Welcome to Winterthur (17. August 2011)

Hello All Family and Friends in the United States! Here is the first of a series of blogs I will be writing about my experiences in that watch-making, ski-loving, cheese-brewing country in the middle of Europe, Switzerland (and they actually do eat a lot and to us, unusual varieties of cheese)! It's without a doubt that my coming is also a going, and I'm sad to have left so many dear people. It is my hope that by staying here for this year I will become a harder worker, a more fluent German speaker, gain experience teaching, and perhaps learn another language or two--not to mention the many things I will learn that God will stick in there and other people.

David Schneide

My host-family is a wonderful one. David and Vreni Schneider founded the SalZH school where I'll be working 10 years ago. David is a visionary. He's worked as a lay preacher, a businessman, has founded a local social-welfare agency, and is currently a local representative in the Winterthur assembly, in addition to being an administrator and math teacher at the school. Vreni is also a teacher at the school, her area being elementary education. I believe she works with third or fourth grade. They also have a son, Gabriel, who lives and home, and is apprenticing to be a shoe maker.

SalZH is a Christian School that has been around in Winterthur, Switzerland (just outside of Zurich) for just about 10 years. Every year they have grown, and this year they boast an enrollment of approximately 260 students up from 200 last year; not bad for a private school. This year they are opening two new locations around Winterthur: one is the Trollstrasse Campus, where the Oberstufe (high school) is being relocated into a newly (and continually) renovated building, and the other is an entirely new structure for the SalZH daycare program, Kita. Trollstrasse is where I will be working, though there will be plenty of occasions to return to the main building on Zeughausstrasse, as this is where the administration is located and important meetings held.

Zeughausstrasse Campus

 The culture of SalZH is a positive one. There is clearly a shared spirit of building up one another and the students, and I am very excited to see what this year will hold. This was exemplified this morning in a meeting we had called Lehrer Konvent, where all of the 30-40 teachers and staff members gathered at the Zeughausstrasse to open, get introduced to one another, and talk about topics for the upcoming year (which starts Monday!). People were congenial, chatting with one another, and asking me questions. A number people I met while I visited the school in March, which was great--always nice to see familiar faces. But I also met a number of interesting new people: one husband and wife couple worked in South America for an extended period as missionaries, for example.

Trollstrasse Campus

There are many tasks yet to accomplish before the school year starts, chiefly the completion of the renovation of the Trollstrasse Campus, which is noticeable. Floors have to be laid, furniture installed, hallways and rooms cleared of garbage, everything cleaned. We will be busy in the coming days! Well, that's all for now, more to come!