One

A is for Artist — they perform in the ring and fly high through the air.

B is for Big Top — the roof for the show, visible for miles.

C is for Circus — because no one says Zirkus, even in Switzerland.

D is for Dog — poodles jumping through hoops or my furry girl at my side.

E is for Elephants — when we use a padded platform, six people can ride.

F is for Fun — it's for children of all ages, they announce on the mic.

G is for Giraffe — in Alpine Europe, no less! Brr, it gets cold.

H is for Horses — twenty stallions rear, play and waltz, all together in the liberty ring.

I is for Intermission — your break to buy popcorn and snacks from the clowns.

J is for Juggler — using hands and/or feet. It's simple, they say.

K is for Kids — only elite owners and artists take their youngsters on tour.

L is for Lion-Tamer — but we don't use that term now! They're choreographers, trainers.

M is for Matinee — three shows Sundays and Wednesdays, whew it's a lot!

N is for Net — to keep the trapeze artists safe, as the stars of the show.

O is for Office — where women sell tickets by phone, on site, and online.

P is for Program — to read up on the stars: human, and animal too.

Q is for Queue — hundreds streaming into the tent. We're a popular show.

R is for Ringmaster — he directs the whole thing, in and out of the ring.

S is for Schoolhouse — a back lot colorful wagon, where circus children are tutored.

T is for Tightrope — that's a balancing act we can all feel when we watch.

U is for Unicycle — a wheel the jugglers, and even the tutor, could ride.

V is for Venue — where we build up the circus, for a month or a day.

W is for Wagons — brightly repainted each year as they travel by train.

X is for X — which the circus is not, it's G rated!

Y is for Yearly — that's how often we tour.

Z is for Zoo — four Francs extra to see: animal stars in and out of the ring.

Two

A is for Anthropology — my academic discipline; my reason to be here, a student on grants.

B is for Behavior — my focus: to understand identity, diversity, belonging.

C is for Culture — shared patterns of knowledge and action. It's abstract, I know.

D is for Diversity — sixteen different nationalities working here together, a wild case study.

E is for Ethnography — working with this circus to learn and write about their experiences and lives.

F is for Fieldwork — in circus, the operative term is work, work, work!

G is for Gender — with so few of us here, it helped I was female.

H is for Hierarchy — after experiencing their lives, this focus rose to the top.

I is for Itasca — the little U.S. RV I brought over to house me and my dog for two years.

J is for Julia — that's me, I'm the writer.

K is for Kitchen — for richtig proper tent and zoo crew only, "so sorry!" no couscous for me.

L is for Language — most circus folk spoke five, six, or more (but not me).

M is for Moroccan — they were over half our support crew (the remainder from Poland).

N is for Notes — I stole time to write. Work gloves in the left pocket, notebook in the right.

O is for Official — the circus office holds everyone's passports, but I refused and kept mine!

P is for Participant-Observation — with interviews too, that's the ethnographic research method.

Q is for Quagmire — oh the mud, mud, mud! One-ring circus is a "Mud Show," they say.

R is for Ring — the colored lights point in, but what's beyond it fascinates me.

S is for Switzerland — where we caravaned along: up, down, and around the Alps.

T is for Troupe — it felt good to belong, I'm not going to lie.

U is for Unequal — because the circus is top-down, not equal.

V is for Vanish — what we did on jumps overnight, in the next town by dawn.

W is for Winterthur — where I met this Swiss woman Andrea, whispered about by my friends.

X is for X — the illiterate signatures, or how we marked center ring.

Y is for Years — those two that I spent in their circus world.

Z is for Zebra — well, of course I've been kicked by them, too. (But the camels hurt worse.)

Three

A is for Andrea — that sweet ex-employee I met season two, the prior tutor years ago.

B is for Baby — when she started to show, that's when they first asked her to leave.

C is for Circus School — her old work-place wagon, where we sat and we talked.

D is for Dunce — "No, the owner's kids were smart; they knew they didn't have to listen to me!"

E is for Elephants — again. They were always her favorite. And of course that's how she met him.

F is for Fired — she missed the traveling life; just wait and I'd see.

G is for Guest — she kept to the back, ‘til Hassan's late show-work was through.

H is for Hassan — her charming elephant-groom husband. He had no broken ribs, she was proud.

I is for Idea — "hey, let's have breakfast tomorrow!" to talk some more. She'd be free around eight.

J is for Juggle — "everyone picks that up here, why not you?" She could teach me, she said.

K is for King — "Yep, the owner's der Konig." She waved to the alphabet strip on the wall.

L is for Library — she laughed. "No, maybe five school books, six? I mean, who has the time?"

M is for Men — "circus is fun, don't you find?" she winked. "Any boyfriends?" she pressed.

N is for No — after they married, she couldn't come back. "Der Konig said NO and that's that."

O is for Oh Well — "they still come through every year." Her sadness easy to see.

P is for Parties — five years ago, "it was wilder then. You should have seen."

Q is for Questions — "how strange, is this what you do?" Interview, the same word in German.

R is for Ride — Hassan snuck her up for elephant rides. "For love." She smiled.

S is for School Break — that one spring week staff families and children could visit.

T is for Tent City — what the back lot becomes, the week visitors abound.

U is for Uster — where her daughter and home wait, only twenty minutes away.

V is for Vet — "did you meet the new guy? Hassan says he's nice." Wink, wink.

W is for Winter — off-season, off-contract. When her husband lives home with his family.

X is for X — "I read them their X-signed Deutsch contracts. Very hush-hush," she confided to me.

Y is for "Yallah!" — "no, that's only crew," she corrected. "Swiss say Gemma, Gemma! To work!"

Z is for Zoey — "you'll meet our daughter on school break. How she misses her Papa." Andrea sighed.