Celebrating Friendship by Host Max Cerni

In August of 2003, the XUNICEF - WAWIG - Group met in Edinburgh, organized by Paul and Katherine Ignatieff. It was the time of the famous International Festival, so in addition to pleasant get togethers with former colleagues

, we had the opportunity to attend concerts, plays, even an opera, and the Military Tattoo show. We also went on a bus tour to see the Scottish highlands and historic sites.

One unusual site was a sculpture exhibit out in nowhere at Glenkiln. One had to walk for about two miles through sheep pastures and through gates to reach the site which was on a hillside overlooking a lake. Sheep were grazing near by and there were fences.There were several famous sculptures by Rodin, Henry Moore, and others. It was a lovely area to meditate and reflect on art and life, - one of the most unusual “museums”, if you can call it that.

This open-air exhibit left a big impression on me, and when I started to make our piece of land more interesting, I naturally thought about some sculptures here and there. There weren’t any big and suitable ones available, and so I had to be creative. I put up some arches, but my first “exhibit” was in the lower far-Eastern corner of our “jungle”. There was a nice area under a big shady tree where we put a lounging chair. Then under an opposite tree I built a little Ahu, which is a stone base for the lava-stone Moai which we had brought from Easter Island (which is part of Chile).. One needed a lot of imagination, because the real Moais could be up to 20 Meters tall, while this replica is only about 30 cm. So we had our Chilean spot, but we seldom visited it, because it was a good ten minute walk over rough terrain,

We took our family and friends from Germany, Canada, the US and Chile on garden walks, and In 1999 and 2000 also former UNICEF colleagues at the WAWIG Reunions. Naturally, we visited other attractions as well, including the ruins of an old Danish sugar estate and the Cruzan Rum Distillery..

I had made paths in our garden, but heavy rains caused erosions and many rolling stones. It became hazardous. So, two years ago, I decided the Moai deserves a better spot. Actually, nature caused me to find one, since a heavy storm brought down a big cactus from our Southern hill. I wanted to save it. It was a very delicate operation, but I found a suitable spot and managed to replant it. There was enough space to put my Moai in front of it. On Temu I found a nice Chile plaque, and so I relocated the Moai to our drive way and added a couple of smaller Moais (from Temu) and the Chilean flag. Everyone can easily see it now and admire the cacti behind it.

Then Isabel had the bright idea that since we have a Chile area, we should also have one for Switzerland, our second duty station. (New York - before and after - is represented inside with calendars, photos, etc.). So we dedicated our West-underdeck area to become our “Swiss Chalet”. We hung up the Swiss flag and some souvenirs inside. It is still a work in progress.

Anyhow, on August first was the Swiss National Day (- in the four official languages:“German: Schweizer Bundesfeiertag; French: Fête nationale suisse; Italian: Festa nazionale svizzera; Romansh: Festa naziunala svizra”). The date was inspired by the Federal Charter of 1291 and first celebrated in 1891. It is an official holiday only since 1994.

There are many family gatherings and bon fires. We celebrated virtually with our Swiss friends and toasted to their health and happiness. They responded sending us photos of their barbecue at Lac Leman.

September 18 and 19 are the National Days of Chile - “Fiestas de la Patria”, commemorating Chile’s independence from Spain in 1810. On the 18th (el Dieciocho), there are folk festivals and many parties with barbecues and lots of Chicha, a fermented Cider. And people dance the Cueca, resembling a rooster courting a hen.

The 19th is the Dia de la Gloria, celebrated with a big military parade. Naturally, we will celebrate the Dieciocho and toast to our friends with Chilean wine, and play some cuecas and folksongs.

We have the habit of toasting to relatives and friends, mostly on their birthdays. but often we just use any event worth highlighting.