Mon Dieu

Bonjour from Begnins, Vaud, Switzerland! 

I'm beginning to settle in already, after a few moments of homesickness I have stopped dwelling upon sadness and taken a deep breath in to calm my nerves. You will soon see that there is no contest: I am in the most beautiful country in the world. Begnins has had perfect weather everyday (minus the thunderstorm that delayed my flight's arrival on Sunday night); it is a crisp 24 degress Celsius, which is 75 degrees Fahrenheit for all my friends and family back in the states. However, I can see that autumn is quickly on its way. The trees in a forest nearby are starting to turn red and yellow, and it makes me puff with pride that somehow I managed to snag an incredible opportunity in such a beautiful place. Now, without further ado, my first two days in Suisse.  

The photo you'll see below is of a view that simply took my breath away. Everyday, I walk Tara to her bus at 7:45am, and this is the gorgeous view I am greeted with. With a tremendous thanks to my Uncle Kevin, who lent me a lens for my new (to me) Nikon D80, I have managed to capture just a snippet of it for you all to see. I must say though, the picture does not do it justice. Sweeping views of grapevines, forests, Lake Geneva, and the Swiss Alps are now a part of my daily routine. If you aren't jealous already you should be ;).

The view from my new home.

A photo with Mont Blanc in the backgroud; it is the tallest peak in Europe.

This is an adorable windchime I found in the backyard, with Alps in the background.

Now for the people, beginning first with my tour guide. Monday, Barbara began work and, thus, was far too busy to show me around the village and explain my routine with Tara. Her good friend Luke, who happens to be a very good watercolor artist, led me through town and helped the dogs acclimate to my presence. As many of you know, I don't have the greatest history with dogs so I was wary of what might happen; I am happy to say that both Kidjo (Key-joe) and Callan have warmed up to me quickly and keep me company now (there will be pictures of them in future posts). 

So Monday morning went much like this: woke up at 7am with about 4 hours of sleep under my belt, dressed and had the normal breakfast of honey on toast, was introduced to Luke as Barbara swept out the door, and then Luke and I proceeded to walk Tara to the bus stop as I tried to decipher English through his thick French accent. After dropping off Tara, Luke and I walked around town and he showed me where everything was: bakery, cafes, grocery store, butcher (gag), and so on. We then had lunch with Tara, as it is customary for children in Switzerland to come home for lunch, and Luke took me to see his home. "Home" is putting it loosely as he lives in a castle built in the 1830s; it was truly beautiful. We picked up Tara from her bus stop at 3 and made our way home to play, hang out, and wait for Barbara to return from work.

I am very glad to have met Luke as he is just as much of a joker as I am, so our day's adventure was quite fun despite the difficulties we had communicating.

Luke making one of many silly faces at Tara.

Below is a portrait of Tara. Her and her mother look absolutely nothing alike, so I must assume she looks like her dad. He is currently in the Republic of Congo, since he is a doctor for the Red Cross, and I will meet him sometime in October. Tara is quite energetic and stubborn at times, but has a charm about her that just makes you want to give her a hug. She is simply obsessed with my iPod and Kindle, since technology doesn't progress quite as fast here, and that gets quite obnoxious when I'm trying to communicate with people back home; I guess I cannot expect any less from an 8 year old who is an only child. We get along quite well already and I hope things will only improve as she gets more comfortable around me. She and her mother are very close, so I think things become harder for Tara when her mother is working so much. Hopefully, my presence becomes comforting to her in the future so she is not so listless about her mom's return.

Tara smiling in the backyard.

Barbara is another enigma entirely. She is Australian, but I have heard her speak French, English, and Spanish (which I considered quite impressive since friends of mine back in the states have a joking prejudice about Australians not being nearly as smart as New Zealanders). She has a very kind and considerate heart, and I'm glad I chose her home to stay in. Above all, she cares so much for Tara and makes it quite clear. Their family is a good one, and I'm honored I get to be a part of it in the upcoming months.

Although back home in Riverside it is about 1:30pm, it's around 10:30pm here; so I must try to get rid of the rest of my jet-lag in the hopes that I can explore and take more photos tomorrow.  I leave you with an artistic photo I took of a paint set, hope you enjoy it.

Au Revoir :)