The Substitute...

Holiday Greetings to Everyone!

I’m afraid that my free time has been rather slim lately…which has rendered my blog untouched for over a month. Sigh…my deepest apologies to all the folks that have had to ask for an update. I’m a bad man, and I know it…

Life at the Institute continues to challenge and stimulate, though I must be honest and admit that I can’t wait for the 22nd of December when I get to come home for 3 splendid weeks. My days are always too long and pass by too quickly. Still, I’ve managed to squeeze in a few social events, including a party at my little apartment for Halloween. At one point, over 20 ghouls of various types were there; I can’t believe that we fit so many people in such a small space! Speaking of which, the folks here are truly fantastic; I’ve so enjoyed getting to know all of the other students at the institute. There’s a really nice mix of people, and though it’s hard to imagine, we all get along without too much drama! My friend Patrick celebrated his 51st birthday in grand style, and I helped him in Lausanne with the festivities. Over 50 people came to the event, where we had fondue, music, and lots of wine! In addition, I experienced my first European snowfall that weekend, which was absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, I left my camera at home, so I don’t have any pictures of it (grrrr!!!). However, I do have some snapshots from previous visits: one taken from the countryside near Patrick’s house (note the bells!) and another from the Cathedral in Lausanne at night…stunning, eh?

Classes are fine, though it’s absolutely astonishing how American Eurhythmics contrasts with Swiss Eurhythmics. Generally speaking, there are many interesting ideas on the table, and I’m learning a lot. However, the practical application of some of these concepts back home remains elusive; sometimes they way they do things here just wouldn't fly in the US, mostly because of cultural differences, I think. In addition because my experience with the Dalcroze method has been so different, there’s a lot of adjusting that has to be done before I can even do the exercises. Some days this is easier for me than others. As many of you know, I’m not much of a “whatever you say, sir” kind of guy; by the end of a class I like to know what, how, and why I’ve done the activities presented. Nevertheless, we’re executing all sorts of polyrhythms, canons, counterpoints, and cross rhythms that have me jumping around like a crazy-man these days. In one of my movement classes, we’re working with a form of modern dance called “contact dancing,” where you basically experiment with the ways in which you give or take body weight with another person. It’s pretty amazing, and the sensation of holding someone else’s body is remarkable. What’s even better is that everyone shares in the process, so even the 5-feet tall 100-pound girls are able to carry the guys around when they use the proper technique.

I’ve also been doing a fair amount of teaching lately; so far I’ve given 8 classes or so…all in French (yikes!). The first classes were fine and went off without a hitch. However, one day in October I was asked to replace a professor who had fallen ill. Unfortunately, I only had about 2 hours notice to write my lessons, and though I was feeling a little rushed, I felt confident that since the other classes went well, these would be just fine. Famous last words, indeed! Those 12 year-old kids took one look at me and realized that with my French being rather limited, they could have a field day with their substitute teacher…and boy did they ever!!! I’d been making good progress with the basic language concepts here, but honestly, I had no idea how to tell a child to quit climbing inside the windows, or get off the furniture, or stop hiding behind the drapes, or any number of simple disciplinary measures that would have been no problem had I been speaking English. At one point, I tried to do an exercise with tennis balls, and within seconds after I gave everyone a ball, the kids started lancing the balls at the walls, at the windows, and at one another!!! You can only imagine what the whole scene must have looked like: there I was standing at the helm of pre-pubescent monkeys virtually out of control with tennis balls flying every which way. Of course, I was mortified, but the kids were having too much of a ball (ba-dum-ching) to notice! What was even worse is that the parents who were in the classroom said nothing! I later learned that in Swiss culture it would have been insulting to me for the parents to step in and tell the kids to knock it off…sigh…I can laugh about it now, but in the moment, I thought I was going to kill every last one of them!!!

The other lessons I’ve given have gone very well…thank God! Again, though the language continues to be an issue for me, I’m still able to get the job done. Generally, I find that parents and kids get a kick out of having the “young American guy” teach their class, and they all giggle at my terribly ‘American’ accent. Courses with adults are going well too, and I’m excited to teach a class with the Senior Citizens in a couple of weeks. I hope to take a picture of them and post it soon…they are a riot!

Thanksgiving came and went without much a fuss. I ended up having scrambled eggs in the microwave and olive bread for my thanksgiving feast! Always the sweetheart, Mike makes sure that I have plenty of Americana here by sending me all sorts of holiday goodies and other essentials. I’ve got 3-D accordion-style tissue paper pumpkins and turkeys (you know, the kind your elementary school teacher used to decorate her room) and autumnal paraphernalia that adorn my walls, along with other essentials such as candy corn, mallowcream pumpkins, and real Q-tips. Also of note, my roommate finally arrived right before Halloween. As it turned out, the guy from Africa couldn’t make it, so in his place is Serei who comes from Cambodia. He’s very nice, though I don’t get to see him much because I am virtually never at my place. Next weekend I plan to go to an Asian Christmas party. I’m sure it will be a blast, though I’m not sure how singing American Christmas carols at an Asian party in a French-speaking country will go…

I hope that everyone is doing well and is enjoying the kick-off to the holiday madness. Naturally, I haven’t even thought about shopping yet…but of course, none of you are surprised to hear that. Of course, if there is something that you’d like from Suisse for Noël, I’m happy to take requests. I miss you all, and I can’t wait to see everyone soon…only 3 weeks left…yippee!!!