Michèle:
As I was choosing our photos for this letter, I realized that last year I had already used a photo of Marie taken at the same spot, in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer, on the French Riviera. Sunsets in the harbor are indeed spectacular. Marie and I had spent a few days there, and we returned with Hannah last September.
Apart from this detail, 2023 was anything but a copy of 2022. Our lives took a big turn. Hannah (24) and Marie (20) will tell you more about their personal journeys in words and pictures. At the risk of “spoiling” their stories, I’d say that one of the big changes for me is that the house is now empty when I come home in the evening – unless one or other of my daughters comes to visit, which is always a treat.
Come to think of it, this year I also returned to another region of France, the Drôme provençale, which I had discovered and loved last summer – lavender fields, olive trees and bee-eaters! But this time, I enjoyed the sweetness of life with my partner Johan, who has been sharing my life since spring. With him, I’ve finally taken up an electric bike to explore the region until I’m ready for longer outings. Above all, I’m settling down, letting go and enjoying the simple things in life. It was about time!
To round off the year, I have recently had solar panels installed on our roof. They’re still covered in snow and not operational yet, but I’m looking forward to generating my own electricity soon. I’m even more looking forward to a new chapter for our family, in which Hannah and Marie will be living their adult lives, and I’ll be discovering unknown potentials.
I wish us all a year 2024 free of wars and conflicts large and small, in our countries, in our families and in our hearts.
Hannah:
As I’m writing my part for our Christmas letter, I’m sitting in a café in London. Books are piling up around me and David Bowie is blaring from the radio. This year is ending as loudly and packed for me as it began quietly.
In January, things slowly kicked off for me with film projects. From commercials for HEKS, the relief organization of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Switzerland, to work for PostFinance bank, there was a variety of projects.
During the summer, I was also invited to participate in a Writers’ Room – that’s what groups of scriptwriters who write a TV series together are called. After a summer filled with shooting days and music festivals, and a short vacation with Marie and Mom in Southern France, the most exciting part of my year so far unfolded: I moved from our family’s home into a beautiful shared apartment in Aarau.
Following this, I undertook a brief training in TV writing at the National Film and Television School in London. For days on end, my fellow students and I worked on our concepts, and now they are theoretically ready to be presented to a production company.
The writing process that follows often takes several years, but I’m excited to embark on this new adventure!
Marie:
After a challenging but successful exam period at the beginning of the year, I went straight back to my studies after just three days’ vacation. However, I took some time off over Easter and went on a road trip with my best friends, camping through Ticino and northern Italy.
The beginning of the summer brought a refreshing change from our studies with a week’s practical course at the hospital. After the first exams in June, I visited my grandmother, aunt and uncle in Germany, spent some relaxing days with them in East Frisia and experienced my first music festival back in Switzerland. After that, I dedicated two more months to intensive studying.
Following my final exams at the end of August, I explored Marseille with my best friend from Canada, and then met up with Hannah and Michèle further east on the French Riviera for our family vacation.
This year marks my third Bachelor year. As ETH does not offer a Master in Medicine, I will move to Lugano, in southern Switzerland, and I have therefore begun learning Italian. I am enjoying my studies to the full and I am already looking forward to the new start that lies ahead.
The upcoming exams in January will be my last ones at ETH, and we will even enjoy a little longer vacation afterwards. I am therefore looking forward to February with great anticipation, when I will be traveling to Costa Rica for a few weeks with my boyfriend Luca.
This outlook gives me additional motivation to successfully get through the upcoming Christmas learning period.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!
… And as every year, here are more photos and links:
- Our year 2023 in pictures (Diaporama)
- A creative advertising film that Hannah created (without an official commission).