5. März 2020

Hello, Switzerland

In a typical programmer’s unimaginativeness, let’s print out a localized version of the few words that everyone starts with: Hello, Switzerland. After almost six years, a step into a new country again. It is time for a thought abroad.

Why I chose the name for my blog? It is just so that I happened to be abroad (or so the legend goes; in fact I cannot remember) and I was writing down my thoughts. And because my thoughts only sometimes venture into an area that resembles creativity, a thought abroad is what I came up with. Little did I know back then that the name would be so fitting.

This little online diary─never quite written to play a significant role in any subject─has been travelling with me all the way from Germany to Hong Kong, from Hong Kong to Germany, from Germany to Sweden, from Sweden to the United Kingdom, and from the United Kingdom to Switzerland. Hello, Switzerland.

Centrally located in Europe but not part of the European Union. Part German-speaking but certainly not in Germany. Part French-speaking but not in France either. Part Italian-speaking but not in France either. Part Romansh-speaking but not in…? Exactly. Hello, Switzerland.

It is only two months in Switzerland and it feels like so much happened. Of course that’s because settling in is full of─ẃell─settling in activities. Permits, starting at work, health care, insurance, driving license, home search, furnishing, new hobbies, old friends. A lot has been going on. Only some of that of course makes a story worth telling.

The first thing that happens when you leave a place is to understand what you loved about the place. And that of course includes my friends in London, whom I miss. The realization that I have really left has only kicked in recently. The mind moves slowly. HELLO, SWITZERLAND. Okay, now I hear you.