Decisions, decisions....
..so, lots of folk have been asking 'What are you going to do when you move to Zurich?'
And I always answer 'Nothing!'
But that isn't actually true. While I will not be seeking paid employment, I will be busy, busy, busy. When we decided to move to Zurich we had lots of discussions about my career. We thought it unlikely that there would be much call for a Gaelic-medium nursery teacher in Switzerland, which is the path my career was taking. So we have decided that I would hang up my teaching hat.
We've always been a good team and we decided to play to our strengths. While Number Guy is working hard, I am going to be our PA. And I do mean 'our'. My role is going to be to make life as easy as possible for the pair of us. As I won't be working, I will have the time to deal with the difficulties that life as ex-pats throw at us.When I am not working out how to do X, Y or Z, I am going to craft. And travel :0) I plan to have a big map of Europe on the wall with pins in all the places I want to visit. When Number Guy is busy with work, I am going to jump on a train to wherever the fancy takes me.
In the meanwhile, in preparation for our move, I am going to stop teaching ahead of time. Again, there is so much to do here, and so much Numner Guy has to do at work that this seems to be the most sensible thing to do.One of the 'must-do' tasks is to learn some German - classes start next week. I have had a mixed reaction to this - some folk are quite negative 'Well, they don't speak German anyway!' Not true. While Switzerdeutsch is the language of native-born Swiss, High German is also spoken - and it is the language of the written word. Makes German kind of compulsory IMHO
Of course, when I am not learning German, getting cats vaccinated, visitng friends to say 'Auf Weidersehen' etc, I have lots to do in the house. Hard decisions about what is going to Zurich and what is going in the bin. But when I am not doing tany of those things I am going to indulge in some sewing. I finally plucked up the courage to sut out the linen for a pinafore that I am making. Yes - a pinafore. But it's going to be a cool pinafore (if it isn't, then there'll be a lot of linen cushion-covers about the place).
So on that note, I'm off to sew, see y'all laterLabels: Zurich
posted by Twelfthknit at 12:38 pm
10 Comments:
Learning the language, both written and spoken is absolutely essential as once the honeymoon period ends 6 or so months after the move and reality sets in - if you cannot communicate well, life could become very isolating for you (especially if your husband works long, long hours as they all seem to after these type of moves). Also if paid work is not allowed due to visa issues (as is here for most wives, at least for the first few years anyway) then volunteer work is a way to feel connected and needed in a professional capacity again. But of course, good communication in the local language will probably be necessary I would think. Don't forget that you will be living in Zurich full time and that it will be a very, very different experince to just visiting on a holiday. Folks at home, despite their good intentions unless they have actually made such a move cannot relate. Just think of taking the driving test, visiting the Dr. arranging insurance, understanding garbage pick up! The list goes on - learn the language India and don't let anyone persuade you otherwise.
Carol, you are so right. As far as I am concerned, Zurich is going to be my home, so I have to be able to do everything there that I can here. I do not want to be an ex-pat who does nothing but moan about how different thigs are. I want to be a 'local' as much as it is possible for me to be - which means LOTS of hard work on my part.
India
How exciting! Picking up and starting new in a new city. Best of luck and enjoy!
It sounds like a wonderful challenge. I think the only thing I'd be worried about (ha! not true.. I'm a born worrier, but you know what I mean) is the language barrier. However they say you pick a language up so quickly when you're living it.
It does sound so fun to be able to just hop on a train to somewhere new.
I am SOOOOO excited for you (and admittedly jealous at the same time)!!!! Sounds like a wonderful adventure.
I think it sounds as if you will have plenty on your plate to keep you busy!
I know what you mean about being able to hop on a train. It gives me such a thrill standing in a train station on the continent, eg one of the Gares in Paris and seeing destinations like Vienna, Berlin, Budapest, Zurich, Madrid on the Departures board.
Power to your elbow for the preparations, and good luck with the linen pinafore. x K
Here is your formal invitation to join the Bloggy Hausfraus of Zürich.
It is a growing group of women who moved to Zürich with their husbands/spouses/boyfriends and now get together for socializing, movies and the occasional trip to a museum or nearby town.
The group is called "Bloggy Hausfraus" because we met each other through our blogs. It was first started by Juls of "This Non-American Life," who will unfortunately be moving soon.
Let me know when you get here! We get together at least a few times a month. Sometimes more...
Hi India,
Thanks for leaving the comment on my blog. I'm very excited about having a scottish crafty person in the surroundings :-) I would definitely recommend learning germand and even though swiss-german is different you do pick stuff up. Also, often people speak limited english so with finding appartments etc it's very handy. Let me know if you need any info/help, although things in zurich will be different from basel I might be able to help. And if your trips take you to Basel, let me know and we can perhaps meet up for a drink/lunch/dinner/crafting ;-)
ps...not quite sure from your blog when you're moving but if you're here you should definitely check out the herbstmesse in basel as it has lots of cool crafty stuff (from 27th oct for 2 weeks)
What exciting plans!!
Having lived in Switzerland I can strongly recommend getting an annual rail pass. It makes pretty much all public transport free, and is pretty reasonable - perfect for hopping on and off trains at random! There's also a half-price card, which does what it says on the tin too. In English here: http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/reisemarkt/abonnemente.htm
This is also quite good for ex-pat info and Swiss news in English (although a bit Geneva-centric): http://www.genevalunch.com
I hope you enjoy Zurich - it's beautiful. Look forward to reading all about it.
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