Back in BC - Sun Peaks

Snowmobiling is even more fun than I expected. Especially in a fresh winter wonderland like this. I think this could replace directing musicals as my winter sport... hmm.

Elves to the Rescue!

We went for the vision of being 'Santa's Elves', to once creating our costumes, looking more like 'Super Elves', there to save Christmas, and, when displaced into Swiss traditions by the race spectators, unwillingly became a pack of 'Schmutzlis'. According to Swiss traditions, Schmutzli's are Santa's alter ego; always there to instill fear in children to be good.

We weren't scary! Just glittery!

You would think this is a finish line picture but no, this is just how we ran... the whole way. Ahhh!!!! We're elves look at us! We look so cheery! How could we be schmutzli's?!

Lamborghini park job

Who... parks that close? Parking is tight in Zurich but seriously. I'm just saying.

ZIS Christmas party!

As time goes on, we are getting better and better at posing in the twins shots and worse at taking them. The picture on the right is this years Christmas party and the one on the left is last years. Love ya sista!

Is sleeping over at school scary?

It is if you turn out all the lights in the corridors and play flashlight tag; and extra if one of your teachers plays 'the demon' and just scares people in corners.

When the fall play, The Fabulous Fable Factory, came to an end, we had a slumber party in the theatre to celebrate. S o f u n . If anyone ever said it is more fun to dance at a club then with a bunch of twelve year olds... they may need to reassess.

Bosphorus Boat Cruise

I steered a ship on the Bosphorus! And... most importantly, I met new people; educators from Europe and the Middle East, while eating yummy Turkish food, on a boat, on the Bosphorus... while meeting new people....

Istanbul, Turkey - There I went!

I was lucky enough to be sent by my school to the ASCD (Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development) Middle East conference. So in the zwischentime between conference sessions and days, I got the chance to get a small taste of the city and its culture.

It felt so alive there, with people out and restaurants open all day and well into the night. The traffic wins the Alysha Award for the scariest she has ever experienced. busses drive like they are Mini's and if there were Mini's than I guess they would drive like bumper cars. Amazing!

Everyone seemed so friendly. I walked into a shop and asked if they had the CD for a Turkish artist I had heard in a taxi and they didn't, on sale, but the clerk ran home and burned me a copy of his own for free! Then, I went into a restaurant to order a kebab to go and while I was sitting there, chatting with a waiter, I commented on the charm of the table lamp. It was made of beads and a candle went under the shade. The waiter came back with my kebab, an extra bag and some newspaper. He wrapped up the lamp and gave it to me. Right off the table!

Buckle down, get out the boots

How did this happen?
My sandels are still sitting by the door.
My t-shirts and tank tops are still forefront in my closet.
I have berries in my freezer for frozen drinks.
Where are my mucklucks?
What about my hot water bottle...
and soup!
mmmm.... soup.

Hallo-what?

When we showed up at Paddy O'Reilly's, I think they must have thought that we were celebrities... VIP's. All dressed up so fancy and all. That would explain why they made us wait outside for awhile. You know, so they could prepare the bar and the other patrons for our arrival, and arrange a spot for us. Where was that spot anyways? What happened to Devon and Ugly Betty, aren't those sunglasses?

On the international scene though, my advisory definitely rocked the Door Decorating Contest. Woot woot! Made with mostly recycled materials, I now have a alternative solution for those students whose dogs eat their homework. The Guillotine!

These decorations were up during Family Conferences and one father walked in and said,

"Hey... those are my Armani jeans!"

Oops... we just sewed them to the door.

Zurich Tennis Open

An ace, a deuce, a match, a game, matchpoint and points in a game. I learned about tennis from Charlie and Venus! A perfect example of something I didn't know that there was so much that I didn't know about it. I am almost inspired to grab a racket!

Lugano - Another Sweet October Break

I just couldn't choose between these pictures. Perpetual pondering has left me with no choice but post them all, or fall ridiculously behind on my posts. It is a traffic jam!

Lugano, its steep mountains, ornate architecture and people who put a good nights sleep in an espresso sandwich. Lugano is a place that I could live. Yep. No problem.

River Kayaking Extravaganza

We drove out towards Chur on a foggy, rainy fall morning for a two day course. After an intensive lesson we stayed up out of the gorge in this quaint village, with this little church and this skiny cow.

The kayaking was more technically challenging that I had anticipated and actually quite scary around tight river bends; this deriving from my fear of rolling and being stuck in the kayak. Well, as one might expect, that never happened.

Kerenzerberg Grade 6 Trip

The rain held out for us on another school trip to Kerenzerberg. Though the hikes were gorgeous, the highlight was, of course, Storm The Castle, a dodgeball alternative with few to no rules and a lot of gymnasium equipment (read: anarchy). My favourite part was the campfire. I returned to my Girl Guide days singing legendary repeat-after-me songs and, yes, On Top of Spagetti. I loved it!

Back to School Buzz (BTSB)

Zurich International Middle School has moved! However, what you see above isn't the whole school because they lifted it up and built most of the school underneath. Then, of course, put the villa back down on top. My classroom is smaller than before, but it has a lot character and a balcony! Down the hall from my room is the French class and on the main level below is the Strings room. Sometimes, when I can hear both strings and French and the smell of an old villa is all around me, I feel like I have gone back in time. Like I should be wearing a long puffy skirt and be covered in chalk dust.

Phew! Woah! Surprise! Outstanding! Quick!

One late Friday evening I returned home to Zurich from my summer exploits. Phew! This was definitely one of the best summers of my life. My Dad was visiting, using my house as a launch pad for a three week vacation. We caught up a bunch and the next day we headed into the Zurich Street Parade and 'danced' in the street to the theme of 'Friendship' with the other 800,000 people rocking out. Rocking out in one big urban puff of neon fishnets, neon wigs and neon feathers to the best house music floating by on these enormous lovemobiles. Woah!Then, casually, we drift towards a Mexican restaurant for some food because, I believe, I feel like nachos. Surprise! A 26th birthday party for me, with all my friends waiting there. My Dad seemed to think that because of my not having a birthday party these past few years, he should go through my phone address book and plan it himself. Outstanding! It was great to see all of my friends before work began (even if Dad displayed naked baby pictures of me in public), and so nice that my Dad could meet so many of my Zurich friends, and that they could meet someone who is so important to me in my life and in who I am; him! Thanks, Dad, for the plates and plates of nachos and the past 26 years of you and me. Quick! Post this before I get too semi-mental!

Sega 2008 - Books, Books, Books

This year's trip to Sega was focused around completing a library project; with a lot of fun time in between. Another month there just reaffirms that I may never be able to stay away. Since I didn't take any pictures this time around, I chose my favourite picture of Emily's for this post. Flash! Summer is gone!

On the road with Charlie

In just one week Charlie and I managed to put 1100 miles on his volkswagon. As a very willing passenger, I was able to watch the UK zoom by on our way from beautiful place to beautiful place. Besides the fortune of great company and yummy food (tons of it!), I also had the chance to visit my third love: the salty and chilly, wavy and windy ocean. We walked to it, along it, to see it, to sit by it, to watch the sun go down over it, to walk in it, surf and float in it, and it reminded me of home in Deep Cove and after awhile, it started to feel like home, and how lucky is that for me!