Teaching in Switzerland

On our third day in Switzerland I was job searching and came upon a posting for a teaching position at a bilingual preschool in Kusnacht, about thirty minutes away from Zurich. I emailed the school and after waiting for two days with no response, I decided to give them a call. At this point I still couldn't figure out how to dial successfully on a Swiss telephone, so after about five attempts, I finally got through. A friendly lady informed me that they had received my information and if I was available, they wanted to meet with me the following morning. I was beyond thrilled. Upon coming to Switzerland I did not know what the job search was going to be like, however I was certain it would be difficult and drawn out. Then suddenly, after being in the country for less than one week, I found myself with a strong lead and a scheduled interview. Success!

Long story short, I went the next day, loved the people and the school and was offered a position as the lead teacher in the 4-5 year old room. I was ecstatic! I said yes, signed a contract and then began waiting to see if my work permit would officially come through. Before we moved I was promised a work permit through Jeremy's company. However, I did not have it in my possession and in Switzerland, unless you physically have the permit, it still may fall through. After a ton of calls, emails, desperate skype sessions to my mom to have her find my college diploma and mail it over, and lots of back and forth (I talked to the headmasters of the school at least once a day for two weeks), the permit came through thanks to the help of people at Bain, a relocation company, and my school.

Pre-planning week began on August 14th where I was able to meet the rest of the school team. We are comprised of people from America, the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland. Everyone I work with has been very helpful and welcoming. The operating language of the school is English, however most people speak in German when communication to each other simply because it is easier. Everyone is very good about using English when the English speakers are present so we don't feel left out or isolated.

In my room we have thirteen adorable students. Our students language skills vary widely. Ten of the thirteen students have one parent who's mother tongue is English. However, this is not necessarily the student's mother tongue. Some of our students' mother tongue is Spanish, while English and German are also spoken at home. Some speak fluent German, Swiss German, and English. Still others speak only German as their mother tongue, but understand English. The rest speak English, but speak and or understand German and sometimes a different language all together. It is quite the mix! They are all amazing and motivate me to drop my guard and start learning!

My counterpart is a Swiss girl who speaks English, German and Swiss German. She was at the school last year and is amazing! We get along really well and have very similar teaching and organizing styles. We also have an apprentice. She is also Swiss and is fresh out of high school. I am still trying to figure out the Swiss school system, but from what I know high school ends at 16 and you go on to start your career with some more schooling mixed in along the way. She is great! She is very sweet, eager to help and loves learning about teaching and running a class. She is also the one who helps me most with my German. I think it is partially so she can laugh at my pronunciation. My co-teachers speak German with the students, English with me, and Swiss German with each other. They are so helpful and kind and I could not wish for a better team.

My commute to work takes about forty five minutes. Five minute walk to the tram, fifteen minutes on the tram, five minute walk to the train, fifteen minutes on the train, five minute walk to the school. All in all it is not too bad and I enjoy having a few peaceful minutes to wake up on my way. Kusnacht, where the school is located is the most ideal place on earth. It is a small town on the edge of Lake Zurich (which we walk to for recess, ~7min walk) scattered with cute shops and restaurants. People walk everywhere and everyone seems to know each other. It is also a short walk up the hill to the woods. I can walk to the grocery to grab some lunch and the train drops me off just a short distance from my school.

 The upstairs area for small group play, story time and rest time.

 

The coat room. The Swiss wear house slippers (a clean pair of normal shoes that does not go outside) when they are indoors and a different pair of shoes for outside.

I am so thankful for this opportunity and am learning a lot about teaching and this fun and challenging new age group. Having this job makes my time in Switzerland even more enjoyable as I am able to really connect with the country and soak it up for the short time we are living abroad.

Cooling off

Temperatures in Zurich are at a yearly high, approximately 33 celsius. In a country with no air conditioning this makes for some very hot and weary people come 7 pm. Tonight we took the plunge into the river to cool off and enjoy a quick swim before heading to dinner.

Barcelona, Spain

This past weekend we headed to Barcelona for a long weekend. Both Jeremy and I have been to Barcelona before, so we were excited to spend more time in some of our favorite places as well as be a bit more picky about the exact things we wanted to see. We were able to get to use our spanish skills and enjoyed being able to *somewhat* communicate with people in their native language. Barcelona is know for its food, its architecture and mostly it's fun and exciting vibe.

We started the trip with a visit to one of Antoni Gaudi's creations, Casa Ballto. This unique house was inspired by all things related to the sea. Gaudi's architecture is unlike anything we have ever seen and each room or building is filled with detail and significance.

The wall tiles fade from a light gray to a dark midnight blue as they ascend up the center "light well" of the house. This is to evenly spread the light throughout the house. The windows are bigger at the top where the tiles are dark blue and they are smaller at the bottom where the tiles are light gray.

 

Looking through the wavy glass at the blue tile walls makes one feel as if they are under water. 

 There are almost no straight lines in the entire house. 

 

Creative pieces of architecture are scattered throughout the city. 

Making a quick stop at La Boqueria to get some breakfast, and some candy, before heading to our cooking class! Spain has the best gummies, hands down.  

 

 Getting started at Cook and Taste!

One of the things we were looking forward to on this trip was taking a traditional Spanish cooking class. This experience did not disappoint and we learned many new cooking tips, both for Spanish and every day cooking. The class was about four hours long and included the food we made and all the wine we could drink.  The menu consisted of roasted red pepper and saffron soup served on top of seared tuna, grilled melon with seared anchovies and olive vinaigrette, seafood paella, and cream Catalan. Delicious!

After the class we went to the Joan Miro museum. He is a modern Spanish artist who uses a lot of color and crazy figures in his work.

After visiting the museum, we walked through the sculpture gardens which offered expansive views of the city. Then we rode the gondola to the top of one of the mountains to an even better view.

The last day of our trip we saved to go to La Sagrada Famalia. This church is the architectural masterpiece of Antoni Gaudi. Construction on the church began in 1882 and is still being carried out. It is set to be finished in 2040. Gaudi knew from the outset that he would not live to see the end of his creation, however he left detailed plans with which are still being honored to this day. This is one of the most amazing, inspiring and unique buildings in the world. There is so much to see and so many things that are yet to come in the construction.  Seeing this modern cathedral being built is a testament to both,  Gaudi, the workers, planners and other architects that are creating his plan. The pictures do not do this building justice. It is the perfect blend of reality, nature, history, fantasy, modern and classical design. I can't say enough. Hopefully the pictures will fill in my gaps.

The passion facade. This side of the church portrays Christ's journey to the cross. It is stark and stoic. The pillars are bone-like. The figures are square and rigid.

 

The pillars twist, rotate and spread towards the ceiling. Amazing.

A shot of the ceiling from below.

A model of the finished product.

It is a reverent and holy place. This door has the Lord's Prayer engraved in Catalan. It also has part of the prayer "Give us this day our daily bread," carved in hundreds of different languages.

This is the Nativity facade which portrays Christ's birth and early life. It is very detailed and contains many hidden animals, figures, and symbols. It is intricate and beautiful.

 

From here we a took a trip to the beach. The water was perfect. 

 

We had one last dinner of sangria, tapas and pintxos before heading back to Zurich. It was a great weekend and has officially moved Barcelona to the top three of our favorite cities!