People & Places

For some reason writing this blog entry has been a struggle for me. Each time I began, I would stop and look at the words on the page and simply not like them.

Write. Delete. Write.

I think it is simply that I do not know where to begin or what to share. But I am determined to finish one today. I thought about writing about all the amazing people that I have recently entered my life. Maybe the British friend who made sure I met as many people as possible when I first arrived. The Swiss friend who will meet for a beer and listen to me butcher the German language for as long as I dare try, or the Italian friend who loves to cook for someone who loves to eat. When I was sick I had calls from an Austrian friend making sure I was okay and offering to deliver anything I may need. And then of course there is the Canadian friend who annoys me nearly daily and demands that I not take myself too seriously.

I could go on.

The other evening I was a party and talking to one of the very first people I had met when I arrived here in Zurich. In the short time we were talking many of my new friends passed by and visited with us too.

“You and your friends,” he said with a laugh.

I didn’t really notice it until that particular moment, but yeah, my Zurich friends are a diverse group of people. But they are some of the most caring people I have ever met. We all know that things can change in an instant. That one-day someone may be here, and the next gone to some place else. We lack stability. Family is something that none of us have close by. We are kind of alone here. But not really. Because we all know what it is like - okay, perhaps not my Canadian friend – but the rest of them, yes. So we all sort of support and check in on each other. Would we all be friends in another place and time? I’d like to think yes – but we all sorta know that’s probably not true. The mishmash of cultures, the diverse age mix and professions – not to mention interests make it rather unlikely. But here and now it works. And - it serves as a reminder that it matters not where you are from, what you do, your age or how much is in your bank account, but instead who you want to be.

So yeah, I guess this blog will be about people…