Texas Part 1

Well after 15 years without a visit I finally arrived in USA to stay with my brother and his family in June. Once again airports and I just don’t seem to get along, after landing in Los Angeles I very nearly missed my connecting flight to San Antonio but after some negotiating I jumped the queue and got under way flying through all the formalities and straight onto the next plane with only time for a brief toilet stop. Not great after 11 hours on a plane but we got there. Easily spotted in the San Antonio airport I was welcomed by Rodger, Jennifer and Rayden with open arms. After 5 months of a wafer thin single squeaky bed I was living in luxury with a giant sized cosy bed not to mention the gym and pool on hand also. The weather was super hot with over 100˚F every day which was very warm compared to the yucky London weather with only 15˚C, not impressive (even Switzerland was better). Although in London’s defence apparently the weather had been quite nice the previous week.

My first experience out and about in Texas (other than the drive home from the airport) was off to the Tower Of America. Here we caught a glass lift up to a 360˚ walk way where you can view out over San Antonio, a very surprisingly flat city. It was extremely windy so we did not stay up and admire the view for too long. At the Tower Of America there was a great 4D movie about Texas, complete with 3D glasses, moving chairs, blowing air and squirting water. My nephew (2½ years old) Rayden thoroughly enjoyed the film and keeps asking for the movie with the spitting cow and helicopters, super cute! From here we made our way past The Alamo to the River Walk, the river walk is a man made canal that runs through the city and is lined by bars and restaurants. It has a fantastic ambience. We selected a great little cafe called the Rainforest Cafe to have dinner. The food wasn’t great but the whole cafe had a rainforest theme with running waterfalls and animals that came alive every 20 minutes, from snakes and parrots to monkeys and elephants.

The first weekend rocked around pretty quickly and we arose early and made our way through Fredricksburg to a place called the Enchanted Rock in a State National Park. It was a great big slab of Granite in the middle of nowhere, very strange. We climbed to the top which was a short steep climb with no official walk ways on the rock but the rock is very rough so has a lot of grip and we made it up without too much trouble. However on the way down we did seem to come a very awkward way and ended up doing a bit of rock hopping. The place where Rodger and Jennifer got married was very near the park so we couldn’t drive by without stopping in for a look, a stunning place and great wedding venue. On the way back we stopped in the town we had passed through Fredricksburg. Fredricksburg is a German town and we had lunch at a German cafe where I got to meet Jennifers brother and wife and try a Texan beer. When we left Fredricksburg we stopped in a LITTLE town Lucenburg where there is only a postoffice/bank/pub combined and is the only store in the town. It happened to be a day where there was a annual car show on and there was a great little band playing with a rooster in the tree crowing along, very amusing and hick townish.

On a Tuesday 23rd June one of Rodger’s work mates plays in a band Two Ton at another lovely old german town Gruene so we got Jennifers Dad to babysit and went out for the night. We had dinner at a lovely restaurant that has been converted out of an old mill. Great food and a fantastic setting with lots of bush and the river running down below. The band was also fantastic playing some great upbeat songs.

Thursday 25th saw some more extremely hot weather and we had arranged to go to a concert under the stars at the Botanical Gardens where we had pre-ordered a delicious boxed dinner and sat on our picnic rug listening to a wonderful live local band. Rayden wasn’t quite so keen on the sitting part but there was plenty to occupy him kicking up dirt and running around under the trees over the back out of everyones way.

London

Well I finally made my way through Heathrow Airport after a bit of an ordeal with immigration. Unfortunately the hold up at the airport meant I arrived too late to attend the live BBC show that Pam had scored free tickets for. This also meant that I did not see Pam at all during my visit to London. However it was a pleasure to spend time with Tim and Louisa and have a nice rest after my intense five months at WOSTEP.

During my visit I had a job interview and bench test in Southampton with a large watch company The Swatch Group. The day went very well even though five weeks later I am still waiting for any correspondence from them. Perhaps this is for the best as in the mean time I have had a couple of fantastic job offers in Sydney, Australia.

Of course we had wonderful home cooked meals with a combination of Tim and Louisa’s cooking. One of the finer days we took a fantastic picnic with salmon, salad and wine to Primrose Hill Park only to have the sun go behind the clouds when we arrived, however it always fun to people watch and all the dogs playing. I made a fantastic lasagne one night that would have tasted great had it not been for my little run in with the chilli, thank goodness still edible but on the border. Between us we managed to devour a fair bit of wine over the two weeks but wine goes hand in hand with good conversation and that is what detox’s are for.

I had visited London in January for a few days and got a fair bit of sightseeing out of the way but decided to do the free New Europe royal walking tour all the same to get the running commentary and meet some new people, wise decision, I did meet a lovely girl from Canada and afterwards we went out to lunch and I got to try the famous fish and chips with mushy peas. Also during the viewing of The Changing Of The Guards at the palace the queen just happened to depart so I saw her for the first out of the two sightings in the two weeks I was there. The second opportunity was to come during the Queens birthday celebration where they have the big horse and military parade, fly over and gun salute, it was certainly special to be able to see this. Tim and Louisa had been fortunate enough to get themselves tickets to the Queens Birthday so while Louisa was in France on Saturday 4th June Tim and I spent a very successful day suit shopping, had a great time traipsing the streets of London and tried Pork buns for the first time (delicious) and of course had to have a quick detour into the biggest toy store in the world.

What trip to London would be complete without a visit to the ‘Church’ so with Louisa’s wonderful planning we threw together some last minute costumes and met with Nicola and a couple of others for a fab afternoon at the ‘church’. We all met at Tim and Lou’s for a yummy croissant breakfast and Pimms (another first for me) before catching our black cab to the club. Of course no church visit would be complete without being followed by a trip to the walkabout where we devoured a pie and some more beer. We made our way home at a responsible hour and went to the Australian burger bar up the road for some delicious burgers for dinner and then an early night to prepare for a day at work the following day or for me an early start to the airport for my departing trip to Texas.

Fairwell Switzerland

Well all good things must come to an end to make way for more good things. As my time at WOSTEP was up there were a few spare days prior to my departure from Switzerland left for a little bit of adventure. I have made some very special friends during my time in Champreveyres and I thank each and everyone for the very special experience we created together, and as not previously mentioned thank you to the ladies that helped me get ready for graduation and generously loaned me all my fantastic getup, where would I be without you.

So in the few days waiting for results life was a bit calmer and we managed to get down to the lake for a bit of swimming before dinner and the odd brush with nature walking throught the bush and meadows, places that should have been discovered much sooner. And once graduation was over and done with we managed to venture a little further afield. Anna (from Iceland, partner of Robie from school) organised for John and I and Robbie's brother and girlfriend to catch the train and go a do a wonderful walk at Crux du van, which just has some amazing views and scenery. Unfortunately the day we were up there the alps were completely obscured by cloud except for a couple of the very highest tips. Not to worry as the rest of the scenery and of course the company was well worth the trip.

No farewell would be complete without a visit to our favourite bar and pizzaria so John and I headed to Tony's Bar for one last pizza and beer. Then on to Cafe Du Cerf where some other very good watchmaking friends and fellow housemates from Champrevyres joined us for the last horray!! And no tears even from me, what an achievement. I then got a leaving parade at the train station the following day where a group joined me to say goodbye, I am so priveledged to have met these people and had there support during my time in Switzerland an experience to be remembered.

Graduation

Well my adventure here in Switzerland at WOSTEP is drawing to a close. Two weeks ago we had three days taken up by the final exams. Two and a half hours of theory followed by 16 hours of practical. The practical pieces were a Lemania chronograph which had many faults from the chronograph eccentrics, bent wheels, incorrect end shakes to the centring and flatness of the hairspring etc. Then there was an Omega automatic and an ETA quartz which just needed a basic clean with correct lubrication and timing. There were of course a few dramas on the day but we all made it through and stopped at the pub on the Friday for a well deserved beer, or two, or three . . .

During the following week the professionals from inside the industry came to the school to mark our pieces so of course they needed to kick us out. We spent three days visiting various factories. Monday we visited Chopard, it was a very hot day with temperatures reaching over 30 degrees with not a lot of wind. They have in recent years set up a small museum also inside the factory so it was a lovely morning spent touring the factory. Tuesday we ventured a little further from Neuchatel and had the very pleasurable experience of seeing inside Patek Philippe. This day started at the truly amazing museum, unfortunately two hours is not long enough to really absorb everything. Then onto the factory for a wonderful three course lunch with some of the management before the tour began. At the end we were seated before eleven complicated watches valued at over five million swiss francs. Wednesday was another busy day, the morning started with a tour of the Omega factory, which unfortunately ran over time so we missed out on their museum. Then onto lunch with A.Betti before an extremely interesting tour of two of the many ETA factory buildings.

With the factory tours over and done with we had Thursday to clean the school from top to toe; the fridge had some very interesting specimens growing inside. The motivator for these tasks was getting our results when we finished. At 1630 both the refresher and the two year course gathered in the theory room and awaited our verdicts. There was a very close call but overall the school was very proud to announce everyone passed included the student from last year doing his reset. So once again back to the pub for a couple of beers.

Friday was taken up by sleeping in (no scheduled program) and then preparing for graduation. The ceremony took place at the Château of Neuchatel which is a beautiful old castle where we received our diplomas before moving onto a five star hotel on the lake side to enjoy a wonderful three course meal. After the formal event the partying continued at the local watchmaking drinking hole Cafe du Cerf till the wee hours.



My time here in Switzerland has been a truly wonderful experience not only have I expanded my ability as a watchmaker but I have also had an intense period of personal development. I have not always been happy with the way I handled the pressure but I am now out the other side and can’t wait to experience the industry again and really measure how much I have learnt.

Spring Time In Neuchatel

Well where to start, once again it has been a while, sorry. I have had my final intermediate exam with fab results, easter has been, lot's of school and general socialising at Champreveyres.


We'll start with spring, it is my favourite time of the year, fruit trees blossom, flowers bloom and trees re awaken and with the help of a little extra sunshine you can't help but have your spirits lifted. Day light savings has kicked in and we are now enjoying the extra hours of daylight in the evenings so no more walking home in the dark :-)


Easter weekend was celebrated here the same weekend as down home in NZ 10th-13th April. For me this entailed a extra hour or so of sleeping in (or lying in bed) time each day but we were still able to attend WOSTEP (without tutors) so friday, saturday and monday were spent at school. Achieved quite alot but with the end approaching I am really starting to feel the pinch and wish there were available hours in a day. Stress levels are quite high and school and tempers a little short but thank goodness for us you tutor has done the course himself and knows exactly where we are coming form. He really does have the patients of a saint, thanks Andrea!! Sunday however is our day off and even though it was an overcast day it was still very warm and a few of us heading on down to the basketball courts for a bit of a game (if you could call it that) followed by a walk and of course a well deserved ice cream. With the weather warming we also enjoyed a picnic by the lake last sunday joined with a couple of hangovers and some delishous chocolate turkish bread (thanks Thijs) it was another great day of rest!! Even if I did study all morning before the picnic and go for a run, it is all about balance and just how much you can cram into one day!!

Time is flying and graduation is 29th May, can't wait, as much as I love WOSTEP I am ready for the next step. Sometimes I do think when you know the end is near you just can't wait whereas if you knew there were still another two months to go you wouldn't be hanging out for the end. Does that make sense?? I have been sending my application to various places here in Switzerland and London hoping for the best however like every industry times are not so hopeful. I do know of a couple of opening at two fantastic brands in London though so fingers crossed, it will be easier to be back in an english speaking country too I am sure.


There is lots going on back home too of course my newpew will be turning 22 next week and of course we are still waiting patiently for the arival of his and Aleisha's baby, hmmm how much longer?? And my most favourite news of all I am to be an aunty again with dearest sister and bestest friend Lee-Anne 12 weeks pregnant!! Perhaps having to go home early will not be such a bad thing after all.

Must away to dinner followed by more study. Happy reading and kindest regards,
Donna

Baselworld

Well what kind of watchmaker would I be if I was in Switzerland and did not attend the Basel Fair? Baselworld is a huge watch and jewellery fair held here in Switzerland every year with retailers and wholesalers coming from all over the globe to attend. The day began with both John and Hakan sleeping in. We were to leave at eight but when I was ready I went to see if John was ready I woke him up but not to worry Hakan didn't arrive till nearly nine anyway as he had done the same thing. So whilst waiting I had a fresh croissant from the bakery and a cup of tea (the only one open on sunday and its right next door ;-) they made a wise business decision to close saturdays and open sunday and they are always busy). It is really quite mind boggling the extent some of the companies go to. The stands cost some of the companies millions of dollars and take months to construct all for one week. As an example Brietling had a huge tropical fish tank in the side of there display which I think had three or four levels to it. There are six different halls, one for big swiss watch brands, one for tools and one for brands from China, Hong Kong etc. My favourite part of the show was seeing the pieces individual watchmakers had hand made, there was a section set aside for these people that only had three or four pieces on display each but the craftsmanship and creativity displayed in this small corner would almost out do anything else I saw. I was a little disappointed to find some of the brands I really wanted to see, Audemars Piguet and Jageur-LeCoultre, did not attend Basel this year having opted to go only to one of the other fairs :-(. There are thousands of people to weave your way around, creating very tired feet and weary minds after a day. It was a great experience and as we had free tickets compliments of Rolex and Patek Philippe I had to go and now I can say I have been but unless I have an actual purpose of going I am not in a hurry to go back.

We got home at about half seven or eight I think and I went straight to bed without dinner. Day light saving started that saturday night and we had had a farewell dinner for someone leaving Champreveyres which all contributed. The week was very long and I went back to sleep after my alarm three mornings in a row! Well that is all for now plenty of study to be done but once again my blog is well overdue, can't believe it is April already!

Happy reading Budha ;-)

Home

Well I have now been out of New Zealand for three months. It feels like not so long ago that I was at home and Lee-Anne and Jade got engaged, ate too much at christmas and had a very tearful goodbye. Yet at the same time it feels like I have been gone for ages! So much has been going on in my absence, friends having engagement partys, people getting new jobs and shifting houses. When friends are away and you read all the exciting new experiences they are having you wish you were out there doing that too and then on the flip side when you are out there trying new things and experiencing different countries you wish you could still join in with what is going on back home. I guess it comes down to enjoying where you are at in life and appreciating what you have. I was saying yesterday that there are always people better off than you in the world same age with more assets have done more things with your life, this is to give you motivation to continue to strive for what you want out of life and then there is always someone worse off than you also, there purpose is to keep you thankful for what you do have.

I would really like to thank all my precious friends and family back home for all the letters, postcards, emails, photos and gifts you have been sending me over the last three months. Even just a couple of lines in an email can really lift you spirits at times. My wall of NZ is growing all the time and it always a special feeling when I hang the next item up, it is almost like a little ritual I have. (Yes hairsprings have sent me loopy and if anyone has got a padded cell up for rent I maybe requiring it shortly, he he he. Not really.) The wall has grown alot since this picture was taken!

Life her in Champreveyres is actually pretty great if you close your eyes, don't eat anything and just absorb the attmosphere. There are some really special people I have met from all over the world that make my time here in Switzerland so much more bearable. Last weekend a group of ten of us went out for chocolate and coffee. It wasn't a huge expense but it just made me feel like I was human again and that there is something out there besides the walls at Champreveyres and WOSTEP.

Been A While

Sorry folks I know it has been a while since my last update and of course so much has happened I am not sure how best to share it with you all!! Firstly my second exam has passed a couple of weeks ago now with a dissapointing result but still a good pass and we are now into our second week of hairsprings which is a very intense subject leaving us all very exhausted at the end of the day. At long last sleeping well again, had a couple of weeks where I kept waking during the night which as we all know can leave us feeling very tired in the morning. I have started writing some job application letters and distributing my CV to the companies I would most like to work for. We have the Basel Fair on next weekend which is a massive international watch fair and alot of company developements (including staffing) are hindering on the result of sale level etc at this fair.

So outside of school I don't have too much of a life with having only Sunday not at school but this is what I am here for and what I paid to come and do so I am enjoying soaking my time and energy into this. A group of us from school went to the Geneva car show last sunday, Hakan (from Sweden) drove. It is the biggest car show in the world, can't say I was overly impressed but there are alot of people and anything really exciting you want to see so does everybody else. It was a nice day outside of Champreveyre and Neucatel though and it was great to see a little bit of Geneve again. The picture shows one half of the show. It was pretty big.

Backing up a little, a couple of weekends ago a group of ten of us had a FEW drinks and headed on into to Neuchatel city for a bit of the night life. We had a fantastic time dancing the night away, can't remember exactly what time we got home but then sat around the kitchen having cups of tea before bed. An American has a fantastic bed time tea which I NEED to get for myself. It is a herbal tea of course and after drinking this I had only 4 1/2 hours of solid sleep and woke up feeling fantastic!! But all round a cheap night for me having only spent 5FR on bus there and taxi home as I had had enough to drink at home and it was far too much fun dancing to require more liquor only H2O required.

I have been in touch with another kiwi watchmaker over here that went through WOSTEP with my tuitor in NZ Richard Burgess in 1993 doing the complicated watch course. Robert and his wife Beatrice (also a watchmaker) live in Le Lecle which is 40minutes by train from Neuchatel. They invited me over for dinner on friday night and we had a fantastic time talking about watchmaking and life in Switzerland. They both work for fantastic companies Renaud & Papi and Vaucher respectively. Whilst I was there another kiwi watchmaker Dean (also former WOSTEP student) phoned, it was weird to hear a NZ accent. I have been speaking to friends and family back home of course but it is not the same as hearing a stranger talking. Hhhmm does that make sense or am I just weird??? I also have the contact details of another family friends friend but unfortunately have not made the effort to visit yet. She is alot further away and it would not make sense to only go for dinner and of course with working saturdays this posses as a small problem. It is not a very good excuse and I should really make more of an effort as it is very generous for people to offer hospitality to someone they have never met before.

I also had the wonderful experience of having authentic Italian rissotto cooked for me on wednesday night by a fellow Champreveyrien which tasted absolutely devine and is much better than the food down stairs. It was fresh and hot which is an improvement right from the start! Last night I was also spoiled by a different Champreveyrien cooking us authentic Bangladesh food, which was also very devine. He was slaving away in the kitchen for quite some time and made us four different dishes using wonderful spices that add flavor but not heat!!

Once again it is Sunday and with nothing open it is a great oportunity to catch up on Blogs (been very slack), letter writing and the all important study. Hope everyone is well, keep in touch, love hearing from you all. Best wishes very tired but inspired watchmaker Donna.

Bergeon

Yesterday (being Friday 21st Feb) we went on a field trip to Bergeon and to visit a clock and watch museum in Le Locle. We had a wonderful experience at Bergeon with the sales manager sharing some interesting information but even better was the absolutely devine lunch we had a lovely restaurant. Salmon ceasar salad to start, wonderful local wine, delicous chicken main and even chocolate mouse desert. YUMMY especially after the wonderful we are being fed at Champreveyre. It was nice to see the Bergeon show room and see all the latest products to be released at Basel Fair (massive international watch and jewellery fair here in Switzerland held every year), we also have the oportunity to place an order and get some very good prices before the end of our course. However the highlight of the day would have to be the visit to the museum. The whole building /castle is full of clocks from all centuries as well as a few music boxes and whole floor dedicated to watches and there development through time and a wonderful collection of automats also which were truely fascinating to see. As you can tell from the photos there is alot more snow in Le Locle even though it is only 20km from Neuchatel. It was loads of fun the snow kinda looks hard but your foot goes straight through it. Good thing the boys have bad aim and the few snow balls thrown around missed their target.

Life here in Neuchatel has become a bit of a routine which is nice all the same and to add a bit of flavour to the diet we have started going to a near by pub on a wednesday for FR1o pizza night with some of the watchmakers from last years refresher course.

Neuchatel

Well I am slowly learning my way around my new town. Neuchatel is quite a lovely little town with a fantastic lake. The weather here is very misty and as we are surrounded by hills we are nicely protected from the wind. It has been clear enough on a couple of occasions to catch a wee glimps of the alps which are the back drop to the lake!! Can't wait for the clear days of summer, it is going to look fantastic. It has been a little difficult to adjusting to the new ways, shops here are pretty much all closed on Sundays and Monday mornings and only stay open till 6.30pm except thursdays which is 8.30pm. For retailers I think this is fantastic and once you get yourself organised and make sure you have already bought something for sunday night dinner it works just fine. The bakery next to Champreveyres where I live is open from 6.30am till 6.30pm weekdays and is open Sunday morning so every day we pop in there on the way to school and pick up a yummy fresh baguette for lunch.

It has been snowing off and on here since I arrived but it melts again pretty quick which is nice because while the snow is fun it does make it harder to get around. Last week we had a morning where it poored with snow, it was so fun I laughed all the way to school, getting snow in your eyes really hurts! Saw my first squirel in Switzerland the other morning also on the way to school which was fun, it was the first time John (class mate) has seen a squirel so it was pretty exciting. The sun has been out today and took my first walk down the lake edge, it was really nice but I didn't stay long because the temperature was still -1 and it was quite windy so after an hour you can not feel your fingers through your gloves anymore.

I have finally got off my backside and been for a couple of runs over the last couple of weeks which has been really nice and refreshing, great for the sanity. But it is nice to be finally settling into a routine. School is still really great, have had a very taxing week this week. Really bloodshot eyes friday morning and felt like I had been hit by a bus, we have been working on escapements this weeks which requires alot of concentration and microscope work so after six days at school today has been a definate god send to just chill out and have walk made even nicer by the beautiful sun that has been shining all day!!

Besides school there has also been time for a little bit of leisure. Last weekend I went to Robert and Anna's place for cheese fondue (Robert is doing a different course at school) which was the first cheese fondue experience for me. The couple of bottles of wine that accompanied it were also nice and then we headed into Cafe de Cerf in the city which is a bar where alot of watchmakers hang out. Then this weekend it was Hasan's (he is doing 2 year course at WOSTEP with Robert and also lives at Champreveyres) birthday so friday night he had hired out the Champreveyre dinning room and we all had a few drinks, nibbles and listened to some music. Did get to bed not long after midnight though as I spent a few hours saturday afternoon at school.

Off to Le Loche on friday to visit Bergeon (tool supplier) and a private museum collection instead of going to class so this should be a blast! We are now at the end of week 5, quater the way through! Man time flys when you are having fun. Next exam not for another 3 weeks yet, I have been trying not to live life from exam to exam but it is proving to be a little difficult.

Zurich

Well a couple of weekends ago I ventured out of Neuchatel and headed for the big city of Zurich. Hugo (guy from Champreveyres (where I live) he’s from Holand) thought it would be a nice day out and as I agreed we went on our big adventure. Having purchased a ½ price discount train card it didn’t cost as much of a fortune as it might have.

Zurich is a really lovely old city with the main attraction being all the wonderful old architecture. It also has a lot of wonderful old churchs and Chathedrals which we went inside most of them. There is just something special about being inside the beautiful old buildings! At the Grossmanster church you are able to climb up one of the towers which gives you a fantastic view out over the city and harbour. I don’t think it was as far to climb as the Christchurch cathedral but it was just as narrow and we managed to time it well on the way up that we passed some people coming down, one guy wasn’t exactly small and I was thankful to be beside the rail not against the middle. Got some great photos from part way up and the top, unfortunately even the beautiful country of Switzerland people still like to graffiti everywhere which tarnishes the lovely self shot I took. Getting better at those, still need a longer arm though.

Went to the Museum of Switzerland also which wasn’t the most exciting Museum I have been to perhaps Te Papa is more impressive than I ever gave it credit for!! All and all it was a great day and riding the trains is Switzerland is lovely. As Sinnae and Sam may have noticed from the writing on their postcards it is still not completely smooth.

School

WOW! I think this word alone just about sums it up. The building itself is amazing. Very old on the outside but very modern on the inside. It was renovated last year the floor we work on has got two class rooms, and cleaning room, a polishing room and a lathe room with a few electronic lathes and milling machines etc. There is a floor above us which I have not been on but I believe there is another workshop up there for the other various shorter courses they run throughout the year. Down stairs is our large boardroom where we do our theory, admin offices and a large lunch room that opens onto a very large deck that overlooks the lake with the Alps in the background. Have only had a very brief glimpse of the Alps at this stage due to the weather which seems to be quite murky but it is going to be fabulous come spring and summer!

Some of you may have already seen my pic with my fabulous lab coat. It’s the smallest size they have and I still need to roll up my sleeves. (Yeah laugh I know you are). The tutor has a microscope on his desk that shows what he is looking at on a TV screen in the corner of the classroom. It is fantastic when he is showing you what you’ve done right or wrong and the whole class gets to be in on it too. Really it is a fantastic teaching tool! The work benches are out of this world with us each having a complete set of tools of at our finger tips and air blower and suction that you will see (the black pipes sticking out at the back in the middle like bug antenae) and our own timing machine also. The benches are just beautiful and are so functional. I WANT one, however the benches are apparently worth more than the course itself each so at this stage it’s a little out my price league. However I do know some cabinet makers back home and mum has the job of making me a lab coat (she just doesn’t know it yet).

First exam coming up this Friday, AARGHHH!!! Had a practice test today which I will get the results of tomorrow so hopefully I will have nothing to worry about. You need a four out of six to pass. It is only four hours which I discovered today does not give me as much time as I thought it would. Waiting for the cleaning machine to give me back my watch was the longest 16 minutes of my life. I know to put it in at least twenty minutes sooner for Friday. The second cleaning machine is currently out of action and the machine only cleans three at a time so this means I’m going to have to try and jump in ahead of some others.

There are six students doing the course, two from Bulgaria, one from Libea, one from Sweden, one from OZ and me from NZ of course. It makes for a very interesting bunch but we are all getting along quite nicely. This is a pic of our lunch last Friday. We had to go into town to sign our student permits so stayed out for lunch. The two at the far end of the table are the tutors and Serag from Libea is taking the picture.

Arrival in Switzerland

I am here after a lovely smooth train ride that runs exactly to the minute which turns out to be an advantage as when the train ride is 1hr17 you can work out which stop to get off at. Apparently it doesn’t normally snow in Neuchatel but the place has been blanketed with the white stuff since New Year’s Eve. Went for a walk today (10/01) to check out where the school is with some of the other students and it snowed on the way. My trainers are holding out at the moment as sufficient foot wear so am not going to get any snow boots at this stage. There are six people on my course, four of which are in the same accommodation as me.

My room is very large, alot larger than some of the others in the building which is very interesting as you pay different amounts according to room size. I was not given a choice so hopefully I am not paying more unnecessarily as I would prefer a smaller room and fewer dollars. It is too big and uncozy like.

Last night’s dinner was very yummy pasta, but way too much of it so am going to find out if I take a container if I can keep my left overs for lunch because it would just be going in the bin otherwise. If you are not going to be around at meal time you can leave a container and they will keep it for you so hopefully this will be ok. Just went to the shop only 5 minutes up the road (Denner) and got some cup of soup, half loaf of bread, nutella and four bananas which only cost 8,45 CHF. Meal times are different weekdays to weekends. Monday-Friday breakfast and dinner are served, Saturday breakfast and lunch is served and on Sunday it is breakfast and brunch (till 12.30pm).

London

London

Well I arrived at Heathrow airport safe and sound even if a little bit late, UK time 06hr30 on Tuesday 6th January 2009 after a very long time in the air and at various airports. Spending so much time in a plane was not actually as bad as I had expected and I have not been as affected by jet lag as one might expect. I think the worst part was the swollen ankles and still feeling like I was on the plane for a couple of days.

Tim and Louisa were both at work so I negotiated my way onto the tube, changing lines once I landed exactly where I should have, at their flat. It was 10.00am so I dumped all my stuff and went down the road to the Camden markets to explore. I did not feel like travelling anywhere else so going to London on the tube was out of the question. It was great wandering around the camera has already had a pretty severe work out!! All the buildings and houses are exactly like the English television programs. With sore feet I headed home mid afternoon for a bit of a relax and snooze and waited for Louisa and Tim to get home from work.

It is so weird that even though we are on the other side of the world to home it did not seem unusual to see them. We went to the pub for a drink where it was lovely and warm. I can now see why there is such a strong pub culture over here!!

Day two saw me heading into the big city to explore on a hop on hop off bus tour which works out really well because as a special winter rate the ticket is valid for 48hrs. The tube let me off right in Trafalgar square where once again the camera got busy. All the fountains had completely frozen solid so were not as spectacular as one might expect however it was special to see them this way as any of the locals I asked don’t recall it happening before. It is the coldest week London has on record for a decade, great timing!! Amongst other things I also saw the Tower Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral, Shakespeare’s Theatre, Wellington Marble Archway, the guards at Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park and loads of double decker buses. I visited Hyde Park at lunch time to see all the squirrels but they obviously think it is too cold also and were not about, however I did come across one very lonely squirrel that kindly obliged and sat at my feet to have his photo taken.

Day three was the second day of the bus tour. Today I went on a walking tour which went past the her majesty’s gates the only time the gate in the middle ever opens is when the queen herself is in the car and she and anyone else inside her car at the time are the only ones to ever pass through it. The tour also included the changing of the guards. It was great being on the tour because instead of waiting at Buckingham Palace with all the hoards of people we started at St James Palace where the guards are actually coming from. I spent alot of time today at Westminster Abbey/Big Ben the architecture is just amazing in alot of London’s old buildings. Unfortunately there was a gas leak and I could not get down the road to pass the royal gardens and whatever else was down that road, I had been fortunate to drive past the previous day on the bus thought which is some consolation I suppose.

Tim and Louisa had very kindly organised a surprise for me for my last night which turned out to be a dinner with Toni, Nicola and Pam before going to Greese the stage show, it was absolutely fantastic!! The understudy was playing Danny but other than that the casting were very close in looks to the film.

christmas

WOW!! What a christmas. It has been a very busy few weeks for me. Christmas day bought the very exciting engagement of Lee-Anne and Jade (my next sister up from me). Jade the sweety decided he had to propose before I left having asked my dad a month ago for Lee-Anne's hand in marriage. Christmas day was wonderful anyway having all the family together and lot's of good food of course.

Since then I had my leaving BBQ at Kulim park on saturday 27th which was also filled with lots of family, friends and great food! I am very spoilt to have such wonderful friends and family. Mum and the girls bought me a gorgeous green stone for safe travel, determination, love and friendship (so appropriate) and various friends bought me kiwiana luggage labels, t-shirt and earings. It was a wonderful afternoon that ended with Tina, Lisa, Hayley and I in town, but after hanging out with all the 18 years olds in Coyote we didn't last long. I had a wonderful day and thankyou to all those that made it such a special day.

Then on the 28th my darling sister Lee-Anne and brother in law Jade helped shift all my furniture and other STUFF from Hamilton to mums. I'm so very lucky to have had so much help and support with my latest ventures!

I hope everyone had a lovely christmas and got to share it with people special to them.