This week was recovery from the big disappointment of not getting the IUCN job. Meanwhile I found out why I didn't get it:I have been unemployed for too long. This is very discouraging news. I have now applied for jobs both in the US and in Switzerland. I am getting interviews, once in a while. My age is a major strike against me and now I also have an issue because of the length of my unemployment. What am I supposed to do about it? All the hours spent on the computer, all the hopes, all the uncertainties, all the anxiety, will nothing ever come of it because I am too old, and now, on top of it, I have been unemployed for too long?
To add insult to injury, this morning, just after I booked my trip to Oregon, I got a call asking me to teach an English class starting in September! Since I won't be here for 4 weeks I was not able to accept. This is another major problem with unemployment: it is very difficult to make plans. One is constantly in limbo, never knowing what is ahead. The only way to get certainty is to give up - and I am not ready to do so.
Meanwhile I have started to look for someone interested in buying the apartment. For now it's a rational undertaking for something that will not happen until spring. At the same time I am very aware that this will be a difficult and painful process.
After the IUCN news I was anticipating a difficult weekend and so I packed it with activities to keep busy until my friend Rachel from Portland arrived - on Sunday afternoon. All week we had glorious late summer weather. It was once again warm enough to wear shorts and quaff a beer at the end of a hike. I had been anxiously waiting for Rachel's arrival because she is an excellent hiker and I had kept a few challenging outings for her. As I do with all my guests, I picked hikes that would allow her to discover the key areas of the valley. The best hike was to the Coaz Hut, in the back of Val Roseg. It was a long day (we were gone for 12 hours, 6 of them hiking) but possibly one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever done around here. We spent the whole day facing glaciers and surrounded by the roar of the torrents gushing out of these glaciers. I was so grateful for Rachel's company, as I still believe that it's not a good idea to do such hikes alone. Rachel brought a Scrabble board and it was an opportunity to test my English skills. I didn't do great, but I think the daily online crossword puzzle from The Oregonian helped.
As part of my recovery plan, I spent Saturday helping to build a stone wall. This was organized by the birders, in conjunction with the hunting candidates. Indeed, before you can get your hunting license you have to undergo a thorough training that includes marksmanship, a theoretical course with an exam, and required volunteer work. The whole program can take over one year. This cooperation between birders and hunters made for a curious group, the birders being mostly seniors and the hunters strong young men. Stone walls, which in many countries all over the world mark the boundaries between pastures, are considered important wildlife habitat. They harbor lizards, snakes, frogs, many insects, mice - all prey for birds. The farmer on whose property we worked ended up with a beautiful new wall and to thank us, his wife fed us - both mid-morning snack (substantial sandwiches) and a hearty lunch with many cakes for desert. Since she is the author of a cookbook it was the farming equivalent of gourmet food!
On Sunday I hiked up to Alp Belvair with the Zuoz folks. An "alp" is a meadow above the treeline where the cows spend the summer on communal pastures. Each town has its own alp, or several. It hires a caretaker (cowboy?) who lives in the alp buildings and keeps an eye on the livestock. The Zuoz town Council invited all the inhabitants as well as the tourists for a lunch up on the alp. About 40 of us met at 10am in the upper part of the village and hiked for some 90 minutes in the blazing hot sun to the alp. The very old, and handicapped were offered a ride in a Jeep. Fortunately one of the gym ladies was part of the group - so I had somebody to talk to. This is one of the weak points of the Swiss. There is no icebreaker, no welcoming of single or new people. Everybody else had come with the family or part of a group, and these entities are not open to newcomers.
Alp Belvair is perched high up above town, overlooking the valley and affording a stunning view of the string of villages below and the snow-capped peaks to the south in the Bernina area. We were greeted with white wine - at 11:30am! At noon we were served a variety of grilled meats and sausages, along with a mushroom and saffron risotto.
I stayed until 2pm - sitting in the full sun. Anticipating the effects of alcohol, sun and heat, I limited myself to water, except for a glass of red wine with the meal. I couldn't believe how much drinking was taking place and I still wonder how some of the folks managed to hike back to town. Despite my restraint, I returned with quite a headache. It was a very colorful event. Young fathers pushed strollers up an elevation gain of some 500 meters and were congratulated with rounds of applause upon arrival. Kids were running back and forth, inventing mysterious games requiring only imagination. The dogs had fun too, chasing each other between tables and kids. A Swiss folk music band played (accordion, clarinet, upright bass), and some attempted dancing on the uneven and sloping ground.
Rachel left this morning. The weather has turned rainy and the forecast is not good - possible snow early next week! I hope it is wrong because next week Ernst is visiting and I have a few good hikes in store for him.
Pictures:
1. Chamanna Coaz, a hut belonging to the Swiss Mountaineering Club
2. Building the stone wall
3. Lunch on Alp Belvair
4. Video of band playing Swiss folk music.
To add insult to injury, this morning, just after I booked my trip to Oregon, I got a call asking me to teach an English class starting in September! Since I won't be here for 4 weeks I was not able to accept. This is another major problem with unemployment: it is very difficult to make plans. One is constantly in limbo, never knowing what is ahead. The only way to get certainty is to give up - and I am not ready to do so.
Meanwhile I have started to look for someone interested in buying the apartment. For now it's a rational undertaking for something that will not happen until spring. At the same time I am very aware that this will be a difficult and painful process.
After the IUCN news I was anticipating a difficult weekend and so I packed it with activities to keep busy until my friend Rachel from Portland arrived - on Sunday afternoon. All week we had glorious late summer weather. It was once again warm enough to wear shorts and quaff a beer at the end of a hike. I had been anxiously waiting for Rachel's arrival because she is an excellent hiker and I had kept a few challenging outings for her. As I do with all my guests, I picked hikes that would allow her to discover the key areas of the valley. The best hike was to the Coaz Hut, in the back of Val Roseg. It was a long day (we were gone for 12 hours, 6 of them hiking) but possibly one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever done around here. We spent the whole day facing glaciers and surrounded by the roar of the torrents gushing out of these glaciers. I was so grateful for Rachel's company, as I still believe that it's not a good idea to do such hikes alone. Rachel brought a Scrabble board and it was an opportunity to test my English skills. I didn't do great, but I think the daily online crossword puzzle from The Oregonian helped.
As part of my recovery plan, I spent Saturday helping to build a stone wall. This was organized by the birders, in conjunction with the hunting candidates. Indeed, before you can get your hunting license you have to undergo a thorough training that includes marksmanship, a theoretical course with an exam, and required volunteer work. The whole program can take over one year. This cooperation between birders and hunters made for a curious group, the birders being mostly seniors and the hunters strong young men. Stone walls, which in many countries all over the world mark the boundaries between pastures, are considered important wildlife habitat. They harbor lizards, snakes, frogs, many insects, mice - all prey for birds. The farmer on whose property we worked ended up with a beautiful new wall and to thank us, his wife fed us - both mid-morning snack (substantial sandwiches) and a hearty lunch with many cakes for desert. Since she is the author of a cookbook it was the farming equivalent of gourmet food!On Sunday I hiked up to Alp Belvair with the Zuoz folks. An "alp" is a meadow above the treeline where the cows spend the summer on communal pastures. Each town has its own alp, or several. It hires a caretaker (cowboy?) who lives in the alp buildings and keeps an eye on the livestock. The Zuoz town Council invited all the inhabitants as well as the tourists for a lunch up on the alp. About 40 of us met at 10am in the upper part of the village and hiked for some 90 minutes in the blazing hot sun to the alp. The very old, and handicapped were offered a ride in a Jeep. Fortunately one of the gym ladies was part of the group - so I had somebody to talk to. This is one of the weak points of the Swiss. There is no icebreaker, no welcoming of single or new people. Everybody else had come with the family or part of a group, and these entities are not open to newcomers.
Alp Belvair is perched high up above town, overlooking the valley and affording a stunning view of the string of villages below and the snow-capped peaks to the south in the Bernina area. We were greeted with white wine - at 11:30am! At noon we were served a variety of grilled meats and sausages, along with a mushroom and saffron risotto.
I stayed until 2pm - sitting in the full sun. Anticipating the effects of alcohol, sun and heat, I limited myself to water, except for a glass of red wine with the meal. I couldn't believe how much drinking was taking place and I still wonder how some of the folks managed to hike back to town. Despite my restraint, I returned with quite a headache. It was a very colorful event. Young fathers pushed strollers up an elevation gain of some 500 meters and were congratulated with rounds of applause upon arrival. Kids were running back and forth, inventing mysterious games requiring only imagination. The dogs had fun too, chasing each other between tables and kids. A Swiss folk music band played (accordion, clarinet, upright bass), and some attempted dancing on the uneven and sloping ground.Rachel left this morning. The weather has turned rainy and the forecast is not good - possible snow early next week! I hope it is wrong because next week Ernst is visiting and I have a few good hikes in store for him.
Pictures:
1. Chamanna Coaz, a hut belonging to the Swiss Mountaineering Club
2. Building the stone wall
3. Lunch on Alp Belvair
4. Video of band playing Swiss folk music.
No comments:
Post a Comment