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.