Chocolate Brownies

I have to say that moving here has been no small task for various reasons.  

One in particular, I will illustrate.  The other day I bought a brownie mix (yes because I am one of those lazy-bones who prefers to cook at light-speed as I value efficiency over deliciousness and goodness) and I realized it was all in German.  Once again my efficiency personality kicked in and I decided that because it included little pictures, all I had to do was follow the pictures on the box to know what to put in the mix.  When I finished making my brownies, they were like a delicious chocolate pile of dirt, obviously I had missed an ingredient because they were soooo dry.  With the help of my friend Hollee, I realized I had missed the water (which was not pictured - but stated in German, Italian and French - duhhhh).  After adding the water and an extra egg for good measure, I cooked those brownies and they turned out lovely. 

The point here, is I never thought I would be struggling to do such basic life tasks such as reading a recipe (for babies basically) and being unable to do it.  I cannot read the dials on the washing machines/ovens etc... therefore I have accidentally dyed all Juliets' bibs with a nice "blue jean" hue (which I hate).  

I have been served a huge dose of humble pie, trying to maintain a positive disposition about it, versus throwing a tantrum about every little thing has truly become a balancing act ;)  I think the phrase "fake it till you make it" comes in really handy here (one of my favorite mantras BTW).

Suffice to say, the challenges are innumerable with a move like this, but many of them are so basic, I would have never guessed this prior to moving over-seas.  Be sure to have compassion on your "foreign" friends, because we really are "puppies" enjoying the sun and chasing our tails :)

Lucerne - Likes/dislikes

So I have now been in Switzerland almost a month (minus a week for Italy) and I have made a list thus far of likes and dislikes

LOVE:
1. the green hills with sprawling farms and electric green grass
2. the crisp air
3. the crystal clear lakes
4. General courteousness and friendliness
5. The Chocolate (however I prefer dark over milk and I don't like hazelnuts ... that is a Swear-word in Switzerland I think)
6. the quality of the food (I have never tasted such good chicken) - actually I think it's the butter - I It is pure liquid gold.
7. The windows - I am so fascinated at how high-tech they are opening from the top or the side
8. They keep tarps on the sand boxes to avoid "kitty-droppings"
9. I hear classical music on the streets - instead of drums and boom-boxes there are students playing in fabulous modern/classical quartets... I would have to spend sooo much money normally
10. THE SWANS!!! never get tired of swans (unless they bite me)
11. THE SWISS LOVE JULIET soooo much, especially when I put her little pig-tails in her hair (It's a good ice-breaker")
12. the trail-system here for runners/bikers/even rollerbladers (yes there are roller blading signs with estimated times on them) are fabulous and so well-kept.


Dislike:
1.  The doors - they sort of sit on the inner lip - so they constantly look like they are ajar to me
2. the locks all have individual keys (so in order to lock your front door you have to insert the key) - technically you could lock yourself inside the house
3. The fact that you must provide your own lighting - (not lamps people)- actual ceiling lights - our apartment just had wires coming from the ceiling holes and the fact that there were "provided lights in the hall and kitchen" was a big bonus.
4. No closets - they use wardrobes - which needless to say hinders the unpacking process greatly, trying to assemble four large wardrobes doesn't come close to compensating for closets.
5. I still do not understand the "garbage rules" apparently they are very STRICT when it comes to your waste/garbage.
6. you have to pay to use a shopping cart and they seem to be located everywhere I cannot find them.
7. The prices for restaurants are CRAZY - don't expect to pay less than the equivalent of $80 for dinner.
8. you have to pay for water - and it's 5-7 francs (for one bottle) initially when I didn't realize this, Jake and I where getting our water refilled and Juliet had a "small child's water" it was a total of +$20 just for the water (beware).
9. the appliances are so high-tech... I cannot figure out how to turn the oven on correctly (every time I swear it's a new setting... somehow I cook food though).

So far, more likes than dislikes :)