Joseph in Switzerland: Château d'Oex

Since last posting, I’ve left Château d’Oex. Once the kids were gone and the chalet was packed, I took a train, then another train, then a bus to Fribourg, where I will be living this fall. The next day, I headed to Paris, where I am now. I’ll stay here until the end of next week, and then I’ll return to Fribourg to settle there.

The last half of the session at Chateau d’Oex was fun. Still lots of work. And still lots of moments when you ask yourself why you are working so hard. But, the students, the staff, and the whole Switzerland thing make it worthwhile.

A couple pictures that only begin to capture the CDMSP experience...

I think there were some in another posting, but these are a couple pictures of the outside of our chalet.

A trip that I've made with TASIS before is to Luzern. It is a beautiful city. I even took a day off there back in 2004. We brought the students there again this year.

(There is a transport museum, and this year, you could get around using scooters!)

One of my absolute favorite spots in Switzerland is Gruyères. It is a village not far from Château d'Oex. When I taught French in Lugano, we would take the students learning French on a two night trip to Château d'Oex, which included a visit to Gruyères. So I was very happy to return to see the sites again. Malheureusement, cette année, on n’a pas visité la fromagerie du Gruyère. Je n’ai pas pu causer avec ma chère amie Cerise. Anyway, the castle is still stunning, and we still ate plenty of raclette.

(Gavin waits patiently for the cheese to melt.)

(Sandie demonstrates the proper technique - elle racle!)

(Christina, MJ and Joseph show how Raclette is to be enjoyed.)

Since we did not visit la Maison du Gruyère, we brought the students to another cheese factory tucked away in the mountains in a village called l'Etivaz. The cheese, the first AOC cheese in Switzerland, is divine. The cheese factory itself is smelly.

(As you can see, we love cheese.)

(I even got to milk a cow. Sort of.)

We went hiking with the students near the village of Gstaad on a mountain called Wispile. The view from the top was stunning.

We spent a Sunday in Bern, the federal capital of Switzerland. Although it was a rainy Sunday and all the stores were closed, we still found ways to have fun during free time.

(Bern seen from above. With Joseph.)

(Bern seen from Starbucks. With cheesecake and cookies.)

What is this? There was a night when we didn't work until well after midnight and fall into our beds? We were able to get out of Château d'Oex where everything closes around 10:00pm? Towards the end of the session, we were able to make it out to Gstaad, one of the most expensive and posh villages in Switzerland - that is only a couple villages away. You know you've hit it big when the bar has Miller. Or maybe when the hotels look like castles. At any rate, it was a fun night out.

Although not nearly as posh as Gstaad, we took our students to the local disco in Château d'Oex - la Bamba! Our students may have dressed fancier than the locals and tourists of Gstaad. They probably danced better, too.

(We didn't look bad, either.)

At the end of the month, it was time for final night. We dress up. We sing our songs. We do sketches. We eat good food. We meet the parents. The students all break down in tears. And everyone goes home. During our aperitif at the chalet, we were serenaded by Alpine Horns (that sound something like this). Who are always accompanied by a twirling flag. One of my colleagues put it well when he said it is something he would usually laugh it, but here, it works.