Ode to the Swiss Inn Hotel

I spent a week of Spring break with Melissa on the Red Sea in Egypt. As you can see from the picture below, both of us are smiling with our whole faces. I am pretty sure we did this the. entire. time.

Dahab, Egypt

Holiday of the Triple Decker Nutella Sandwiches

'Just don't stop' - A light packer's Plight

The trick to biking through snow is just not to stop. Power through. Go, go, go, go. As soon as the bike is stopped, it's just trudging. It didn't phase me that I was completely speckled with mud until we finished our ride and Kari and Jack walk out of the pubic bathrooms changed and sharp. I was the muddy one all the way back to Zurich. Isn't that tidy. Whatever. Somewhere buried inside every person is the desire to get muddy.

Winter Backpacking

We found our way from point A to point B in about five hours. Thank goodness for the tracktor that drove our path and packed in the snow. It was a beautiful day surrounded by untouched snow, animal tracks, and a whole lot of silence and laughter. Awww.

No longer on the fence about being on the fence.

This season I aquired some new skills on the mountains, had some good times, and from a greater perspective, I arrived at an answer to that reoccuring, self-identity question. Do I ski or snowboard? Even though in the above snowboarding picture I look like I am going to cash in, I do still like/dislike both equally. So... I will remain, for another year at least, happily on the fench.

76 Trombones and two plugged ears

Where have you been for the last six weeks? Not an exaggerated statement by any means. Telling proof: the combination of a sinus infection and a school musical lead me to spend under two hundred dollars in a month. The only way I would have been able to save more in this country would have been by baking my own bread. I won't put actual pictures up of the students, those you will have to go to our school website to find. However, when it was all over, this was the book that was made for us all. I'm getting all semi-mental just thinking about it... Even though I see those kids every day, now I teach them essays instead of dances.

Free Hockey?

I had no idea that this year we would be celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the International Ice Hockey Federation. That is, not until the Zurich Headquaters set up a free rink with free equiptment and skate use for open reservation. The best part about it, however, occured when we all arrived. There was an open tent in the yard, full of gear to suit fifty. We went in, got dressed like Christmas morning and played a game, without ever seeing anyone from the organization. That is some serious trust. As a side note and not to purposefully mention a stereotype, but there was a disproportionate number of Canadians out there. We represented well. Go Canukleheads.

Italy, Portugal and Bratwurst

For the first time since cheering with 1. FC Koeln I attended a European football match. It was also my first time actually sitting with the fans. I always remember looking at them standing and cheering and waving their flags. On this night I was one of them; sloshing beer in conversation and gesturing with bratwurst in fist. It was a mild night outside but I was pretty chilly with all those fans around me and all. Ok, it had been a long time since I had sat out in the rain and didn't mind. I guess I was too busy watching Ronaldo's orange shoes to care.

Winter hiking in Zurich

Vancouver

Cheese

It is nearly February, and in reflection of the holidays, I just realised that many pictures I have of the season are very silly. These pictures are so embarrassing! But at the same time as being embarrassing, they offer some of the most genuine moments. It was so nice to catch up, relax, and be silly again with my family and friends in Vancouver. I miss them!