Switzerland

[bambi]

There is a possiblity that we could be moving to Switzerland for a 2 year assignment with my husband's company. I have a five year old daughter.

I am really anxious and don't know whether I feel really good or really bad about this. In so many ways, I think it could be a great experience for all of us but I hate the thought of leaving home for that long. Anybody see that movie Tangled where Rapunzel runs around alternately cheering and crying? That's about where I'm at.

Any ex-pats out there with advice?

[Jan in CA]

I just saw Tangled tonight! It's really cute! I do know what you mean though. That's a long way from home, but it is only two years and would be a great experience for all of you.

[cftwo]

My sister is an ex-pat, living in France for the past 10 years or so. She found some things puzzling and at this point sees herself neither as French nor American. She's sort of in between, but she's become comfortable with it. Some of the challenges I remember her talking about the most were food, and those culture-clashes where she expected one thing to happen and others expected something else. She buys baking powder when she's in the states, and on her last trip she bought Easter candy (can't get Cadbury eggs in Paris, apparently). She also finds that she needs to buy some of her clothes in the states. But from where I sit, I think she's doing pretty well with an enhanced appreciation of more than one culture.

Do you have any specific questions I could pass on to her?

[bambi]

I am concerned with some food availability, too. I am Mexican American and don't know if I will find corn tortillas and salsa fixings over there. I think the starch sources are more wheat based.

Do you get to talk to her much? I suppose international calling rates are expensive!

I suppose I will have to find out more about our relocation package before I have more specific questions.

I will be in Basel. It is in the corner of Switzerland, France and Germany.

[cftwo]

Both my sister and a friend who lives in Germany have cheap international calling plans. I think my sister has VOIP service that makes her international calls free. The only thing limiting our phone calls to each other is our schedules!

Helen enjoys getting Mexican food when she's in the states - it is very difficult to find in Paris. (There is a tex-mex restaurant in Paris called the "Indiana Cafe" that she says makes it pretty clear that the French have no idea what tex-mex food is!) The immigrant influences on food in Western Europe are more Middle Eastern and North African.

You might want to look for forums on Ravelry that are for ex-pats. There's a Swiss Knits group http://www.ravelry.com/groups/swiss-knits and an American Ex-pats group http://www.ravelry.com/groups/americ...rafting-abroad They might have some hints, too.

[Jan in CA]

I searched with "are corn tortillas available in Switzerland" and came up with this -
http://www.englishforum.ch/food-drin...itzerland.html
http://www.englishforum.ch/general-o...ican-food.html

I imagine you'll have to learn some types of food which isn't a bad thing and kind of fun.

[bambi]

You two rock!!!