The beginning of the end!

This week, I submitted the first complete version of my thesis. The 265 pages represent 2 years and 10 months of work, and I am grateful to have reached this milestone. I know I was the one who did the work, but I recognize also that my efforts have been enabled and complimented by the environment I find myself in (both personally and professionally) and that God has put me in an ideal situation and given me what I need to accomplish this task. I am so grateful to have found something that I love doing, that is such a source of satisfaction for me, and I look forward to seeing how it will be used for the benefit of others.

It is kind of a surreal feeling - I am most definitely content and relieved, but I am also tired. I also realize that this is now the beginning of the end of this unique season of my life, which makes me a little sad too. But in that, I recognize and appreciate God's grace for each season, and I know He has a good plan for my next step.

There are, however, still a few months to go. At the beginning of December, my directors will give me feedback and then I will have time to make modifications before I submit my thesis to the members of my examination jury sometime in January (I hope). I will then have my first private thesis defence in February or March, followed by some time to make more modifications. Hopefully in May or June, I will have my public defence, and then I will be done. In between, I will work on some other articles, do a few presentations, attend a few conferences and prepare to write a French exam! But first, it is time for lots of special times with Roy and Caroline who are here visiting Switzerland and some days off soon!

Surprises!

I like surprises. My mom tells me, that when I was a little girl, I would ask her "Mom, what special thing are we doing today? What surprise do you have for me?" This week, I had three surprises and they definitely touched my heart.

On Friday morning, while shopping for the conference, I received a phone call saying that thanks to a recommendation of a friend, I could schedule a free facial treatment and consultation. I was so touched that my friend had thought of me, but also so grateful because this has been an extremely busy time for me, and some "me time" was very welcome.

The second was a friend who arrived at the conference with my favourite chocolate that you can't buy in Switzerland. She had remembered me mentioning it a conversation, and when she was in England, she bought me one. I felt so blessed by this friend and her sweet gesture - she had really listened to what I told her, and remembered.

Yesterday, some of my colleagues who are also special friends came to my office with a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne so that we could celebrate the first complete version of my thesis (more on this in the next post). I really do appreciate that my colleagues are friends who share in the joys (and frustrations) of one another.

Each of these surprises touched my heart and left me feeling, once again, so incredibly grateful for the people who are in my life here. I am so aware of God's favour in this area of my life - He truly has blessed me with such a wonderful community here.

IMPACT number 3!

This previous weekend, it was IMPACT Conference number 3 for me! That means I have almost been in Switzerland for three full years - wow. IMPACT is our annual conference at church, and it is an event that I look forward to with much anticipation.

IMPACT  is an event that brings together the C3 churches in Switzerland and is open for anyone to attend. It begins on the Friday night, continues all day Saturday and finishes with church on the Sunday morning. The first year I was in Switzerland I attended only as a participant, last year I coordinated all the food at the conference (the welcome drink on the Friday night, crossiants on Saturday morning, lunch, and 2 coffee breaks), and this time I was responsible for the events team which included all the food, plus the conference lounge, volunteer room and green room (for the speakers and pastors). So naturally my role this year included a lot more coordination and integration between different teams at church - logistics, security, decoration, registration, finance etc.

The months and weeks leading up to the conference were spent planning, having meetings, sourcing materials, making lists and finding volunteers. I had a great team consisting of 2 levels - the first consisting of the 4 people who were responsible for the different sections that fell under my responsibility, and the second being a group of volunteers who helped during the conference. There is no way I could have done it without them. They were willing, effective, and showed initiative and positive attitudes. It was a pleasure to work with them all.

I took Friday off work and started the day doing the shopping for the conference supplies at aligro (a warehouse type store). I was grateful for the help of some others too - this was a big job. After arriving at church we unloaded and I started with my set up - sorting out food and all the necessary equipment, assembling furniture, inflating couches, moving furniture etc. It was really fun to watch the transformation take place!

Later in the day more of the team arrived and it was time to prepare the welcome drink - 250 non- alcoholic cocktails and a couple of snacks. Friday passed in a blur and before I knew it it was time to go home.

Saturday's first task was to pack 300 lunch bags for the conference participants as well as get ready for the pre-conference coffee and croissants. Then it was on to preparing the first coffee break, serving and cleaning up after that break, cleaning up after the kids lunch, serving the adults their lunch, cleaning up, and then preparing, serving and cleaning up the second coffee break which included helping the kids prepare and serve cocktails, and then the final clean up and pack away. Needless to say I made myself quite comfy on the couch when I got home!

On Sunday morning there were no official tasks for me other than helping with the final clean up. Probably the most challenging part of the weekend was deflating and trying to pack away the couches - we wrestled with the heavy plastic to get it back into the bags! Just a little workout to round-out the weekend :) I was exhausted by the end, but so satisfied. I know the conference touches people's lives, and that makes it all worth it!

We had some chalkboard tables in Conference Lounge

The Conference Lounge taking shape during set-up

The welcome drinks

The finished product

Sunny Autumn Days

The Lavaux is a wine growing region in Switzerland which consists of 830 hectares of terraced vineyards stretching over 30km (thanks Wikipedia!) along the shores of Lake Geneva. From Lausanne, many of the small villages are only a short train ride away, and it is a beautiful walking destination with stunning views. During the Autumn it is particularly gorgeous with the coloured leaves. I pass through the Lavaux often on the train, but sadly had not yet been for a real walk in the Lavaux, so one sunny afternoon Chris and I decided that a walk in the Lavaux would be our activity.

I am so glad we did this - it was breathtaking. We took the train to Puidoux-Chexbres, and from there made our way through the vineyards to Lutry - so all in all about 8.5km of walking, all in the sunshine with stunning views accompanying us all through the journey. There really are few things as wonderful as being outside on a gorgeous day and this walk did me a lot of good!

Chris took all these lovely pictures!

Charming Annecy

I had only hear good things about the French town Annecy and had always wanted to visit. This past weekend Chris and I went, and it did not disappoint!

Annecy is an easy 40min drive from Geneva, so it made the perfect sunny autumn day outing. It is an incredibly charming, beautiful and quaint town that had a distinct "holiday" feel to it. We arrived around lunch time but were not quite yet hungry so we started with a short walk along the lake (gorgeous) before exploring the old part of town. Think rows of colorful buildings with balconies, shutters and flower plots that are home to endless restaurants, cafés and cute shops, a large number of which are on the water - this place is special. It has been described as the "little Venice of France", and Annecy definitely has some of the same charm.

We quickly found a frozen yoghurt store - the kind where you choose your flavours and toppings. I am always excited about frozen yoghurt stores as they don't yet exist in Switzerland! We picked out a few yummy things and indulged, and then realized the street we were on was called "Rue Sainte Claire"! We let our legs and curiosity lead us, walking in any direction that took our fancy. Eventually after some more walking and admiring the lake from a sunny spot, we decided it was time for some food, which was followed by a giant serving of ice-cream... hhhmmm (my choices were raspberry, kiwi, and strawberry & basil). We weren't in a rush to leave, so we took another stroll along the lake where we came across a tournament of "water-polo" - the players were in Kayaks. Along the way I dipped my feet into the water, partly out of curiosity as to how cold it was, but mostly because I wanted to feel the sand between my toes.

It was a perfect afternoon, restorative for my body, mind and soul. If you haven't yet visited Annecy, add it to your list. And if you have been, go again!

Switzerland at its best!

I have always wanted to go to Grindelwald and Interlaken and I am so glad I finally went this past weekend.

Grindelwald and Interlaken are two quintessentially Swiss towns - quaint, picturesque and close to the mountains. A friend and I left on Saturday morning and did the easy two hour very scenic drive to Grindelwald where we checked into our alpine hotel. By midday we were beginning our ascent up the mountain ready with food (including biltong - such good hiking food!) water and some warm layers. We hiked for about 3.5hours up the mountain (8km with an ascent of 900m), and along the way covered some beautiful and varied terrain. There were parts of the hike more enclosed  under the trees, others along the edge of the mountain, others over the scree and remains of glaciers, and others over the rocks! For a lot of the hike we looked down on Grindelwald below and enjoyed the most beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. At one point we came across part of a glacier that had formed an ice cave  that looked really cool and was pretty cold inside!

Once we reached our destination (Alpiglen) we had a drink before heading down the mountain on the mountain train. We wandered around the streets of Grindelwald before heading back to the hotel to enjoy the spa! It was such a relaxing treat. For dinner we had Rösti (a typical Swiss-German dish that is like a hash-brown) and some nice Swiss wine.

We woke up to grey skies and rain on Sunday morning so had a lazy morning and enjoyed the buffet spread for breakfast. After we checked out of our hotel we took a walk through Grindelwald again and found a very cozy spot for a hot drink. By this time the weather had cleared up a bit and so we decided to drive 20minutes down the mountain to Interlaken.

Here we enjoyed a few glorious sunny hours (a real surprise because the weather was meant to be bad) exploring Interlaken which is another incredibly beautiful town. We sat by the water, bought handmade chocolate from two different places and, explored the small streets and shops and really enjoyed a lazy afternoon. We decided to head back to Lausanne around 3pm, and just as we were in the car and on the road, the rain started again. A few minutes into our return journey we saw the most beautiful rainbow, low over the the lake with its start and end in the lake - it was a perfect ending to a completely lovely weekend.

While I was away my Mom sent me a message saying that my time in Switzerland has been God's gift to me - and indeed it has. I am so grateful for this time in Switzerland and all the wonderful experiences it has included. 

The golden thread that ties

This year has seen three of my closest friends in Lausanne leave, and all the goodbyes have made me reflect on the absolute gift that is friendship.

I remember reading a quote "Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world"

and it rang true for me - I have very special friends in Johannesburg, Kenya, America, Lausanne, Canada and England and as much as I wish we all lived in the same place, I am so grateful that we are never far from eachothers hearts and minds. Some of these friends are new, some I have known almost my whole life and they enrich my life in unique and precious ways. They have journeyed with me and shaped who I am today and without them I know I would be a lesser version of myself.

I have not enjoyed all the goodbyes that have marked the end of friends living in the same city as me, but they have made me realize something important - I'm so grateful that I have had something to be sad about. It means that those people are important to me and that we shared something meaningful. Thankfully, the geographical distance between me and friends does not mark the end of the friendship - it is just the start of a new one that takes on a new flavor and new joy.

So, to all my sweet friends out there, know that you are loved and appreciated, know that you are bringing light wherever you go, and know that this heart in Lausanne has a special place just for you!

When in Spain...

It always amazes me how long a weekend away can feel, and how much good it does me to get away from everything, even if it is only for 48 hours! My sweet friend Megan and I decided a while ago that it was time that we took a trip together - so we checked our available dates and our lists of places we wanted to visit, and after having a look at flights decided that Madrid would be the destination!

Now, it is always wonderful to travel with friends, but it is super great to travel with friends who are similar to oneself and who want the same things out of a trip and who like the same degree of planning and preparation. Megan and I are such friends, and so it was really a lot of fun to spend the weekend with this lovely person. She had done most of the planning and is definitely a better navigator than me, so it was a super easy trip for me - thanks Megan!

Surprisingly, Swiss air had much cheaper tickets than easy jet (which doesn't normally happen), so it was nice to enjoy some "free" food, drinks and Swiss chocolate on the plane. After arriving late in the evening and taking a cab to out hotel we headed out to find some dinner around 10:30pm - completely normal in Spain! Megan had a place in mind that had been recommended, but that one was actually all closed up so our search continued. We ended up splitting a seafood paella which was really yum and marveled at the activity of a big, bustling city which is very different to sleepy and small Lausanne!

After a long sleep and a good breakfast we headed out to the Royal Palace of Madrid to get our dose of oppulence. Our visit was accompanied by a lot of "oohs" and "aahs" and "that's crazy, can you imagine living like that" - what a different world it must have been back in the day! We also walked through the cathedral which was majestic, but done in a very different style (neo-gothic, modern) to what I had seen before. After some much needed hydration (it was hot - yeah!) and people watching we headed to this market (Mercao de San Miguel) that had been recommended to us as good lunch-spot.

Now the word "market" does not do this place justice and this activity was probably my favourite of all the weekend. On arrival, we discovered a collection of tapas bars all laid out in this enclosed space, like a market. We did a tour to scout out our choices and decided on some calamari rings, some great olive sticks (olives with things like salmon, cheese, ham, sundried tomatoes), bread with some kind of cheese and fruit jam, and another one topped with a Spanish omlette... I had a fresh raspberry juice for dessert and Megan had some strawberries and cream. It was so yummy - I love eating bits and pieces and trying different things - so this made me really happy. We saw some crazy things in this place - a lot of meat and seafood, and sea-urchins, but the atmosphere was incredible and I would go back! It is a completely chaotic way to eat, and you have to be quite assertive in getting what you want, but it was so lively and communal.

We meandered down some shopping streets (and bought a bag of sweeties - ah, childhood memories!) before returning to our hotel to enjoy the rooftop pool and terrace where we enjoyed the sun and some rest. We headed out in the evening to find some dinner around 21:00, and went to another place that had been recommended (Juana La Loca) and it was delicious!

We had this warm potato and tomato mix on bread; duck spring rolls; brie, bacon and chilli on bread, and artichoke, garlic and Parmesan on bread again. All beautifully prepared and totally yummy! We finished off with lemon meringue and this amazing fondant type dessert. It was made with dulce de leche in the middle encased in a banana type bread with banana ice-cream - so delicious! We washed it all down with sangria- ah, when in Spain!

We slept in late on Sunday and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before visiting an art museum for some culture and history. I'm really ignorant when it comes to art, but I do appreciate the immense talent of other people and I'm always interested to see how religious themes dominated most of the art. We followed our brochure and stopped at all the "masterpieces" as indicated, although other than recognizing a few famous names, I wouldn't be able to tell you why these were masterpieces and the others not.

We then went to visit the botanical gardens - largely disappointing- but then made up for it by visiting another park which was beautiful. Here I had a yummy iced chocolate and coffee drink and we did some more people watching (always interesting, and especially so in another country!)

At about 4pm we decided it was time for lunch and so went to find the "ham museum" another spot that came recommended. Naturally, this is a place to eat ham, and so we did! The inside is covered in dried legs of ham hanging everywhere and basically the thing to eat here is different types of ham on bread in sandwhich form or plates of ham and cheese. It is possible to join in the lively crowd clustered around the bar and small tables who are ordering as they eat... But our limited spanish and weary legs meant we chose to sit at a table outside. We ordered a plate of different dried hams and cheese, some bread and a salad (we had to at least attempt to be balanced). I wanted some beer and our waiter generously informed us that a 1.5l jug was cheaper than one glass, so that is what I ended up with, which I thought was kind of amusing! It made me think back to a family trip to a beer garden in Germany where I was photographed holding a beer glass that was far too large for any child!

Before retuning to the hotel and heading to the airport, it was time for some frozen yoghurt. Sadly, frozen yoghurt does not exist in Switzerland, and it is something I miss a lot! We found a place where you select your own flavours (I had apple, strawberry, vanilla and Greek yoghurt) and topped it with everything - cocunut, cookies, smarties, fruit, chocolate covered nuts and dulce de leche.... Hhhm delicious!

Our flight was an hour late leaving Madrid (this is an inherent risk associated with flying out late in the evening, you get stuck with the accumulated effect of the day's delays), but considering we were on Spanish time, arriving in Geneva at midnight seemed kind of appropriate! Thankfully Megan had driven us to the airport, because train connections to Lausanne at that time of night are scarce, and although it was a fantastic weekend, I was still very happy to climb into my own bed.

The weekend was full of laughter, sun, good food and good conversation and was such a treat after a busy time at work. On to the next one...

Time for a swim!

It was a little cold on Sunday morning for a swim in the lake, but seeing as though I had signed up for the Lausanne Triathlon as part of a team, and I was the swimmer, it was time to don my luminous orange swimming cap (thanks to the organizers) and goggles and dive in!

The air temperature was about 14, and the lake was about 18, which was about 3 degrees colder than my training swims in the lake during the week before. By the end, I was beginning to get achey from the cold. I was really glad to get out and get warm!

Now, it was only 500m, which is not very much, but still enough! Open water swimming is completely different - poor visibility, no lanes marked, and many many people in the water at the same time. I got bumped into and kicked many times and I'm sure I did the same to other people too! But thankfully after the first few minutes the swimmers spread out and there is more space, until you reach the turning point where everyone comes together again to be on the inside edge of the turn to avoid swimming extra meters. I'm really glad I had had some good training swims with friends from bootcamp - the one day we swam the lake was very choppy with a lot of waves which simulated perfectly the race-day conditions. We also practiced swimming into each other and trying to push each other off course which was really good preparation. Because of the training I felt prepared and stayed calm in the water - I realized on the day how easy  it could be to panic!

I was done in 11m26, which placed me somewhere in the middle of the 40mixed teams - considering this was my first swim like this, and that I signed up 1.5 weeks before the race, and that I'm not normally a swimmer - I am happy! More than the time though, it is the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing a new challenge and trying something new!

After I got out the water I had to run a couple hundred meters to the transition zone to meet the cyclist of our team and pass on the chip and off he went. That was my part for the team done, but I met up with my team supporters and we went to watch our cyclist (who we didn't spot in the crowd) and our runner (who we did see).  They both did really well, but unfortunately our cyclist did an extra lap! We placed 19th out of 40 teams, but if it hadn't been for the extra lap we would have finished in the top 10. But, in the end, the placement doesn't matter, it was for fun and we enjoyed ourselves! Maybe next year I will do the cycling :)

Ready to start

Not ideal conditions!

That is me coming out the water!

Magical Fireworks!

Every year at the end of Fêtes de Genève (a two week long festival in Geneva), there is an incredible hour long fireworks display, set to music with a theme. I went the last two years, and this year we decided to go again!

There is an option to buy tickets for a seated zone that offer the best views of the fireworks, and I am glad we decided to try this out for this year. It was amazing, completely spectacular. The fireworks are set off from the lake from 40 different firing stations over an area of 27 000 square meters. Apparently, according to the website, the fireworks are synchronized to within 1/10th of a second! It really was impressive - the whole show is set to music and I have never seen such huge fireworks or such unusual ones! I don't know what it is about fireworks, but there is something magical about them and a few times we caught ourselves laughing and smiling with delight!

It is always a crazy day, with more than 600 000 people in Geneva that night to watch the fireworks! If you don't have a ticket for a reserved seat, you definitely need to get to Geneva in the afternoon and stake out a spot by the lake. This year, as we had our seats, we enjoyed the festival in the afternoon (a few drinks, ice-cream, a peddle boat on the lake) and then made our way to the zone to wait in line to be let in. There is always such a festive atmosphere,  and after the show it is the great exodus as thousands of people make their way to the train station to cram into the trains!

View of Geneva from the peddle boat

The giant Evian water fridge

Geneva at dusk

Our spot for the fireworks