No catchy title for this weeks writing. It was simply a very quiet week. I managed to be an awful husband, and gave Julie my cold. I tried very hard to keep her well. I spent a week sleeping in another bedroom. I made sure I disinfected everything after I touched it, but it turns out the Swiss virus was to strong. Monday, when my parents left, Julie messaged me from work that she was coming down with a cold. I tried to get her to come home and just go to bed, but she had a big project at work. So on the first day of her illness, she stayed at work until 10:15 PM. She got home about 11:00 and then slept until about 10:00 AM on Tuesday.
I learned the hard way, that even plugging in certain electronic devices into an adapter doesn’t overcome the differences in voltage between the US and Switzerland. I left all my power tools in the storage locker except for a knife sharpener. This had been the very best knife sharpener I have ever owned. Those of you that use knives much, know how important it is to keep knives sharp. So I figured I would be fine bringing this with me. I figured since since every other electronic device charges, and works with the adapters, this one would work too. So I set out to sharpen out knives. I plugged everything in, and hit the trigger to start the belts. All I got was a loud POP, and the smell of electrical wires melting. 🙁
I now have to do some shopping in Switzerland to see if I can find something similar. I was going to ride over to the Bau + Hobby store, but it rained for two straight days, and since it wasn’t an emergency I decided to stay dry instead. So my week consisted of cleaning, cooking, laundry, and going to the store. Pretty boring, huh?
I do need to give a special Shout OUT to the Eierman family of Oshkosh, WI. Julie and I met Mike and Theresa when we were all living the Twin Cities. It turned out that Mike and Theresa moved to Oshkosh about a year before Julie and I moved. We have been great friends for a very long time. We started camping together when the kids were little, and have taken many wonderful trips together. In fact the Eierman and Sorrells families made up the CheeseHeads Go To Europe Tour the summer of 2018! Anyway, Mike and Theresa were going camping this weekend with their daughters. They called Kaylee and asked if she wanted to go. It was perfect timing for Kaylee as well, as she had her first round of mid-terms last week. Good friends are priceless!
We did not stay cooped up all weekend, though. Saturday, Julie and I went to the Landesmusuem. This is the National Museum of Switzerland. The first thing we learned was why Switzerland uses the abbreviation CH. CH is short for Confoederation Helvetica. The Helvetians were the primary Celtic tribe that settled in Switzerland about 500 BC. Then in 1798 during the first Swiss Revolution, the revolutionaries referred to the country as the Helvetic Republic. This form of address stuck, and lives on today. We had to make sure to be back home by 1800, though. Yesterday was Indiana University’s Bicentennial Homecoming. I had to get us set up with a VPN, and HULU, but I really want to keep watching the Indiana Football and Basketball games! Well the Packers too.
Next week is probably going to be pretty quiet as well. My language class starts tomorrow. I spend two hours a day for the next 8 weeks trying to learn German. Keep your fingers crossed for me. After I pass the language test, I am going to start looking for something to keep me occupied. Hopefully, I will be able to get on with a school here. I am going to send out feelers to private and public schools. If I can’t get a job. I am going to see if some school or multiple schools will let me volunteer. I really would like to learn about the Swiss Education system.
Thanks for the Hulu tip, a great discovery…
In the culinary field you have to try the Swiss fondue, the right address seems to be “Le Dézaley”