 |
| Gruyere, Switzerland Famous for it's cheese. I had the chance to visit here with my host-mom when I had a day off from classes. It was great to see the beautiful view and tour the small village in the pre-Alps. We also visited Callier, a famous factory in Switzerland with "free" samples included with the price of the ticket. |
 |
| In Gruyere there is an old castle with a lot of beautiful art work, wood work and tapestries. |
 |
| There are also several murals about local history. This is the depiction of a famous battle where the women attached torches to goats' horns and chased off a much stronger enemy. |
 |
| It was warm enough to eat outside. I shared the very traditional Swiss dish of cheese fondu with my host mom Christine. |
 |
| The family I'm staying with has a small vineyard amongst the many small vineyards in this region. They make their own wine from what is harvested. I'm here with Melina, the youngest of their 3 children, who lives in the apartment attached to the house. |
 |
| We decided to take a walk with the dog (Simba) to the vineyard, which is about 3-5 miles from the house. He, obviously, enjoys the time outside. |
 |
| Near the end of the month I finally made it to the Alps, but it was in France. I was invited to spend a long weekend with some of the other people moving to the DRC who are in language school in France. |
 |
| I actually went skiing in the French Alps, but I had a slight mishap with the slow down sign at the bottom of one of the ski slopes. The visibility wasn't great and as I was starting to slow down I was forced to slow down by the sign (aka, I hit the sign and fell down). |
 |
| These are some of the other ladies heading to the DRC. On the left is Ashley, who does community development with animals. Her husband is a pilot. Next is Anna, who is a nurse. Her husband is a doctor working with Samaritan's Purse. And, on the far right is Shannon, another Ob/Gyn who will be going to a different hospital in the DRC |
 |
| Spring |
 |
| here! |
 |
| is |
I am still in French language school, but it's not very exciting to talk about grammar. I continue to learn a lot and I still struggle with pronunciation and grammar, but the people here are really nice, even when correcting me. I am thankful for my time here and would highly recommend this language program to anyone trying to learn French (inlingua in Neuchâtel, Switzerland).
I will be leaving Switzerland May 18th to go to the DRC. I just sent in my passport to the Congolese embassy in Switzerland to get my visa. If all goes well and I get it back in time with no problems, then I will fly to Uganda on the 18th. I will then take a smaller plane the following day to the DRC. I arrive the day the other Ob/Gyn is due. I don't know if she'll still be pregnant when I arrive, but I think she's hoping I make it by the time she delivers, otherwise, it will be her husband doing the delivery.
Many of the details about what I will be doing day-to-day, where exactly I'll be living when I arrive, and when I'll be coming back to the US are still unclear. I do know that they are working on the place where I will be living...hopefully, it will be done/ close to being done when I get there.
| I'll be living in one half of the duplex, when it's completed. |
Continue to pray for me as I study and learn.
I have 6 more weeks to focus just on language learning, and then it will be moving, starting work and trying to learn yet another language (Swahili).
Also, pray as I continue to meet people here in Switzerland. I hope to maintain contact with several of the people I've met.
As always, feel free to e-mail. Soon the internet connection won't be that great, but I'm thankful I'll have it, I hope!
