October 11, 1964

Return address:
D. Ryan
Silvahof Apt.Hotel
Apt. 613
Bern, Switzerland

Oct 11, 1964
Sun

Dear Mom and Dad,

Yesterday it rained all day and that somewhat curtailed our plans to start moving because when it rains here – there’s no fooling around – it pours!! Do you remember how hard it rained the afternoon the scholastics came over to see Don? – well it rains like that downpour but all day – That’s the explanation of why everything stays so green – it all gets well watered. Jim rented a little VW and I tried it out to go grocery shopping. I considered myself pretty brave trying it out in that rain because here – all the traffic on your right has the right of way. If you are coming down a main thoroughfare and a little side street on your right has a car coming he has the right of way and believe me they take it. They all drive like madmen. I went to a supermarket nearby so I didn’t run into any trouble. Later in the afternoon while the four older children were at Ann Lawrence’s birthday party we went out to the house to take the baby bed and chair we rented and to try out the wash machine. The wash machine is something!! Even Jim was amazed. It looks like Bendix but it is completely installed like a sink would be – it heats its own water and has metal IBM cards which you feed into it. There are 10 different cards – for white clothes, colored etc. I’m afraid to death to use it because it’s almost like working on the Apollo Moon project. It got the diapers nice and clean though. We put away some of the people’s vases etc. One of the terms in our contract is that we must water the plants. Well that is going to be Jim’s job because I haven’t counted them yet but I’d say there are 25 or 30 plants in that house. We finally rescued Mrs. Lawrence and got the kids back home. Today is a gorgeous sunny day. The kids and I went to the Spanish Mass at 9:15. I love to go because the people sing the most beautiful Spanish hymns during the Mass. Immediately after Mass the Am. priest comes for Confession – so we went to confession and got back in time for Jim to go to the 10:30 English Mass. Right now the children are at Kevin Bell’s birthday party. P is sleeping and Jim went out to the house with some more stuff and another load of dirty clothes. He loves to work that machine. I am taking advantage of the quiet to write a few letters. We listened to the game last night – too bad about Mickey M’s home run.

P. is a little dickens now. This morning B said to her “Stay in my room P. I’ll be right back” but P followed her and B turned and said “Didn’t I tell you to stay in my room?” P cocked her head and in a most smart alecky tone said “So!” The kids really got a big laugh out of that!

Tomorrow the man from Brussels is coming to the office. Jim is very anxious to meet him as he will be his boss after the first of the year. His present boss has been on a 3 week vacation and will also come back to the office Mon. All the other people in the office have been very nice to us. Mr Cotasa helped us find our house and one man said “if you need any extra beds we have two” So far I have found the people very nice. When Mr. C called the lady next door to tell her we would take the house she said “All right, I’ll tell the milkman to stop by” And when Jim went out there yesterday morning to close the deal they thought we were moving in and the neighbor sent her son over with a big basket of food (bread and fruit etc.). Quite a contrast to Mrs. P. who didn’t take her face out of the flowers for about a month.

Hope you both are feeling well – and not too sad!! The kids think of you often and send their love too,

Love
Jim and Dina