How Do You Cope With Culture Shock?

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I've been an expat for one and a half years now, and had never before sat down to clear my thoughts and feelings on living in Switzerland. It's not my first time abroad. However, its the first time that I left my country without knowing when I'd be going back. I didn't care about not knowing one single sole in the whole country, nor did I care about my lack of french knowledge. I hardly blinked when it came to leave the comfortable familiarity behind and dive into the unknown. I was going to conquer the World (or at least, Switzerland). 

But my thoughts on working in a foreign country have changed over time. 

Contrary to what I thought when I knew I was moving, culture shock is not only about different social norms or exotic food, which you can usually prepare for before moving, which I did. I had already worked six months in Zürich a couple of years before and had learned about many swiss standards - I learned how to eat fondue, how to greet co-workers in swiss german and where not to park my bike in the building (this one I learned it the hard way). Culture shock continues long after becoming familiar with your new life. Experts like to classify this identity crisis into four phases. 

1) Honeymoon

Fairy Tale Sunset in Lausanne, Switzerland

The Honeymoon phase is full of excitement and euphoria. You feel you can grab the World in your hands and do whatever you want. Every day is a new adventure - new faces, a different restaurant, a hidden shop, a cute small side street with a boulangerie selling the best baguettes you have ever tried. The public transport is reliable, the city is peaceful, clean and safe and people are kind and respectful. 

You smile while you walk. Life is good. 

2) Frustration

"Careful not to fall down the mountain" Sign, in Switzerland

But honeymoons don't last forever. You start to realize that there are actually less than 5 bars where you can go to  - either because of the crowds or because of the prices. Its the forth time you try asking for a glass of water with your coffee and you receive an arrogant look from the waiter. Maybe even a clueless arrogant look - you're wrong pronunciation bothers them, and having to repeat the same word 10 times (when you know there's nothing even similar that it could be mistaken with) bothers you. You go to a hairdresser and come out with a messy cut and completely broke. Every saturday feels like a monday - you have to wake up early to do all the shopping for the next 6 days, as you will have no time to do so during weekdays. 

Basically, this is the time when you get familiar with the flaws of living abroad: you don't understand locals' social norms, you get laughed at because of your pronunciation. You feel disillusion, frustration and anger. You blame all your mishaps to the culture and people in your new home country. At this point, you feel alone and misunderstood and would sell your organs to go back home (figuratively, of course). 

3) Understanding

Filet de Perche with sauce tartare, a speciality from Lac Leman

After a while of closing yourself into a bubble, things start to get better - You're adjusting to the new culture. Things that used to annoy you during the second phase, now are insignificant or can even be laughed at. You've adjusted your meals to the local timing (well, almost, I mean, sorry but a spaniard will never have dinner at 6:30pm) and are even trying out some new activities that are key in the new country, such as hiking, skiing and snowboarding. You have set up a routine, and feel comfortable with it. 

You understand the cultural differences with your home country and are learning how to deal with them. 

I believe I've passed the second phase (although frustration comes back eventually when I have to cope with a new shock). I've developed a routine for saturdays, that gives me enough time (and flexibility) to deal with the weekly food shopping. And in case I run out of milk, I know where I can buy some last minute. I've also realized that there's so much more outside my city that is just a short bus, train or plane ride away. It's really easy to keep on seeing new faces and different places whenever you get bored of it. I guess that's one big advantage of Switzerland. 

4) Acclimatation

Sunset over Lac Leman, Switzerland

Although I have adopted some local habits and am adjusting to the new culture, I still don't feel that I belong here - I feel like a foreigner. Part of it may be because of my ridiculous french skills that don't really take me any far. But there's much more to it than the language barrier. I feel that I don't have something really settled. My family is a couple of thousand kms away and my best friends are spread across Europe, too. I do know people that I consider friends, but most of them come and go - as most expats do. I guess the idea would be to start making local friends, which would only truly happen if I was fluent in french, and not only talk about where I come from and what I want to buy in the supermarket. 

There's still some hard work to do. 

Have you lived or are you living in a foreign land? If so, in what phase do you think you're at? Any tricks on how to get more involved in the host country's culture? How do you meet locals?

Outlining Lac Léman (Switzerland)

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Lac Léman (aka. Geneva Lake)

On Sunday, I woke up early - the sun was shining on my face. It was the first day of spring and it felt great! After lunch, I took the chance to discover my city and its surroundings by taking a walk along the lake towards Montreux. 

Montreux is 27 kms away from where I live, which was quite optimistic for a random Sunday afternoon. I told myself I'd walk until I got hungry, tired or cold. And so my walk began.

First signs of Spring

The path next to the Lake

The little Port of Lutry 

After 11 kms outlining the lake, when I reached the center of Cully, I wasn't tired nor hungry. However, the sun wasn't as warm as it was after lunch and a cold breeze was coming through my light spring attire. Turns out that a clear sky and bright sun in march does not automatically mean you can unpack your swimsuit, at least not in Switzerland! 

When the sun comes out, its nice to be a tourist in your own city or region. Walk. Take pictures. See what surrounds you with different eyes, don't just assume that you've seen it already. Fall in love with your city (again). I really recommend it.

Have you ever tried being a tourist in your city or region? Have you grabbed your camera and searched for this alternative angle?

Want to see more pictures of my walk from Lausanne to Cully? Visit my Flickr Gallery!

The Unexpected Switzerland

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What first pops into your mind when you think about Switzerland? 

You may think of skiing in the Alps, followed by some hot cheese fondue. Maybe you first thing is chocolate, cows and Heidi running down a green meadow. People carrying army knifes with any possible application (yes, there are gourmet army knifes just to cut food and open wine and beer bottles, in case you were wondering!). Or maybe what you think of is luxury - expensive watches and lots of private bank accounts. And bankers, obviously - lot's and lot's of bankers. 

Well, I'm not going to write about what you already know. There's so much more to Switzerland than the cheese, army knifes and watches! 

The Lakes

A View from Lausanne on Lac Leman (unofficially known as "Lake Geneva")

Switzerland encompasses a huge diversity of landscapes on only little more than 41,200 km2, ranging from 195 m to 4,634m above sea level. No wonder that, besides for having some of the greatest mountain scenery Worldwide it also houses a surprising amount of lakes. There are more than 1,500 lakes spread across the country, although only 16 of them are larger than 10 km2 (being Lac Léman the largest one).  

Wherever you are, you will surely not be far from a lake. During summer, Switzerland's lakes are flooded with sailing boats that go out to enjoy the late afternoon and watch the sunset on the quiet water. When I first moved here, I wondered why someone would own a boat in Switzerland when you couldn't get anywhere with it. But now I've learned that for the swiss it's not about going somewhere, but about enjoying quality of life - which includes drinking wine on a sailing boat watching the sun set behind the mountains. You can be sure that taking a sailing course this summer is on my bucket list... 

No wonder that Allinghi, Switzerland's yacht racing team, is the two-time winner of the America's Cup, the most prestigious trophy in sailing! 

The Wines

Lavaux Region and its Vineyards kissed by the afternoon sun 

When thinking about Switzerland, very few minds (if any) will picture a country of wine. Lying in the shadow of its neighbors, France and Italy, swiss wine is almost inexistent outside of the country. Although annual production can reach 150 million bottles, only about 2/100 are exported. Putting this into perspective: with a population of 7 million people, each person would consume 21 bottles of swiss wine per year. This turns Switzerland one of the top wine consuming countries Worldwide!

The country houses around 20,000 winegrowers many of which have small productions that serve personal use. It's not rare to meet people who own a little vineyard in the back of their house, specially in Canton Vaud. 

Switzerland may have several wine growing areas, but my favorite one is Lavaux Vineyards  which besides from producing high quality white wine, it offers one of the greatest views of Lac Léman and the Alps. 

The Cheese

A whole variety of cheese

Ok, cheese might be nothing new to you about Switzerland. But when you google swiss cheese, you get more than 3 million imagines, out of which most of them are of the cheese with the holes in it. Yes, that's a swiss cheese. It's called Emmentaler. But this is only one of the more than 450 varieties of cheese this country has to offer!

Other swiss cheese you may have come across in supermarkets worldwide are Raclette cheese, Gruyère and Appenzeller. Most of the cheese is made out of cow milk, but you can also find it made of goat milk or sheep milk. Every region has its own local cheese. One of my favorites from the canton Vaud is Tomme Fleurette, which is made out of raw milk (a real speciality). Swiss cheese range all prices imaginable and can be filled or topped with fine herbs, mushroom mousse, pepper, or truffles (among many others). And believe me, the truffle one - delicious!

Did you know about these facts on Switzerland?

Which were / are your preconceptions about Switzerland?

Don't forget to hop over to Happy Homemaker UK to  enjoy more expat posts all over the World!

Priceless: Learning How to Snowboard in Switzerland

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Renting A Snowboard and Boots for 2 Days

55 CHF (42 EUR)

Brand new board!

Return Ticket to Les Pleiades  Incl. beautiful Landscape 

24 CHF (18 EUR)

The cute little Rack Railway Train that goes from Blonay to Les Pleiades

First signs of snow (at about 900 meters)

View of the mountains, all covered in snow (at about 1400 meters)

2 Hours of Private Snowboarding Lessons

and the teacher holding my hand while speeding down the slopes

110 CHF (85 EUR)

Not me on the picture, but that's the concept
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Mulled Wine and Homemade Tarte au Citron

15 CHF (11.50 EUR)

... Arriving back Home without a broken your leg/arm/butt....

and having found a new hobby (that doesn't imply a beach)

PRICELESS
________________________

Herewith I completed one more thing on my Bucket List!

Also, check out my guest post at Andi's Beautiful Adventures, Life's a Beach - from the time I spent in Mexico.

How about you? Have you done something you've always wanted to do, but never have really had the guts to do it? 

...The one on TRAVEL.

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Amsterdam, Feb 2008

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you will probably already have realized my passion for travel. Not that I'm planning on getting all philosophical about this, but living on my own does give me some valuable time to (over)think - specially on rainy days! 

From what my rusty memory can recall, I've always had the travel bug. My first travel memories include eating spaghetti ice cream in my great grandmother's home town in Germany (later on, I found out it was made of vanilla, and I felt as if someone had told me back then that Santa was actually my uncle), getting lost in a Toy Store in NY, playing piano in the piano bar of a Hotel in Rio de Janeiro (not that I was any good, but I had no shame to go to the piano man and ask if I could play "my song"), visiting Disney World in Florida and fishing in a private lake in Belgium. All this was before I turned 8 years old. I now know I've been lucky - All this wouldn't have occurred if my family didn't have the so-called travel bug, too!

Phuket, April 2008

But it wasn't until I started the University, that I realized how much travel can change your life. And by travel, I do not particularly mean being a tourist somewhere; but also living somewhere new - basically, leaving what we all know as home. During my, er, 7 years as a student (I'm not lame, I think, I just gave my career a 180º twist after the first 2 years), I lived in Spain, Germany and Switzerland, and each of these countries have had a significant influence on who I am today. 

In the past weeks I've read many stories about people quitting their corporate jobs, selling their "stuff" and deciding to start a nomadic lifestyle to travel the World and find them selves in other cultures. It's exciting to read about these adventures (it really is!) but from my experience, the real change happens once you are living in the same place for a longer period of time - when you really get to know the culture and truly understand what's behind their habits. For this reason, I rather consider myself someone who does the Long-term living abroad (a concept I learned from Lauren, at Lauren's Road Less Traveled) and travels short-term in the meantime. 

I enjoy having a home to go back to after my journey, I need some kind of planning, objectives and a timeline (this is definitely something I adopted from my German and Swiss experiences). I would go crazy if I had to live one year out of a backpack - it was difficult enough to come over to Switzerland with only 20 kg! (Ok, I confess, the rest came 2 months later in boxes...). 

My point is, although I admire the long-term travelers, I'm not that sure it would be for me, at least not at this moment. I'm happy at my 9-6 office job. It's challenging but also rewarding, and it keeps me funding my weekend escapes (if I want), while still enjoying my life as an expat in Switzerland. 

Zürifäscht, Zürich 2007

All I want for Christmas is Cheese

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Borough Market, London

Maybe it's the cold weather, the snow, that makes me want to wrap into a warm blanket and fish pieces of bread out of a fondue. Or maybe the Christmas market that I cross every evening after work, with it's shiny big menus announcing fondue and raclettes for 5 CHF. Perhaps the street market stands, that have such a broad variety that, even if you examine each one carefully, you can be sure that the next week there will be at least one you will have never seen before. For one reason or another, I'm thinking about cheese during an alarmingly high amount of time a day. 

Since we are close to Christmas (and I'm still craving for cheese), I'm sharing 5 Christmas gifts for cheese lovers (yes, I'm crossing my fingers that someone will surprise me with of the below). 

1. Raclette Machine

Having a raclette machine at home is one of my wildest fantasies (geez am I weird). For those of you who don't know the raclette - it's a type of cheese, originally from Switzerland, that is used for melting and is accompanied by small potatoes, pickled onions and gherkins as well as tradition swiss dried meat. 

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2. Mouse Cheese Grater / Serving Bowl

This little mouse grates cheese and stores it inside itself. You can easily detach the mouse from the grater and turn it into a serving bowl. Why having a traditional grater? This one is so cute!

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3. Fondue Set

Fondue is a traditional swiss / french dish of melted cheese that is eaten by dipping long-stemmed forks with bread into the cheese mix. The difference with the raclette (besides from the serving) is that the fondue is made of a specific mix of cheeses (that varies between France and Switzerland) and is usually added some wine and seasoning. It's the ideal apres-ski meal. And I want it, too. 

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4. Natural Slate Cheeseboard

I just love this cheeseboard - Have you noticed the chili shaped handgrips? The board is protected with acrylic resin to reduce chipping and prevent from staining - making it a perfect board to cut and serve the cheese. You can feel at home like at the finest french restaurant - having your own plateau de fromages. 

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5. Set of Cheese Knifes

Anyone spending enough money on buying cheese should have a set of proper cheese knifes. I fell in love with the minimalistic designer set below, which offers one to cut parmesan, general cheese and soft cheese (from left to right).

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Needless to say, all this cheese chit chat has whetted my appetite.

Do you think this cheese obsession has to do with living in Switzerland / France? Or can it hit anyone anywhere? Do you also fantasize of crackers with cheese?

On Air! - Expat bloggers in Switzerland

This evening I had a short interview with The Connectors at Worldradio.ch about expat bloggers in Switzerland. There are a bunch of us spread around the country, and this is no wonder - it feels natural to me to listen to english, spanish or portuguese while walking the streets, riding the bus or buying some bread in the Boulangerie around the corner. 

While I was listening to the other expats talking about their blogs, I was truly impressed and was starting to get really nervous! As much as I love to talk, write or, in general, communicate with people, I tend to be a bit hyper when I am nervous... and that's the outcome of my first experience on the radio: A mass of  words coming out of my mouth and a lot of giggling - heh! that's me. 

Check out the show by clicking here!

To Bise or Not To Bise?

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You might ask yourself what these bises are and why I'm so concerned about them, anyways. In France, as well as in the Suisse Romande to fair la bise is a synonym for cheek-kissing, a mainly European custom that gets very complicated when someone french is involved. 

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To fair la bise generally involves touching cheeks while kissing the air with an audible smack of the lips. That's the easy part. Now the real question is: 

Who to kiss and who not to kiss? And then again, how many of these bises shall you give? 

There are no written rules - which will lead to many awkward situations. While in Paris people give 2 bises, in some suburbs it's 4 and in other areas in France 3 (the same as in Switzerland). This can already lead to a lot of confusion - if a swiss and a parisian meet: how much kissing would there be involved? I've often landed in this kind of situation - the last time last week at a meeting with a parisian banker I had been talking on the phone with for months, but had never met before personally. Since I felt as if I knew him forever, I leaned up to faire la bise, and noticed how he was confused about the situation, but followed my spontaneity to avoid by total embarrassment. 

Commonly, women can kiss each other in almost any circumstance (it get's tricky if you greet elderly people for the first time or if it's a business meeting - oops!). Men, otherwise, only will kiss other men if they are related or are two best friends who haven't seen each other in centuries. An exception to this is New Year's Eve - where everybody seems to get loose (probably a consequence of the all the vin rouge). 

As a general guideline, I would say - wait until you are approached instead of jumping into it, like I did - and still do... got to change that one. 

Have you ever been in one of these awkward situations? How do you know when and whom to kiss?

Tartare de Boeuf: Love it or Hate it

Ok, I might be getting some typical french habits - I've noticed that almost any conversation, at some point, makes a turn and goes straight towards food and wine, no matter with whom I'm actually talking with. Whenever I travel, I check out regional dishes and some recommended restaurants (the whole touristic spots come afterwards). And whenever I stay at home over the weekend, I'll spend the saturday morning at the market and the evening checking out some new restaurant / cafe / I don't even mind as long as they serve food.

Anyway, I've recently fallen back in love with the tartare de boeuf. Even though its easy to prepare, tartare de boeuf (or steak tartare) is considered in many countries a gourmet dish. Its made from finely chopped or minced raw beef, seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil, capers, parsley and delicately cut onions. Some restaurant may add a raw egg yolk, Worcestershire sauce and/or Tabasco, depending on the country or region - I've never seen it in Romandie (french-speaking Switzerland) so far.

The ingredients are simple, so the quality (specially of the beef) plays the main role. In my one year in Romandie, I've gone on from loving tartare, to hating it and back to loving it even more. It all depends on where you eat it. In principle, never order it if the price is suspiciously low, which in Lausanne would be, lets say, below 25 CHF (18 EUR). Believe me, it's raw meat - it will really need to be good quality and fresh, not only because of the taste, but also because of health reasons.

After a year, I can narrow my list down to three spots with an excellent tartare in Lausanne.

1. Mövenpick Hotel - The Mövenpick Hotel is located just in front of the lake and, besides for the breath-taking ice-creams they are famous for, they also offer the best tartare I've tasted so far. The hotel has three restaurants, and they offer a tartare menu in both, the Brasserie and Le Jardin. You can pick out of around 6 different choices with varying spices and flavors - I do remember the mexican one (probably a bit spicy), the italian one (probably with balsamic vinegar and some cheese) and the one I had: the truffle tartare - practically unbeatable! Prices were over 40 CHF (30 EUR) the portion, though - quite a kick in your pocket. However, for an exception, the kick is absolutely worth it.

Mövenpick Hotel Lausanne

Avenue de Rhodanie, 4

Lausanne

Tfn: +41 21 612 7 612

Price per person: main dishes 30 CHF - 60 CHF

2. Vieux Lausanne - Vieux Lausanne is located next to the Cathedral and has the advantage of serving food until relatively late hours (at least for swiss standards!) - Their kitchen is open until midnight! Although the price is a bit above my limit, I must admit that anything I've ordered has always been delicious. The tartare is simple, but very tasteful - the beef is chopped so delicately, it almost melts in your mouth. Many plates can be ordered as half or full portions, which is great if you're only looking for a little (gourmet) snack. The tartare is served with slices of bread and thin (addictive) french fries - it's so yummy, you should go for the bigger of both plates as the small one would only leave you crying for more.

Vieux Lausanne Restaurant

Rue Pierre-Viret 6

Lausanne

Tfn: +41 21 323 53 90

Price per person: main dishes 35 CHF - 70 CHF

3. Bleu Lezard - Bleu Lezard offers a lunch menu which usually includes tartare de boeuf for 21 CHF (16 EUR) - and so much more affordable than the two above! It comes with country potatoes, salad and toasted bread - and besides from the regular ingredients, it also includes green olives (a great taste booster!). The restaurant / bar / club itself is located in the city center and during the week there is always some concert going on (tuesdays its jam session). Note that the tartare de boeuf for 21 CHF is only once a week (I think usually fridays) for lunch time - for dinner, prices jump back to more regular swiss prices (27.50 CHF).

Bleu Lezard

Rue Enning 10

Lausanne

Tfn: +41 21 321 38 30

Price per person: main dishes 25 CHF - 30 CHF

There's one other place which is known for its tartare and, well, for its beef in general - Le Petit Boeuf (very appropriate name). I've never managed to go as you generally have to reserve a table, but if I do - I'll let you know about the tartare!

So... are you feeling as carnivore as I am?