Bonjour?
Hello? Is there anybody out there? I’m still here although I feel as though I’ve fallen off the edge of the planet. It’s amazing what a few weeks in a tiny studio apartment in a tiny swiss village without friends, childcare, internet or television can do to a person. We’ve finally found an apartment in Lausanne but we won’t be able to move in until the middle of March. If I don’t go stark raving mad before then, I’ll probably be able to write more in a few weeks. On the other hand, if I can continue being able to high jack this wireless connection and use this borrowed laptop, perhaps I’ll be able to fill you in on a few of the thrilling details of my daily life here amongst the Swissters before then. Like for example, yesterday we went to a little village called Murten in the Swiss German part of the country. I’m convinced that this is the town where everyone in Switzerland goes to get their hair cut because in the old town alone, I counted no less than 15 hair stylists in a three block radius. Basically, it’s a walled city of beauty salons. It was very charming, filled with what some people call cobblestones but which I’m come to privately think of as brimstones. Actually I don’t know what brimstones even are but I know that they’re very very bad and I also know that any sort of stone that causes a 21 month old toddler to fall and wail approximately once every 10 feet is a very bad sort of stone indeed. You may think of them as quaint and picturesque but anyone who’s ever wiped the equivalent of five buckets of snot and blood off a child’s face after they’ve tripped for the umpteenth time knows better. Aside from the hair salons and the brimstones and the adorable rooftops, there’s not a lot else to report on this trip. Oh, except that staying in our room at the Adler Hotel was sort of like what it would be like to stay in a room where Chagall had gone and had a complete nervous breakdown. The room was completely covered in painted cows and wine bottles. This unfortunate decor was then weirdly contrasted by the stark white and tubular bathroom which would have been more at home in say, a submarine. Watching Thomas the Train in German while sitting on big fluffy feather bed under a huge green and purple cow was quite naturally the highlight of the voyage. I can’t believe I almost forgot to mention it.
P.S. To my friends and family- please don’t think I’m being rude by not writing or responding to emails. I rarely have more than a minute or two at a time on a computer so my generally sluggish rate of correspondence has been slowed down to an abrupt halt, at least for now.
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Sorry to hear you are feeling so isolated. I hope things take a turn for the better soon.
Cobblestones – yuck – I always refer to them as “hobblestones.” Poor Nico. If I can’t walk straight on those things, I can’t imagine what it’s like for a little kid.
It’s really tough to move to a new place. Not to mention a different country, especially if you’re not fluent in the language!!
Good luck with the cobblestones… I grew up in a cobblestoned city, and I survived, if that gives you any hope
Hey it’s Lara in Kichijoji… I have been eagerly awaiting news of your next adventure. I admire you deeply for keeping your sense of humor in trying situations! Best of luck to you and yours in Switzerland.
p.s. I know you stocked up before leaving, but please let me know if you ever need extra supplies from Avril, Uzawaya or Cotton Field in Kichijoji!
yikes! that studio is going to be tough but march is just around the corner! i’m sure you’ll be moved in in no time, nico will be having a blast, and things will be back to normal soon enough.
i’m looking forward to seeing and hearing more about switzerland!
Hey Anna — Glad to hear you are still alive, though it sounds that life is kicking you right now. When you get feeling too claustrophobic, try walking to train station and imagining all the places you could go within in just a few hours. That might help. Take care.
any pictures taken of the green and purple cow to be shared? lol
Gosh, you are the most flexible or the craziest person I’ve ever heard of. I about lost my marbles moving to and from Japan. You’re hanging out all over the globe, and handling it like a champ. Eat some great chocolate and cover Nico head to toe in bubble wrap. Maybe.
Good luck and great to read a new post!
ha ha you made it…congrats!
I wondered if perhaps you loved the comfort of the big apple too much and just decided to stay (but not tell us)
Please write a post about the bakeries…i am assuming them to be big and plentiful
Love from Tokyo
d and m
I just love the way you verbalize your world. You are funny funny funny. OK—–Now we need some photos
Oh wow – good luck. And may I personally thank you for reminding me of the word ‘umpteenth’. I have not used it or heard it in years. umpteenth. umpteenth. Cool.