Fixating on differences.

When I first landed in Switzerland I couldn't get my chin off the ground. It was complete culture shock. I couldn't understand so many things. Why do these people dress this way? Why are the kids not any where near their parents? Why is everyone so skinny? Why do they all smoke? I don't want to speak German. I like English just fine. Rooms are too small. People drink too much. I don't know how to order food. Food is my life, what am I going to do? I thought in order to live here I myself would have to change and be like them. I can't wear a Northface and sneakers. That is a dead give away that I am an American. Everyone always stares at my shoes. UGH. Get over it. I like wearing them.

The more I spend time here the more I realize that it really isn't all that different. When you take all the small things out of the equation, it is like any other city. Most everyone speaks English. A lot of restaurant menus are in English. They have Starbucks. (This is my Heaven) They have bars, movie theatres, gyms, Mcdonalds, Burger King, Nike, H and M, coffee shops, post offices etc. Even in grocery stores most of the food signs are in German and English.

If I could tell someone that moved here what to do I would say find your comfort zone within the place. Start small and then get bigger. At first I only felt comfortable going to Starbucks. It was my home away from home. Now that I know more German I feel that I can go to any shop and order a Kaffee mit Sahne. I used to not even go to the market stands in fear that there would be a language barrier. Now I go and just try my hardest to speak German. If all else fails, just point.

I have learned that there is no use in being a perfectionist in a foreign country. I won't be fluent in German for a really long time, if at all. I notice that when trying to practice speaking German to them, they want to practice English with me. We are all humans trying to learn each others way of communicating. Europeans grew up completely different then I did. I find myself saying  that they are doing it WRONG. No, you are not supposed to have 4 hour dinners. Mam, your daughter is 2 weeks old and it is snowing and raining outside, take her in. Why do you guys not wear brands? It kills me. I just want to see a polo shirt, just one. Why do you think I am so weird for drinking my Starbucks while walking? Everyone in the U.S does it. Why do you guys ALWAYS dress so nice? You are just going to buy groceries. Don't you like sweatpants? You make me feel insecure. All of these questions, would be the same questions they would ask me. Instead of pointing the finger and thinking my way is right, I have learned to embrace the differences. I now step into a world of a lot more similarities then differences.