Since arriving in Switzerland, decorating our apartment has not been priority number one. First of all, we wanted to make sure we actually liked this place enough to stay before we invested in décor. Secondly, consider that we live in the heart of Europe. Spending money on traveling is way more f
People the world over love English. This is especially true in Switzerland, where English is the default language. People on the French speaking side don't speak German and vice-versa. As for the Italian speakers, they don't bother with French or German! But everybody speaks English. And app
The operative word here, of course, is writer. I like to think of myself as a writer and yet all I tend to write is this blog. Last year in Portland, my friend Joy decided to start a writers' group. I joined the group, went to the first meeting on a dark Fall night, and then, because I was so
Last summer, my friend Kate and her boyfriend were visiting us in Portland. As we washed all of the dishes by hand following a roast chicken dinner, she asked me a hypothetical question: Would I rather have a dishwasher or a washer and dryer in my apartment? At the time, I answered washer and
Working with three to six year olds means being sick in the beginning. Immediate sickness, guaranteed! It is a documented fact that schoolchildren are the grubby ones who carry all the germs, and seeing as I'm new here in Switzerland, I'm getting acquainted with a whole new population of b