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Hi all,
Yes, it's true, I am now in Niederglatt, and no, I had no idea where that was before driving into town! But, I have to say, at the moment, I could not imagine a more comfortable place! This quiet little town is north of Zurich, cradled by rolling hills with sharp Swiss mountains (often clouded) on the horizon.
Arriving in Zurich was far more comfortable than I could ever have imagined! I was met at the airport by my lovely home-stay family that the university arranged and I knew within seconds that I was in good hands. In a few short minutes we were home and after sprucing myself up, we were off to discover the town, though I had not realized it would be such a short event. Our tour consisted of the two main roundabouts that would direct me home, the town restaurant, the "other restaurant", the bakery, the market, the church, the school, and the gas station. Albeit there were a few shops in between (3 Barber shops and a knickknack store).
Swiss flags dotted every angle of the town along with the typical white painted houses held up with dark brown decorative
and structured supports. And flowers appeared wherever there was a place to plant them. Within minutes we found ourselves in the neighbouring town and we wound our way back along the paths lining the local streets and separating the small harvested fields. We aimed for the hill to have a view of the town, and crossed back into our town in the seemingly small forest. The trees covering half the hill were part of a local forest with paths spanning in every direction. I was introduced to neighbours and locals, as well as the recognizable symbols of each town that split the border in the forest - Niederglatt's symbol is a star and moon, and the neighbouring town is the head of a boy with a toque on that looks like an elf. These symbols are seen on flags, carved into stones and round-a-bout hedges to explicitly denote the 'border crossings' - even though it is about 2 minutes to one boarder and 15 to the other... small town, indeed.
Exploring the town soon led to new discoveries - like the flowing water stations throughout the town to attract both birds and people on hot days, the modern architecture
giving floor to ceiling windows in the schools with sliding doors, or the numerous harvested fields along side local roads, not to mention the abundance of intriguing metal art creations perched on lawns and by front doors... I have to say though, not even the scooters hung by the school or parents escorting their children to school on scooters with groceries on the handlebars (and I mean the old-fashioned ones) compared to the vending machine. In the center of town, there was my favourite vending machine to date. Inside you could opt for a bag of apples, a head of lettuce, a package of fresh sausage or any other items displayed!
Before I knew it, I found myself being chaperoned and showed around by all the locals, including the principle. Everyone is making plans to take me to Zurich, the waterfalls, and even central Switzerland to see all there is to see. And at the other end of the spectrum, my tour of the school included picking up the principle's son from kindergarten after stopping for a full tour of her apartment. Then I was introduced to projeck-week. This year's project is art, so each teacher has an age-integrated
My new favourite vending maching
... seriously, how can it not be?! mix of students working collaboratively together on various projects. The projects ranged from woodwork to frames, or weaving and felting to painting and all sorts of unique handicrafts. I fell in love with the school (now I have to interject that the staff was more welcoming than most families, and the schools themselves are amazing). I was quickly given a pair of slippers, since all students and teachers wear slippers in school, what seemed like a ton of chocolate, and a package of espresso for the daily coffee break. You see, for each 45 minutes taught, there is a 15 minute break for both staff and students. Each time the staff gather together at a communal table and there are always cookies, croissants, chocolate, tarts, or some other delicious treat. Of course, the staff room has couches, and floor to ceiling windows, a few stoves, not to mention bread in the oven each time I've looked over. But, the room clears out for lunch when married people go home to eat as a family (hence the hour-and-a-half hunch break) and singles eat at the local restaurant.... yep, quite a system!
After a few days of making art with the
My street
... actually my house! children I was in awe of the freedom and creativity that surrounded us, as well as an opportunity to bond with other students and grades. The whole school, and all parents come together at the end to celebrate and it really is amazing to what is produced! I could not have been better circumstances to circulate around all sorts of classes and just jump in - especially since there is not that much Swiss-German required for helping out an art project... hand motions and gestures just add to the atmosphere!
More to come....
Trish xx
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jordan and kurtis
non-member comment
wassupppp
we miss you and your anoying clock and bring back some swiss cheese from kurtis the class is boring without you... i'm in vancouver from jordan :D