Desalpe in Charmey

 A double-decker bus took all the students and staff to Charmey, a mountain village, to take part in the "Desalpe", the return of cows from their summer on the high mountain meadows. From under our umbrellas we watched two sets of cows walking through the village, as well as marching bands, and people wearing "Heidi" clothing.

 

 

Sometimes the cows had to be held back from rushing too fast down the street



Watching the parade with Papa

 

Next on the agenda was a hike. We were supposed to go all the way to Gruyere, home of the famous cheese, but it was raining too hard.  So we only walked 6 km instead of 11.  For Terry and me, it was our first EVER "umbrella hike".  We were cozy in our many layers, but my feet got wet.  I was so glad Terry insisted on buying cheap umbrellas in the Czech Republic after a walk through a rain shower.  Home again on the bus to have hot chocolate and rest.

Swiss night

Staff and students at YWAM Lausanne took part in a cultural experience at the end of our first official week together.  First there was a yodeling contest; the five participants managed variations of a feeble warble.  Then we played "Swiss games"; we'd had practice at some of these in our years at LCA.  A tug-of-war, throwing huge irregular boulders (more difficult than it appears), and a wheelbarrow race.  Much to Terry's disappointment, this half of the wheelbarrow collapsed on the way to the finish line. (Actually, he later said he wasn't disappointed at all)
The beautiful, sunny afternoon held for us to be able to have our cheese fondue outside on the patio.

Even though the melted cheese was a prepared mix, it tasted better than the one we had used in our French classes.  I think the addition of garlic cloves made the difference.  Note the little chocolate bars covering the table. We also had a flan type dessert, with plums or apricots, more custardy than the kolace we had in the Czech Republic.  Delicious!
Our evening finished with a short lecture on the history of Switzerland, with an emphasis on its Christian heritage.  A delightful evening.

Cooking with Rosy

Today's lunch menu was Penang curried fish, rice, and kohlrabi.   I started off by chopping partially thawed fillets into equal sized pieces. The fish was called pangasius, a mild flavored white-fleshed fish farmed in Vietnam.  It was marinated for a while in bottled fish sauce. Next, I started the broth with several jars of red Penang curry paste and crunchy peanut butter! Rosie threw in some beef bouillon powder, and chopped chilies. Mmm!
All mixed together with some water in the big rectangular vat.

After it simmered for a while the fish chunks were added.
Bongwol and Eli had julienned a binful of kohlrabi, and Rosy asked if I wanted to make a white sauce to put over it.  "Sure!" I replied, not really knowing the proportions.  First a huge gob of butter.( Yikes, my cholesterol will really climb; have to keep joining the ladies for zumba once a week. Good thing we're going hiking tomorrow, too)  Rosy sifted some flour into the pot and added milk.  I kept whisking until it looked thick and not lumpy.

It was poured over the steamed kohlrabi. delicious! 

Rosy, our chief cook, is from the Swiss-German part of  the country

Then the vat had to be tipped, but I gently scooped some of the fish first. Bon appetit!  It really was delicious, but I think too spicy for some of the toddlers.  I felt sorry for the people who said they didn't like fish. The idea in this multicultural kitchen is to get the students used to different foods.  The Korean students like this kind of lunch.  It's a pleasure to cook in Rosy's kitchen.  She's so patient and teaches us as we go along.

 

Kitchen duty

Here at the YWAM base, we're directly across the road from the Ecole Hoteliere, the largest and best hotel management school in the world, we're told. Here, our own little kitchen runs efficiently as well, feeding 100 people for the main meal at noon. Bongwol, Eli, and I were on duty in the kitchen this morning, prepping for lunch. Yesterday I was told, "Alice, you can't wear sandals in the kitchen!" Whoops, I knew that.
I wish Stephen could've seen me in my white coat, black-and white checkered pants, and non-skid, slip-on shoes. First we ladies washed and dried mountains of lettuce leaves, using 2 sinks and a spinner almost the size of a 5 gallon pail.  Eli made a sauce of chicken strips, onions,white wine and flour in a huge rectangular vat , while our next job was to make salad dressing, in a quantity 6 times the recipe.  Mine was an oil with balsamic vinegar and garlic.  Similar to the one I make back home, only I wouldn't normally add Maggi sauce and a Knorr powder with flavour enhancer, ie, msg.  It tasted good on the lettuce leaves though! The salad had no further addition except pumpkin and sunflower seeds.  Sometimes croutons are made to use up the week's bread supply. The chicken was served on a choice of spinach or egg pasta, with tired broccoli on the side.
We're not sure if we're going to be in the kitchen permanently, as the students will all be assigned "ministry opportunities" tomorrow, but our short stint was fun. After prepping for supper, too, my legs were aching as I fell into bed earlier than usual. 

First weekend outing

From Canada we bought a Eurail pass for train travel in Europe, so had to plan an outing at our first opportunity; Since I wanted a trip on Lake Geneva, because Eurail tickets include boats on the lake, a staff member suggested a day trip; First we had to get back to the Gare (railway station) by bus and metro.

 

Then we rode about half an hour to the small town of Nyon. We didn't stop that long, but I got lots of practice asking directions in French to find the boat launch;

 

 

Bongwol, a Korean who has lived in Texas for 10 years, kept telling us to pose with the scenery. We've never both been in so many of our own snapshots!  

 

We enjoyed our boat ride across the lake, despite cloudy skies and a few minutes of misty rain. Yvoire, our destination, is actually in France!  We explored the most beautiful medieval walled town. Charming old houses have been turned into little boutiques or tiny restaurants.

 

Terry and I were exausted at the end of the day!

YWAM Base, Lausanne, Switzerland

Here we are at the YWAM (Youth With a Mission) base near Lausanne, Switzerland, for a new adventure with a support programme called Mission Builders.  YWAM is an organization in which "young" people take part in a 3 month training programme, then go on an outreach trip to share the good news of Jesus Christ in another part of the world. A new batch of students is arrivin in 3 days, and we'll help the staff to get ready for them.
 This morning in our room we heard strains of a familiar worship song from a staff gathering below. We feel as if we're at Living Faith Bible College! Mostly young people everywhere, from all parts of the world. 
Terry and I spent the last 3 weeks visiting family in Darmstadt, Germany, and in the Czech Republic, and friends from the school we helped start in Bratislava, Slovakia, 20 years ago.  Our summer was spent waiting for our house to sell.  Finally, a week before we were to leave, we had to pack up all our belongings to put into storage.  The house was sold!  To say this time was hectic is an understatement! Thanks to our children, the water test finally came back positive, final legal details were taken care of, and the house was cleaned for the last time. 

The YWAM base is 15 minutes away from the railway station from which we arrived yesterday, in a suburb of Lausanne called Chalet-a-Gobet. We're in an old 5 storey hotel; our little room is on the first floor.  That is, not the ground floor, but up a few steps to the next floor.  The room is similar to the rooms in pensions in the Czech Republic- the typical 2 beds pushed together covered with duvets. There's lots of cupboard space, and best of all, our own bathroom! (Other dorm rooms don't have this feature) There is a wooded area next to us and fields nearby. We had a tour after lunch to orient us to all the facilities and to the bus system and grocery stores.
We feel as if we're in the right place for the next two months.