Dear friends
(by anja)
Last year
around Christmas time I would have never guessed to find myself writing
the 'year 2000 x-mas letter', with a can of cherry-coke sitting beside
me, at a house in northeast
Minneapolis - wow, what a year it has been!
First of
all, we would like to wish all of you a happy, peaceful, and relaxing
Christmas! May the New Year make your dreams and wishes come true. We
sure hope to visit with as many of you as possible in 2001 (may that
be in Europe, the U.S. or even in the Southern Hemisphere).
It's been
an extremely exciting time for us and we would like to share some of
the 'highlights' with you (click on images to view in full size).
After the
'non-computer-crash' transition into the year 2000, we decided to take
a break and go 
skiing
for a week in beautiful Pitztal,
Austria. With the perfectly situated hotel we found ourselves snowboarding
and carving every day from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Back home, big news awaited
us: Markus had been accepted into the Masters Program at the University
of Minnesota (U of M), including stipend and a position as teacher's
assistant! That brought with it another big question mark: 'Would I
be able to get into the dance program as well?' I had 2 weeks to study
for the mandatory TOEFL Exam, necessary to apply at any US University,
given only in Geneva. Thereafter, all diplomas and certificates had
to be translated and sent to the U of M. At the same time, we had to
give notice to our employers, landlord, and the usual paper work with
phone, insurance, etc. - not knowing whether the University would accept
me or not. On top of it all, our adored kitty, Cookie,
was ran over by a car - it was a time of great tension.
The acceptance
into the University Dance Program required an audition. Therefore, we
had to visit Minneapolis for a short and hectic 4 days in the 
beginning
of April. Although, we enjoyed the hospitality of our
friends Justin
and Renée, the trip appeared to have failed us: the office of Admissions
was unwilling to accept my Swiss diplomas as sufficient college preparation
and the apartment search was quite a disaster as well. Our entire US
project appeared to be falling apart. After the dance audition a small light at the end of the tunnel
was visible however: The dance department had accepted me as a dance
major and the head of the department promised to do everything possible
for the scholastic acceptance to the U of M.
We
spent Easter weekend with my parents in the Tessin
(southern part of Switzerland), recuperating from all the stress and
hassles from the previous weeks. By the end of May, all the paperwork
for leaving Switzerland was more or less done and we were desperately
awaiting my acceptance letter from the U of M.
Preparations
for my first summer-course, a special week of dance during my last days
as a teacher in Bremgarten, was under way. Then, one fine day at the
end of May, an e-mail in my Inbox took all pressure off our shoulders:
The office of Admissions had confirmed my acceptance to the U of M.
what a relief!
In
the beginning of June, Markus revisited Minneapolis with what seemed
yet another mission impossible: Find an apartment in a week! After many
unsuccessful visits to shabby places and with a great deal of help from
our friend Katie,
he finally found a cute 2 Bedroom Apartment - a small house in northeast
Minneapolis, not too far from the U of M.
Back in Switzerland,
Markus wrapped up final projects and with that 2.5 years of work with
UBS AG, while I was engaged with my summer course. We organized an Open
House Party to say 
goodbye
to all our close friends - although it still didn't seem like we'd be
leaving the country anytime soon. Immediately
following our last days of work, we had a short week to box-up and clean
our entire apartment and to store it all at our parents houses (they
love us for that and we know it).
We enjoyed
2
wonderful weeks at my parents vacation retreat in the Tessin. Markus'
parents visited us to celebrate Mike and Ueli's birthdays (both on July
16th). They stayed through the Swiss Independence Day (erscht-
auguscht). Friends stopped by
for a last chance to say goodbye. On August 3rd, 2000, we
found our selves on a plane along with four suitcases and a lot of hopes
and dreams for our new life on a different continent. Arrived in Minneapolis,
it was déjà vu - moving
boxes
all over again. Our friend Katie, the expert on garage sales,
helped us find everything from cheap furniture to kitchen tools during
our many trips through alleys, streets, and the back yards of Minneapolis.
We bought a car, an absolute must in the US, as I am sure you know.
Just before classes started, we were invited to enjoy a couple relaxing
days with Markus' aunt and uncle, Nancy
and Jim, at their wonderful house in Wisconsin. They took us canoeing
on Wisconsin River and showed us how the game of golf is played (I must
admit, I hit more the grass than ball most of the time).
During
the first couple days on campus, I got lost many a times. Markus managed
to catch the correct bus, while I would land on the other side of the
town - I guess all part of the experience! During the first week of
lectures, I didn't even bother to take notes - listening and understanding
was torture enough. Markus was excited to give his first recitation
(small group) on the second day of classes - what a challenge! While
coping with all the new things around us, time flew by and before we
knew it, we were studying for midterms in mid October. Just for fun,
I auditioned for the UDT (University Dance Theater). Much to my 
surprise,
I was selected and was given the opportunity to work with an exceptional
guest artist on a famous piece from the choreographer José Limon. Markus
started enjoying teaching and was asked to substitute the professor
on a couple occasions. Markus'
parents, Lily
and Mike, visited us in the beginning of October. We enjoyed a wonderful
weekend together and were excited to share with them our new life and
home. Halloween rolled along and we were invited to Heidi and Jake's
Hollyweird party.
We had a blast!
In the beginning
of November, Markus flew back to Switzerland for 4 days, to attend his
cousin's
wedding. While rehearsal for the Dance performance and classes kept
us busy, we were delighted to spent Thanksgiving with Jim and Nancy.
They cooked a fantastic meal and got us ready for the finals!
On December
8th, we had our opening
night with the University Dance Company. I was very excited 
since
it was my first performance in the US. It meant a lot to me to have
many new American friends in the audience to dance for! Besides some
minor mishaps, such as a bat flying around backstage, everything went
well and the entire dance company had a great time. After this exciting
weekend, papers and final projects were awaiting us. We have been studying
hard during the last couple days and are looking forward to be done
with our finals next week.
On December
22nd, we will fly back to Switzerland to celebrate Christmas
with our families. There will be many things to tell and share!
We wish you
a wonderful holiday season and hope to see you soon!
Love,
Markus and Anja