mountains

Switzerland, the Alps were amazing, I wish I could use a better word, but amazing and of course breathtaking, seems most fitting. Since my secrete travel flaw is that I have never been out West, I was absolutely in aw of the idea of mountains in general. We arrived in the evening, but I could still see the traces of white tips that dominated the sky. The group went for a walk through the small town of Lauterbrunnen. The Alps giant walls were all around us, every direct we looked we felt smaller and smaller (in a good way). The brightest light was a spot light that shun on the waterfall that cascaded down the mountain right by our hotel. The air was so fresh; as I write this I take deep breaths, in attempt to recreate the cool refreshing feeling I got that night. The group took a moment to sit and listen to the silence, but we heard noise. It was the sound of waterfalls, yes you heard right waterfalls. As we slowly circled with our eyes we realized that there was falling water in every direction. I have to say it again ..aw! The next morning we went on a hike through the Alps. Once again we were faced with, sore muscles, and shortness of breath, but the scenery seemed to take away everyone’s worries. We all loved the smells, of pine, fresh snow and clean air. (I felt like I was in a Ricola commercial). The snow made our socks soggy and cold but sun tanned our white Canadian faces. After hiking all day we sat down to enjoyed some fondue on a outdoor patio. It was at that time I got a choppy face tan. (I had big sunglasses on) We slept well that night. The students told me that they fell asleep listening to the waterfall. The next morning we were awakened with snow, a good 3 inches! The group got a bundled up for our morning workout we ran amongst the giant walls and were guided by the rushing rivers. We found our destination; a farmers field, we hopped the fence and got ready for Ultimate, as I mentioned before my team had not yet been defeated. Under the snow was a good layer of mud, this made a perfect Ultimate scenario. The girls looked at the mud and then looked at each other with puzzlement. "This is nuts!" one said, "It’s wicked!" one of the guys shouted. After slipping on our butts a couple times we won 5 to 3! Another win and my team looked like we just got out of the trenches, but it was well worth it! The challenge was not complete, we were faced with a game of British Bull Dog, no one showed any mercy, even I a teacher was tackled at the knees and was smacked down into the mud/snow. We got back to the hotel and once again took over the breakfast room. The feast continued into the evening, but we stepped out of the traditional mei style and decided on BBQ. We discovered a little park area that had a primitive grill. (a fire pit wit a metal rack). We bought meat (sausage, chicken, lamb, pork, beef), some fire wood was stolen and the feast began. The students started the fire and just grilled for hours. We all huddled around the fire to keep warm and occasionally grab a piece a meat to munch on with our mittens on. The next morning the town dogs were following us on our morning run, because we stunk of smoke and meat. I was sad to leave the Alps, but I was excited to go back to Munich. Good night


I am finally going to admit that I have an amazing life! (no ego attached to that statement). I’ve always just thought that I had good luck or was just fortunate, but for some reason right now I think it might be more then that. I am filled with "My life Rocks!" I guess before I thought my life was average, but right now I am putting aside my modesty and stating "There is something not average about my life." I am so grateful! And I thought these mountains were making me feel small??? Guess not. That is all I have to say about that.

I now have a moment to update this blog. I left the bustling streets of Paris to join the quaint paths of Strasbourg and then to mountains of the Switzerland. We will start off with our arrival to Strasbourg. A hotel that is just as confused as its city. Strasbourg was occupied by Germans in the early 19th century and then lost to the French after WW1 and then the Germans occupied it again during WW2 and then it went back to the French at the end of WW2. To me Strasbourg is like a play with two directors. It offers two different perspectives, two different sides; French/German buildings and French/German Food. In Strasbourg you can over hear tourist saying “Should I say thank you in French or in German?” And today Strasbourg is the home of the European Union, which perhaps makes it even more confusing. The visit to Strasbourg though is by no means a visitation of uncertainty, instead the combination of the two cultures is soothing.
This feeling was brought to me in the lobby of the Hotel. There is a similar perplexity to the hotel that exists in the streets of the city. It is seen in its décor; the Steins, paintings of old men drinking, dark wood paneling, and other little trinkets that remind my of my great-aunts cottage. As my eyes scan the room I am attracted to the modern light fixtures that clash with the old style, but by no means is it ugly. I could even go so far to say that it works. There is a balance between the old and the new. I am comforted by the old and intrigued by new, don’t we all wish we feel that way about the future. Wouldn’t it be nice to be like Strasbourg-to be a combination of our different experiences and perspectives and still be at peace with ourselves (and inspire others to do the same).

While in Strasbourg we went on a day trip to Heidelberg. Here I was going to experience the legendary “Stairway to Heaven”. The day was sunny and we stopped to stock up on meat, cheese and bread (and chocolate of course) before the hike. The first phase was the entrance into the Castle and then into the palace gardens for a game of Ultimate Frisbee. In case you didn’t know Ultimate (as we call it) is MEI’s Academy’s national sport. It consumes us like blue and white consumes Torontoian’s. Anyway, my team (The Strong Kids) won the last game and were now up to serious match against The Star Gazers. We had to win and we did after two knock outs, a bleeding nose and a down pour of rain, we claimed our victory. (one more win and we will be undefeated). Back to the Stairway to Heaven, it began with a series of steep hills, that caused your calves to tighten like angry fist. Then we were face to face with the stairs, stairs that never seemed to end. Fortunately for me I am the teacher the takes care of the wounded, so I got be in the very back, so I got to step at a slower pace and stop to encourage those that were crying and in pain. As we got moving I realized that the ipod was invented for this reason alone. The tunes carried me a long, George Michaels ‘Faith’ will never be the same for me. We all made it to the top. A huge accomplishment, Joe mentioned that one year he had a group of 47 and only 17 made it. We were all proud of ourselves and I was proud of the students who shed tears along the way and said “I can’t do it.” and I said “Yes you can!” I was glad I wasn’t lying after all. After enjoying the beautiful view, we huddled like a pack of wolves in the forest to eat or meat (and chocolate of course). The way back down was slow and stead as the rocky step were slippery and our legs were shaky. Back down at the bottom we paused for lecture. Then, Joe announced we only had 30 min to catch the train and that we had to RUN to the train station. Just like the firefighters hearing the bell, the students jumps and grabbed their bags and ran. We left the castle that took us an hour to walk to. Once again I the soldier that never abandons the wounded, this time they cried because they knew they couldnt make it and this time… I didn’t lie. A cab was hailed and the wounded were thrown in. By cab it took us just over 10min to get to the train station. We waited for the rest of the group. We stared out the entrance to watch for a big running group, but then our vision was blurred, by the pouring rain. The rain was so thick we could barley se across the street. The wounded and I looked at each other with guilt, our fellow troops were out there running in the pouring rain. We stared at the clock, we had one minute left. Then the soggy smell filled the station and we could see 25 drenched students slide in. But it was to late, the train had left on time. (We cursed the efficient Germany culture) . Tomorrow I will continue the journey, but in Switzerland.... good night.