“A foggy day in London Town…”
January 11th, England
My backpack is sooooo heavy. I just had to put that out there. First. Wow. I think traveling makes it gain weight. It’s the hunky camera and little laptop. And if this post doesn’t make much sense, it’s because my brain is all foggy from jetlag. Hannah and I are sitting in a coffee house in Heathrow airport. We just landed, and although we are only a couple of hours from Zurich, we have our 5 hours to wait for departure. It’s 2:30am for you, but 8:30 am here. I feel like a rag, and getting tired and dehydrated like this makes me realize how I am not completely healthy yet. I still get so drained and sore. About halfway over I began to get muscle spasms in my legs, just like the old days, but I think it is because they were cramped, and my knee is still sore from falling on it when I was skating. Oh dear, I didn’t mean to complain so much.
We have had good travel so far. I felt a tad teary when kissing my family goodbye, but as soon as I was on my way, all tears and nervousness were gone, and I was totally into the trip! I so love overseas travel. And it is bringing back so many memories from 3 years ago too. When we landed in Chicago we had to leave security to switch terminals, but security was a breeze. I love traveling British Airways - they are so classy. When you enter the very clean plane, they have classical music playing, bright smiling stewardesses, and fairly lush seats. The meals were excellent too, we got two of them on a 7 hour flight. Our pilot told us in his classic English way: “We will whisk you right across Canader, and the Ahtlantic straight to London!”. I still got terribly excited while flying over Ireland - I just love that country.
It’s fun to hear all the different languages and accents here. If I were talking to you in person I would be imitating everything, but I cannot so I will have to try to write it as I hear it. :] (How do those stewardesses walk for SO long on heels? I am way too practical for that. Yes, they look nice, but how do you get anywhere? Sorry, one just limped past me.) It’s warm and rainy here. 7c, I believe. I wish I could connect and post this, but although I found 4 wireless networks, I have to pay for them all, and I DO not want to do that. So, you will have to wait to hear from me until I am in Switzerland. I wish you could be with me, it’s been a lot of fun already. I will call the family from Zurich. Hannah and I say things to each other that do not make any sense, and then laugh. We are tired, and it’s not over yet!! Scarves are all the fashion here - even the men wear them, and not like a business man in the States wearing a wool one. No, there will be this big hunky man walking past all masculine with a sparkly feminine looking scarf wrapped around his neck. And the ladies wear tights and boots (either winter or leather boots) with a very short skirt or very long top. I guess we will see it in the States soon.
8pm, Zurich SWITZERLAND!
Just like that, there is sooo much to tell you about, that I am overwhelmed. My head is hurting and still foggy. Hannah and I have been awake for 36 hours, and do I have a headache! You get to the exhaustion faze where you just fall asleep sitting up or talking, and you are not even aware of it until you wake up! That’s what happened to me on the flight from London to Zurich. Thankfully, I did wake in time to see the landscape as we flew in - it was lovely! It felt like new territory, never having been this far east before. To tell you the truth, it reminded me a LOT of Wisconsin - very hilly with a mixture of trees and open fields. Most of the houses (chalet style) that I saw were white with a reddish brown trim and roof. Now I want to come home and build myself a little chalet. They are so cute! The airport was clean and empty, and the customs man, oh my was that funny. If it had not been customs I would have let loose with the loudest of my belly laughs ever. The man silently took it from me, stared at it, flashed a HUGE fake smile, and just that fast was as sober as ever and handed back my passport with nary a word. I have NEVER experienced customs that easy. We even had to go through security again when we arrived in England.!
It’s kind of sad that I had to be so tired when first experiencing the country. I would have a lot more to tell you. As it was, I was leering like a drunk out of every window with my camera in my hand, commenting on things and probably not making any sense. It was a warm spell here, about 40 degrees I would say. I need to relearn my Celsius. :P A tall dark haired lady in her late 30s came up to us and introduced herself as Pia. (Pronounced that way - it is Latin.) I always wonder when I meet people what it will be like to look back on that moment once I know them well. I believe she is single, and is a staff member of this charming society. (That was for my sister’s benefit.) She drove us home to Guetli in a Passat - which seems to be the vehicle of choice here. There are ugly suburbany things everywhere, and the cutest little one person car that looks like a bug. I forgot what they are called, but I will try and post some pics of them. We asked her lots of questions on the way home and learned more about Guetli. Pia speaks 5 languages and understands 7.
I was enthralled as we drove through the villages (or as they say, “willages“). They are so adorable, and full of little shops, restaurants, chalets, roundabouts, Italian lights, blooming pansies, etc. Our main village is Mettmenstetten. I was happily admiring it, and then all of a sudden we came around a turn, and there were the Mountains. I could have cried they were so beautiful. God sure knows what He is doing. It is Glacier National Park on a much larger scale. I had no idea we were going to be so close to the mountains, and kept snapping pictures out of the foggy car window. Pia told us they are taking us up into the Alps to the other retreat center on Monday or Tuesday. It is in Hasliberg.
Guetli was far more lovely than I imagined, and I don’t think it really looks like the pictures on the brochure at all. It is HUGE, chalet style, with about 3 large buildings. They have a large store, that is the florist shop decorated all beautifully with little lights and stuff. Imagine Avalon Floral at home, or that Brent Douglas. We are going to tour it tomorrow, but what I saw impressed me. I cannot begin to tell you how many people came up to us, knew our names, and told us how happy they are that we are here. We have been told over and over again that we should feel at home, and we are welcome, and two months is not long enough. :] Everyone really likes Hannah of course, because not only is she incredibly sweet, but she speaks a little German and they know her aunt Martha. I was guessed at 18 again tonight, and they thought Hannah was older than I. I am surprised at how many DO know English, but also surprised at how limited the ones who know it are. I have a feeling I have some intense German lessons ahead. It is a different dialect than the Hutterites speak, although I did understand a couple of conversations.
2am: I woke up after 5 hours, and can’t stop thinking, so I thought I would write a little while.
Pia took us to our rooms right after we met Cornelia, the wife of the main couple in charge here. It is a large chalet building, on the second level, with a small apartment minus a kitchen. I can only compare it to a very nice hostel room, for those of you who have traveled in Europe. My bed is nice and firm, and we have huge fluffy down pillows and nice luscious down comforters to sleep under. I always wondered why the Swiss had such limited comforters on the beds, were they all short? Hannah bent double laughing when I asked her, and here it is just the way they make their beds. They roll it up, and then set it sideways on the sheet. I will have to learn to make it Swiss style. We have own room with two single beds, dreadful colored sheets, and 3 large windows. (I can see mountains from mine!) The windows have lacy curtains and dark wood, with another set to pull across for privacy. We have a small desk and two closets, and share a bathroom with 3 other girls in our apartment. They are all so nice. Let me se if I can remember all their names. Some of them have the most normal names ever, and some are totally unpronounceable, much less remember-able. :] There is a tall blonde named Rachel, and she says it like the Israelis would: “Rahel”. Then there is a Tabea, she has been so warm. (For those of you who know her, she is just like Lorraine’s sister Rosan. She looks like her, talks slowly like her, and is sweet and says the same things as her. ) There is also a Rebecca and a Helene and a Katja (“Cot-ya”). A lot of the women here are tall and strong and big boned. They are all calling me Rebecca for now, but I would not be surprised if I get a nickname because there are 2 other Rebeccas here. They say it with a rolled “R”, “Ruh-bake-ahh”. We have a key to the apartment, because we are just off of a very busy main road. They do drive on the same side of the car and road here as we do.
We were invited to dinner at the main meal room. It is so much like a Hutterite colony, the way they live in a community, except on a Christian scale, and like a mission or college retreat place. It is a good thing I spent so much time on the colonies at home, though, being surrounded by German and working in the kitchen. I believe we are going to be on kitchen duty right off. I will try and make my letters more personal when I have fully described all my surroundings and new friends. I love meeting new people. I have a lady that is my special contact. If I have any needs or questions or problems, I am to call or talk to her. Her name is Inge. Imagine pronouncing the name Inga in the most difficult way possible, and then you might have it right. It’s like ending the word on an obtuse note. The “e” disappears. Does that make sense? :] She is very warm and motherly, and has 3 children. Hannah’s contact is Mirjam.
The food was very good, we sat at round white linen covered tables, and had no spoons. They served warm buttery macaroni with white cheese melted all over it, and fresh applesauce. Then they had a broth that tasted just like the Hutterite knadle. We drank hot mint tea and water. People came up to us constantly, and introduced themselves. Remembering the names will be difficult because they are so foreign.
I am the only American here, lots of them have never been to the States.
5:30pm. I have a short time here before dinner. Where to begin? Hannah and I slept until noon (to our horror) and just after we woke up Pia knocked on our door to see if we were okay and wanting lunch. We dressed and ran down to the dining hall where it was filled with people. There are about 30 full time staff here, several young people who have come like us, for different amounts of time up until 1 year, and then always lots of visitors, so the mealtimes are very full. The meals are much like our family would cook on a regular basis, only with a European twist. This time we had scalloped potatoes and roasted chicken and baked cauliflower. Then for dessert there was a delicate pudding of yogurt and cream cheese and pureed fruit.
Pia took us for a long tour of the grounds after lunch. The guest rooms are amazing, Mom would just love it. They are doing a lot of remodeling right now, refinishing wood floors, retiling bathrooms, etc. I love the way they paint the ceilings white, and then crisscross wood strips over it. All windows open sideways, and have shutters and window boxes. Hannah and I have a small balcony off our room that looks like Garmisch Resort in northern WI. The weather here is like our March would be. Warm and wet, and surprisingly green. Even some flowers are blooming. When Hannah and I awoke it was snowing, and melting as soon as it hit the ground. I guess we will be seeing a lot of spring while we are here, they will be planting the flower boxes and gardens the beginning of March. Guetli has a mission in Ethiopia called Mission on the Nile that they are closely associated with, and often send clothing and food to it, so they have large rooms of storage for that, and places to assemble gifts.
The store! I love it. You have never seen such class and amazing arrangements. They have SO many gifts and flowers and stuffed animals and slippers and delicate glassware and lotions and…! We are right off of a main road, so people stop in all the time to buy things. That is one of the many ways that Guetli makes a living. They also sell produce, and have a little chalet shed to sell the veggies and apple cider and honey in. Guetli has several orchards and gardens. I found out that I will be working in the Greenhouses and gardens, and Hannah is in the kitchen. I have pretty much decided that Guetli is a small mission. I never could have chosen a better place to come. It is amazing to me how God led me here, and how perfect it is. It is so safe, and has such sweet believers, and they are even like us in so many ways - like the ladies all wear dresses most of the time, just like Hannah and I do.
Hopefully soon I can connect and send this long epistle and post pictures! For now I am trying to remember all that I can so that I can get as much information to you as possible. It looks like I will have internet access, but not as readily or as often as I hoped. I am so grateful for this laptop to have in my room! I am used to just talking and hanging out with my sisters all the time, so I feel VERY out of touch with them right now. I have so much to tell them! I have only talked to my family once since I am here, just to tell them I got here safely. I will have to figure out my schedule and a good time that I can always call. I did see little private phone booths that I can call from. Now if I could just figure out the calling code and pin to make my card work. Maybe my Pa will have to get me one and email me all the information… :]
After dinner:
I am trying to remember what all I can tell you, because in about 15 minutes I will have internet! I should tell you about my afternoon. I went to the greenhouses, and worked there for about 4 hours. Rachel (one of the girls I live with) works there, and speaks English well, so I am glad. She is 29, and is a nurse, and has been here for about 3 years. She really felt like God wanted her to do some ministry for a while. Then there is Daniela, she is married and quite the character. She can understand my English if I speak very slowly. Another young man out there who is at Guetli for a year is Simon. (Pronounced “See-Moan”.) They will be the crew I work with. There is for a short time here a girl named Olga. She is from Slovakia. It is cold out there, I layered quite a bit with borrowed clothing until I felt like a teddy bear waddling around. It is very active work, I will have lots of exercise.
They break for food and tea/coffee here all the time, so they eat about every 3 hours. Lots of noodles and bread and cheese. Everything is decorated beautifully. Even our small snack table in the greenhouse has candles that are lit for break time, surrounded by pine greenery. After supper was a short service, and we had an interpreter next to us. Lots of German singing. German is the language here. I wish I knew it! Olga and I were laughing and laughing as we tried to communicate in the greenhouses. It was a conglomeration of sign language, and our limited knowledge of each other’s language. :]
