Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, oh my!
Well I finally made it to my destination in Switzerland after something close to my worst-case-scenario (although it really wasn't all that bad). The long and short of it was that all of my flights were delayed and Î wound up on later trains that I'd planned on and found myself in the tiny Swiss village of Brünig in the dark, the only person at the train/bus station, having missed the last bus to Hasliberg-Goldern by over an hour. It had started to snow and a good foot and a half were on the ground at that point, which is partly what slowed down the train. Fortunately the miracles of MasterCard allowed me to call the cellphone of my friend Catherine, who had been frantically waiting for me and she arranged for a "taxi" to pick me up. The local taxi is really just a guy and his car who, fortunately, was willing to risk life and limb to get me to my destination in the blizzing snow (though he nearly cleaned me out of Swiss francs for the honor).
Anyhow, Switzerland is breathtaking, particularlz the Alps, and it is hard to believe that places like this truly exist. I am in a region of mountain-cradled lakes and alpine villages of hand-hewn wooden houses. I am staying at l'Ecole d'Humanité, an international boarding school based on what you might call secular humanism or, more to the point, extreme hippyism. It's connected with the LPC summer camp you may remember I was involved with in Maine (1998) and Le Caussanel, France (2002). One of my former campers is a "helper" here, something inbetween a teenagesitter and a teacher.
I will give more updates later, but many helpers are waiting to use the computers as this is their break time. Give me some comments--I'd love to hear from people!
Amsterdam Schipol airport bathroom highlights: a clean and free restroom nearly every 20 ft. Seriouslz--the airport workers must just laugh if someone ever asks them where a bathroom is since they surround you on nearly everz side.
Zurich Airport bathroom highlights: they actually provide bathroom users with a cleaning wand in case you leave a skidmark. Also, it was the first time I've seen ashtrays in bathroom stalls, and yet the whole room was pervaded by a sweet and subtle floral scent.
Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport bathroom highlights: um...no comment.
I miss you all! I will give you more updates soon,
L
Anyhow, Switzerland is breathtaking, particularlz the Alps, and it is hard to believe that places like this truly exist. I am in a region of mountain-cradled lakes and alpine villages of hand-hewn wooden houses. I am staying at l'Ecole d'Humanité, an international boarding school based on what you might call secular humanism or, more to the point, extreme hippyism. It's connected with the LPC summer camp you may remember I was involved with in Maine (1998) and Le Caussanel, France (2002). One of my former campers is a "helper" here, something inbetween a teenagesitter and a teacher.
I will give more updates later, but many helpers are waiting to use the computers as this is their break time. Give me some comments--I'd love to hear from people!
Amsterdam Schipol airport bathroom highlights: a clean and free restroom nearly every 20 ft. Seriouslz--the airport workers must just laugh if someone ever asks them where a bathroom is since they surround you on nearly everz side.
Zurich Airport bathroom highlights: they actually provide bathroom users with a cleaning wand in case you leave a skidmark. Also, it was the first time I've seen ashtrays in bathroom stalls, and yet the whole room was pervaded by a sweet and subtle floral scent.
Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport bathroom highlights: um...no comment.
I miss you all! I will give you more updates soon,
L