Monday, January 18, 2016

The Neuchâtel Life

The view from the school. That's our patio in the foreground.

Close up on the Alps
As we approach the mid-point of the school year, I thought some information on our day-to-day life at Neuchâtel Junior College was in order. We are a school community with fourteen staff and sixty-nine students at the moment. We occupy three buildings which are situated across from the railroad station in Neuchâtel; our property looks over the town below us, and then further on, to Lake Neuchâtel and in the far distance beyond the water, the Swiss Alps.
Our first staff meeting in September
A test in English
Chemistry class
Our school combines the mundane with the extraordinary. As in every other educational institution, our students attend classes regularly, work on assignments and write tests and exams. But a large part of their learning occurs away from the classroom. Whether they fly as far as Poland to walk through the grounds of Auschwitz or Birkenau, or travel for thirty minutes to Lignières to watch the Désalpes, our students are getting an education. Recently, in December, we went on a day trip to Geneva to see two of its special sites: the United Nations building and the Red Cross Museum.
Emma, Lucia and Harris getting an education in French on the Neuchâtel scavenger hunt.
Lauren and Amy in Geneva at the United Nations.

Several of the boys outside the Red Cross Museum in Geneva
Besides teaching my three classes, I also meet weekly with my advisee group, the NJC version of "home room". These ten students get to spend quality time with me outside of class too. Once a semester, we dine together. Our first such excursion occurred in early November when we traveled by tram to nearby Colombier to Bockeridjer Bar, where delicious hamburgers and Ikea bowls of fries and onion rings are the specialty.
Here I am with 9 of my 10 advisees. The 10th, Erin, was sick, and could not come.
When we find an extra few minutes in our advisee period, I have been quizzing my group with trivia questions, the better to prepare them to compete against the other advisee groups in the spring.
First place in Trivia in October when Bob was in town. Patti is the star, but all of us contribute.
Trivia is one of my passions, and, fortunately, I get to feed it every other Tuesday evening at Le Café du Cerf, a local Irish pub. Who would have imagined that such a place would exist in Neuchâtel? We teachers always field a team, with Terry, Patti and I the regulars. The evenings have been very enjoyable this year since Patti is a trivia superstar, and, thanks to her, we are usually in the money.
Students at Pub Trivia. This team lost to us by a mere two points.
Sometimes the students will field teams too, in the faint hope of defeating their teachers. One group came close last week, when Patti fell sick, but our meagre team of three teachers squeaked out a (moral) victory over them. Thank God.
Terry and the Foyer Council
Building comraderie and spirit are always goals at our small school. To that end, Terry works with five elected students known as the Foyer Council, advising them on ways to make our community come together. It is not difficult to get teenagers to buy into special days, for instance, like pyjama day and twin day, and of course, many had a great time dressing up for Hallowe'en.
"Twins" Maggie and Kieran

Pyjama Day
I loved the Rosie the Riveter costume that Ellis wore at Hallowe'en.
Sometimes, too, the Foyer Council plans fundraising events, as they did during Movember, and at Christmas with candygrams.
We assemble for our first staff dinner
Friday night potluck at Terry's
While the students naturally form small groups of friends based on many factors, we teachers cannot be so choosy. With so few of us around, we make a point of building positive relationships with each other and doing things together. Our socializing began in September with a fondue dinner. By mutual consent, we have continued dining out regularly when we are in town on a Friday night. We also celebrate birthdays together and, on occasion, we have a party.

Christmas gathering on Bill's patio. This glorious day was in December.
The students looking good for Thanksgiving dinner.
All cleaned up for Christmas dinner
The students party too, in the local clubs in town, but I have no photos of their shenanigans. We do celebrate special occasions together, however. At Thanksgiving, a local hotel served us turkey dinner, while in December, we gathered at the beautiful Hotel du Peyrou for our annual Christmas celebration. These events are fun because we get to dress up.
The staff dressed up from Christmas too.

I enjoy a special lunch with some parents.
The dining room at the Hotel du Peyrou is the setting for our delicious lunch on Parents' weekend too, but this time, it is adults only. There, staff and parents meet informally, over delicious food, and then later the same day in the school's salon for an apéro (wine and cheese).
Parents and staff at the apéro. 
Yoga in the salon.
The salon, a formal room in the foyer building, is a very versatile space. Here, on Mondays after school, there is a yoga class, while later in the year, it will transform into a stage for drama performances.
My husband, Bob, helped Adam coach the volleyball team.
Boys volleyball team in competition.
Beyond yoga, students enjoy taking part in school sports. In spite of our small population, we often field teams in competitions against other Swiss International Schools. So far, we have participated in girls and boys volleyball, rugby sevens, cross country, and badminton.
Terry and the rugby seven boys.

Andie and M.J. - pool bosses.
In late November, we hosted five other schools in a swim meet. That was a very successful event, with our team members earning several medals, including two gold. It was also a lot of fun for all of us, as all hands were on deck, literally–the pool deck. Teachers and students all had jobs to do.
Our boys' team: Will, Nick, Rafa and superstar, Brandon.: silver medalists in relay.
Our girls: Rachel F,. Grace, Ellis and Rachel J.: silver medalists in relay.

I could go on and on about the many things that are part of my Neuchâtel life. It is often very hectic, or, as has been the case since we all returned from Christmas vacation, hard work, as the students write their exams and we teachers grade them. It is certainly never dull, with infinite variety. The first half of the year has flown by as a result.

Students at work, one of many photos by Carmela.
Studying in the library
Finally, I want to acknowledge our social media intern, Carmela, in this blog post, since I have used several of her photographs here. She does a terrific job capturing our school in pictures.

Carmela and I on the bus in Vimy.










Wednesday, January 6, 2016

To Market, To Market: Christmas in Europe

A skier's Christmas tree in Colmar
Gingerbread is available in all the markets. 
Christmas is a special time of year for me.  I love all the traditions that my family has built up around the season–and, believe me, we have many! Certainly, Canada is the place I want to spend Christmas day, but the weeks prior to it are pretty fantastic you happen to live in Europe. The lights in every city and the charm of street markets are very special indeed.
Megan and Mara pose in front of the Christmas tree in Place des Halles in Neuchâtel
To be honest, I am just a little obsessed with the Christmas markets which pop up in cities around Europe as soon as the Advent season begins. Last year, I traveled to Germany, France and several places here in Switzerland to enjoy the market atmosphere and to shop for gifts. This year, I managed to see even more destinations, combining my travel for work and leisure with time spent in front of a wooden kiosk.
Festive Carnaby Street
When I was in London on November 22nd, I did not expect the festive atmosphere that I encountered in the city, but, by the time of my visit, decorations were festooned everywhere and a little market had popped up in front of St. James Church in Picadilly. Here I bought the first of many stocking stuffers for my family back home.
One of the booths in the little market in London
On a Sunday a week later, I traveled 30 minutes to Bern to visit the two market locations there. The larger market in the Weisenhausplatz was merely a variation of the one that stands in this area year-round. It was made more seasonal with the addition of some lights and evergreens, and, of course, since Bern is German speaking, vendors selling sausages and beer.
Entering the Weisenhausplatz

Crowds at Munsterplatz.
The other Bernese market next to the Munster was the place to acquire unique gifs made by local artisans, and more sausages and beer, of course. It was very crowded that day.
In Vienna, even the trees are decorated
In early December, as I documented in my last blog post, I traveled to Vienna with the NESDA team. On our walking tour around the city, we encountered markets in four locations.  Each had its own charm. We lingered in the one near Stephenplatz at lunchtime that day and shopped for about a half hour in the market in Maria-Theresien Platz. The next morning we spent an hour and half in the largest one in front of the Rathaus, when our hosts took us there by bus.
Kiosks at Maria-Theresien Platz
We all enjoyed exploring the Viennese markets. I picked up more stocking stuffers and a parchment paper journal for my "Secret Santa" recipient. I love these homemade gifts–good thing, since my "Secret Santa" (Terry) bought me the same thing.
Night-time Viennese streetscape at Christmas
More Viennese lights
In December, Vienna's pedestrian main streets are a feast for the eyes. Brightly lit decorations abound. I particularly loved exploring the city after dark. It put me in the Christmas spirit, for sure.
Sundried tomato products on sale in Neuchâtel
I picked up some Titanium jewelry here
Back in Neuchâtel the following week, I decided after school one day to visit the city's indoor Christmas Market, a set up very much like Toronto's One-of-a-Kind Show, but on a much smaller scale. Here the goods are from towns close by. In fact, I had made a trip to one of those outlying communities a few weeks beforehand to shop for treasures in a private home. There I ended up buying items made by one of the women who houses two of our students: these were gifts to myself.

Gifts for myself
On the final Sunday in Switzerland before we all headed home for the holidays, a group of staff traveled to Colmar in the Alsace region of France. This day was the highlight of my Christmas shopping experience.
Jen, Terry, Adam and Bill at the Colmar train station. Patti and Jacob were with us too.

Decorations along the canal in Colmar

Horse ride at the Children's Market
The city has five market areas, and on this day, we were blessed with beautiful sunshine as we made our way through the town. As is common in the region, houses were often cleverly decorated too.
Beautiful Colmar
A decorated house
Crowds gather
It was fun to share the day with my colleagues, as we stopped for lunch in the "La Petite Venise" district for a local specialty, the Tarte Flambée, before tackling the important business of shopping.
Cups and pots for sale
The Alsace region is known for its markets so it was no surprise that these ones were the best I experienced this year. They were beautiful in both the daytime and the evening when the entire town is illuminated.
Another decorated house
The Children's Market at night.
In my final week of classes, I could not resist going to even more markets. (I really am obsessed.) I had heard that the one in Montreux was the best in the country, so I hopped onto a train after my last class on Monday in order to spend an hour there.
A glass-blower's products for sale in Montreux. The man himself is in the middle of the photo.
The beauty of this market is in its setting on Lake Geneva, and its children's playground. It does not cover a large area but it is very charming.
Kiosks in front of the lake

The children's area - a small park.
I got a kick out of two kiosks in particular, both run by Montrealers: one sold maple syrup products while the other offered poutine. Apparently Ti-Jean and his friend come to Montreux for a few weeks every year to give the Swiss a taste of French-Canadian culture.

No business for Ti-Jean at this moment.
On the Wednesday, I squeezed in another market visit, this time to nearby Solothurn. It was the smallest of the ones I saw. Still, I found some more stocking stuffers here as well.
Fires warm up the customers in Solothurn
Finally, as I was heading to the airport the night before my return to Canada for the school holiday, I visited the Zurich market housed in the train station. It is notable for its beautiful tree adorned with Swarovski Crystals and colourful lights on the brick walls. Apparently it is the most expensive Christmas market in the world. All I spent my money on though was some raclette, a Swiss cheese and potato dish.
Crystal tinsel on the tree

The "Welcome" sign is part of the light show on the wall of the train station in Zurich
By the time I boarded my flight home on Friday morning, I had a suitcase full of gifts for family and friends. I was ready for Christmas Day!