Bluebird's Nest

I’m really happy to have my tweenager here to guest blog about her experiences in Switzerland and what it’s like for her now that she’s back. Over to you JJ!

My guestblogger: the tweenager

1. What do you miss about Switzerland and why?
   I miss my friends and family in Switzerland most because everyone in Switzerland is so nice and I miss them so much.
2. Do you think you will ever go back to live and why?
   I definitely want to go back but I’m not sure about living there because I missed everyone here so much!
3. What was one thing that you were dying to see/have/eat from here that they didn’t have there?
   Flamencuch, a sort of pizza with heavy cream instead of tomato sauce, onions instead of cheese and bacon instead of pepperoni… yumm!
4. What’s are some differences between here and there?
   Everything in town is within walking distance.
   FOOOOOD
   Building style (older, prettier…)
5. What’s the best memory you have from this 5 month trip and why?
   Just being at school every day was so cool for me because of the difference between school systems and peoples personalities.
6. What’s the worst memory you have and why?
   NOTHING WAS BAD WHY WOULD YOU PUT THIS QUESTION?!?!?!
   But if I had to answer I would say being away from everyone here.
7. What do you wish you could have done more of?
   Skiing in the Alps! It’s so pretty and fun and SNOWY!!!!!!
8. Who would you take back with you if you could and why?
   If I could take anyone from Canada to Switzerland I would take Phil, my grandpa because he hasn’t had the chance to see Switzerland yet and I hope that one day he will.
   If I could take anyone from Switzerland to Canada I would take Anita my BFF there because she’s EPIC and I want her to see my country and city <3
9. Where was your most favorite place to visit and why?
   See question 7.
10. Where would you recommend people go and why?
    See question 7… again.
11. How do you think this trip changed you?
    I’m not sure if it was the trip or just me that changed but I guess my self-confidence and the fact that I feel like I know better who I am.
12. Did your friends forget about you while you were gone? Were you a stranger to them when you got back?
    Well I wouldn’t say  a stranger, lets face it, in this age group friendships go in and out and that’s just the way it is, your still trying to find out who your true friends are. Some of my friends weren’t used to me the way I am now for say so it took a while to re-kindle our friendship then there was the friends that just plain didn’t wan to talk to me anymore, the friends who it was like I was never gone and even some people I feel closer to now that I’m back… I guess that everyone reacts a different way to this, I just try and think about what everyone else might be thinking. All I want is that everyone is happy (including myself) even if it means losing some friends along the way because being friends with them doesn’t make me or them happy.
13. What was your favourite meal?
    Fondue or Flamencuch (see question 3.)
14. Favorite restaurant?
    PIZZA TAXI=YUMMY
15. What did you do for your birthday?
    I went to PIZZA TAXI with some friends.
16. How do you feel about being back now that you’ve been back for about 3 months?
    I feel really happy and happy to have lots of friends who stayed with despite all my stories about Switzerland… <3 u guys!

Thanks JJ – I really appreciate you answering my questions today. You’re EPIC!

The tweenager has been is Swiss school for a while now and a few people have been asking how she is enjoying it and what it’s like for her. Additionally, I wanted her to give us a snapshot of her trip to the Jura for a week with school as this is such a unique experience for her.

Please feel free to ask your own questions in the comments below and she will happily be sure to respond toute de suite!

How long have you been going to school in Switzerland now?

I have been going to school since August 22. So about a month.

How are you liking it?

School is much different in Canada then in Switzerland, I really like school here and I think it’s better than school in Canada.

What subjects do you have?

I take music, math, science, history, religious history, drawing, sewing, German, PE…

What is your favourite and why?

My favourite subject is History, because I love stories about Greek and Egyptian mythology.

What subject do you like the least?

PE, out teacher insists we run lap after lap around the track, right now we are doing 1200 meters, 1,2 km. of non-stop running.

Have you made many friends?

Yes, in Switzerland everyone wanted to accept me into their group (especially when they heard I was Canadian).

How is school different here than in Canada?

Wow, the most striking difference between schools is class changes; in Canada all the classes are in a wing or pod of a building, FAAS (Fine Arts and Applied Skills) are in the north pod and all French immersion classes in the east pod. In Switzerland we move around a lot, PE is about a half an hour away in a stadium in the suburbs, art and music in the high school and more music, academics, and sewing are in the 4^th floor Elementary school.

Tell us about a typical day at Swiss school.

So the day starts with me not wanting to get out of bed then I get dressed, eat breakfast, and leave for school. We walk there and, take Tuesday for example, walk to the high school for music in first block then after that I go with my friends back to the normal building then we go to PE on the other side of town and then my mom comes and gets me for lunch. We go home and eat lunch for two hours, back to school for a while and home again. Usually pretty busy!

You just went on a trip to the Jura with your school. Tell us about that.

The Jura is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Imagine cows walking past your bedroom window every morning and fields stretching away and away. Here you are the one enclosed and horses and cows are grazing and having adventures totally free to go anywhere they want.

What did you like the most?

My favourite part of camp was the course d’orientation that means orientation race. We teamed up in groups of three and we got sent to different posts in about a 5km radius, it’s a race to see who can go to the 9 posts first.

Tell us about a typical day.

7:30am the teacher comes and wakes us up then puts on some good music

8:00am we eat breakfast

8:30am we brush our teeth and finish getting ready

9:00am we play ball assis

11:00am-1:00pm we leave for a walk (depending on the time we either eat a picnic of have lunch at the chalet)

4:00pm we get back

4:30pm we play more ball assis or ping pong

7:00pm we eat dinner

8:30pm we play pin pong or foose ball

9:30pm we go to bed

11:30pm we go to sleep

What was the food like?

Some times the food was really good (like paella) and some times really bad (like thai soup). It was really cool that any one who wanted to could cook.

What is the boom and what was it like?

The boom is a dance at the end of the camp where all the guys ask girls to dance and try to impress them with break dancing; it is as fun as it sounds. The boom was super fun and I even got to slow dance with my crush… They played lots of good songs in English and in French.

Tell us about the slow dancing. And don’t leave anything out.

It doesn’t matter who asks, guy or girl, you always have to say yes. My two best friends are both really pretty and lots of guys like them so they didn’t even get a chance to sit down. When you’re dancing with somebody it is okay that if at any point in the dance it gets awkward you can stop and walk away from them. In general you only slow dance for approx. 30 seconds per guy (unless later on he asks you again).

Was there any drama at camp?

Not really (besides everyone figuring out who I have a crush on).

Was there anything that happened that was not amazing?

Mmmmm… boys beating each other up but I think that’s part of the experience.

How do you think the camp changed you?

Well I think I’m a lot more fit and can walk greater distances.

Did you miss me? Even a little?

Let’s say that.

Today I have asked “The Hubby” to write on some of his thoughts on our across Canada trip and what it’s like to be back in Switzerland. I hope you enjoy.

1. Recapping on our trip across Canada, what was the highlight for you (or most memorable experience) and why?

   The whole thing being able to do it as we planned without any problem almost on budget and exactly on time. Being able to do it through some rough camping but fancy meals with the Baby and the tweenager who have very different needs. But the best part I think was the Ferry to Newfoundland, not the province just the trip on the ferry I would have loved to go right back The BC Ferries are pretty modern but that Ferry was just like a cruise holidays for 1 night…

2. What was the best meal?

   I think it was the best meal location which was when I cooked the meal on the rocks on Inverness Beach.

3. Which city did you like the best and why?

   Morse. ok it’s not a city but it was the most canadian of all in my opinion mosquitoes, train, grain elevator, storm. I like Montreal because it’s so cosmopolitan it’s like the whole world is meeting there (I say that because I’ve never been in New York) but I prefer Montreal cause they speak more french than in NYC.

4. What did you dislike the least?

   Packing the camping chair in the Thulebox

5. Now that you are in you home country again, how does it feel to be back?

   I realize that a lot of time has gone by, the first time I came back there was a couple things that changed but now it’s been 8 years almost and wow I’ve been in Canada for too long. Life in Switzerland is good enough no need to go so far…

6. What food or meal did you miss the most?

   Bread, BTW I think Sliced bread is the worst invention ever !!! rosti, sausages, pfffff, CHEEEESE why is cheese so expensive in Canada ???

7. What are you most looking forward to doing?

   Snowboarding with my friends…. eating chestnut in the street when it gets cold, celebrate my 30th birthday with my friends, and the very last thing celebrate the Baby’s first birthday.

8. What is one thing you absolutely must do before leaving again in 2012?

   Snowboard

9. What do you miss about Canada?

   Turning right at a red light

10. What is the best thing about your country?

    The view

11. We do a lot of comparisons from Canada and Switzerland, what is one thing that is great in Switzerland and sucks in Canada? And visa versa?

    Public transit
    Beer is so much cheaper in Switzerland but the quality is so much better in Canada. (expect for my friend’s beer)

12. Now that you’ve spent more time with your loved ones than you ever have, can you tell us what is one pro and one con to each (be nice) and please include the wee babe.

    You:    Pro:    The time we spend arguing is proportionately less than when we don’t see each other all day.
    Con:    We still argue….

    Tween   Pro:            It’s nice to see how she enjoys the trip and to see how smart, mature and open minded she gets day after day.

    Baby    Pro:            Do I really need to explain myself, everybody would like to spend time with our baby she’s so cute…
    (con):  Well sometimes she’s a little less cute. but still there is no cons

And there you have it. Thanks for being my second guest blogger to date my Swiss Mister!

Today I’ve asked the tweenager to be my guest blogger. I wanted to capture her thoughts on the cross Canada trip we made by interviewing her. Please feel free to comment and ask any questions to her. She will be sure to reply.

1. What was the part of the trip that you liked the most?

   My favorite place we stayed was in with John and Sylvie, I enjoyed that the most because it was soooooo pretty! The most peaceful thing I ever did was fly-fishing on the river there. Also the beds where really comfortable and camping doesn’t provide luxurious mattresses .

2. What was the worst part of the trip you disliked the most?

   My least favorite part of the trip across Canada was Morse (middle of no where) Saskatchewan. I disliked this the most because (and I may sound like a downer) it was the most hot I’ve ever felt, and the most mosquitoes I’ve ever seen, all thought the thunder, lightning and down pour cooled things down a little and put the mosquitoes partially at bay. That was the first night in the tent and so far not so good .

3. Which city was your favourite and why?

   My favorite city was Riviere du Loup in Quebec, the day we traveled there over all was the best day of driving because we stopped in Quebec city for an hour and a half, but when we got to Riviere du loup we stayed in our very first B and B (Bed and Breakfast) it had the most amazing view of the Riviere Saint Lawrence, (Saint Lawrence river), welcome cocktails/orange juice and topped off with an amazing sunset and my own room. Plus an awesome breakfast in the morning!

4. What was the most memorable experience and why?

   Wow that’s a hard one and I know I hate it when people do this to me and it sound really stupid like can’t you just pick one but the whole experience was soooo memorable for me, the boring days in the car on the west coast the fun touristy things in the east coast, the good food, laughs, wild life, almost squishing wild life (porcupine… ouch!), rain storms, swims, hot days and so many things that I have missed but will one day come back to me.

5. What was your favourite meal and why?

   Lobster at Johns house, yummy, yummy lobster, it tastes like heaven, I don’t know what else to say.

6. If you could have done something differently, what would that be and why?

   If I had the option I would have spent more time in hotels, camping is fun for a while but it’s difficult and boring when you do it too much plus we had quite a bit of rain (mostly nights when we where in a tent… what luck).

7. If you could have not done something, what would that have been and why?

   Wow my only regret is taking a little lick of mama’s ice cream before she got it and not telling her, I’m guilt ridden to think that I didn’t ask, I hope you will forgive me Mama …

8. What do you think you learned about yourself?

   I learned that I can almost sing baby beluga in my sleep, baby beluga is the wee babes fav song and some times the only thing that will make her shut up in the car, personally I think it’s almost as annoying as the crying.

9. What do you think you learned about the others you traveled with?

   Hmmm… I don’t really have any dirt to dish on the “hubby” (as you know him) and Mama.
   I learned that the wee babe is prone to mood swings, that Mama is a princess now and “the hubby” can’t not lead us around cities.

10. If you had to describe the trip in 3 words, what would those be?

    I love Canada

Finally I have to mention that I hope I didn’t disappoint you with my answers, I’m not all that heartfelt or serious, I’m only the tweenager after all.

There you have it! Straight from the Tweenagers mouth! You can follow along on her blog as well at Live, Love, Laugh by JJ.