Who knew???

Well, I was witness to a sight that I never imagined I would see in Switzerland - a country music festival. Yep, you heard me correctly. Think a county fair at home (the States that is) on a much, much smaller scale.

Mandi, Matthew, (another missionary heading to Cameroon) and I went to Lausanne on Sunday to walk around and we came across this "mini-fair" down by the harbor. We were there with Matthew's host family here in Switzerland and we all had to stop and watch/listen. It was pretty much a blast from the country past with songs by Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Billy Ray Cyrus, and some others. I have to admit that I even knew most of the words to the songs.......and I'm not a big country fan myself.

The three of us started singing along and had a few laughs as some of the words were lost in translation. The different singers did pretty well though, all in all. I just never really pictured a French cowboy in my head. Basically, imagine a guy singing a bit higher octave, minus the "drawl", and with a French accent on the lyrics. Granted, I doubt that many people there knew anything about horses......a definite prerequisite for true cowboy/cowgirl status.

Mandi and I visited the Churro stand and got some fried, sugar & cinnamon goodness for dinner. There were various food booths there - Asian food, pizza stand, some type of sausage (that didn't come close to brats or hotdogs), ice cream, and crepes. However, in my book, a true cowboy wouldn't pick crepes for dinner.

Oh, and don't forget to stop by the booths selling boots, hats, turquoise jewelry, and belt buckles that say things like "Made in the USA" and "Texas." I'm sure those were selling like hotcakes! ha ha If you want to spend a bit of cash, there was one "carny booth" too. I only saw kids winning suckers......not very encouraging but it just proves that those games are the same worldwide. Not made to win the big prizes.



One thing I did notice was that most of the "cowboys/cowgirls" - and I'm using the term loosely here, appeared 40 years old and up. Apparently the younger generation hasn't embraced the country look yet. However, those that were sporting a cowboy hat and boots did get up to do some line dancing in front of the stage.

Mandi and I have come to the conclusion that the fashion industry may be cutting edge here in Switzerland, but the music is quite a few years behind the States. Maybe that balances everything out between the countries?

Ciao.