THE "DÉSALPE" - DESCENT FROM THE MOUNTAIN PASTURES

In mid-september, we went to a very typical, Swiss, traditional event, called Desalpe.

"Désalpe" is the best-known of all traditional mountain festivities. After more than four months of grazing in alpine pastures, cows make their way down to the plain.

 But that is not all. The cows don't just come down the mountain. They dress up. They do a parade. The farmers take pride in their herds and they come down, one herd at a time, crowned with flowers in a joyful clanging of bells. The whole village (and a bunch of tourists like us) assemble to watch the procession, as well as traditional dances, orchestras called "fanfare", there is raclette and other traditional foods galore, all of it watered down with the lovely white wine from the Valais. Different areas of Switzerland participate in this tradition, but we choose to drive a little further to go into the mountains, which means there was also amazing scenery. 

After the parade, there was a break for people to eat, and in the afternoon, we watched for the first time, a "combat de reines", which is basically a cows fight. The cows are numbered and entered two at a time into a ring, where they are encouraged to confront each other. Some of them, not the least bit interested, get disqualified pretty quickly, while the most feisty charge their adversary with the strength and determination of a bull. The competition runs for a couple of hours, into the finals, where the winner is crown queen of the fight. We didn't stay to watch the whole thing, as we wanted to take the lift up the mountain and hike down before dark, but we saw the first round, which was full of suspense!

Enjoy the pictures!

Rye bread is a specialty of the Valais

Smoked sausages, prosciutto, bacon....

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Traditional dances

A whole pig on the BBQ?

Raclette

Assiette Valaisanne

The "Rennes", getting ready for the fight

Gratitude

October 2nd,

If there is one thing that the last two months have clarified for me, it is how grateful and appreciative I am, in hindsight, for my life in LA.

My heart is torn, and probably always will be, between an astoundingly beautiful place, full of culture, traditions, architecture, history and character, but pretty rigid, non adventurous and conservative, and a place rich in experiences, opportunities, friendships, community and growth, but congested with traffic and smog, lying on earthquake faults and pretty much in the desert, with none of the lush green vegetation that is, as I am reminded here, a core need for me. Oh, what to do?

Today I miss my life in LA. My routines. Music class with K2, Taekwondo with K1. The multiple and overwhelming emails from the school, asking for volunteers every other day. The OPPORTUNITY, even though I rarely had the time, to actually volunteer.

Playdates with my mom friends. Trader Joe's, my office, my clients... My messy but big kitchen, driving a mini-van, neighbors to wave at when driving by, rattle snakes... no, I'm just kidding. Not rattle snakes! I think mostly, I miss feeling useful, having meaning. And my friends. I can't even look at the pictures my husband took of all of them before we left, without crying.

But I am wallowing, and I really shouldn't. Today, I took a class on positive psychology. End the day with three things that went well today, they said.

So here it is:
-  I took K2 in town and went to the lovely market. He behaved, we found what we needed, and a lady gave me a flower because K2 was looking at the bouquets she was selling.

  

- I had a sweet moment with K2 this morning, sitting in front of the computer and singing french songs of my youth on youtube.

- I had a great session with one of my clients.

It's the little things... :)

Home

September 15th

It's been about 5 weeks. I've gone through a roller coaster of emotions, which has been exhausting. There have been days where I was in complete bliss, only to be followed by a sense of fear and grief that we may not be able to stay here, that this will end in a year and we will have to go back to our old life. Then I've had the days where I would think to myself, "Oh my Gosh, what have we done? This is crazy! A year? How are we going to make it? I wanna go back already! I miss my friends, I miss my life, I miss my independence (did I mention we live in my parents' house and use their car? Which I am SO grateful for, but which is also a little hard for the ego), I miss my income and the freedom it gave me. This culture is weird, I don't fit in anymore..."

Up and down, up and down. Normal I guess. But exhausting. I'm realizing I can't spend the whole year like this and I have to be present to the moment. Since the kids started school, that has been a little easier. It leaves me some time to myself, to slow down, absorb my new reality, and actually enjoy it. And I have. I've gone on beautiful walks in the vineyards and by the lake. I LOVE walking the kids to the bus stop, on the same path that I took years ago as a kid to take the same bus. I'm so grateful to have them home for lunch, where I can feed them a healthy home cooked meal. I pinch myself everyday at the fact that I get to live in such a beautiful place. I have cried tears of joy and gratitude, simply by looking at the beauty of nature. Seeing my family everyday is such a gift! Bumping into childhood friends and seeing familiar faces everywhere I go gives me a sense of belonging that I didn't know I was missing. I had developed that in Altadena in the past three years, and I remember at one school event a few months ago, feeling sad that I had to leave a community where I knew a lot of people and had developed this small town feeling. But there is something about coming back to where you grew up and seeing people you haven't seen for 20 years, who remember you and know who you are, that is deeply moving for me. To some, I am the "daughter who lives in America", the "American aunty or sister", the classmate from elementary school... Those reconnections make it feel like coming home.
I walk the cobbled streets of my town, look at my beautiful lake, stare at those majestic mountains overtowering it, and I feel at home. Something in me feels at rest. For now.

Mes chemins a l'envers, by Lynda Lemay, is a song that has been on my heart this whole past year, and speaks the words of my heart. If you understand French, take a listen :)

The good and priceless things

1. Walking my kids to the bus stop, on the same path I took 30 years ago

2. Diving and swimming in the lake at sunset

 3. Breakfast at my uncle and aunt's farm

4. Picking fresh eggs straight from the coop and having them cooked the way you want for breakfast

4. Kids running wild in nature

5. catching frogs and toads

6. Garden bounty

7. Walking to the vegetable garden and fruit orchard to pick your dinner

8. Building the same dam in the same stream by the same pond as you did as a kid

9. Doing my niece's hair for a wedding

10. Awesome teacher for your kids

11. Morning walk in the vineyard

12. Morning jog by the lake

13. Fish gazing after school

14. Getting raw milk and pastured eggs straight from the farm during milking time, and getting to see our new friends at the same time

15. Old stones and history everywhere

16. Family reunion at my grandfather's farm, and watching my kids go down the same slope I did on little tractors with my 15 cousins, and building the same childhood memories.

17. Holding brand new chicks at the farm

18. Entering the church of your youth on a weekday morning, and being overcome with the feeling of never having left, the feeling of knowing every visual detail by heart, recognizing the mural you've stared at for hours during boring sermons and remembering all the stories it evoked.

19. Opening the big Bible in the church and falling on a verse that speaks directly to your heart

20. Bumping into childhood friends wherever you go

21. Recognizing classmate names from elementary school in your child's class roster

22. Hearing your children speak French

23. Picking and eating wild blueberries in the Alps

24. Impromptu picnic dinner in the vineyards at sunset

25. Celebrating birthdays with grandparents

26. Kids walking in the grape harvest parade, in which I walked 30+ years ago 

27. Fall colors