June
2008
Packing it all In… (Day 21)0
Today was a fairly free-schedule day. After breakfast, we all met in the computer room to confirm our seats for the plane ride home and to go over the rules for packing (no liquids over 3 ounces large in the carry-on, one carry-on per person, you know the drill), and to go over the schedule for tomorrow.
After the meeting, Asha and I went back to our room to start packing our luggage, and this afternoon a few of us went into Chur for some last-minute shopping. We hit a few clothing stores for souvenirs, and I picked up a box of fresh chocolates from a confectionery shop for my mom.
As it happens, our last day is also the last day for the 60 kids about to go on their internships. To celebrate, SSTH put together a “BBQ” dinner for us all.
There was no barbecue sauce.
There was grilled chicken and sausage and beef kebab – what we in the US would probably call a “cook-out”. But it was tasty.
As this is my last evening in Switzerland, I think it’s a good time to share a few odds and ends. First, the words. Then the pictures.
1. Breakfast in this part of Switzerland has a lot in common with what we Americans would typically view as “lunch”. Thick loaves of bread, cold-cut style meats, cheeses, butter, fresh fruit and iced tea (Nestea) are paired with a few more recognizably breakfast items (jam, croissants, cold cereal, orange juice, hot tea, cocoa and coffee).
2. Traveling in Switzerland makes the ears pop as if taking a tour of high-rises in New York. The country is in the Alps, and the roads all go up and down. The temperature also varies – the lower reaches might be warm and sunny and no-sleeves-required while the upper reaches are still icy and home to cold winds. If you visit, be sure to pack layers and different thicknesses of insulating clothing.
3. I know The Hobbit backwards and forwards, but never before have I had such a clear picture of what the Misty Mountains must’ve looked like. I think they look like Switzerland, where the clouds seem to hang just above the trees – not even as high as the mountain tops – and the mists seem to rise out of the very ground and curl along on errands of their own. It’s really beautiful, and sometimes a little creepy.
(clouds amid the mountains)
(looks like you could almost walk into them, doesn’t it?)
(This is a little picture, I know. Imagine this view being the width of the visible horizon and you’ll get an idea of how intense and low-hanging the clouds could be.)
(There was a small community of gnomes on our host school’s grounds)
(and some cows – Adele could here their bells from her bedroom window)
(Swiss Rail – an excellent way to travel)
(Switzerland’s smallest tourism office. Holds half a dozen: Shevy, Lilianna, Adele, Sarah, Gia and Sophie!)
