It was a quiet week in Zuoz

This is the first afternoon I am spending entirely at home since my arrival. I am feeling somewhat guilty, because once in a while the sun makes it through the clouds, and I hate spending a perfectly good day indoors. But, I wanted to get some things done before setting out again tomorrow for a week of visiting relatives in Austria. Among others I had to study for tonight's rumauntsch class - this course's last one. Over the weekend I contacted a few fellow students to gauge their interest in asking the teacher to continue with private classes. No level II course will be offered before September, and we are a small committed group that would like to take advantage of the current momentum. Now the question is whether the teacher is interested. I also justify this afternoon's idleness with the fact that tonight I'll walk to class. It was transferred from Samedan (15 minutes from Zuoz by train) to S-chanf, the next town down the valley - an easy walk. Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon out in the cold, hoping to identify some new birds. Today, in the comfort of my home I could observe a couple of kestrels cruising back and forth in front of my window!

So this was a quiet week in Zuoz. I am always amazed how time flies even in idleness! It's an opportunity to absorb more of my surroundings and learn. The big event was the opening of the fishing season. The papers featured various articles about fish, the fisheries, eating fish, etc. It's another sad story: just about all waters have been impacted by hydroelectric projects and therefore it seems that most fish are either non-native, or surviving only through massive human interference: the adult fish are caught when ready to spawn, "milked", i.e. both the eggs and the sperm as pressed out of them, and released again. The fertilized eggs are then kept in a secure facility, and the young fish are raised in ponds until they are released into the rivers and lakes, ready to be caught by the avid fishermen. It's not exactly the industrialized fish hatchery as we have them in Oregon, but there's hardly anything natural about the fish's life cycles. Shockingly, the questions of wild vs man-hatched, of habitat and biodiversity have not been raised in any of my readings.

Hunting is also very popular in the region. The management of game is very sensible. A few years ago, the agency responsible for wildlife decided to ban supplemental winter feeding of big game (deer, elk, chamois). Instead most of the forest was closed to human access during winter. All the trails, both cross-country and hiking, that I have mentioned over the last few months, are primarily located in fields, or just at the edge of the forest. This closure allows the animals to roam freely, without any disturbances causing them to waste energy. That means no snowmobiles, no heli skiing, not even snowshoeing. Having spent the last few years of my life supporting efforts to close areas to snowmobiling and to limit heli skiing to protect wintering animals, this appears like a very sensible and progressive management decision.

I have been fairly open about my quandary, extend my stay here, or move back to Portland in the late fall, as per the initial plan. A few days ago I drew a table, with the pluses and minuses of both staying here and moving back to Portland. All it did, so far, is highlight how difficult the choice will be, as well as the fact that once again, there will not be a perfect choice. Living here is very much in synch with my values: a quiet and simple life, almost no stores, no need for a car, nature at my doorstep rather than a 90 minutes drive away. And yet, I do miss my garden, the farmers markets, fresh produce, my friends, and above all, the relative ease with which I can visit my kids. So today I paid a visit to the real estate agency for a reality check. I was hoping that once we sell the apartment in the fall, with my share of the proceeds I could buy another apartment for myself, smaller, less luxurious, without the front row view. The reality actually was quite a blow. Unless I find a well-paying job, there's no way I can afford another apartment!

The discovery about the forbidding price of apartments in Zuoz comes on the heels of a job interview - just last week I was interviewed for a job as English teacher for adults! They desperately need such teachers in the valley, and I am pretty sure they will offer me at least one evening class per week, starting in July. It's not paid very well, certainly not enough to afford another apartment, but it's a foot in the door, something to close the gaping hole in my resume, and one more networking opportunity.

Sunday's NY Times has an article on the Engadin (thank you Claire): http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/travel/09next.html?pagewanted=2&hpw

In case you missed it: my March pictures are now posted on Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/irenevlach/March2010#