After a week in Switzerland, I feel like I have done so much already! I have come to know the family pretty well. After the first few days here, we all went to Zermatt, a very small town in the Alps, by the Matterhorn.
Getting to Zermatt was an adventure in itself! We drove for a couple hours, then took a train...in the car. Yes, we drove the car onto a train and then went THROUGH the mountain. We continued to drive for another hour or so and then parked the car in Taesch. From there we loaded all the gear onto passenger train and went up, up, up into the Alps to the town of Zermatt. There are no cars there except the bus and very small electric taxi bus things!
We spent the first day walking around town. I got to hear some Swiss men playing horns, which is pretty rare! We ate at a beautiful Italian restaurant sitting outside and drinking wonderful wine. The town is full of people and horse wagons. There are so many shops and all of the buildings have spectacular geranium planters hanging from balconies.
We spent the next three days skiing! This too was quite an adventure. We took a bus to a main gondola at the bottom of the mountain. Then we took a gondola and 2 cable cars up to the top of the Little Matterhorn (12,200ft)! We went from summer hiking and bike riding to skiing and ice climbing in a few lifts! From there we were on the glacier. You could take an elevator to an observation deck on the Little Matterhorn with great views of the Alps and the big Matterhorn (when it was clear, only on Saturday!)
You then skied down a long cat track to the wide open glacier where there were runs and lifts. There was SO much race training...teams from Switzerland, Russia, Austria, Poland, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, and even Canada. There was a huge terrain park and a long, open run, like Buddy's Run. The lifts to the top of the runs were all t-bars. Because it is on a glacier, which moves all the time, they have to be able to move the lifts, which they can't do with chair lifts.
We ate lunch in Italy and the food was UNBELIEVABLE! The top of Matterhorn Glacier Paradise (the area we were skiing in) is on the border of Switzerland and Italy. If I went down the wrong run, I would end up in the town of Cervenia, Italy! The view of that town was great. Being on a glacier in the middle of the Alps was amazing! We had views of SO much; We were usually above the clouds at 12,300+ feet above sea level! And the snow was fantastic! I thought glacier=ice, but it snowed every night making for beautiful groomers, and warmed up quickly making great mashed potato snow! I even tele-skied one day! Boy am I a clumsy mess on skis!
We had to be off the runs every day at 1:30 so we spent the afternoons in Zermatt walking around, eating GREAT food and drinking great wine and beer. I played with the girls in the pool at the hotel and relaxed a lot too.
After getting back, Monday I went to the girls' schools to meet their teachers. Tuesday I went to Freiburg, Germany. Norbert is from Freiburg and his parents still live their. The girls call them Oma and Opa, German for Grandma and Grandpa. We did some shopping, rode the tram and saw some of the sights, including the cathedral, which was the center of a great plaza, and the beautiful towers that are still standing even after the war. Unfortunately we faced a huge downpour and ended up in a cafe getting a snack and rushing to the tram with all three kids, trying not to get soaked!
What an amazing first week! The girls start school tomorrow and I will begin my routine...
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Zambia 2008!
I have done many crazy things in my life but taking 6 high school students may top my list! After a mini-adventure getting to Zambia, being re-routed through Dubai, Nairobi and Lusaka, we arrived in Ndola, Zambia but without all 16 pieces of luggage. Everyone coped well; we had what we needed in our carry-ons. Students even acknowledged how little they really need to get by! We spent our 2 weeks in the Copperbelt at the Chimfunshi Wildlife Sanctuary where they all became chimp experts and made new friendships. We spent days observing the chimps, teaching at the Twampane School and playing with the kids in the compound. These were the moments that really opened eyes!
We also did a few "projects." We sponsored a nearby village school to come and see the chimps, do art projects, play soccer and stay the night. They also sang and danced for us. The evening turned into a dance party with all of the Chimfunshi workers and their families along with all of us dancing too! The power in their singing hits you deep in your soul. They sang the entire hour to and from the school...all of us in the back of a truck with rhythm and harmony carrying us.
We spent a day in the Muchinshi village. This is the nearest school up to grade 9. We taught English class, writing acrostic poetry about ourselves and our lives. This gave everyone a personal look at how rural, poor Zambians describe themselves, their families, and aspirations. The same day we also painted the girls' dormitories at the Muchinshi School. The dorms are free for girls that are able to pay their tuition for school but live too far away. Painting was just the excuse for us to spend a day there; some of us were asked to join them for meals, we were refered to as "sista" by many, and were very sad to be leaving when they invited us to stay the night.
Our final project was with the Fbwanse Women's Centre in Muchinshi. This group of amazing women grow and grind corn for the elders and orphans in the village. They are able to pay for this by running a small bakery selling scones. We spent an afternoon there being greeted with hugs and singing followed by a tour of their facility. back in the large roon they sang and danced for us then presented us with a huge traditional meal: nshima (ground corn staple food), cabbage, fried sweet potatoes, chicken, kapenta (small fried fish), chibwabwa (pumpkin leaves with peanut powder), sweet potato leaves, rice, rape (canola leaves), and sweet potatoes with peanut powder. After the meal we gave a small donation for the repair of one of their mill parts.
Overall our time in the Copperbelt was eye opening and very successful. All of the students made connections with the children and adults living there. They got to hold and play with a baby chimp and became experts on the subject. I hope that they also reflected on their own lives and possessions and "needs" and a bit of perspective was gained.
After a great 2 weeks we drove a hellishly long drive to Livingstone where we visited Victoria Falls. We viewed the falls from the Zambia side but also went up in a micro light aircraft (like a hand glider with a small propeller and a pilot). This was amazing! Not only do you see the ENTIRE falls, but you see elephants, hippos and crocs from the air! Viewing the falls from the air is breathtaking! We did a dinner cruise up stream from the falls and saw some more wildlife but the real trip was in Botswana.
We did a 3 day camping safari in Chobe National Park. I feel like I can say that we saw everything! There was plenty of elephants, giraffes, zebras, tons and tons of different birds, baboons, impala, buffalo and others. But it was the special moments seeing animals do things: lions mating, buffalo by the thousands moving, zebras stampeed, the impala in a tree carried by a leopard, the leopard in the neighboring tree hanging out on a branch, hyaenas, vultures and storks sharing a carcass, elephants swimming, zebras "foreplay", plus so much more. It was a great way to end a trip!
My goals for the trip were to help young people gain perspective and open their eyes; what I was opening their eyes to depended on the students. I KNOW that these students changed the lives of hundreds of children and I hope that one of those kids changed the life of one of the students. Whether they made a connection with the animals or kids, that's all that I wanted and I think that it was accomplished.
We also did a few "projects." We sponsored a nearby village school to come and see the chimps, do art projects, play soccer and stay the night. They also sang and danced for us. The evening turned into a dance party with all of the Chimfunshi workers and their families along with all of us dancing too! The power in their singing hits you deep in your soul. They sang the entire hour to and from the school...all of us in the back of a truck with rhythm and harmony carrying us.
We spent a day in the Muchinshi village. This is the nearest school up to grade 9. We taught English class, writing acrostic poetry about ourselves and our lives. This gave everyone a personal look at how rural, poor Zambians describe themselves, their families, and aspirations. The same day we also painted the girls' dormitories at the Muchinshi School. The dorms are free for girls that are able to pay their tuition for school but live too far away. Painting was just the excuse for us to spend a day there; some of us were asked to join them for meals, we were refered to as "sista" by many, and were very sad to be leaving when they invited us to stay the night.
Our final project was with the Fbwanse Women's Centre in Muchinshi. This group of amazing women grow and grind corn for the elders and orphans in the village. They are able to pay for this by running a small bakery selling scones. We spent an afternoon there being greeted with hugs and singing followed by a tour of their facility. back in the large roon they sang and danced for us then presented us with a huge traditional meal: nshima (ground corn staple food), cabbage, fried sweet potatoes, chicken, kapenta (small fried fish), chibwabwa (pumpkin leaves with peanut powder), sweet potato leaves, rice, rape (canola leaves), and sweet potatoes with peanut powder. After the meal we gave a small donation for the repair of one of their mill parts.
Overall our time in the Copperbelt was eye opening and very successful. All of the students made connections with the children and adults living there. They got to hold and play with a baby chimp and became experts on the subject. I hope that they also reflected on their own lives and possessions and "needs" and a bit of perspective was gained.
After a great 2 weeks we drove a hellishly long drive to Livingstone where we visited Victoria Falls. We viewed the falls from the Zambia side but also went up in a micro light aircraft (like a hand glider with a small propeller and a pilot). This was amazing! Not only do you see the ENTIRE falls, but you see elephants, hippos and crocs from the air! Viewing the falls from the air is breathtaking! We did a dinner cruise up stream from the falls and saw some more wildlife but the real trip was in Botswana.
We did a 3 day camping safari in Chobe National Park. I feel like I can say that we saw everything! There was plenty of elephants, giraffes, zebras, tons and tons of different birds, baboons, impala, buffalo and others. But it was the special moments seeing animals do things: lions mating, buffalo by the thousands moving, zebras stampeed, the impala in a tree carried by a leopard, the leopard in the neighboring tree hanging out on a branch, hyaenas, vultures and storks sharing a carcass, elephants swimming, zebras "foreplay", plus so much more. It was a great way to end a trip!
My goals for the trip were to help young people gain perspective and open their eyes; what I was opening their eyes to depended on the students. I KNOW that these students changed the lives of hundreds of children and I hope that one of those kids changed the life of one of the students. Whether they made a connection with the animals or kids, that's all that I wanted and I think that it was accomplished.
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