Culture Shock by Mighty Mouse

On reading a local restaurant's children's menu: 

"Chickens have fingers here?"

Sick in the USA

It would appear the Mighty's have a yet unspoken family tradition: illness upon trans-Atlantic relocation. 

Prior to leaving Toronto for Geneva, I came down with the -itis trifecta: sinusitis, bronchitis, and laryngitis. Come to think of it, I had conjunctivitis, too. Around that time SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) was a raging concern and I was a gasping breath away from turning myself in. Poor Mouse was a sympathetic sufferer, sporting a cold and matching ear infections. Somewhere over the Atlantic she completed the ensemble with what we can only suspect was chicken pox. Our first weeks in Geneva included multiple visits to the Clinque des Grangettes, the pediatrician and a notable pediatric dermatologist. In the end it took over four weeks to make Mouse reasonably comfortable and nearly three months for her skin to heal over. We survived, but not without considerable distress.

Now back to the present. We've been in P-town all of 48 hours and Emma the Brave has had two chest x-rays and has been prescribed a broad-spectrum anti-biotic and inhaler. Having come from Switzerland where medical doctors are as likely to prescribe homeopathic or naturopathic remedies as their synthetic rivals, I found this management style a bit of a shock. I resisted the temptation to challenge the doctor's request for an x-ray. After all, he suspected a pneumonia was brewing and she's my precious little girl. The ordered investigations were over before we knew it and we were sent on our way, pneumonia-free and prescriptions in hand.  Twenty minutes later Emma and I  were back at the hotel, a vial of bright red medication on the table between us.

"What will it taste like?" Emma asked.

"I'm not sure. Cherry, maybe?"

Emma frowned. "What if it tastes yucky?"

"It can't be any worse than the Swiss stuff."  Could it?

Emma sniffed the opened bottle. Her eyebrows raised appreciatively. "Mmm." 

I measured out her dose and handed her the cup. Please, God, don't make a liar out of me!

Emma wet her top lip with the liquid and licked it clean. Her face was impassive. 

"So?"

"I don't like it, but it's not that bad," she said, then swallowed the rest of the dose in two big sips.

God Bless America!!!

First Impressions

Mouse threw up while in line at American immigration. Immigration paged the Center for Disease Control who took Mouse's temperature (101.9F), recorded our contact details, and called for a wheelchair. Immigration processed our visas as quickly as they could and remained polite and friendly throughout. All the while, Emma the Brave sat on the floor about 20 feet away, determined not to catch her sister's illness. By the time we'd collected our luggage and dog, Mouse was chatty and asking for someone to take her picture in her first wheelchair. Security rules dictated we couldn't. Ah, well.  Can't have everything.

The Top (and Bottom) of Geneva

The number one thing I will miss about Geneva: 

The People 

(you know who you are)

The Birkenstocks

My Biking Belgian

Crazy Canadians

Muses in the South of France

The Original Diehards

Canadians--We're Everywhere!

The Geneva Writers' Group and their exceptional leader

My Corsier Family

And the number one thing I won't miss about Geneva: 

The Occasional Public Toilet

And, yes, this is the ladies room.  It's 2009 people!!!

Good-bye, Au Revoir, and See You Soon!!!

The Geneva Top Two

Things I will miss most about Geneva #2: 

The Mountains

Nestled between the Jura and the Alps, Geneva is a short drive from some of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Avoriaz

Andermatt

The Mighty's on the télésiege at Les Gets

Mouse on Top of the World

The Chalet

La campagne near Gruyère

"Allez touriste! Vous n'avez jamais encore vu une vache?"

Things I won't miss #2:

Swiss Medicine

Take a glass of the world's most bitter grapefruit juice, stir in an equal amount of dish soap, then take a sip--that's what medications taste like here. A dear friend once confessed that her child would sooner take a suppository than allow Swiss medicine past her lips.  That's just not right, yet I see her point. Medication does not have to taste like it's going to kill you to be effective!!!