May 5

In a country where wine is drunk at lunch, dinner and any other social gathering, where the wonderful chocolate and milk chocolate was birthed, where the only major crimes that you hear of are passion crimes and a country where God seems to have had a creative spurt in his artistry, how can I miss being back in Canada? Walking the hiking trails that are as old and mature as the landscape they cut through, I can only wonder that if I was born in a different life, would I have been a little blonde Swiss boy destined to a much simpler life than the one I lead now?

I feel at peace in this country, a truly raw and unknown peace has overcome my mind and body as all I can bring myself to do is gaze around at a truly different culture and society than what I have been brought up in. Canada is great, don't get me wrong, the free health care has proven itself worthy time and time again.

In a country so rooted in peace that its armed forces will not enter any war but remain neutral, so rooted in its culture that every town, village or city has water fountains, just to maintain evenness throughout and where if you live above a certain elevation your house must be built in the classic chalet style, and where all the land is cared for meticulously, whether it is the farmers tending to their cows, the vinter freeing his precious grapes of thorns and weeds or simply the citizen caring for his own property, everything about this country is clean, all the way down to the graffiit that covers almost every conceivable surface while you drive along the highway.

Life is slower here, more carefree, more welcoming and in return, the land and mother nature awards her caregivers with a majestic landscape that, to North Americans, can only be found in a Lord of the Rings novel or the Discovery channel.

While our life is spent infront of screens, our money spent on fashion and accessories and our time often spent on meaningless activities, the Swiss spend their time with each other, building up genuine friendships and relationships that will outlast the screens, the clothes and the trivial activities. At home, we seem to search for ourselves through yoga, through self meditation, whereas here in Switzerland, you can find yourself whilst looking at the alps or the town that you live in. We wonder why we are confused and angry, why we are fat and never skinny enough and why this person dislikes us but how can we ever sort through all these emotions when we are constantly bombarded by the media?

I feel as I am insulting everything that this country is by simply trying to describe to you through words what this country is. The black upon white that you are reading does not do justice to the beauty that lies before me. So, without further insulting such a magnificent country I will stop typing and simply take the time to do nothing but appreciate the splendor that is displayed.

Bye bye Canada, get off your computers and go for a hike, stop worrying what others are doing and start taking some time for yourself, rip yourselves off the couch and chase a dream. I know, it is only too easy for me to say this right? All it takes is for you to close your laptop screen, to shut off your computer, to press a button on your remote and silence the voices, to tie up your shoes and to walk outside. Phone a friend up, phone an enemy up, make amends, undo mistakes, stop worrying about how others feel about you and focus on how you feel about yourself.

For now, I'm off to play soccer with the local Swiss kids,

Jason.

Pictures will be up tomorrow! Found a free internet cafe in a small town 5 minutes away, so I'll edit tonight and post tomorrow! <3.