Here we go again. We have been approved (really, actually, officially approved!) for a summer in Basel. I am picking up right where we left off with our planning last year. My Basel board on Pinterest is full of fun places to visit in the area and I am connecting with folks in CH through a variety of Yahoo lists and message boards.
Since last year, we have become more informed (and alarmed) about Layla's peanut/tree nut allergy. This is the biggest source of my stress in terms of planning for the trip. Forget about whether or not Josh will still be using a binky or whether or not he'll be potty trained (I do not know where the public toilets are in Basel!), I worry most about how to keep Layla safe while we are on our adventure. Food allergies are not nearly as common in CH as they are in the US, so the society in general is not too well informed about them. Plus, there are 4 national languages in CH and I speak none of them (sorry, Herrs Aust and Rausch!). This will make reading labels and communicating to restaurant staff quite difficult. I have "met" some expat moms online whose children do have allergies and lots of the info I have gained from them has helped to ease some of my worries. One of the moms keeps a blog about living in CH with an allergic child. Others have pointed me to certain brands of food. I'm particularly in love with the JaMaDu brand that is available at the COOP grocery stores. Being able to scan the aisles of the grocery store without really being there is so amazingly helpful. Not only does JaMaDu make chicken nuggets and frozen meatballs, but they also make teddy bear-shaped pasta. Seriously, how did we all get by before the internet?!
You must check out Word Lens. It instantly translates printed words using your built-in video camera from English to German, Italian, French or Spanish via iPhone or droid. This could be super handy with menus, ingredient labels and signs. I was wishing that I had this when we were in Geneva almost 3 years ago.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h2OfQdYrHRs#
Great connecting with you, and thanks for mentioning my blog! My kids love the JaMaDu teddy-bear pasta. You may have seen this, but Coop does home delivery too, which has been a huge time saver for us. Best of luck preparing for the summer, and don't hesitate to email if you have questions (or if you have tips to share, since I'm still learning too!). :)
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