Saturday we met our host families! SIT brought people from both programs to a hotel in Nyon, and put us in a room with chairs up against the walls, and some refreshments. Someone commented that we were sort of like orphans, waiting to be picked up and taken home to our new families. My host mom, Renat, came and found me herself, which she said she always tries to do with her students (she’s had 4 before me). We drove to Nyon with my two large bags and then had lunch. Of course the first meal was the biggest test – fish (which in case you don’t know I don’t really eat), and she made a curry sauce with it, which was good. I definitely welcomed the rice J I was kind of nervous, and it was kind of awkward because she isn’t naturally very talkative. Her appartement is actually more like a townhouse, which she told me her son actually owns but she lives here, and there is a nice German man I met who lives upstairs. I have my own room downstairs, with a little window that looks up to the street. I have a little desk, and I realized that I barely brought any clothes since my closet pretty much swallows them up. I also have my own shower, which is nice. Earl had warned us that Swiss usually only take 5-10 minute showers, and they’re very efficient and conscious of the environment, including recycling. Luckily for me I take quick showers anyway, because if I were to turn of the water while shampooing I’m pretty sure I would get sick since my room has no heat. She has a beautiful of the lake and mountains behind it, and we’re part of a bunch of lovely colored townhouses. Next to us is a petit (little) vineyard, and the “downtown” part of Rolle is not far away. I walk to the train station via a little path, and it’s only about 10 minutes away.
Renat is retired, as all Swiss must retire after the age of 65. She does a lot in her free time, though, from golfing and biking to gardening and serving meals to the disabled and sick. She is also part of Samaritains, a group that does First Aid stuff, like CPR and whatnot. That day Samaritains had a stand at the fête (festival) in Nyon, so I went with her because she was working at the stand, which gave people basic first aid and band-aids if they needed it and also had brochures and demonstrations of giving CPR. Apparently the fête only happens once a year, and people come in with boats they built themselves and try to sail them. Some examples are a Flintstones themed boat, and another Rasta-themed one too. There was this huge slide that kids slid down into the lake, as well as paddle boats and kayaks, and at the end of the day each group launched their boat (think Physics boats, but maybe a little bigger and much more decorated) down the slide. There was also a scuba tank and random games for kids. We were there the whole day and I walked around a little but there wasn’t much to do, but I found Alyssa there, also wandering around by herself. It was kind of cool though standing by the railing and just looking out onto the lake, and as people gathered to watch the boats and were just looking out I felt so European… it’s hard to describe, but it was cool. I also made a couple of Swiss friends, with the two younger people in Samaritains who were closer to my age.
Renat was born in Germany, and I think is half Swiss, and came here when she married her husband. They’re now divorced, but half the house they had is still hers and they’re on good terms. For dinner that night we had a salad, which wasn’t anything special except for the fact that pretty much all our vegetables are fresh from her garden, which definitely makes a huge different.
Sunday I sort of slept in (I got up around 10, but I totally could have slept longer), and we had a big breakfast so we could skip lunch since we were going hiking. Renat made me eggs avec fromage (with cheese; it seems the default cheese here is gruyere), and we also had bread, muesli (a mix of oats, nuts, and dried fruits, often eaten with yogurt, so it’s sort of like a parfait), honeydew, and probably more – it was a lot. Renat took me to Dôle, a mountain nearby with an altitude of 1667 metres, and I was pretty excited to be hiking in the Swiss Alps. Of course, the mountain where we went is part of a much smaller range, not like the ones that are giant and snowcapped that you see in pictures. We drove most of the way up, then hiked to the top, which altogether took probably about 4 hours. As soon as we walked into the mountain/trail part, you could hear the tinkling of cowbells everywhere – it was so beautiful. There were cows roaming pretty much all over the place, and they were indeed happy cows. We stopped at a little chalet at the top for a break and a snack, including dried apples which she makes herself. The mountain is used for skiing in the winter, but it usually doesn’t snow here until late December or January. Apparently though it’s been unusually cold, like October weather right now, and there’s even a forecast of snow, probably in the mountains. I translate it to heavy jacket weather in the morning, and it warms up during the day, but I don’t need my coat yet. I learned that the Swiss say hi to everyone, out of politeness I guess, as we said Bonjour to everyone we passed. People bring their dogs everywhere too – the other day getting of the train this girl had THE cutest Siberian Husky puppy I have ever seen. Anyway, Renat said that you can tell if a person is French of German because they don’t say hello. Dinner that night was delicious as well – tomatoes stuffed with ground beef and topped with cheese, then cooked in the oven for a little bit and served over rice. One of the common, cheap desserts here is a caramel flan, which you can buy in little yogurt-like cups, and it’s pretty darn good.
