10 years ago today, I moved to Zürich. Back then I knew about 13 words of German, was fresh from a crohn's flare and had no idea what I should do with my new degree.
I left a couple boxes of stuff in my mom's basement, had bid Philadelphia adieu and flew to my new home with my new (as of 2 days before) fiancé.
I'm at the point now, where people seem less impressed with my Swiss German than they used to be. It's not that I'm bad at it. It's just that previously, my swiss german was good for someone who hadn't been here that long. Now, when I tell someone who's said "You're American and you speak in dialect?!" that I've been here 10 years, their face changes from having been impressed to being...well... whelmed.
I've not been in Zürich the whole ten years, of course. There was a year in the States in between, where I relished being in the same country as my family - though equally far away. While there, we spoke Swiss German at home, celebrated the 1st of August and baked the same Christmas cookies that we would have back home (mailänderli.) I've still live on this block, in this city, in this country longer than I've lived on any block in any city in any country. Which just seems kooky.
I left a couple boxes of stuff in my mom's basement, had bid Philadelphia adieu and flew to my new home with my new (as of 2 days before) fiancé.
I'm at the point now, where people seem less impressed with my Swiss German than they used to be. It's not that I'm bad at it. It's just that previously, my swiss german was good for someone who hadn't been here that long. Now, when I tell someone who's said "You're American and you speak in dialect?!" that I've been here 10 years, their face changes from having been impressed to being...well... whelmed.
I've not been in Zürich the whole ten years, of course. There was a year in the States in between, where I relished being in the same country as my family - though equally far away. While there, we spoke Swiss German at home, celebrated the 1st of August and baked the same Christmas cookies that we would have back home (mailänderli.) I've still live on this block, in this city, in this country longer than I've lived on any block in any city in any country. Which just seems kooky.
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