rides. We offered to put her up on a cow, but for some reason she wasn't excited about that idea.

Sunday was another good day for us. A town about an hour away had a "home days" type fair (they called it "Festival spectaulaire pour enfants". I think the grown-ups around here need to use their kids as an excuse to have a party). It had marrionette shows, folk music, and the more mundane face-painting, caroselles, etc. We met up with 2 other couples and spent a few hours there. Once the kids had exhausted all possibilities (plus all available spare cash), the weather cleared up so we all decided to head up the mountain. "up the mountain" is sort of a funny term here, since you are many to choose from. In any case, we picked one and drove up. And up. And up. When we got to the top, we were treated to a spectacular view of Lake Geneva and the surrounding mountains, valleys and vineyards. We spent a little time at a cafe up there, and when the temperature started dropping and the kids started getting antsy, we headed back down again.

Also this week, the girls started scouts. This is just like the US girlscout troup, and is another great way for them (and the parents) to get to know each other, get involved, and stay active.

Joram (who was not interested in becoming a scout this week) has started taking his first steps. Right now it is tentative, and only one or two at a time, but we know the end of crawling is near. Which means the end of our sanity as well! While Joram continues to express himself loudly and with a profusion of words, they are still in a language known only to himself.

This week is going to be (we think) a little quieter and more normal. We know we need to spend some time learning good routes from the new house to school so we will probably do a lot of driving in the evenings. Debbie has plans to meet up with a few people - for shopping, exploring, and getting around. We also need to start up our French lessons again, so that is on the good old "honeydo" list.

Oh, and we have to start packing our mouse ears for the trip.

As always, we hope this letter finds you all in good health and better spirits, and that the coming year is one of joy, happiness, and contentment.
Love
Leon, Debbie, Heather, Isabelle, and Joram.

Diary: 9/23/2001

Dear family and friends.

We want to start off by thanking everyone for the support, love, and concern that was expressed all week. Last week was difficult, but we really are doing ok. We are just dealing with the normal phases of home sickness and culture shock that (we think) everyone must go through to some extent. BUT, that is no reason to stop emailing! We love hearing from home. Each letter we get lightens our hearts, and makes us feel at least a little present in your lives. Do not ever hesitate to send us a note and let us know how you are doing there.

This week was definitely better than the last. We all had much more to do, so there was less "moping" time available, but we are also getting into something resembling a routine.

We have to admit that Monday was very difficult. It was a national holiday (Jeune Federal) and there was absolutely nothing to do. We tried to drive around a bit, but even this didn't raise our spirits much. We hadn't been able to contact the Synagogue in Geneva, and we knew that the one in Lausanne would be so foreign that we would find no comfort in it. In the end, we took out a copy of Heather's Bat-Mitzvah service (given to us along with a fantastic tape by Alison Howdieshell so that we could start practicing now) and went through the prayers and songs we knew. It was a very hard time for the adults - perhaps our lowest yet.

On Tuesday, we decided that we would try to stick to whatever routine we had found - the kids went off to school and Leon went to work. However, we had already planned to try to re-visit a house. Debbie had already seen it on her own, and liked it enough to go back and show Leon around. It's 20 minutes north of the lake (in a village named "Morrens"), and by the time we finished looking at it, we asked immediately to have it put "on hold". At the time of this writing, we are still waiting to hear if we will get it (our last experience, you remember, was something of a disappointment). However, it has 4 bedrooms (enough for guests!), a nice-sized kitchen, 2 bathrooms, plenty of storage areas, and a "winter garden" which is basically a glass enclosure with electric heating in the floor so that you can use it year-round. We are already mentally mapping out where all the furniture will go, and how many guests we can hold at one time. Please plan to come help us test our theory!

Seeing the house, and making the plan to move in (even if it may not be available until December) helped lift our spirits dramatically. The rest of the week seemed to fly by.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Debbie had a "Living in Lausanne" course. This is put on by the American Women's club, and goes over all the important essentials for living in the Lake-Geneva area. Many of the people Debbie met there were already known from Nestle or from school, but the course this provided a larger block of time to exchange stories, make connections, etc. There are still 3 days to go this coming week, so we are looking forward to whatever new information and new friendships we can find.

Also on Thursday we went to (finally) pick up our new cars. As we mentioned before, Leon got a (banana yellow) Opel Corsa, and Debbie a (more respectable) gray Opel Zafira. The weirdest moment came when we picked up the Zafira. The salesperson handed us the keys and a pink slip of paper - we already knew these are bank transfer notes. You take them to the bank and ask them to transfer money out of your account and into the account noted on the pink slip. He asked us to "please try to get to the bank soon". That was it! We literally took a car off the lot without making any kind of payment on it. In America, we call this "stealing". In Switzerland, they call it "an honorable deal". We're not sure whether to be impressed or mortified.

Yes, we went to the bank right away. We didn't want to ruin it for the next set of Americans to come along.

Somewhere along the week Leon got to the post office to send some letters home. We were astounded to find out that all international postage had been suspended as a show of respect and solidarity with America. Basically, the letters were sent for only the cost of a (regular Swiss postage) stamp. That was a touching and gracious gesture.

On Friday, we finally felt confident enough to attempt a drive out to Geneva for Shabbat services. There we met Rabbi Francois Garai, whose booming bass voice and perfect English made us feel instantly welcome. The congregation (about 50 that night, including their entire B'nai Mitzvah class of 10) extended that feeling, sometimes in French and sometimes in English, but always in a way that we could understand. During the service, we found we could follow the Hebrew much more readily than the French. The music (sung by the Rabbi) was mostly unfamiliar tunes. While we certainly knew that this would be the case, it only added to the feeling of "foreign-ness" that we felt in general. Then, in the middle of the service, Shalom Rav began and it was as if the room had opened up and light came pouring in. It was such a relief to finally know how *something* would go, to know the next note. Too soon, the song was over, but the feeling of relief remained for a long time after.

As we drove home, trying to take note of how long the trip would be, we were (and still are) unsure how often we will make the journey. It's over an hour one way, which is a challenge when you factor in work schedules, dinners, tired children, and bed-times. As we settle in further, we will continue to assess what we can and cannot do, but at least we have some choices available to us, and we know that (for 2 years at least) we can become part of that community with at least a small level of comfort.

Saturday we drove around the lake to the south, and into France. The small town of Thonon, we were told, had a shopping mall to rival an American Wal-Mart. We had to see for ourselves. The trip was refreshingly easy - just follow the road around the lake - but took about an hour and a half. However, the weather was rainy so we didn't feel like we had missed any great opportunity to get out. When we arrived, we found a strip of stores leading up to a large Mall - the "Carrefour". To make a long story short, it's not like Wal-Mart but close enough that we spent about 500 Swiss francs (about $250) on things like groceries, wine, coats, and shoes. We also discovered that France is *way* cheaper than Switzerland for almost everything (cheese, bread, wine, McDonalds) and we will definitely make "France runs" part of our monthly routine.

It's important to note that our "big score" of this shopping run was honest-to-goodness pancake syrup! I'm not talking about that nasty "real maple syrup" syrup that actually has plant sap in it. I'm talking about the stuff that contains "real artificial processed maple flavoring". There was much rejoicing in the aisles.

We also found out that "border security" is pretty much an oxymoron here. We passed from Switzerland into France as easily as you might drive from Ohio to Pennsylvania, and the only reason we knew we had crossed back was because some guy in a uniform was walking his dog across the street. He looked at us in our van, and then said "C'est bon" (it's good) and waves us on.

My secret fear in all of this is that we are so painfully, obviously American that they don't even bother checking us out. What a blow to the ego!

Saturday night, we returned with our booty and whipped up a quick dinner. We lit the havdalah candles, said the prayers, and realized that we were slowing finding comfort and peace in this place. We still long for some real living space, but the waves of homesickness, fear, and loss are not as ever-present as before. We are finding our way.

Today (Sunday) we had planned to go down to a small coastal village (Lutry) for a grape-harvest festival. We'd been told by several that this was a wonderful affair, and were looking forward to it. We also had planned to go with another couple whose been here longer than we, and who have been gracious with both their advice and their hospitality all along. They also have kids about the girls' ages, so it was an attractive proposition for everyone involved. Unfortunately, it rained all day and nobody much felt like getting water-logged just to watch some locals celebrate how they successfully picked grapes. So we started off just talking, then we took out a little food, then we took out coffee, then another couple (just arrived this week from California) stopped by, then we took out some wine, and before you knew it, it was 5:00pm and we had eaten our way through the day and had a wonderful time just the same! Here's to plans that don't go the way you expect but still come ou
t all right.

That about wraps up the week! Hope this letter finds everyone in good health and even better spirits. Everyone here sends their deepest wishes for peace and happiness in the coming New Year.
Love
Leon, Debbie, Heather, Isabelle, and Jora

Diary 3: 9/16/01

Dear family and friends:

We know that we am writing this as some of you are coping with profound and in some cases horrific changes around you. For better or for worse, our TV has been set to those few English-language programs that give us news of the situation in the US, and we have spent hours absorbing and discussing events. We wish we could do more than just say "you are in our thoughts and prayers" although this is very very true as well.

For us, this has been a difficult week on many levels. On the most basic level, we simply miss home. Even if this were simply a long vacation, we would know we would eventually come home to all those things we had. In this case, that surety is gone. We are detached from everything and everyone that was familiar. This is a disconnection that takes time to overcome.

On another level, what we are talking about is "culture shock". Merriam-Webster defines that as "a sense of confusion and uncertainty sometimes with feelings of anxiety that may affect people exposed to an alien culture or environment without adequate preparation".

That pretty much sums it up.

Finally, we feel lost nearly all the time here.

We are physically lost because we haven't yet figured out how to navigate from point A to point B. North-south-east-west are nonexistent references here. Signs with street names are occasionally visible, but not reliably so. There is another process of orienting to which we haven't yet acclimated ourselves.

We are linguistically lost because, despite assurances to the contrary, everyone here does NOT speak English. Not even within Nestle. So the simple act of asking "where is the peanut butter?", if you don't know the actual word for "peanut butter" can be a pantomimic nightmare. ("beurre de cacahuete", if you are interested).

And of course we are culturally lost. Customs or expectations that might seem quaint or even pleasant for short periods become nearly maddening when you know there will be no respite from them, that you are expected not only to appreciate them from an intellectual or aesthetic point of view, but to understand, internalize, and obey them yourself.

We know that this is only our second week, that these are all normal sensations. But it doesn't make things any easier to deal with day by day, and (as we mentioned in our last note) we often find ourselves clinging to each other for dear life, unable to perceive the beauty or splendor around us because we are blinded by those things that we have given up, or by those things that we fear we will never understand.

On a more mundane level....

Leon returned to work, which left Debbie alone and feeling somewhat unprepared for Swiss life. There was the challenge of getting the kids to and from school - on time, in one piece, and without getting lost.

Since we still only have a single car, there was also the issue of Leon getting to and from work. Luckily our neighbors upstairs are also Nestle expats, and can take Leon to work, but as they are single and tend to work late, Debbie was pressed into service to pick him up at a decent hour, adding to the driving stresses.

At work, Leon found that work had not waited for him while he was busy settling in, and so this had to be juggled along with the continuing tasks of obtaining insurances, working the system for purchasing cars, and also navigating the Nestle Swiss environment without treading on too many toes. Without going into too many details, suffice to say that he is NOT the favorite person in Human Resources here!

On the positive side, we have begun to see houses that more closely fit what we need. We *might* have found something that is a good match, although certain factors are working against us. First, it won't be available until December 1, which means and extremely long stay in our current temporary (and very small) quarters. Second, it is extremely far away (although how far we aren't exactly sure yet, since we don't know the shortest route between two points yet.). So we are mulling over our options and leaning toward the idea of letting this fish get away and waiting for the next good catch.

Also on the plus side, the girls are having a great time at school. Both have acclimated to the school extremely quickly, and (aside from some less-than-stellar school lunches) have nothing bad to report each day. Heather returned on Wednesday from Reideralp happy and excited and full of stories of the 3 day adventure (and also extremely tired).

Yesterday we bought a VCR - one that will play both the European (PAL) and the US (NTSC) systems. Today the kids are happily soaking up Rolly Polly Olly, A Bugs Life, and other deeply meaningful programs. The cutest part came when we put in the first tape from home, and Isabelle asked if it would be in French or English. I wondered the same thing. One never can tell, you know.

Finally, today (Sunday) we successfully managed to make pancakes - real, live, non-crepe-based pancakes! Our heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone who sent recipes. Our (and perhaps your) next challenge is to find a no-mix cake recipe, as all our kitchen equipment is still on a boat somewhere.

As for events yet to come....

This afternoon, we are getting together with some work-friends. Leon's manager, Francisco and his wife (Pascale) and daughter (Elena) have offered to take us to some weather-appropriate, kid-friendly activity. If the weather is nice, perhaps the zoo or a miniature train ride. But whatever it is, we all welcome the chance to get out and go someplace that doesn't involve deep mental thought about how to get there or how to cope once we arrive.

On Monday, the entire country comes to a grinding halt as they celebrate "Jeune Federal". This is a very important national holiday that nearly nobody we have spoken to can explain with any detail, except to remind us that everything is closed that day.

Of course, Tuesday is Rosh Hashanah. This has us a bit worried, as the effort of settling in left us with no time to contact the synagogue in Geneva. We are hopeful that there is still time to make arrangements.

We appreciate all the emails that people sent over the week, keeping us in touch with events at home. Just a reminder that Leon's email has changed to "leon.adato@nestle.com" (the "us" part was dropped). The old address will be active for a little while longer, but not forever. Best to change it soon!

Much love, hope, and support sent to you from us here.
Leon, Debbie, Heather, Isabelle, and Joram.

Diary 2: 9/9/01

Dear friends and family:

There is so much to write this week, and we are so short on the organizational skills to put it all in coherent order. If things get a bit muddled, you will need to forgive us, and know that we will do better in the coming weeks.

Contrary to popular believe, we will not select a popular song as a backdrop for *each* letter we send. We thank everyone for their suggestions, including "Play That Funky Music White Boy" and the entire first half of "Dark Side of the Moon". This is to avoid prosecution from RIAA as much as anything else.

As you can imagine, emotions ran high this week. The simplest tasks like driving to school or the grocery store were adventures; we could measure the things we knew with a thimble - the things we don't know could fill an ocean. Sometimes this was OK. The newness made everything exciting, from the taste of food to a walk around the block to finding an english-language newspaper. Other times it was very not-ok, and we found ourselves holding each other for dear life and crying our fears out onto the bedsheets.

The apartment is OK (as in "small but OK"), but there were hiccoughs to work through in the beginning. The stove-top was shattered when we arrived and it wasn't until Tuesday that it was fixed. We only had 2 sets of towels here, and it took until Monday to get more. Nobody seemed to be able to find the garage keys (or even tell us which spot was ours!). Thursday, this was all sorted out. But obviously each stress point was unwelcome, and we had to work hard to remain positive in the face of these relatively minor inconveniences.

The children (especially Heather and Isabelle) are frequently our sources of strength these days. Very little is upsetting to them, and almost everything is funny or at least interesting. Heather is able to strike up a conversation with just about anyone, and that usually helps us to get the information we grown-ups need. Isabelle has taken to announcing each "roundabout" when we find them (there are many here, used instead of stoplights). And Joram's love of bread has reached new heights here.

They started school on Tuesday, and have taken it as their own. Friends were found quickly - Heather had a "play date" on Wednesday, and Isabelle had one on Friday. The children in their classes come from a wide range of backgrounds - some are "mixed" marriages of Swiss citizens and ex-patriots from places like Sweden or Portugal or Malaysia; some are children whose entire family are Swiss citizens, but who want the international education; and a rare few are from families like ours.

We drive the girls to school each morning and drop them off, so we have a chance to see the other parents. The mix of languages is astounding as we hear standard parental admonitions ("have a good day", "see you this afternoon", etc) in french, spanish, swedish, chinese, and even hebrew.

Meanwhile, Debbie and Leon started house-hunting on the same day. There are a few things we've learned from this:
1) For 4500 swiss francs per month, you can rent just about any house you want. (this equals $2650.00).
2) If you get a real-estate agent, they CAN'T show you everything in town, just the stuff that is on THEIR list. This means you have to work with many many many agents. Of course, we found that out AFTER we wasted the week with a single agency.
3) Nestle is buying up all the homes in Vevey, but Phillip Morris is buying up all the homes in Lausanne. And we want to live in Lausanne. Figures.

We remain hopeful, but it was a disappointing week none the less.

On Friday, Leon's boss Francisco took us out car-hunting. This was much more successful. That day we found a wonderful car for Debbie - an Opel "Zafira" - a Swiss-size 7-seat mini-van. It's slightly used (was driven off the lot in April of 2001) and has 11,000 kilometers (around 6000 miles) on it. So it we got it for just 28,000 francs ($16,470). We were very impressed.

At the same time as Leon was doing the paperwork on the car, Debbie was back at the apartment getting our air shipment. This was a very exciting thing for us since many important items were on the air shipment - a case of Kraft Mac and Cheese, more computer equipment for Leon, and diapers.

On the way home from buying the car, Leon got to experience Swiss services up-close. Ahead of him on the road was there was a terrible accident - one car crossed sharply across the road and slammed into the car ahead of him, then continued to swerve out of control and (slightly) hit Leon's car.

There was so much to be thankful for: In the end, everyone involved was OK and (miraculously) unhurt. Nobody else was in the car with Leon. Leon's car was still drive-able. It was the rental and not the new car. It underscored for us the fact that this is still *life*, that anything can happen here just like everywhere else, and that we just need to keep going in the face of it all, and find those experiences that inform this time in our lives.

It also showed us that even now we (the grown-ups) have made more friends than maybe we realize. Debbie knew the phone number of another "Mom" who could pick up Heather at school and bring her back to our place. Leon had several friends at work to call for help translating what the police said and offering advice on how the process would go.

Believe it or not, Friday was not over yet - we still had a party to attend! Leon's project team (GLOBE) was having an "all hands" BBQ. Hundreds of people were there. We all had a great time and got some good information from people who have been here longer than us and have encountered some of the same problems (even car accidents. Back in February, in the first weekend of this project, 20% of the rental cars distributed were in accidents. So much that a company memo went out asking GLOBE participants to "please try very hard not to crash the cars.")

On Saturday, Francisco and Leon went out again and bought a second car (an Opel Corsa). We got another Opel because they are nice cars, and because dealerships (and repair shops) are all over the place.

Of course, in Switzerland, you don't just go in and buy a car. We get a contract, which Leon then takes back to Nestle. While Nestle puts together the loan for the cars, the dealership is cleaning and "preparing" the car for delivery. It's all very anal-retentive, which fits right in here.

After that, all of us packed up into the car and headed off for "God's country" in Switzerland, which means over the hill, through the woods, past about a million sunflower fields, past 900,000 cows, up half a mountain, and onto a camp grounds. I should add that all of this is about 40 minutes from our apartment. We are not sure what the big deal is with sunflowers, but this place is lousy with them!

Anyway, we were going to the girls' start-of-school picnic. We got to meet some really wonderful people there, and again were able to make contact with folks who have been through much of the challenges we face, and who can (hopefully) guide us around some of the problem spots.

On Sunday, Heather celebrated her first double-digit birthday by... going to someone else's birthday party. Another girl in her class has the same birthday, and invited everyone over. We plan a smaller celebration tonight with just us. But it is truly an auspicious start to the week.

*****
That pretty much sums up the week. However, there were notable moments that didn't fit in anywhere above, so I have to mention them now.

After a great deal of questioning, we finally got "our day" for laundry. Yes, our day. It is Saturday. If we want to do laundry on Monday, we are out of luck. We have mentioned this to Joram in regard to his alarmingly active bowels. I'm not sure it will help, but we remain optimistic. We found a very helpful neighbor who showed us how to use the washing machine and dryer, and (7 loads later) we have more cloths than you can shake a stick at.

PLEASE READ THE ABOVE PARAGRAPH AGAIN AND NOTE: Do not send us clothes. We have no room to put it. We have no more time in "our day" to wash it. And we only barely know how to work the machine, so if you send us something weird, we will probably ruin it.

Seriously, we are doing fine, and send anything you want. Except for Debbie's Mom, who is banned from entering our home with anything resembling children's cloths or (worse) children's shoes. The 4 pairs she bought each girl right before we left were quite enough!

Another note for the postally-minded among you: open all packages and remove price tags before sending, and perhaps write "used cloths" or "used books" or just "papers" on the box or else we will have to pay a tariff on it.

While we have found that french toast works well here, our attempts to modify crepe-mix into pancakes was less than successful. Anyone with good recipes for pancake mix are welcome to email us here or directly to Debbie (adatoda@yahoo.com).

Finally, we just want to comment that this place has the biggest slugs we have ever seen! No wonder they eat them here - 2 or 3 makes a meal. It's disgusting, but interesting none the less.

*****
Looking toward the coming week, we are preparing for Leon's return to work (although nobody expects full-time hours), a 3 day trip to the Alps for Heather's grade, and 2 or 3 parent meetings for Debbie.

Despite the flurry of activity, we miss you all terribly and think of everyone often. Please write, email, or call - it helps ease the home-sickness and lets us digest events as we relate them to you.

Take care and look for our next installment soon!
Leon, Debbie, Heather, Isabelle, and Joram.