Now these are only my perceptions of Basel/Europe. I don't want anyone to get offended in anyway from my thoughts.....
I see TONS of dads here with their little ones. I first kept looking for their wives but never saw them :) You don't see this a lot in the US and that makes me sad. I would say here it is 50-50 for who takes care of the babies.
Kids here are MUCH more independent then back home. They have much for freedom here to do what they would like. Most of them walk way far ahead or behind their parents starting at a very young age. In fact when I first was here I had to stay by a kid because I thought they were lost. My friend told me that it is very normal for kids to be away. This is also because there are no abductions here at all. Switzerland is so safe that I was able to put my purse down at the park and walk away to do whatever I wanted. When I am walking alone I have NEVER felt scared. That makes me very happy :)
The Swiss people are extremely nice. I have not really run into a mean person here. I have felt comfortable from the minute I got here. They don't judge you if you don't speak German. They all are extremely educated and want to help you as much as they can. The fact that I can walk into a place at any time and speak English is a huge comfort. I thought I was going to feel alone a lot more but it is not the case. Now most kids don't speak any English, it is mostly all adults.
It was actually refreshing a lot of the times listening to conversations because I couldn't understand what was going on. I didn't have to listen or try to help because I had no idea what was going on. So many times back home we all try to listen to engage in all these conversations. Here it is nice to sit on the Rhine River and not have a clue what anyone else around you is saying. I can have my thoughts in my head and that is all. This is HUGE because I thought I would have felt very overwhelmed and isolated from everything. I think, I mean I know God has a huge impact on that. He makes me feel content in the moment :) Could NOT ask for anything more.
I love here how people are never in a HUGE hurry to get somewhere. Unless they want to get on the tram, train or bus everyone is very slow about where they need to be. I have never felt rushed here. They never bring out the bill and place it on the table. You have to ask for the bill to get it. Dinners here are anywhere from 2-4 hours. Nothing is open on Sundays. It is family time and mostly everyone takes an adventure somewhere :) I love how work is not everything here. People love exploring, eating and drinking. Their life is so precious here and they value friendships and family a lot more then in the US.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Tuesday/Wednesday in Basel
My sister, Aisha went to school with a woman named Traci. She and her family now reside in Basel, Switzerland. If that is not a God thing I don't know what is.... She invited me to her house for the day. Traci's kids, and her neighbor's family were going to Germany for the day for lunch. I cannot believe how Germany and France are so close to Switzerland.
This was my first tram, bus adventure and I was extremely nervous. The scary part here is if I get on the wrong tram or train I can end of in Germany or France. Traci emailed me directions and I felt like they were kinda a lot to write down. I had butterflies for sure. I walked down to the tram with Andy, which is about a minute from our hotel and got on the 6 towards Rheinen Grenzal. I was very nervous and watched for every stop very closely. It took about 17 minutes and then I had to get off to get on a bus. I got on the bus and headed up her way. I got off the bus and walked up into these huge hills with cows and chickens. I felt very lost and lonely. I tried calling Traci and she wasn't picking up. I knew I was lost so I started praying. I turned around and started downhill. That is when I looked at a mailbox and saw her last name on it. God knew I needed direction and he told me where to go :)
I finally went inside her home and met her adorable two kids. Then we were off to Germany with her neighbor. We had an amazing breakfast/lunch except for the bees swarming everywhere. I could not believe that all these people were eating and not bothered one bit by the bees. Traci said they are everywhere which of course scared me to death. Obviously I am going to have to get used to them :(
That night Heidi from Austria called me to meet up. Her husband works with Andy here in Basel so that is how we got connected. We met at this British Pub called Paddys. It is amazing because everyone there speaks English and most are all from the UK. She brought a friend with her, Gill. They are both about the 2 nicest people you will meet. We instantly hit it off :) The boys called us to meet them at Noon which is a sushi place. We had this amazing goat cheese there that I can still taste in my mouth. Of course we drank a lot of wine. People sure do know how to drink here. I have drank more in the past week then probably 2 months back home :)
This was my first tram, bus adventure and I was extremely nervous. The scary part here is if I get on the wrong tram or train I can end of in Germany or France. Traci emailed me directions and I felt like they were kinda a lot to write down. I had butterflies for sure. I walked down to the tram with Andy, which is about a minute from our hotel and got on the 6 towards Rheinen Grenzal. I was very nervous and watched for every stop very closely. It took about 17 minutes and then I had to get off to get on a bus. I got on the bus and headed up her way. I got off the bus and walked up into these huge hills with cows and chickens. I felt very lost and lonely. I tried calling Traci and she wasn't picking up. I knew I was lost so I started praying. I turned around and started downhill. That is when I looked at a mailbox and saw her last name on it. God knew I needed direction and he told me where to go :)
I finally went inside her home and met her adorable two kids. Then we were off to Germany with her neighbor. We had an amazing breakfast/lunch except for the bees swarming everywhere. I could not believe that all these people were eating and not bothered one bit by the bees. Traci said they are everywhere which of course scared me to death. Obviously I am going to have to get used to them :(
That night Heidi from Austria called me to meet up. Her husband works with Andy here in Basel so that is how we got connected. We met at this British Pub called Paddys. It is amazing because everyone there speaks English and most are all from the UK. She brought a friend with her, Gill. They are both about the 2 nicest people you will meet. We instantly hit it off :) The boys called us to meet them at Noon which is a sushi place. We had this amazing goat cheese there that I can still taste in my mouth. Of course we drank a lot of wine. People sure do know how to drink here. I have drank more in the past week then probably 2 months back home :)
First day in Basel
I woke up quite early on Monday morning because we went to bed at about 6:30 the night before. Andy headed to work and I went to coffee at this little shop down the way. It took everything in me to pass the Starbucks along the way. That is my comfort zone and I go to it all of the time in Indiana. I thought to myself will I be able to communicate with the waitress? Can I order a coffee in German? I was really quite scared but then I thought, I have to go. I am moving here soon and I have to get over the fright of another language. I walk in the shop and there are croissants everywhere and cafes. All I had to say was coffee and she gave me one. I instantly was happy again. I sat outside at a little table. Swiss people get so extremely close to you and at first if freaked me out. I wanted to get up and move my chair but I was told that I had to get used to it. The weather was a bit cold. It was in the 60's and of course I had all dresses and shorts for Switzerland. I started thinking a lot of living there and just looking around at everything around me. People dressed differently. The kids look a lot different. Everyone walks down the streets with pastries in their hands. Of course this mentally ill woman chose me to stand in front of and smile for about 15 minutes. All I could do was laugh and look around to see if others noticed what was going on. The others seemed to not be bothered in the slightest.
I walked around after that mostly to the Rhine River to explore what Basel had to offer. I was so surprised at how many people speak English in Basel. At any given time if you want to go into any shop someone will speak a little English. Now this doesn't mean I don't want to learn German. I have been really trying to speak it as much as I can. Apparently if we try to speak a little German they will work much harder to try to speak our language. If we act like we could care less then they won't try either. I met Sylvia on the blog and her and her husband live in Basel. She was nice enough to show me around for they day. Her husband is Swiss so he showed me around as well. She took me to their amazing house in Auschwill. Their view is breathtaking. I am excited to keep in touch with them and hang out when I live here :)
I was very excited for our first dinner with everyone. It had started to rain so I went back to the room. Andy skyped me and told me that if I wanted to go to dinner with them I needed to get on the train and come meet them. Well I did not feel like taking the train because I did not know how. I really wanted to be shown once and then I would have felt comfortable. I was being pretty stubborn so I told Andy to go without me. I then went out into the city by myself, sad and lonely :( I ended up at Mcdonalds and got a chicken sandwich. It was 15 dollars for me to eat there. AHHH! I could not believe it. I then just went for a bit of a walk and then ventured home.
I walked around after that mostly to the Rhine River to explore what Basel had to offer. I was so surprised at how many people speak English in Basel. At any given time if you want to go into any shop someone will speak a little English. Now this doesn't mean I don't want to learn German. I have been really trying to speak it as much as I can. Apparently if we try to speak a little German they will work much harder to try to speak our language. If we act like we could care less then they won't try either. I met Sylvia on the blog and her and her husband live in Basel. She was nice enough to show me around for they day. Her husband is Swiss so he showed me around as well. She took me to their amazing house in Auschwill. Their view is breathtaking. I am excited to keep in touch with them and hang out when I live here :)
I was very excited for our first dinner with everyone. It had started to rain so I went back to the room. Andy skyped me and told me that if I wanted to go to dinner with them I needed to get on the train and come meet them. Well I did not feel like taking the train because I did not know how. I really wanted to be shown once and then I would have felt comfortable. I was being pretty stubborn so I told Andy to go without me. I then went out into the city by myself, sad and lonely :( I ended up at Mcdonalds and got a chicken sandwich. It was 15 dollars for me to eat there. AHHH! I could not believe it. I then just went for a bit of a walk and then ventured home.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
First plane trip to Basel
I left August 6th at 5:30 and arrived in Switzerland at 11am. The Jet lag was more intense then I could ever have imagined. All I wanted to do was sleep but obviously you cannot do that because you have to get on their time immediately. Just being in the International part of Chicago Airport I felt different. I could see them starring me at and of course everyone looked very different to me too. Andy thought I was crazy because I kept saying their fashion was so different. It seems that my middle school years just caught up to every other country. They still wear Abercrombie and Fitch for crying out loud. Finally it was time to board the plane. I was just excited to be there. The plane trip was not bad at all. What I mean by that is the plane itself was AMAZING but Andy and I could both both not sleep yet we were extremely tired. Each seat had a T.V., which of course was my favorite part about it. :) We got to pick from about 25 different movies that we wanted to watch at any given time. All I could think was we really don't have to pay for this... Endless games, most television shows, documentaries were all at my fingertips for FREE. Andy politely reminded me that the amount paid for both plane flights just about covered whatever extracurricular activity we might have wanted to do on the flight :) And no sissies don't go where you just went in your head. I watched Water for Elephants as my first movie. It was great!! Then I watched 17 again with Zac Efron and Matthew Perry. That was okay. At any point in time I could have pressed on the television and it would tell me where the plane was and how far we had to go. I liked that part :) There was only really turbulence for about 20 minutes of the whole flight. Obviously this was the time when I was wanting to SLEEP!
We finally made it to Zurich. I remember thinking what was I going to see? Beautiful mountains, unfashionable people, farm animals, little cars, people speaking a language I had no idea what it was..... We stepped off the plane and it was cold and rainy outside :( It was only about 60 degrees so all of my little dresses and shorts are perfect for this weather, NOT. My outfit yesterday consisted of black yoga pants and a long black zip up. The Swiss people were thinking, "were the unfashionable ones, really?" If only I could yell out in German that this is not the attire I am used to wearing...
We got our luggage and headed for the train to Basel. I had to pay close attention because I was going to be doing this a lot on my own. We walked straight outside across the street into the train station. People were everywhere. It was very overwhelming because I was exhausted and everyone knew where they needed to be. I was happy Andy was with me. I would have felt very alone at this point. We went down an escalator bought our Basel tickets and looked for when it was coming. We went straight to the train as it came pretty fast. I tried to stay awake for the train but it was impossible, Andy and I both slept. I would wake up periodically only to see graffiti all over the walls. You all will see what I mean when you travel here :) Nothing too exciting on the train.
Finally we were in BASEL!!!!!!! This was the moment I was waiting for. There were literally people EVERYWHERE. I remember at one point Andy saying Basel wasn't that big and I might see the same people again. I thought wowsers were not in Kansas anymore... Everything but restaurants are closed on Sundays. I liked this though because entire families were out having the times of their lives. Kids are not chained up on leashes here, rather they run the streets of Basel and look back time to time to see where their parents are. It is such a safe place here the last thing parents are worried about is them being abducted. We go to our hotel first thing and it is such a beautiful quaint little hotel. I was thinking to myself, no wonder people aren't big here I could barely fit through the doorway. I am not even exaggerating. Everything is so small here it makes me feel HUGE. The hotel room that Andy and I are staying in for 2 WEEKS is literally a little bigger then a cruise room. The obviously don't want people staying in their rooms rather out spending American dollars.
We left and ventured out on the town. Right in the middle of town we see that Beach Volleyball is happening. I am thinking, there is no way that people are playing this and that we just get to sit up there for FREE. Oh yeah competitive Beach Volleyball and we got to sit for free. I was in and out of consciousness because I was so tired. The cold air definitely kept me up. Today I am hanging with my girl Sylvia and I cannot wait for her to show me around!! I am going to take lots of pictures today and hopefully add them to this!
We finally made it to Zurich. I remember thinking what was I going to see? Beautiful mountains, unfashionable people, farm animals, little cars, people speaking a language I had no idea what it was..... We stepped off the plane and it was cold and rainy outside :( It was only about 60 degrees so all of my little dresses and shorts are perfect for this weather, NOT. My outfit yesterday consisted of black yoga pants and a long black zip up. The Swiss people were thinking, "were the unfashionable ones, really?" If only I could yell out in German that this is not the attire I am used to wearing...
We got our luggage and headed for the train to Basel. I had to pay close attention because I was going to be doing this a lot on my own. We walked straight outside across the street into the train station. People were everywhere. It was very overwhelming because I was exhausted and everyone knew where they needed to be. I was happy Andy was with me. I would have felt very alone at this point. We went down an escalator bought our Basel tickets and looked for when it was coming. We went straight to the train as it came pretty fast. I tried to stay awake for the train but it was impossible, Andy and I both slept. I would wake up periodically only to see graffiti all over the walls. You all will see what I mean when you travel here :) Nothing too exciting on the train.
Finally we were in BASEL!!!!!!! This was the moment I was waiting for. There were literally people EVERYWHERE. I remember at one point Andy saying Basel wasn't that big and I might see the same people again. I thought wowsers were not in Kansas anymore... Everything but restaurants are closed on Sundays. I liked this though because entire families were out having the times of their lives. Kids are not chained up on leashes here, rather they run the streets of Basel and look back time to time to see where their parents are. It is such a safe place here the last thing parents are worried about is them being abducted. We go to our hotel first thing and it is such a beautiful quaint little hotel. I was thinking to myself, no wonder people aren't big here I could barely fit through the doorway. I am not even exaggerating. Everything is so small here it makes me feel HUGE. The hotel room that Andy and I are staying in for 2 WEEKS is literally a little bigger then a cruise room. The obviously don't want people staying in their rooms rather out spending American dollars.
We left and ventured out on the town. Right in the middle of town we see that Beach Volleyball is happening. I am thinking, there is no way that people are playing this and that we just get to sit up there for FREE. Oh yeah competitive Beach Volleyball and we got to sit for free. I was in and out of consciousness because I was so tired. The cold air definitely kept me up. Today I am hanging with my girl Sylvia and I cannot wait for her to show me around!! I am going to take lots of pictures today and hopefully add them to this!
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