Now

Left Lausanne July 10, but went up to Whidbey Island, returning to a friend's guesthouse in 1000 Oaks, finally moving in mid-August, our first unfurnished rental.

All to say, I share newly uploaded, but older pictures without chronology. The left is "Big Jack," a Lausanner and excellent skier who skied with Michael all day while we stayed far behind with Jack. A fondue at a former Alpine "refuge" ("mountain hut") with Effy, our Tacoma guest, behind the camera. The refuge system in Europe is extensive and affords basic lodging and food - hearty bowl of soup - for mountain hikers.

Effy is a professional, this summer handing us a CD inventory of her Swiss pics.

Love these jackets Carolyn found.

 
On to Whidbey: dungeness crab freshly trapped by a friendly neighbor - sorry to say that all that shelling wasn't our speed, but made for fabulous crab/artichoke dip. My heart sank when he offered more a few days later though.

TWO eagles out in back - a first.

 

Our favorite hike along the Strait of Juan de Fuca where you can see cruise ships, Trident subs, sea lions.

Joined this year by the Bonds.

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Michael loves to draw, joined by Jack's moon.

Makoto Fujimura offered an intriguing interpretation of Starry Night at Biola's 2012 commencement, analyzing Van Gogh's situating of a Dutch reformed church from his youth in the south of France. The only structure without light, out-of-place, in pale contrast to a glorious creation enlivened by the Spirit of God - a transformed creation - thus the phantasmal Sun-Moon in a pulsing, vivid sky.

London

Although the Olympics is generally a period I suffer through every 4 years - nations celebrating bodies rather than the industrial wares of the earlier World Expos - I came across this stunning choreography and rendition of "Abide With Me," a tribute to the 54 killed in the London terrorist attacks 7 years ago, just 24 hours after the city was named host for the 2012 games.
The piece closed the upbeat numbers, before the parade of athletes began and I understand NBC didn't broadcast the segment in the US, featuring Ryan Seacrest's interview of Michael Phelps instead. Too serious, "complex" (one NBC exec said) for American culture.

However distant and hollow Christian England's past may be, something is in their storehouse to draw upon; our occasional celebrity featuring of "How Great Thou Art" more another embrace of Americana, albeit distinctly southern.  "Amazing Grace" - sung by Judy Collins at Save the Whales rallies - now fully secularized, denatured.

We're also at an interesting crossroads with the increasing secularization of American politics a la European Community, as the recent flip-flop of the Democratic Party platform over striking the word "God":
Academic culture (also, the arts) - which the current president represents - has been an enclave & mutual admiration society of Europe; believing Christians most visible in the spheres of business and sports.  This controversy reminds of the EU's struggle in ratifying its own constitution, regarding naming God as part of its cultural history - a startling turn-of-events protested most openly by heavily Catholic countries, such as Poland.

Parting Shots

We leave Tuesday after another tour-of-duty in Lausanne, saying our good-byes to All Saints, Pepperdine, Michael & Jack's school families, Debby & Udo, et al.

These Swiss families welcomed Carolyn and the boys into their world, socializing after school at the park across the street, breaking out cheese, bread, chocolate - adding wine on Fridays.
In a way, Switzerland gave us an urban version of Mayberry RFD, an experience common among expats in Europe. The bucolic nature of many European cities undoubtedly owed to zoning codes, it seems that urban density - apartment living, public transport, routinized life - enables a schedule full of community possibilities.

There is something about American life that propels everything outward - driven by endless choice; struggling to keep things intact, while breaking our lives apart.

Granted, the fact we've been able to live here - twice now - is linked to that spinning, dizzying force that flung us to Switzerland in the first place.

Anyway, we went for a last fondue at Chalet des Enfants, a charming chalet in woods - Chanel apparently liked hiking here - just 15 min north of the city, through which we hiked - in pouring rain - to the northernmost metro stop & back. A beautiful hike of bridges, passing fisheries lining the path, wild strawberries, and drenched children.

Looking back our boys had excellent teachers; Mr. Decoudre inspired Jack, who told us some point this year, "I want to be a teacher," while Mme Reichen gave 150% daily.

The formal nature of social norms seemed to afford a more casual approach in other areas, say, in spoken address; the children called teachers by their first names. Not a slippery slope, the practice seemed to add a convention - warmth, familiar - to existing codes of authority. Back home, we worked doubly hard to instill respect, and titles held considerable symbolic value. Here, redundant.

 

Fading images: Michael took this photo of the train at night,along with the blurry shot of the full moon; one of the last views of a magnificent landscape.

The boys are having a sleepover - extremely rare here - with Pierre & Marie, then one last Aquasplash trip - a waterpark - giving us time to pack and rare use of the balcony.

See you soon! Good-bye!

Lausanne's Fete du Bois

Lausanne closed the school year with a city-wide parade - 

the Fete du Bois the children gather in the Place de Riponne square.

Decked in handmade costumes worked on all year, it's a culminating experience for students, teachers, & parents. Schools choose a common theme, interpreted differently by grade level.

"Cooking"

"Condiments"?

Tube mayonaisse!

"Fruit"

"Shellfish"

"Year of the Dragon"

"Artists"

The "Clowns" of Ecole Montriond; Madame Veronique below

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We occasionally pinch ourselves.

End-of-Year Presentation: Circus!!

The big top was raised at Ecole Montriond last Monday by dads and a couple of circus professionals who proceeded to run a circus camp one of the last weeks of the school year.

 

Replacing the end of year "spectacle" (show), kids rehearsed Mon-Thurs, learning various routines, a song (written by a teacher), handmade signs and programs, delivering two magnificent performances Friday evening. Words cannot describe the energy and quality of the show - truly excellent. 

But the Swiss share an unusual love and tradition for street performance - the tradition dates to medieval times with reigning circus families and clowns, such as Demitri, as national heritage figures. One of Jack's teachers, Messiur Decoudres, announces the evening.

They know how to do circus.

Michael's assistant teacher made crepes, while parent volunteers handled ticket booths, costuming, monitoring, etc. 

 

Generally speaking, curriculum is less driven by commercial or media fads; we are impressed by the emphasis on craft, not the latest consumer technology driving academic priorities; kids seem, as a result, both more innocent and industrious.

 

The opening

The gymnasts

Jack was a "ladder-ist"

Michael a clown

Americans in house were thinking, "Did those kids sign a waiver?" Yes, that's a bed of nails. There were flame-eaters, as well.

Granted, the circus was exceptional as a project - will be shown on local Swiss TV - we were amazed the level of cultural trust and focus that allowed them to pull this off.