December 7, 1964

Mon. Dec 7, 1964

Dear Mom and Dad,

We had a quite an interesting weekend. Sat. the snow continued so Jim did the weekly marketing – luckily they keep the roads in good condition. It’s very funny. In the fall the men sweep up the leaves with homemade looking brooms – long pole with twigs tied together. Now their snow shovels are long poles with a wooden board on the end of it. Of course they also have the big snow plows on the trucks too.

Sat night we went with Pili and her friends to the Kursual – a big night club type of place but very cheap in price. It was packed – they also have a floor show – singer – bicycle act and tumblers. We really enjoyed it. The band was so funny – Their uniforms looked like the kind the ushers at the show used to use – maroon with gold epaulets etc. they were so old they were a faded pink color. They all had white shoes on and the leader had long frizzy hair – almost looked like a wig. They were dead serious too. There were many It. and Sp. people there. When we went to pick up Pili the crowds were pouring in to the hockey game at the skating rink. One of Pili’s friends was an It. fellow from Naples. – very short, good looking blonde It. She spoke to him in Sp. and he in It. and they seemed to understand each other perfectly. Jim and I spent the whole evening looking at the people. You can’t imagine how different they look from Americans. The women just do not dress or fix their hair like Am women do – not nearly as well dressed. And even when they dance the Swiss work hard at it. I thought about the people we met in Mexico – they thought Am’s looked so corny dancing – you should have seen this crowd. Jim said he hoped people were getting as much fun out of watching us as we do them.

Sun. Francisca and her husband came over to give the girls their castanets. F. is already much happier here. She looked so cute with a new fur hat and pretty high boots. Her husband is getting a raise in pay at the hotel. Spain must be pretty bad off because they say they can live so much better here and she was telling me cooking oil, tomatoes etc are cheaper here than in Spain. We find everything like the States or more expensive. Pili’s sister and her husband are also working in Bern now. She was telling me how badly she felt because they left their 14 month old son in Spain with his folks. They are working at a restaurant here – from 8 in the morning til 8:50 P.M. for room and board and about $10 Am. money a month. She said too how much better off they are here. She said they already bought a little record player – something they could not do in Spain.

Francisca said too for her to buy new clothes there would be impossible – here she said she can eat and dress and even save a little. Of course she said she didn’t like to talk against her country but she said “ Yo le digo este a Vel. Porque you se que eres espanala, sino a un extrangero you le digo que Espana esta maquico.”

Jim drove them back to Bern – they were going to a movie in the evening and we went to our Christmas Carol practice. It was at the home of some English Embassy people. Again we had fun meeting all the different types you see here. One girl I talked too was so English – about 30 with her hair in a knot – rimless glasses and a shapeless olive green dress and of all things she said her name was Pat Playfair. She said she had been in Italy 3 yrs and has only been here a few weeks. I asked her what her first impressions were of Switz. “Oh” she said “Only two posts a day. I think it’s horrid.” She said in England they have 3 and in Italy four times a day. I told her in the U.S. it’s one mail delivery a day and I was surprised that Italy would have four mail deliveries – I thought they were more slipshod. Well she said “you send a letter and it may never arrive but the postman does come four times and it’s something to look forward to.” She said Rome was a “Lovely city to live in” She was also quite horrified to now that in Bern there is only one trash collection a week – in Italy it was every day. It comes as quite a surprise to us that the English are really like they are in the movies. Our hostess kept saying things like “jolly good” and “good show” and she sounded just like Hermione Gingold.

Today we got Jim on the train to Brussels and I spent the rest of the day driving the kids back and forth to school. Luckily all the snow has melted and it’s a slushy dirty mess but better to drive in. Apparently Bern has a very changeable winter like St. Louis.

I was disappointed not getting a letter from you today. I guess you are both quite busy. Another thing you can bring me is a Catholic Calendar if they are sending any around now.

I called Mrs. Lawrence to find out about tomorrow. Apparently it is not a Holy day here as nothing was said in church Sunday. She didn’t think it was either but her high schoolers who go to Fribourg have the day off as it is a Holy day there and in fact all the shops etc are closed. It’s a funny mixed up country. It’s as if it weren’t a Holy day in St. Louis but would be in Collinsville.

Well I must answer Jim’s mother’s letter. She said she was glad to know that you were coming to see us.

More tomorrow. Regards to all family and friends.

Love,

Dina