Same Time Next Year?

The arrival of June marks my one year anniversary with a Swiss postal code.  I can hardly believe that much time has past since I arrived.  It is also somewhat unfathomable that I have been out of Canada for three years.

But I have.  

I adore my time on my trips back home.  Seeing my family is a huge part of it, but so is life there.  I love going into the grocery stores stocked full of familiar foods that I cannot find in my adopted home.  I can go shopping and ask complicated questions - something my limited German vocabulary will not allow me to do.  Conversation is easy, people get it when I say something cliche and truly Canadian.  My jokes are funny...

But it is not all so easy.  Over the three years friendships have become increasingly awkward due to the strain of my absence and you can see how people have moved on and filled the spots that you once claimed.  The landscape is dynamic.  People grow older.  

And it isn't just them, it is me too.  The structure of society over here has worn off me.  For instance, I am acutely aware of time and do my best to make sure I am not late - and feel completely uncomfortable if I have a sip of wine without first raising my glass and clinking them together.  Walking everywhere in all elements is not something I even pause to ponder, I just do it.  What I spend money on is completely different.

However, as increasingly integrated as I become, I will always be different.    But somehow that is okay.  It just so happens that I feel a bit different everywhere I go now.  An odd statement I know.   Before my comfort was defined by what was familiar.  Home was the place I felt most comfortable - where I knew what to do, when to do it and had people to do it all with - I was shaped by that life.  Living elsewhere has taken that away, there is nothing and no one to hide behind.  It is just me.  

On the eve of my one year anniversary with a Swiss postal code, I have to admit, I am not exactly sure where home is anymore.  In many ways I would like to stop and settle in here.  I love Switzerland.  But that is not a decision that is solely up to me.  My mother always said that it would be love that would see me settle down somewhere, and although I think she meant it would be a man, I think she is half right. I love my life here.  But then, let us see what I write this time next year... :)

ps.  This blog was about the steps/processes involved in securing the necessary approvals for a permit renewal for residency . Nothing more, nothing less ;)

Been a long time...

...since I've seen a sign like that.

Yoga and a Finnish Sauna

Nudity.  Yeah I know - here I go again.  But seriously are things ever different here in Europe.  Years later I am still getting used to it.  This past week tested me again.  

Lets start with yoga, and the fellow that walked in and changed rather comfortably right there in the studio.  How awkward I thought as I made a mental note to myself to NEVER plan to change in the yoga studio.  Ever.

The next moment was when I went to see a massage therapist.  Since it was my first visit with her, she wanted the background story that had led me her.  While I got ready for the massage.  Awkward.

I try though.  I try to appear cool about the whole thing.  I really don't know how some cultures can be so uninhibited.  In response to my recent nudity rant, a friend shared a story of when he was living in Finland and having his work performance evaluation recounted by his boss in the sauna.  Nude.  I am sorry, but I know I will never ever get that cool.  However, my friend said that although he initially balked at the idea - it turned out to be a bonding experience.  "We were in an environment where we were equals which made discussion easier and more productive," he told me.  Personally I think I'd have to resign.  But, IF I did manage to summon some courage to do it - I would likely have to starve myself and spend 8 hours per day on a treadmill starting two weeks in advance of the meeting.  And a board meeting?  All that breathing and sweating with a bunch of people I would be happy to live a life and never see naked?  And happy to also have them never see me that way either. I think we all wear clothes to work for a reason - no?  

Okay, I am done.  Well, for today anyway...

(for those doubters on the Finnish sauna thing, here is a CNN story on a board meeting in the sauna, nudity required... http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2003/10/06/350393/index.htm )

And now Imagine Dragons, and yes, this one is for you - you know who you are :)

And so it Begins...

Well, I guess it is time to begin.  Yesterday I was on a phone call and the person I was attempting to communicate with  declared that I spoke better German than she did English.  I had no other option than to stumble along foolishly and speak.  The most shocking thing for me, was that it turned out I actually recalled words that I had once learned but never used.  

I hung up a bit flustered and embarrassed but actually kinda proud.  I had made myself understood in German.  On the phone.  And let me tell you, I would much rather communicate in person than on a phone - wait, let me clarify that,  I would much rather speak German in person than on the phone.

Today I emailed colleagues a little bit in German.  That was a first as well.  The worst part about attempting to speak another language is how foolish you feel.  I mean, 3 year old children can express themselves better than I can.  I literally have to be forced to be put in a position where I feel silly and inadequate.  Lets face it - most people would.

Sunday while skiing with another expat, we attempted to summarize our day completely in German.  It sort of made certain that our conversation was rather brief.  And then there is my Swiss friend who brings me things he knows I would be interested in reading in German along with declaring (and enforcing!) a "Deutsch nur" texting rule.

The problem is that in Zurich, it is easy to avoid speaking German.  Everyone speaks English.  But the problem is, when learning a language you must use it - or lose it.  Every Canadian knows that.  We all learn French - but who can speak it?

So I have to admit that I am secretly glad my friends are forcing my hand a little on this - we all know that I need it.  

Song for a Time

I love music.  All of it.  Okay, not country music - it is a little too serious for my sensitive side.  But what makes me love a song most of all are the lyrics.  Sometimes a phrase within a song, or the entire song itself speaks to a moment in time.  It can capture the feeling of loss, it can motivate, soothe and get you out on the dance floor.

A friend of mine reminded me about a song this morning.  He suggested that I loved the Budweiser commercial because it contained "my song".  A long time ago, when I was just considering my big move, the song Landslide came on the radio.  It is an old song, and I have to confess I didn't really like it much until a few lines in the song reached out and hit me in my moment of doubt and captured my thoughts perfectly;

"Well, I've been afraid of changing 

'Cause I, I built my life around you 

But time makes you bolder..."

So to my friend -  thank you for the reminder :)

Super Bowl Sunday

Okay, I confess that I love watching the Super Bowl in part (okay mostly) for the half time show and the commercials.  I was even thinking of staying up into the wee hours last night such so that I could catch the Super Bowl - but when I heard that they would not be streaming in the commercials here...well, I decided the play-by-play status updates on Facebook would suffice enough.

Don"t know what I am talking about?  Here are a few links to check out.  I have to warn you - the Budweiser commercial made me kinda teary...

Budweiser commercial

Mercedes - star studded commercial, complete with a Rolling Stones tune...

Hyundai 

Beyonce and the girls at half time...

The Tram Stop

In Zurich, it is important that the Bahnhofstraße saturday shoppers enjoy a little entertainment too.

This is one of the things I love about living here. I am always surprised. Like on Saturday, when there was suddenly a piano and an elegant looking man playing it for all to enjoy at popular tram stop.