Job begins in 3...2...

I can't remember whether I've written previously about my job sitch (that stands for 'situation' in douche. I'll refrain from further use of such dialect). Perhaps partly because I still carry around some baggage about not 'using' my PhD - even after almost 2 years, I get many well-meaning people whose first reaction is "Biomedical research Ph.D.? But you could get any job you wanted here - there are so many universities and pharma companies!"
Yes, thank you, but likely I do not know you well enough to go into my decision to walk away from research science, so I will just nod vaguely instead. This isn't awkward at all.

I haven't written about my job(s) because...well, I'm not sure. A myriad of things, I suppose. I felt that I didn't yet have a 'career.' None of the various jobs I do requires significant enough time investment to feel I can lay claim to the job title(s). But neither does hausfrau sit well with me, so I just don't talk about it at all. Thanks to B's job, I can choose to work, a position I've never been in and - frankly - never been close with anyone who has. I have strange feelings of guilt, privilege, and amazement pretty much daily.
Friends and family probably think I'm spending all my days lounging on a glacier, admiring the Alps, sipping tea and crocheting (if that ever becomes a paying job somehow, I am ON IT). Meanwhile, the more realistic picture is that I am doing laundry, cleaning, running errands, and working with whatever bits and pieces, job-wise, I could find.

When I left the US in early 2013, I was editing scientific manuscripts for a company in the US. I loved the job, but the pay rate, while lovely for some extra spending cash (in USD, of course), didn't go far in Switzerland. Then I joined a Writer's Group in Zurich and somehow was hired to write an Expat Guidebook for an online relocation company (still working on it, going well), a job that I was SUPER excited to get (Look, Ma, I'm a real-live writer!), but it's temporary and I have no real qualifications (got it through sheer dumb luck), so that didn't feel like a 'real' job either. Or at least one that I could point to as a career in any way.

Teaching English is often the default of trailing spouses, so when such a job fell into my lap in the spring of 2014, I shrugged it off as 'not really news.' Yes, one of my classes is teaching ESL research scientists to improve their communication (so my hiring was actually due to my Ph.D. background), but my other classes are general English conversation, and besides I'm only teaching 3 classes/week, although I do spend some time every week grappling with lesson plans. Again, I felt that my lack of qualifications somehow prevented me from claiming credit for the job.

(After typing all this, I realize I may have some weird issues. But those are not the focus, at least in this post).

So I am super excited to announce that next month I will be starting yet another job (don't worry, I've dropped the manuscript editing and a significant volunteer time commitment to make room. I do like to sleep). It's 30%, so another part-time endeavor, but it's an open-end contract (i.e., permanent) and feels career-like. It's my first job in Switzerland that involves colleagues, structure, etc - even a few benefits. I'm a big ol' mixture of nerves and excitement. As of next week, I will be a high school biology teacher at a private school here in Zurich. The school uses the British system (my German is nowhere near good enough to teach in), but the majority of students are, in fact, Swiss. I can't allow the students to speak Swiss German during class/lecture, but I'm looking forward to being in a work environment in which I can at least hear the local language regularly.

I am grateful for such a chance - I came here with teaching in mind as a possibility, but it turned out that most international schools have a large talent pool to select from (so many expats in Zurich!), so they can require such minor things as, oh, a teaching certification. I actually applied to this school last fall to cover maternity leave (their ad said that a teaching certification was "preferred," but I had every other qualification they listed). I was called in for an interview, gave a sample lesson, met people, the whole deal. At the end, I was disappointed not to get the job - everybody was super nice, the vice-principal said that it was unusual to have two such qualified candidates, he felt I was a 'natural' at teaching, etc. I tried to be flattered that I had come so close, but I was pretty disappointed - being natural is not something I can put on my CV, unfortunately, and I knew I had few possibilities elsewhere.

So imagine my surprise when the school called three weeks ago to ask if I was still interested in a position. Turns out they weren't just blowing smoke! I jumped at the chance. I love teaching high schoolers (strangely enough, since I hated being one), and I'm excited to finally take on a job that combines two of my interests.

I'm interested to hear others' thoughts. Am I crazy? Do you sometimes feel that part-time or side jobs don't 'count' somehow or is that just me being neurotic?
When/if you found a job locally, did you feel it better connected you to the community? If you are a trailing spouse/expat/hausfrau, did you find other benefits/drawbacks in having a job?

Swiss German problems

I've talked a bit on this blog about how challenging I find Swiss German, which is basically an oral language with no written rules. But even that definition is an oversimplification. Swiss German is actually a language group - but even that term can't be properly defined due to the wide variation in the local dialects.

That's right - Swiss German doesn't actually exist, technically speaking. As Wikipedia puts it, "Linguistically, Swiss German forms no unity." You're telling me.

It truly fascinates me that such a small country with only 8 million residents already has four official languages, but even that doesn't begin to cover the breadth of linguistic variation. I'm not a linguist, nor have I been around Swiss German enough to try to explain any of the differences, but if you want to know more, the above article makes for interesting reading (even if I don't know the difference between Low, High, and Highest Alemannic).

As a demonstration of the mind-boggling variation, I present this video that a friend posted on facebook. Zurich, as you may know, is located in north central Switzerland, while Valais (German: Wallis) is a canton in the southwest and is bilingual - the western part speaks French, which the eastern speaks German. The two areas are separated by well under 200 km/125 miles (Zurich to Zermatt is 161 km/100 miles).

I mean, seriously - Ausländers don't even stand a chance, do we?

(Also note: I'm not fluent in any of these languages other than English, but I will say that I've never heard anyone say "Guten Tag" - in any accent - as "hello" in Switzerland. They say "Grüezi." The point of the video is to show different accents, I suppose, but just sayin'). UPDATE: A Swiss friend informs me that Guten Tag is used in Switzerland for some informal situations. Apparently I have never been in an informal situation in Swiss German (true dat, I have not).

Local yarn shop in Zurich

By far the most popular post on my blog is the one discussing yarn stores in Zurich - likely because, as I discovered when I first searched for such information, there isn't much available (and what does exist tends to be in German).

So I am happy to have another LYS (local yarn store, for those of you unfamiliar with crafting lingo) to report. This one is close to where I live and I was thrilled to discover it a few months ago, but last week was the first time that I managed to walk by when it was open.

The name is lana e più ("yarn and more" in Italian, according to Google Translate), and it's located a short walk from the Morgental tram/bus stop (for map and address, see info at the end of this post). Super convenient for me, and not hard to get to for others - the 7 tram stops there as well as the 72, 66, and 70 buses.

The only thing that is slightly inconvenient is the hours of the shop. It is open Monday thru Saturday, but for limited hours each day (see info at the end of this post for exact times), which is why I'd been walking by it for several months without ever going in.

The stuffed bear out front means that it's open!

The reason for these limited hours became apparent, as the lady owner said the shop was a one-woman show. I was a bit nervous before going in, as it is a small shop and I didn't think I could hide my inability in German. Unfortunately, I was right - the owner was lovely and chatty, and after a few sentences I had to 'fess up that I couldn't speak (Swiss) German. She didn't blink an eye, offering English or French, the former of which I gratefully accepted. (I suspect she may also speak other languages - I just don't look like someone you would offer Italian as an option).

The shop is small and not stuffed to the brim, but I still found a good variety. Be aware that not all yarns are on display in the front - apparently she keeps the 'boring' colors in the back room, as she likes the bright ones to be on display - so you may have to ask her for a complete palette.

Overall, this shop was one of the most enjoyable yarn-buying experiences I've had in Switzerland. What made it wonderful was the owner was so knowledgeable - since she does everything, she is familiar with every single yarn in the store. I told her I was looking for yarn appropriate for a baby blanket in non-traditional colors and she had several suggestions. I finally chose a rather thick cotton yarn and she had a blanket she had crocheted (she crochets and knits, very jealous) from that exact yarn to demonstrate the size/number of skeins she had used. How very convenient!

She packed me off with advice on washing and as a bonus, gave me a single-size laundry detergent for free, which will be perfect for passing on to the expectant parents. She also offered that if I didn't end up using some of the skeins, I could return them to the store, which I thought was a generous offer (and brilliant, frankly - there's nothing worse than running out of a specific dye lot of a yarn before you're done with a project, so with that offer, I don't have to worry about 'underbuying' - a term I just created. Oh, and there are many worse things, actually - famine, war, disease. But hyperboles make a point. What was I saying?).

You do have to ask about yarn prices, as they are not posted, but the yarn I bought was just under 5 CHF/skein, which I felt was completely reasonable.

From my limited experience, it seemed that the shop is doing well - I was the only customer in the shop at the time,  but I ran into other customers both while entering and leaving - but I do hope others will seek it out, especially as a place to look for yarn for a specific project/pattern.

Lana e più  information:

Location: Albistrasse 58, 8038 Zurich

Opening Hours:
Monday: 14:00-18:00 (2 pm to 6 pm)
Tuesday: 9:00 - 11:45, 14:00 - 18:00
Wednesday: 9:00 - 11:45
Thursday: 9:00 - 11:45, 14:00 - 18:00
Friday: 9:00 - 11:45, 14:00 - 18:00
Saturday: 9:00 - 14:00

Note: The store accepts cash, Maestro and Post cards, but not credit cards.

Ten things you should know about Switzerland (particularly Zurich)

Whenever I talk to friends and family back home, they always ask "How's Switzerland?" or "What's it like over there?" I usually interpret the question selfishly and answer instead with how I personally am handling Switzerland - quite a different matter.

So, if you have ever asked me that question and realized that I never actually answered it, rejoice! Your wait is over. Inspired by my walk this afternoon, here are 10 things you should know about Zurich and Switzerland:

1. In many ways, Zurich is much like a major city in any other developed country. It has houses, hills, cars, and lots of modern-looking buildings. It doesn't have much of the Old World charm of Paris, Rome, or Milan. It has no iconic buildings as in those cities. But then, it does have this nearby:

View from my backyard (practically). Suck on that, Paris! (just kidding. I love Paris. I might even like it more than Zurich.)

2. The weather here is often terrible. I know I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again - the winter is grey, dark, overcast and absurdly depressing. The flipside of this is that when the seasons change, there is no mistaking it. Spring, which is quite early this year, brings with it blue skies, brilliant sunshine, and to top it off, multitudes of wildflowers in the yard.

Yes, the carpet of wildflowers you were inquiring about has arrived.

3. As might be expected, the Swiss take their outdoors very seriously. Paths are organized, well-marked and well-used, particularly at crossroads. There are benches spaced regularly along many, in case you might want to sit and rest. Very considerate, indeed.

Of course, some people choose to go both ways.

Lovely view, if you don't mind the lurking crow.

4. Zurich has a thing for fountains. Drinking ones, in particular. I went on an hour walk today and encountered no less than five fountains, each one continuously providing a stream of cold, clear (drinkable) water. Delicious!

Fountain #1. Neatly situated at the top of the hill, in case you've tired yourself from walking up it.

Fountain #5, and possibly my favorite because a life-size iron cat statue sits on top of it. Although somehow it looks more like a bear/hippopotamus hybrid in this picture.

5. For such an outdoorsy bunch, the Swiss are surprisingly cold-blooded. They bundle up at the first chill in the air and don't remove their coats until well into April, regardless of what the actual weather is. Today was 19 degrees C (67F) and sunny, yet other than the runners, virtually every person I encountered out for a stroll was in a coat and scarf. I had a fleece that I tied around my waist because it was too warm, and my bare arms drew several raised eyebrows and comments. At least, I think that one lady was commenting on them - she rubbed her arms vigorously at me and then said something that sounded like "shopping." (Note: There is a high degree of likelihood that I misunderstood the spoken part of this interaction)

6. Dogs here are universally well-trained and well-socialized, whether in the city or along nature trails. As a result, they are often not on leashes, yet they still happily pad beside their owners, ignoring trams, cars, bikes, other people, and often other dogs (although they will occasionally give each other a friendly butt sniff before continuing on their way). It's like a scene out of Stepford Dogs and it constantly amazes me.

Dog with owner on the left (no leash), friendly butt sniffing happening on the right (the border collie-ish one looks like it's snarling, but it's not - I watched the entire interaction, it was most cordial - I am just the worst at taking pictures).

 7. Kids are given more independence at a much younger age here than in the US (or the UK, so I've been told). By age 4 they walk to school on their own, and even before that they are given small bikes (without training wheels) and allowed to fall as much as they like. Also, apartment complexes or neighborhoods often provide playgrounds for children that include many 'dangerous' objects such as seesaws, swings, and merry-go-rounds.

The slide goes underground. How cool is THAT? I'm keeping my eye on this to see if adults are allowed in.

How many potential lawsuits can you spot?

8. For such a clean and respectful country, there are ridiculous amounts of graffiti - everywhere. Overpasses, highways, buildings, fences, even dams (below). There seem to be no attempts to paint over or remove it. Admittedly, it does add some color (figuratively and literally) to the landscape.

I don't know what it means, although I am intrigued. But according to Mo Willems, pigeons in general should not be encouraged.

Graffiti'ed dam. And yes, that does say "free willy" on it. Graffiti artists are apparently not without senses of humor.

9. The elderly Swiss population is hard-core. I have seen an astounding number of little old ladies (and men) with their little wheeled carts shuffling slowly along the sidewalk. They may be slow, but they'll get there eventually, and that's what counts. Who cares if it takes 2 hours to cover 200 meters to the grocery store and back? They have all the time they need, and they'll use it. I'm convinced this is a reason for why Swiss are so long-lived (aren't they? I thought I heard this statistic somewhere once. If not, I'll make it up here - Fact: Swiss people live for a long time.)

This lady was making her way up a hill that even I try to avoid walking up at all costs (and I wouldn't have today except I forgot my bus pass).

 10. In general, Swiss advertising is done without the use of celebrities.* It provides a refreshing change from the celeb-obsessed culture of the US. Either that or it's just that my German is still terrible, so I am not aware of any Swiss celebs - but to help prove my point, a question at pub trivia last week (admittedly a British pub) wanted to know who the current Miss Switzerland is - and judging from the reaction when the answer was read, nobody knew (if you're curious, apparently her name is Dominique Rinderknecht).

*Except Roger Federer. Federer is the exception that proves this rule - I have seen his self-deprecating smile stare out at me from ads for chocolate, watches, banks, coffee machines, sports gear, champagne - you name it, he can sell it.

From left to right: fashion, cars, and uh - plates? a museum exhibit? I'm not entirely sure. "But this is only three ads!" you may point out. And I agree. Just take my word on this one, ok?

Swiss fashion

I don't consider myself a very fashionable person. Five out of seven days a week I can be found in jeans (one of my two pairs) with whatever shirt is at the top of my drawer. The other two days I have no reason to leave the house, allowing me to wear yoga pants (or one of my favorite pairs of 'swoga' pants - yoga pants shape, but made out of thin sweatshirt material, complete with the fuzzy interior). 

Despite my own lack of trendy, I still regularly complain about how individual style is missing here in Zurich. "Conservative" appears to be the name of the game, with few bright colors and most of the banking/business-y type people here rarely dressing outside the white/grey/black continuum. In some ways it's like Manhattan (or how I imagine Manhattan to be - I've never lived there, please don't get upset NYCers), except with less edge. And more trains and mountains. And like...1/50th the population. So really not much like it at all.

Even the European clothing stores/brands that used to thrill me in France (Zara, Mango, H&M) seem to carry the blandest, dullest versions of their styles here. Sometimes I will wander into the Desigual store and simply finger the clothes longingly to remind myself what color looks like. 

 Individualism isn't something highly prized by the Swiss - in clothes or elsewhere (just my impression. I'm still new here, please don't get upset Swiss people). So when I found myself walking out of the train station behind the below lady, I had to resist the urge to break into spontaneous applause.

Guys, she's wearing a MANTA RAY as her hairpiece. It was large and plastic and may have started life as a child's toy.

Individuality doesn't have to be a bold statement. It can be as simple as glue-gunning a marine animal to your head.

P.S. - I am not saying the Swiss look bad. In fact, they typically look extremely put together - their clothes fit, they are good quality. Just that it's often - well, a little boring.

P.P.S. - For those that know me (particularly my husband), note that this post is about clothes ONLY. Shoes are an entirely different matter. Boots especially. That is all. 

A Tentative Spring

I've been hesitant to blog about this, as I was concerned the day I did would be the day Mother Nature found her sense of humor and decided to dump feet of snow on Zurich (or maybe because it snowed well into April last winter). But it's been almost a week now of almost daily sun and blue skies, and green leaves are starting to assert themselves above the damp earth.

Flower! I get disproportionately excited about these things - it's been a dreary winter.

These buds are significant because they were personally planted by moi (and moi's parents) last fall, and now they're poking through. They're like my dozen little children that only need occasional watering.

Pictures of Switzerland in winter usually portray gorgeous snow-topped mountains against a striking blue background:

Gorgeous, right? And with just a few wispy clouds. Also unrealistic. However, if you go to the Wikipedia page of the Matterhorn (which this is a picture of - don't call it the Jungfrau like I once did. It's the equivalent of some visitor in the US referring to the Statue of Liberty as the Washington Monument. Very uncool and does not go over well with the locals) - what was I saying? Oh yes - practically every picture of the mountain has it against beautiful clear skies. I'm not saying they're lying, per se, I'm just saying that I've been told by people in the know that if you want to even see the Matterhorn (not to mention take stunning pictures), you probably should book three or four nights at Zermatt, the local village, to up your chances.

These photographs are beautiful, no doubt. However, they don't mention (perhaps because pictures don't talk) the fact that the majority of the Swiss population don't live on these majestic peaks above the cloud cover, mainly because we like an indoors to retreat to (no diss to abominable snowmen - in fact, major respect). The vast majority of us live in lower elevation valleys, surrounded by peaks of various heights. 

And as you may remember from middle school science, valleys surrounded by mountains often have fog due to something about evaporation of water (I said you may remember it - I don't). Lots of fog. Switzerland, as special and lovely as it is (and honestly, it is - no sarcasm intended), is no exception to this. Thus, in winter - especially in one as warm as this has been - there are often days or even weeks straight of heavy, gray skies that may or may not spit rain or something vaguely resembling it. Occasionally the fog or cloud cover may dissipate, but by that time it's usually close to 4 pm and the sun, having done its minimum, has already retreated behind the nearby mountains. I believe that I made comparisons to All Summer in a Day (short story here and short video here - I won't judge which one you click on) last year, and that comparison remains apt.

To prove my point, this is the picture I just pulled from the webcam on the Matterhorn's official website:

Yep, that looks about right.

Except this winter, it hasn't even had the courtesy to snow in the valleys. I like snow - the whiteness brightens things up and it's nostalgic and it crunches and it's purty.

This is the most snow I saw ALL WINTER - pathetic. My family in North Carolina got more than this (although they probably are just as thrilled about that as I am). Also note the grey and fog, as per my original point.

I'm not sure I trust a Swiss spring that begins in mid-February, but I remain cautiously optimistic. Meanwhile, I will join the random cat on our patio in soaking up the sun while it's around - however short that may be.

PS - I took too long to write this, and of course the sun has not come out today. I will hold off judging the mean sense of humor Nature has until tomorrow, but then I'm calling her on it.

Reflections on a year

January saw my one-year anniversary of arriving in Zurich, and my perspective on my new adopted home continues to evolve.

I admit, I've spent much of the last year being frustrated. Frustrated that I couldn't understand people, that I couldn't make myself understood, that I didn't know how to accomplish things or where to find things. I have always been a rule-follower, and it was unnerving to be unsure of what the rules (written and unwritten) were. Patience has never been one of my virtues, and my entire family always likes to share stories about how, as a young child, I would burst into tears at a moment's provocation when I couldn't do things, however small or absurd. As an adult, I'd like to think I'm less prone to tears, but I often feel that frustration bubble up at a moment's notice.

Among the frustration, though, are lulls - and as I settle in more, those periods last longer.

A fact that I've finally learned to accept just over the past month is that I will never fully integrate into Zurich. B and I will forever be marked as outsiders to some degree. One huge reason, obviously, is the language barrier. And it will always be there - even if, twenty years down the road, I am able to comfortably converse in German (or, more unlikely, Swiss German), I'll have an accent that immediately marks me as "other." I will never truly feel or be perceived as Swiss.

I was surprised to find that once I accepted this fact, I felt, quite unexpectedly, a sense of calm. It took me another few days to understand that this new calm came from realizing that I no longer had an unattainable, impossible goal. I won't integrate, but I can focus on building a happy, fulfilling life here. I don't have to self-isolate or surround myself with only Americans, but instead I can meet a variety of people and slowly build a network of friends who come from all over the world. And that's what I've been doing. I've met amazing Swiss women who are more than happy to speak English while I struggle with my German. I've also met wonderful people from Germany, Colombia, India, Britain, New Zealand, Korea, and South Africa (Zurich's population is 1/3 non-Swiss). I still have a long-term goal of improving my German, but that doesn't need to prevent me from making connections in the meanwhile.

The large expat community here in Zurich means there are many fascinating, interesting people to meet. Unfortunately, I have also learned that the negative side to this is that there is a high rate of turnover. I have already said goodbye to one friend that I only grew close to in the month before she left, and I got an email last week announcing the departure of another amazing woman that I didn't take advantage of getting to know well enough. I've served on the board of the American Women's Club now for five months, and at least four of the women I've gotten to know through my work there are departing the country over the next three months.

As I was discussing my new revelations with my parents over Skype, I was surprised to see them nodding. Although they've never lived abroad, they moved to a small community in rural West Virginia as adults and even, after 30 years, were still seen as outsiders. They often made connections with visiting astronomers who would only stay for two or three years before moving on. It was a surprising admission to hear - we moved to West Virginia when I was four and I am proud to have been raised there. Growing up, I was different from most of my classmates (no local relatives, no television, reading books, and a desire to leave the county all marked me as 'other'), but in my childish selfishness, I never considered that my parents would feel a similar sense of isolation.

It doesn't take a move across an ocean or a place with another predominate language to feel out of place or as if you don't belong. But if you're in that situation, please know that it's not unusual to feel that way, you're not alone, and it will change. It takes time and effort to build a community, but I firmly believe that, no matter where you go, there are warm, welcoming people that are worth getting to know and who can enrich our lives. I'm still in the midst of the process, but I am so grateful for all the wonderful people that I've met here in the past year and I am optimistic about the future.

Knabenschiessen

B and I leave tomorrow morning for a week's vacation, and I have many errands and cleaning to do. So, of course, I prioritized a blog post.

Things have been pretty quiet here the past few weeks. The weather is turning cooler and the air has picked up a crispness that I cannot get enough of. The berries are slowly starting to disappear from the supermarket shelves, sadly, but are being replaced with dozens of apples and various gourds. Fall has definitely arrived.

This past weekend, Zurich held one of its major local festivals (the other, Sechseläuten, is held in April) called Knabenschiessen. I had never heard of the festival, and for a beginner's guide, this Newly Swissed article briefly gives its history. Literally translated, it means 'boys' shooting' - an ambiguous term at best (are the boys doing the shooting or being shot themselves? Luckily, it's the former). Apparently, the Zurich canton started the festival back in the 1890s as a way to get boys interested in their upcoming mandatory military service (a service requirement that is still in effect today). In order to participate, boys must be between 13 and 17 and live or otherwise be affiliated with the canton of Zurich (either through parents or school). In 1991, the competition opened to girls of the same age. It's a sharpshooting contest, and the children are scored out of a maximum of 35 points.

The festival starts on Saturday, and students in the Zurich canton are given a half day of school on Monday, the final day of the festival. The main street taken over by carnival rides and vendor tents is the street where B works, so I headed up there on Monday afternoon to take a gander.

A trolley that (I believe) took families/children directly to the shooting range. I chose to go the long route - a choice that resulted in me never actually reaching the actual destination.

 My first impression was that the street fair was much, much bigger than I expected. 'Traditional' street fair booths, such as jewelry, food, and schoggifrüchte (schoggi is Swiss german for chocolate - in other words, chocolate dipped fruit), abounded, but there were also many, many booths that were less traditional. My two personal favorites were a pillow vendor, which seemed rather deserted, and a live plant auction, which was doing a surprisingly booming business.

He had a lot of plants to sell.

I was disappointed to see that this abbreviation has made its way across the Atlantic.

Candy stand. I refrained. I'm so strong.

A textile booth with an interesting mix of traditional Swiss patterns/embroidery (left) and patterns from further afield (right).

An American flag! Selling hot dogs and corn on the cob - the latter, frankly, looked a little withered, to my disappointment.

This booth was quite busy with a young female clientele. I admit, I got one of these in my hair on a high school trip to Montreal. I thought it was awesome. I failed to think about the later consequence of having to cut it out of my hair.

A random geek booth. It had some impressive statues.

Yes, I wanted to buy one of these. ADORABLE BABY DRAGONS, what's not to love?

My second impression was that I was a fish out of water. I was at the fair for an hour, and not only did I hear no English, I also didn't hear any other languages (except German). In a city where 50% of the population are Auslanders, I'd finally stumbled into the Swiss population.

A traditional Swiss organ grinder! Wait, what?

I'm sorry to report that I never made it out of the kilometers of tents to actually witness the shooting competition (I'm not great in crowds). I did, however, treat myself to a skewer of chocolate-dipped pineapple and strawberries and some Chnoblibröt, garlic bread. And refrained from buying a palm tree from the persuasive-even-in-Swiss-German auctioneer, so B is probably grateful for that.

Ok, if you insist.

Garlic bread! The tag line underneath reads "against Vampires and small hunger."

It was greasy, oily, and very, very garlicky. Mission accomplished.

6 months in pictures

Today is my 6 month anniversary of arriving in Zurich! I'm busy prepping for our first visitor, working on our second Ikea delivery (the opposite experience of our first one - we went Saturday, selected express delivery, pulled the boxes from the self-service area ourselves, and they were delivered this morning), and playing catch up on my story for Camp Nanowrimo.

In contrast to my usual loquacious style, I've decided to make this post mainly pictures. Pictures that make me happy and remind me of the progress I've made in my time here. Some are new, some will look familiar if you've been following my blog. With B's support and help, I've been focusing this month on letting go of impatience and feeling that I "should" be at a certain point in - well, anything: language progress, job, settling into our new apartment, extracurricular activities, travel, etc. Instead, I acknowledge that I have made progress, and I am working to make more.

Hiking the Uetliberg during the winter.

Cupcake decorating at Workshop week at the American Women's Club.

Exploring my new home city. Especially on days like this one. No photoshopping that sky.

Finding side streets in the city.

Scoping out our new place, the day we picked up the keys.

Baking tasty treats (these are apple pie bites, made in a mini muffin tin with from-scratch crust. B and I demolished 20 of them in < 4 hours).

 

Completing DIY projects (Ikea bookshelf - it won't win any awards for detail paint work, but I love how it turned out). 

Preparing (and experimenting with) tasty, healthy meals. 

Doing (and finishing!) craft projects.

Organizing and finding places for things (I love my yarn stash!).

Gardening - especially when it results in promising little veggies like this one...

...and this one.

Unexpected gifts from friends. Especially totally awesome ones like this.

It's about the journey, not the destination, and I am focusing on reminding myself of that.

Related note - Friday is the 2 year anniversary of when B and I stopped by the town hall in Brookline, Massachusetts and made it official. He is my partner, my best friend, and I count myself lucky every day that we found each other. We are only at the beginning of our journey, and it's been more wonderful than I could've imagined!

Walking to Zurich

Monday was the first sunny day we've had here in a long, long time (although I may have missed one while in the US), and I decided to take advantage of it by exploring a trail I'd seen leading off from our regional train stop. I ended up walking all the way into the city, which took only 30 minutes, even including my many stops and wanderings. I was impressed at the Swiss way of setting up their paths - they have no problems running them under huge highways or over creeks (bridges optional). I was also amazed at the number of people - all ages - who were out with various accessories - their dogs, kids, bikes, or walking sticks. I wondered if they were all unemployed, too, but I didn't ask.

I was sorry that I only had my cell phone with me, so the pictures are rather poor. I stuck near the river for the most part, and here's some of what I saw:

"What is where?" I only walked a part of this, but I was interested to see that there are several different areas contained along the river. Places for picnics, playing sports, dogs, bikes, and also places where each of those are restricted.

I'd never seen a sign like this before. I was amused.

I took a picture of this bright orange sign because I thought maybe it was warning about attack deer (to me, the animal in the picture looks like it could be poised for aggression). In fact, it was a sign simply warning people that deer are present in the woods, and to please watch your dog. 

Stepping stones across a small creek. Notice the massive freeway in the background. What a novel idea, to make the green space around highways functional in other ways.

Sheep! Many (but not all) were wearing bells, and they were surprisingly loud - you could hear them several hundred meters away. From the noise, I expected them to be in a full blown stampede, but they were just moseying along, chewing their grass. Strange note - despite much peering, I couldn't find a fence on the other side of them. For the life of me, it looked like someone had dumped them on a hill behind some abandoned building.

Dark picture of a black sheep.

Lamb following its mother (I assume that's who it was).

Thanks for posing, brown sheep.

Poor digital zoom on my phone, but I stopped for a while to watch a pair of ducks and their two tiny ducklings. The ducklings trying to cross the rather swollen river was most entertaining.

Also, the orange sign about the deer wasn't just for show. Last week, in the midst of fairly steady rain, I noticed this on the hill in our backyard:

Deer are a common sight in West Virginia where I grew up, and I used to mock the tourists who would pull off to the side of the road to take pictures of the herds. However, this was my first European sighting, and  I was surprised to see one in such a suburban setting. It had a decent set of antlers on it and didn't seem bothered at all by the large apartment buildings less than 20 meters away. I still haven't managed to get any pictures of the hawk in the next field, but I have heard it cry a couple more times, so it must live in a nearby tree.