English Chitchat, let's go!!

[kara71]

Hello Ladies
I'm still around. Hope all your big changes went smoothly. We're trying to settle back into a routine after the long holidays. Boy is back at Kindergarten again for the second year (reluctantly). We're trying to keep him in good spirits with swimming and music lessons. He's just found out that his best mate is going to move away at the end of the year Hopefully he'll be ok with the other kids, but there's not that much choice really. Baby girl is doing fine. She's started crawling now and is trying to stand up. She's funny.

@Swisscanmom: How old are your kids?

[swisscanmom]

My kids are 10 and 12. We just found out that their German is "too good" for the Intensive German course that we banked on. In reality their German is virtually non-existent, but, apparently the intensive course is full of Syrian and Egyptian refugees that speak Arabic, and the principal thought integration within the local school here would be easier for our kids than that class, especially because teachers can communicate with them in English or French when German doesn't work. So now she is scrambling to get them extra German lessons within the school instead. It's ok though, as I think she is right.

Our stuff is stuck at customs in England and won't get here for another 2-4 weeks. NOT happy about that. I have intensified my job search in the meantime.

[Ponzonia]

Aw, sorry to hear about your shipment being stuck, swisscanmom!
We finally got our stuff last Thursday after waiting for 2 weeks. We had to go to a wedding on Friday and all our clothes were in the shipment. I was afraid we'd have to go in jeans and t-shirt, but luckily our stuff got there just on time. We're now almost done unpacking and settling in alright. Feels so good to have our stuff and the kids' toys.
My big girl started kindergarten (or rather Early Learning Center) past Monday. She is absolutely loving it! She only cries when I come to pick her up, because she doesn't want to leave.
The little one is finally on the move, crawling and getting onto her knees nd sometimes even standing up. She's been a bit slow in those developments, which was nice for mommy. Now she's getting into everything and I really have to watch her. Lol

[Mrs. Bee]

Swisscanmom: hope you finally got your stuff! How did you manage in the meantime? How are the children picking up German? Hubby is still struggeling after 8 years, but A) his language skills are not his best feature and B) everybody takes the oportunity to speak English...
With children it's much easier I think, they pick it up in no time

[swisscanmom]

Our stuff is STILL not here!
We are managing. We have furniture and basic dishes (left overs from my parents), but the days are getting cool, and we would really like our fall clothes.
We are finding the same issue, people want to practice their English with hubby, not much incentive for him to learn German. The kids have settled in ok, but we are still waiting for DaZ classes. They understand a surprising amount of high German already though.
I have found a little job as supply teacher at an after school program, and have another interview today at a daycare centre, also looking at a possible bold career change and going into real estate. So things are happening bit by bit.

[Mrs. Bee]

Pants! What went wrong? Can you get some financial compensation for the stuff that you need to "double" buy? I mean I can understand that getting a complete container full of household goods is not so easy to get through customs, but bloody hell, that's been what, more than 8 weeks???

[swisscanmom]

Actually, it has been more than 10, we were originally told 6-8. It is not even a full container, only about 2-3 pallets. I doubt we can get any compensation. They are just so slow and incompetent, I had filled in all the paperwork to accompany the stuff, when it got to England they were missing a page out of the British customs declaration, so I had to send a new one. Fine, it finally cleared customs last week, so we thought, ok, now it will come. Yesterday they sent an e-mail saying they need an original of the Swiss customs declaration form, a form which I had signed back in Toronto, and sent with the shipment! I had to write a brand new one, because apparently this was missing as well! They wanted it in England TODAY, but I was not about to pay 60 bucks to overnight a letter to England, so they will likely get it tomorrow. They had 2 months to ask for this paperwork, why did they ask for it last minute??? So maybe, just maybe the stuff will arrive next week, not holding my breath though. I even offered to meet them at the border to get everything cleared through customs myself!

[kara71]

@swisscanmom: Sounds like you're very unlucky! Hope you'll be getting your things soon. And your kids get their German lessons. Do you speak English with your kids?

@us: now that the school holidays are over, we've all had flu and stomach bugs, starting with boy. Hubby is still recovering. Apart from that we're doing fine, coping with the daily chaos. Girl started crawling about a month ago and pulling herself up. Today we found her 12(!) steps up on our stairs. She was following the noise her brother was making with his Lego. Hubby and I both thought the other one was watching her

Have a good weekend.

[swisscanmom]

There's no stopping your daughter now, kara! Lol
English is our family language, but I have been making an effort to speak standard German with the kids lately. It's hard to break old habits. I started out speaking Swiss German when my son was little, but then I took in daycare kids, and English became the main language he heard, so he never learned Swiss German, nor did my younger daughter.

[Mrs. Bee]

kara: sounds like you got 2 handfulls now Where do they get that from...? (I always blame hubby's side of course).

[swisscanmom]

Our stuff is supposed to arrive tomorrow! Finally! I'll wait with the happy dance until it is actually here though!

[Mrs. Bee]

Good luck..!

[kara71]

@Mrs.Bee: we seem to have two lively kids, but hubby and I both consider ourselves as quiet. Wonder what went wrong

@swisscanmom: I can understand perfectly well, that you didn't bother with German, when you had daycare kids. It just seems a bit of a shame, when they could have had it for free. Did you never intend to move back to Switzerland? How do your kids communicate with their swiss relatives? In English?

Another 3 days and boy will be on autumn holiday for three weeks. I'm worried it'll be a bit of a challenge to keep him entertained all that time.

[kara71]

@Mrs.Bee: Just noticed you've turned green. Do we have to be a bit more careful about what we say now?

[Mrs. Bee]

Nah, same old

[swisscanmom]

@kara Yes, I agree, it's a shame I didn't manage it, and no we did not intend to come back, but my husband's health took a turn and we decided we needed to be closer to family. I think part of the issue was that I speak English so well, that it really isn't a "foreign" language to me. All my relatives speak very good English, so they always communicated in English with the kids. We did send the kids to a French school so they would have at least one Landessprache, and they are now fluent in French. This is helping somewhat at school now as they are able to communicate with their teachers in either French or English for the moment. They are finally getting DaZ classes after the holidays, and even though they don't speak German that well yet, they do understand quite a lot already.

Our stuff arrived today, finally, it was like Christmas! Taking a little break from unpacking now. and I had a job interview today that went well, crossing my fingers!

[Ponzonia]

YAY for your shipment, swisscanmom!
I can relate to that feeling of finally getting your stuff back! Now you can finally really settle in.
Also congrats on the job interview! Fingers crossed that something will come out of it. I had a trail work day yesterday in Thun and hoping to hear some good news myself soon... Although then I'll have to look into childcare for our little one... KiTa or Tagesmutter for an one year old one? What do you think..? Are the waiting lists long for the KiTas?

[Mrs. Bee]

Jepee for the luggage that finally made it!! Good luck job-hunting

Kita/Tagesmutter. Hmm, depends me thinks. If the caretaker is ill or on holiday, you don't have to worry about it in Kita. Tagesmutter might be more flexibel re the hours. As for waiting lists: don't know, depends on the area/Kita, I would have thought.

[swisscanmom]

If I had to make a choice I would choose a Tagesmutter for a 1 yr old, as the baby gets more one on one care. Probably easier to find, too. But, reliability could be an issue. If you have an emergency back up, like a grand parent, it could work well though. You have to find one that you click with.
My trial day is in a KITA btw, and they had a lovely baby room, it felt really warm, the whole centre was lovely. I interviewed in another KITA last week that felt very cold, and I decided not to pursue that job further. Whether you end up with a Tagesmutter or a KITA trust your gut. If it feels right, it's good

[Mrs. Bee]

@Mrs.Bee: we seem to have two lively kids, but hubby and I both consider ourselves as quiet. Wonder what went wrong

I know the feeling: Hubby and I both eat most everything. Little man is the fussiest eater ever. How we ended up with a child like that, I haven't a clue...