Seven and a Tent

Seven and a Tent details the interests and challenges of a round the world program with four young children during a year of study leave in 1972; eight months in Switzerland, three weeks in England, and three months in Canada and the USA. The author lectured at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, once disastrously in German. Two older children attended the local German speaking school. Their friend, Gail, never before on skis, almost crashed a building. In a later ski outing, loss of car keys led to opening their car with the key of a peanut tin. They bought a tent in Zurich to make travelling cheaper, and with Gail that made 'Seven and a Tent.' While stopped at a traffic light in Glessen, Germany, a week before leaving Switzerland, a driver crashed into their car. Insurance payment was delayed, so in the USA they could only afford a car with a dent. After a month in Guelph, Canada, they followed the Mormon trail to Utah. Camping with tent walls frozen overnight gave an understanding of pioneer challenges. In warm Hawaii thieves smashed a window of their hired car and stole Gail's purse, which contained her passport and air ticket. But a lucky observation and the right decision recovered it shortly later. The story is interwoven with work, family activities, history and photos.