Announcing Little Marshmallow

On January 2nd, Little Marshmallow arrived.  I don't even know what else to say about him, except that he is beautiful and perfect, and makes us happier than we ever could have imagined.  I'm a little busy at the moment learning all kinds of mommy things, and getting to know this precious little boy, but I promise more blog posts soon.  A lot has happened in the last week, and lots more will be happening this coming week, as Marshmallow starts IMD.

Stay tuned...

A visit to the Olympic Museum

Perhaps Lausanne's biggest claim to fame is that it is the "Capitale Olympique", and home to the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Museum.  The museum has recently reopened after nearly 2 years of renovation and expansion, and admission is currently FREE.  Given this, and the fact that Marcelo is a bit of an Olympic trivia buff, we went to check it out yesterday.  We really enjoyed our visit to the museum, and would highly recommend it to anyone with a day or two to spend in Lausanne. 

I must admit, I came away feeling a bit embarrassed about how little I knew about the Olympics.  Here are ten highlights and tidbits from my visit:

1. In Ancient Greece, the Olympics were more about the spirit of competition and artistic expression, rather than strictly sport.  I suppose, based on this, I can accept the argument for chess as an Olympic game.  


2. Hands down, my favorite memorabilia item to see was Jim Craig's signed U.S. hockey jersey and stick from the 1980 USA vs USSR hockey match.  Miracle on Ice, anyone?


3. While I am certainly familiar with the phrase, I didn't realize that "Faster, Higher, Stronger"was the official Olympic motto, introduced at the 1924 Paris Olympics.  The motto was chosen because Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee, felt that the words "represent a programme of moral beauty".
   
   
   


4. The sculpture American Athlete, by Rodin is featured at the museum.  Truth be told I missed the sculpture, and only learned that it was there after the fact, but I will definitely be going back to the museum to see this.


5. Today the Games last for 16 days, though in antiquity they lasted for only 5.  The longest Olympics, held in London in 1908, included both winter and summer games, and lasted for 6 months. 


6. Tug-of-war used to be an Olympic sport.  


7. "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle.  The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." - The Olympic Creed   (I dedicate this quote to Marshmallow as he begins his IMD experience!) 
   
   
   
8. As in Ancient Greece, the Olympic torch is still lit by the sun's rays using a parabolic mirror. 


9. Figure skating used to entail skating and creating designs in the ice with your skates.  The pretty costumes and white ice skates were not a part of the sport until introduced in the 1930s by Sonja Henie, a Norwegian Olympian and movie star.


10. And last but not least, seeing the great (and Swiss) Roger Federer's signed racket was another not-to-be-missed item at the museum.

Trash talk

One of the bigger adjustments to Lausanne has been the trash situation.  Trash rules here are NO JOKE. When we first arrived, we read a local news article about a guy who went to jail for using the wrong trash bag.  This was particularly alarming to us, as we were not yet aware of the strict trash laws, and had used the wrong trash bag ourselves!

To ensure that all residents make an effort to recycle, there is only one type of trash bag that you are permitted to use.  It is sold from behind the counter, right next to the cigarettes, at grocery stores.  They do offer a few different sizes.  You can buy 10 of the smaller bags for 20 SWISS FRANCS (more than $2.00 USD per bag).  To put that in perspective, at Costco in the US, we used to spend $4.00 USD less for 10 times more trash bags, which were also 3 times bigger than the ones here.

Sorting is value(d)!
 (lint roller for scale)

The good news is, with the price of trash bags so high, Marshmallow and I won't be able to afford to buy food or anything else, so we won't have anything to throw away.  The other good news is that if you have a child, you get a special trash bag allowance of 80 free 35 liter trash bags.  This baby better hurry up and get here so we can get our freebies!

In all seriousness, I do appreciate the opportunity to become a bit better about recycling.  When I have a busy schedule, I tend to be more wasteful and not very mindful of the environment.  Though 2014 will be our busiest year yet, our budget and trash bag prices will definitely force us to reduce and reuse.  I've already developed a pretty good technique for washing Ziploc bags.  Hopefully, as the year progresses I'll pick up some other techniques and develop some habits that will keep us green even beyond our time in Lausanne!

Merry Christmas!

...or should I say Joyeux Noël?

We had a very nice Christmas with just the two of us today.  Though we were hoping for a white one, we instead got lots of rain and unseasonably warm weather.  I won't complain because it's been the perfect day to snuggle up indoors, watch movies and Skype with family.

Here are a few tidbits from our first and last Christmas on our own:

one locally-made Swiss chocolate Santa

two stockings from home full of goodies
 + one baby stocking just in case

One delicious Christmas chicken
(since turkeys and hams are exorbitantly expensive here)

one psychedelic IKEA Christmas tree