Bilingual
June 25, 2011 at 9:58 pm | Posted in Children, Germany, Life Observations, Swiss Observations, Switzerland | Leave a commentSince we started thinking about having a family we regularly spoke about raising our child or children bilingually (well, trilingual if you count Swiss German which is almost an entirely different language). We have already started this even though she is only nine days old, with A speaking to her in German and me in English. They say that children raised this way take a little longer to start actually talking, but then they know to converse with each parent in a different language.
In January last year I spoke about our friends in Germany where he is German and she is French. They too are raising their daughter and son in both Languages. They came to visit last week and he mentioned that for the first time, there daughter corrected his French grammar when he was speaking the other day. She is only five years old. I can see this happening to me in no time.
Lily is Here
June 24, 2011 at 12:39 am | Posted in Life Observations | 2 CommentsLast Thursday our precious little gift arrived and we have named her Lily. Nothing can prepare you for the sight of the birth of your first child. No amount of reading, none of the other father’s stories, not even the BBC documentary series ‘one born every minute’.
She is the most perfect little creature I have ever seen and I find that I cannot stop watching her every moment she is near. She is beautiful.
Watching my equally beautiful wife go through this all, for me, for us, has given me an even greater level of admiration. Something that is almost impossible to describe. Danny Green, one of Australia’s most successful boxers, said in the book ‘Cheers to Childbirth’, I would rather be put in the ring with Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and George Foreman, all at the same time, than have go thought childbirth’. I agree.
The Waiting Game
June 8, 2011 at 9:28 pm | Posted in Children, Life Observations | Leave a commentIt’s just over a week now until the due date of our first child and I have been doing various reading to help prepare myself for her arrival, and also to provide the best support I can for A on the big day. The literature tells me that only 3% of babies are born on their due date which leaves a significant window on either side. So, we are just waiting.
Over the weekend we were doing some things around the apartment. A snapshot of one conversation:
A: David! (well, with a half exclamation mark)
D: (out of breath from sprinting the 10 or 11 meters to the balcony), Yes! What’s up!
A: Can you help me move this pot plant….
It’s hard not to jump every time I am called, or every time she feels a different sensation or movement in there. We have also been finalizing some insurance matters this week and A has had to call me a couple of times so my heart races when I see her number on the screen.
If it is this exciting already and she isn’t even here yet, goodness knows what it will be like when she is.
A Thousand Words
June 3, 2011 at 9:42 pm | Posted in Life Observations | Leave a commentI don’t remember exactly when but for a long time I have been interested in photography. I am by no means in anyway brilliant at taking photos myself, but I visit exhibitions whenever possible. One of the most exciting is the World Press Photos which I used to visit every year in Sydney. I learnt just last week that it also comes to Zurich and is showing at a gallery only two trams stops from where I work. I am trying to get down here in the next few days.
There is something about a truly great photo that defies words. The photographer’s ability to capture a single point in time, being able to explain everything with no words at all, can leave you speechless. Some are turning points in history; some are just the day to day goings on. Below are some of my favourites over the past few years.
One of the best I have ever come across I unfortunately have not been able to track down online. It depicted a G8 anti-globalisation protestor exhausted sitting on the ground at a train station after a hard day or rallying. He still had his placard with him denouncing global organisations… and a can of Coke in his hand. The true definition of irony.
Globalised
May 26, 2011 at 1:15 am | Posted in Germany, Life Observations, Music, Switzerland, Sydney | Leave a commentEvery day I experience more and more examples of how small the world is becoming. I can keep up to date on the latest with my friends internationally via Facebook, I can have video calls with my friends and family on Skype and I wake up every morning to read the Sydney Morning Herald online. Technology is advancing so quickly that we truly are becoming globalised.
I took one step further last week with the purchase of an Internet Radio and Network Capable home theatre system. I admit that I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to this sort of stuff. I wouldn’t call myself an audiophile, but something in between that and your average iPod owner. Maybe prosumer suits me.
With my new stereo I can stream music from my laptop wirelessly and listen to it through up to 11 speakers. The seven that I have are enough right now as we don’t live in the Taj Mahal. Plus convincing A that I ‘need’ another four speakers, and the space to put them, might be tough.
The best feature however is the ability to listen to Radio Stations from anywhere on earth. Over the weekend we listened to Swiss stations from other Cantons (states), Bayern 3 from Munich and even my beloved Triple J all the way from Australia. Now I just need to learn how to use the rest of the features listed on the other 90 or so pages of the instruction manual. I am just waiting for a trusted friend (who IS an audiophile!) to come over and help me. You know who you are…
Older than Australia
May 13, 2011 at 8:26 pm | Posted in Life Observations, Switzerland, Travel | Leave a commentIn the whole scheme of things Australia is a very young country, which you don’t realize until you visit an old country. I don’t mean the average age of the population but the fact that Australia was only ‘discovered’ in 1770. Of course, declaring the world’s largest island Terra Nullius did nothing forAustralia’s Indigenous, the oldest civilisation known to man, with their estimated 60,000 year history. But I will not get into historic British politics here.
As far back as A’s family can remember, at least four generations, they have had a cabin in the Alps behind Bern, the Berner Oberland. It was built in 1726 and was originally a stable to keep cattle in at certain times of the year with a cheese making room at the front. I still remember the first time I visited back in 2002 and it dawned on me that I was sitting in a building that was built almost 50 years before Australia was literally on the map.
Living in Switzerland means we stay there as often as we can and I simply love being there. Every time we go I notice something different. You can see the various alterations that have been completed over the centuries from the original master beams, door hinges and windows, down to relatively new additions like the phone from the early 1900’s and the modern bathroom. The room you first enter is where the cheese would have been made and all the stone work and chimney are original, resplendent with 280 years of smoke and ash markings.
I doubt I will ever tire of going there and look forward to sharing these experiences with our little girl, the next generation. We are already planning a 300th anniversary celebration in 15 years time.
Far Far Away
May 7, 2011 at 12:34 am | Posted in Life Observations, Sydney, Travel | Leave a commentPeople often ask me if I get homesick living so far from Australia, and to be honest, I don’t really know what homesick is. I had a new colleague start this week who also happens to be Australian and we were discussing exactly this.
Am I sad that I can’t sit onBondi Beach every Saturday? Too many tourists. Do I get sentimental when I see news about Australia in the media? Not really. Do I miss hugging the Harbour Bridge every day? Not exactly. The truth is I never did any of these things even when I did live there.
What I do miss is being able to see my friends and family anytime I want. To be able to make a phone call, grab some beers and be out on my mate’s boat all in less than two hours. I miss the conversations that surround these occasions that seem normal or even trivial at the time, but mean a lot more when you’re 16,556kms away (as the crow flies). You take these things for granted. It just means that I have to make the most of the times when we are together, and invest in a good Webcam for Skype.
The Day the Earth Stood Still
April 28, 2011 at 6:12 am | Posted in Life Observations, Sydney Observations, Travel | Comments OffIt’s hard to believe that it has been almost 10 years since 9/11. I still remember waking up to the news on my bedside alarm clock thinking it was a show of some sort, perhaps something like the radio program that aired in 1951, ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still‘. But unfortunately it was real.
Every day our live is now impacted in some way by what occurred. With all the travel I do I am probably a little more impacted than most. We can also thank the failed shoe bomber, Richard Colvin Reid, for the 100ml rule. This may soon be a thing of the past as scanner technology advances and new detectors are trialled.
In Abu Dhabi in March I stayed in a water front hotel and 24/7 there was a blacked out gunship ominously parked 30 metres off the beach. In Sydney two weeks ago I noticed they now have concrete bollards around the Harbour Bridge to stop explosives laden vehicles stopping there. And in Paris over the weekend I realised why all trash cans had been replaced with special stands with see-through plastic garbage bags, so that bombs would be instantly visible. There were also teams of heavily armed troops protecting the base of The Eiffel Tower, I counted about 12 in all.
Sadly, things will never be the same again. Neither for those who lost loved ones on that terrible day, or for the world at large.
Children Stories
April 20, 2011 at 2:08 am | Posted in Children, Life Observations | Leave a commentAs an expectant father it is very easy to get bogged down with all the negativity that pops up when I mentioned it to people. It ranges from terrible birth stories to toddler tantrums to childhood accidents. I am starting to wonder why people think they have the right to ruin what is otherwise a very special time for A and I. I have experienced children at various stages of my life so I know what they are like; there is no need to throw it in my face. I have been considering not even mentioning the pending arrival to people now.
But for all that is negative I have had two great experiences. I have a friend who is as tough as nails and rarely shares his emotions. I was with him recently and as he was leaving his house his young daughter ran up and grabbed his leg begging him not to leave. As we got out the door he said ‘this is why you have children’.
Last week in Sydney I met a guy for the first time who has three teenaged daughters. I told him we were eight weeks away from our first and that I was quite nervous. His response; ‘when you have kids, you will discover the other half of our meaning for existing’. What a difference to the horror stories.
Japan Crisis
April 5, 2011 at 5:23 am | Posted in Life Observations | Leave a commentI was just reading the Sydney Morning Herald online and something struck me. There is no mention anywhere on the homepage of the catastrophe that continues to unfold in Japan. It makes you wonder, are all the people OK now? Has the crisis been averted? I’m afraid not. I have two friends living there and they have been giving me regular updates. It truly is a situation beyond human belief. One of them said he never imagine living through such a travesty in his lifetime.
They describe utter chaos, unable to find basic groceries due to panic buying throughout the nation and sleeping on the floor of their offices in the aftermath as electricity for trains was down and they couldn’t get home (one of them for four days). At last count there were 28,000 people dead or missing and an unimaginable number directly and indirectly affected.
Yet, The Sydney Morning Herald thinks the Football Scores are more important.
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