Strangers In A Strange Land

Well...it's been about 5 days now since we touched soil here in Zurich. We've been mainly hanging around our apartment trying to get adjusted to the time change, running errands with our relocation coordinator (Jacquelyn), and getting all our day-to-day things in order (like applying for residency, looking for cars, opening a bank account, insurance, etc.) Also, the weather has been very rainy and chilly, but the only snow we've seen has been flurries (though you can tell the hills and mountains above us are getting blanketed.) It's funny...even a grey, rainy day in Switzerland is still beautiful. Hopefully the weather will improve soon and we can get up into the mountains a little bit, but in the meantime we're enjoying looking out at Lake Zurich.

Also, the kids are doing great. You can tell they're interested in our new surroundings, and they seem to be going with the flow rather well. In fact, today Megan and Ben both said they liked Switzerland so far. So that was good to hear. Of course it helps that I set up a "Slingbox" on the cable TV at my parents' house in Texas, so the kids are still able to watch their favorite shows online (thanks Mom and Dad!) Yeah, the kids have been real troopers. The other day Jenny and I took them to McDonald's for lunch. They have had to deal with so much the past few days we thought they needed a treat. They liked the fact their favorite restaurant was in Switzerland. By the way, Ben sat down yesterday and wrote emails to his class back in Michigan, and some of his friends. To his surprise, he woke up this morning to find the entire class all wrote him emails back. So he had lots of new emails to read this morning. He was so excited.

We've been going to the grocery store almost daily. The food here in the stores doesn't have preservatives, so everything is sold in smaller quantities because they expect you to eat it in a few days. But on the flip side all the food we've had tastes so much better than it does in the states. The fruit and vegetables seem fresher, the meats seem more flavorful, and then there's the cheese and chocolate. Wow! We've even attempted to cook some Swiss cuisine (like sausage and "Rosti," which is like hash browns.) Also, all the people we've met have been nice and friendly. I do my best with what little German I know, and I try to smile as much as I can. In return folks here seem to notice I'm trying to make an effort and they are friendly and helpful. Of course it always helps when I have two cute children. Megan is the socialite of the family, so she always makes people smile when she spouts out "Auf Wiedersehen!"

Today we woke up and walked down the street to a "backerei," (the bakery) for some Nutella filled croissants. I was a little proud of myself because I ordered for all of us using mostly German. Fortunately it seems like wherever you go in Zurich everyone knows a little English, so we're able to manage if we speak in English. But it's my goal to use this opportunity to open myself to a new culture and language. It's my goal to learn German enough to be "functional," so I will be taking lessons very soon.

Well...that's about it for now. We're just taking it day by day here and patting ourselves on the back for our small victories, (like figuring out the grocery shopping, and navigating on highways filled with German traffic signs.) Not a moment goes by that I don't pinch myself to see if I'm dreaming. We still can't believe we actually moved here.

Anyway, here's some pictures from the past few days. Enjoy!

Auf Wiedersehen!