How Do You Say “I Am Stuck” in French?

I know how to say “I am” in French ("Je suis"). I don’t know how to say ,“Je suis ‘stuck‘.” That would have been helpful today.

Matt and I went to a mall and I locked myself in a bathroom stall that MacGyver couldn’t have broken out of - there were no possible escape routes. Knocking violently on the door, wiggling the handle, and semi-whimpering for 10 minutes appears to be a universal sign for help though, because a little old lady’s voice said…..well, I don’t speak French well enough to know what it said, but regardless it was something calming to me. Calming to me until she left! Luckily, a few minutes later she came back with another lady who opened the door for me. (Apparently you push the door to get out, not pull.)

Meanwhile, Matt was standing around just waiting, completely clueless that his wife was trapped in a bathroom stall. He did tell me that he’d reached his usual point in waiting that he started to try and figure out how many hours/days/months/years in his life he will end up standing around waiting for me.

Train Ride

Dogs are allowed everywhere here - restaurants, stores, public transportation, so I decided it was time for Millie to ride the train. I was a little nervous about this outing as Millie is not always on her best behavior like most Swiss dogs. Matt says I give her too much credit. He thinks she has a lot of bad habits. We took the train to Vevey, which is a 30 minute ride, to meet a friend and her dog for a hike in the snow. With the exception of licking the crumbs off the floor around our seat and staring at people as they ate, Millie behaved herself (i.e., no barking or jumping on anyone’s lap).

IT'S FRIZZEN

Although Sandra and I could use French lessons as often as possible, I have to admit we enjoy receiving emails from our instructor letting us know class is canceled…….
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Subject: IT'S FRIZZEN: CANCELLATION OF THE CLASS OF THIS MORNING
Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2008

Bonjour
Désolée, I have to cancel again the class for the weather. It's frizzen and my little car doesn't want start. I'm trying during 30 minutes.
ENCORE DESOLEE
A jeudi

Cordialement
Sophia
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Subject: CANCELLATION OF THE CLASS OF THIS MORNING
Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2008

Bonjour,
Ca va?
I hope you can have this mail until you go. I can't come because my car doesn't star you the ice cold. I'm really sorry.
A jeudi.
Sophia

Gruyères

We ventured out to the little town of Gruyères, Switzerland this past weekend. It’s a 45 minute drive from Morges. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn the digital camera off the last time I used it, so there are no pictures to show of the cobblestone roads and chateau at the top of the hill. You’ll have to visualize it in your head. (Or here is a Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruyères). We enjoyed a lunch of fondue, meats, local cheeses and wine. The town is known for their meringue and Gruyère cream. It was so good! The meringue tasted just like Grandma Thoma’s homemade schaum tortes. Then we saw how they make Gruyère cheese at a local factory. It was a nice, little tour and it was in English! Maybe I should start a cheese log if Matt’s going to keep up these beer reports.

The Beer Report, Vol. 1

Now that this whole election thing is over it’s time to start discussing some more important issues – like beer. I plan to run an occasional update of the various brews I try over here. Here are a few of them, in order of taste:

Leffe – a Belgian abbey beer. The abbey was founded in 1152, so they know how to make a good beer. This is one of my favorites. I finally know why someone would want to become a monk – in fact, I’m considering it myself. I’d suggest trying the Blonde, Brune and Triple of their most popular brews. If you really want something with a kick, give Leffe 9 a try.

Duvel

– brewery founded in 1871. It’s a strong, golden Belgian pale ale. Duvel

means “devil” – it’s a long story, but my take on it is that it was named by a guy with a bad hangover sometime in the 1920’s. At 8.5% alcohol, believe it.

Budweiser Budvar – the “real” Budweiser (i.e., not made with rice). This Budweiser was established in 1895 in the Czech Republic. I buy it in a nice big red and white can and believe it was made specifically for real football (NFL) on Sunday evenings in Morges (they had a lot of foresight in 1895…and, yes, our cable gets live NFL games....Go Pack!) That being said, we keep well-stocked on this and it is best when served chilled.

Cardinal – this brewery was founded in 1788 in Fribourg, Switzerland. This seems to be the “national” beer, since it’s been served in every bar and restaurant we’ve been in. If you just ask for a beer, this is what you get. In my view, its Switzerland’s version of Pabst, Schmidt, and Hamm’s all rolled into one fine brew. I believe it is only to be "drunk" at the White Horse Pub. One side-effect is a strong urge to walk to the McDonald’s at the train station after leaving the pub between the hours of 11 p.m. – 1 a.m. On a side-note, I’d suggest trying the Royale with Cheese (no Pulp Fiction “big brain on Brett” jokes please) or the McGruyere.

Trips to IKEA

I think our trips to IKEA will be slowing down now. We have all the lights and closets that we need for the apartment. The Swiss tend to take their light fixtures with them when they move, which meant we were literally in the dark for a while. Matt knew just how to install the lights but wasn’t expecting the concrete ceilings. That slowed him down a bit. We also had limited closet space with only one built-in closet in the apartment, which I’ve heard is very typical here. We’ve purchased a few armoires, so we finally have some storage space.

We have not been to the IKEA back home as much as we’ve been to the one in the neighboring town! The first time we made the trip we were surprised to find traffic completely stopped on the freeway because the cars were all going there. They also have traffic controllers in the parking ramp on Saturdays because there are so many cars.

I’ve found that a visit to IKEA is a sure way for Matt to get a headache. It’s a given that he’ll complain of one before we leave the parking lot. Now that we have lights and closets, we’re planning to spend our Saturdays taking day trips around Switzerland.

French Lessons

Matt and I are taking French lessons which are offered through his company. Our sessions are twice a week for 90 minutes each session at Matt’s office. We’ve had five lessons so far and I can say the following: “I am a woman. I am not a man. I am 34 years old. The table is brown.” It’s a start! Our instructor is very patient with us. I think she finds our Midwestern accents a little odd, especially how we pronounce our vowels. We are starting to recognize more words out in the community as our vocabulary increases, but the language barrier continues to be the biggest struggle for us.

Views from our apartment

The Move (One Month Ago)

Matt’s experience:
Headache (cousin’s wedding the night before) – MSP – O’Hare – Millie Lost – Airline Blames Us – Millie Found – Airline Apologizes – Upgrade to Business Class (Thanks Millie) – Zurich – Train – Alps – Lausanne – Taxi – Company Apartment – No Keys – Go to Office to Get Keys – Back to Apartment – Headache Gone – Need a Drink (None to be Found) – Sleep

Millie’s experience:
Crate – MSP – Why Are They Drilling More Holes in My Crate? – O’Hare – Lost –FOUND – Still in Crate (What, No Business Class?!) – Zurich – Baggage Claim – They're Here! – Whine – Whimper – Whine – BATHROOM AFTER 15 HRS – Whine – Whimper – Whine – Train – Alps – Lausanne – Taxi – Company Apartment – Out of Crate – Sniff – Sniff – Sniff – Need a Drink – Sleep

The Beginning

Before we start blogging about our European adventures, here’s a little bit about where we are and why we’re here:

- Sandra, Matt, and Millie relocated to Switzerland for Matt’s three-year work assignment with Pentair. The job is in Lausanne.
- We live in an apartment in Morges, about a 10 minute drive west of Lausanne on Lake Geneva (Lac LeMan is its French name).
- We are in the French-speaking area of Switzerland and taking lessons. Many people here speak more than one language, including English (but not as fluently as we thought – i.e., hoped).