The Neutral Zone

Zug, Switzerland - We arrived in Zurich last night. In keeping with best practice for avoiding jet lag, we avoided sleeping on the flights (connected through Lisbon), which had us awake for 30 hours straight. This is hard. I find it's best to drink coffee and watch action movies non-stop - the intermittent explosions, screaming, yelling and fast-paced music help to keep you stimulated. After we arrived, we went for dinner at Kin , which describes its food as "Asian infused wonders with local and seasonal ingredients." Kin is a cozy (aka cramped) restaurant located on a corner in a more bohemian part of town. We got the chicken laap salad, tsume-style miso salmon, yuzu mushroom salad, a beet and caviar dish, and the mystery dish. In ordering our meal, Hannah asked the waiter what the mystery dish was, and she was told it's a mystery. We got it anyway - it was a mung bean with Brussels sprouts and fried shallots. For dessert: miso cheesecake. Thumbs up for Kin - we li...

San Francisco International Airport - We arrived early to the airport. About two hours early. Such is the way of my in-laws. It's OK: I took a nap on the floor in the terminal. I understand that firm surfaces are good for your back. We also came with stuff. A lot of stuff. Seven check bags and four carry-ons. H is indulging in what I consider excessive smug because I ended up taking more stuff than she did. Apparently, this little detour from heteronormative packing patterns is news that everyone needs to hear: the ticketing agent, the TSA security woman, and practically all our neighbors and friends.  The reason I have more stuff is that I am taking skis and H is not and ski gear is rather bulky. H briefly explored the idea of having me leave the ski gear behind, but this idea failed to gain traction with me. Switzerland is rather well known for its skiing and I wasn't about to pass that up.

Sebastopol, CA - Happy turkey day! H and I are in Sebastopol, getting in a final hurrah with our families. We are t minus seven days to departure. Chaos and confusion reign as we prepare to embark on our one-year European adventure. In one of our finer moments, Hannah - overwhelmed both by the enormity of the impending change to our lives and the amount of work still ahead of us - sat crying next to an open suitcase while Mike fumed over the inefficiency created by this moment of reflection and introspection. The complications of moving to a idiosyncratic European country, protective of its culture and economy are numerous, but here are a few highlights: There is no common language. Most Swiss speak German (~60%), but large numbers speak French, and Italian. Romansch is an official language spoken by <1%. Hannah and I are attempting to learn some standard German via duoLingo. This is slow going for three reasons: (1) we are busy/lazy, (2) the Germans appreciate linguistic co...